◄ Deuteronomy 28:13 ►
The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.
Study Bible
The LORD will make you the head and not the tail;

This phrase signifies a position of leadership and prominence. In the ancient Near Eastern context, being the "head" implies authority and influence, while the "tail" suggests subordination and insignificance. This promise reflects God's covenantal blessings for Israel, contingent upon their obedience. It echoes the blessings outlined in Deuteronomy 28, contrasting with the curses for disobedience. The imagery of head and tail is also seen in Isaiah 9:14-15, where leaders are described as the head, and false prophets as the tail, emphasizing the importance of righteous leadership.

Psa 18:43 You have delivered me from the strife of the people;…
Deu 26:19 He will set you high in praise and name and honor…
Gen 49:8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you.…

you will only move upward and never downward,

This promise of continual progress and elevation is tied to Israel's faithfulness. It suggests prosperity, success, and divine favor in all endeavors. Historically, Israel experienced periods of ascendancy, such as under King David and Solomon, when they adhered to God's commandments. This upward movement is symbolic of spiritual growth and blessing, contrasting with the downward spiral associated with disobedience and idolatry, as seen in the later history of Israel and Judah.

Pro 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the wise,…
Php 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize…
Psa 84:7 They go from strength to strength, until each…

if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God,

The condition for receiving these blessings is obedience to God's commandments. This reflects the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, where blessings are contingent upon adherence to the law. The emphasis on hearing and careful following underscores the importance of not just knowing the law but living it out. This principle is reiterated throughout Deuteronomy and is foundational to the Mosaic Covenant. It is echoed in the New Testament, where Jesus emphasizes obedience to God's word (John 14:15).

Deu 5:1 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:…
Jos 1:8 This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth;…
Jas 1:22 Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.…

which I am giving you today.

This phrase highlights the immediacy and relevance of God's commandments. The use of "today" underscores the urgency and present application of the law to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. It serves as a reminder of the fresh commitment required from each generation. The giving of the law is a pivotal moment in Israel's history, marking their identity as God's chosen people and setting the standard for their conduct and relationship with God.

Deu 4:40 Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you…
Deu 6:6 These words I am commanding you today are to be…
Deu 30:11 For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws and promises to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The chosen people of God, receiving the covenant and laws as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.

3. Promised Land
The land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

4. Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim
Locations where blessings and curses were pronounced over Israel, symbolizing the choice between obedience and disobedience.

5. Covenant
The agreement between God and Israel, involving blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.
Teaching Points
Obedience Brings Elevation
The promise of being the "head and not the tail" is contingent upon obedience to God's commandments. This principle remains true for believers today; obedience to God's Word leads to spiritual and sometimes material elevation.

God's Sovereignty in Blessing
The passage emphasizes that it is the LORD who makes one the head. Recognizing God's sovereignty in our successes keeps us humble and dependent on Him.

Conditional Promises
The blessings are conditional upon hearing and carefully following God's commandments. This teaches us the importance of not just knowing God's Word but actively living it out.

Spiritual Leadership
Being the "head" implies leadership and influence. Christians are called to lead by example, reflecting Christ in their actions and decisions.

Continuous Growth
The promise of moving "upward and never downward" suggests a life of continuous growth and improvement in our walk with God, as we remain faithful to His commandments.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the promise of being the "head and not the tail" apply to your personal life and spiritual journey?

2. In what ways can you ensure that you are "hearing and carefully following" God's commandments in your daily routine?

3. How do the blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28 compare to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to lead by example in your community or workplace, reflecting the principle of being the "head"?

5. How can you cultivate a mindset of continuous spiritual growth, ensuring that you are always moving "upward" in your relationship with God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 26
This chapter outlines similar blessings and curses, emphasizing the importance of obedience to God's commandments.

Proverbs 3:1-2
Highlights the benefits of keeping God's commandments, including long life and peace.

Matthew 5:14-16
Jesus speaks of His followers as the light of the world, a city on a hill, which parallels the idea of being the "head" and not the "tail."

Romans 8:28
Assures believers that all things work together for good for those who love God, aligning with the promise of upward movement for obedience.

James 1:22-25
Encourages believers to be doers of the word, not just hearers, which is essential for receiving God's blessings.
Sermons
Moral GravitationJ. Orr Deuteronomy 28:13
The Saints Leading the WaySpurgeon, Charles HaddonDeuteronomy 28:13
The BlessingJ. Orr Deuteronomy 28:1-14
The Present Portion of a Good ManD. Davies Deuteronomy 28:1-14
The Purpose of Temporal BlessingR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 28:1-14
People
Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt
Topics
Always, Attention, Beneath, Bottom, Careful, Carefully, Charge, Command, Commanding, Commandments, Commands, Downward, Ear, Follow, Hast, Hearken, Highest, Listen, Obey, Observe, Orders, Pay, Tail, Tend, To-day, Underneath, Upward
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 28:1-14

     1349   covenant, at Sinai

Deuteronomy 28:12-13

     5389   lending

Library
A Choice of Masters
'Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies ... in want of all things: and He shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until He have destroyed thee.'--DEUT. xxviii. 47, 48 The history of Israel is a picture on the large scale of what befalls every man. A service--we are all born to obedience, to depend on and follow some person or thing. There is only a choice of services; and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Blessing and Cursing
(Preached at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, Ash Wednesday, 1860.) Deuteronomy xxviii. 15. It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Many good people are pained by the Commination Service which we have just heard read. They dislike to listen to it. They cannot say 'Amen' to its awful words. It seems to them …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

Strength Profaned and Lost
'But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house. 22, Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Sin of Unbelief
However, the lord on whom the king leaned expressed his disbelief. We hear not that any of the common people, the plebeians, ever did so; but an aristocrat did it. Strange it is, that God has seldom chosen the great men of this world. High places and faith in Christ do seldom well agree. This great man said, "Impossible!" and, with an insult to the prophet, he added, "If the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be." His sin lay in the fact, that after repeated seals of Elisha's …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Promises and Threatenings
'And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do. 2. That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 3. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before Me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put My name there for ever; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Secondly, for Thy Words.
1. Remember, that thou must answer for every idle word, that in multiloquy, the wisest man shall overshoot himself. Avoid, therefore, all tedious and idle talk, from which seldom arises comfort, many times repentance: especially beware of rash answers, when the tongue outruns the mind. The word was thine whilst thou didst keep it in; it is another's as soon as it is out. O the shame, when a man's own tongue shall be produced a witness, to the confusion of his own face! Let, then, thy words be few, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Vehicles of Revelation; Scripture, the Church, Tradition.
(a) The supreme and unique revelation of God to man is in the Person of the Incarnate Son. But though unique the Incarnation is not solitary. Before it there was the divine institution of the Law and the Prophets, the former a typical anticipation (de Incarn. 40. 2) of the destined reality, and along with the latter (ib. 12. 2 and 5) for all the world a holy school of the knowledge of God and the conduct of the soul.' After it there is the history of the life and teaching of Christ and the writings …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

That Whereas the City of Jerusalem had Been Five Times Taken Formerly, this was the Second Time of Its Desolation. A Brief Account of Its History.
1. And thus was Jerusalem taken, in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, on the eighth day of the month Gorpeius [Elul]. It had been taken five [34] times before, though this was the second time of its desolation; for Shishak, the king of Egypt, and after him Antiochus, and after him Pompey, and after them Sosius and Herod, took the city, but still preserved it; but before all these, the king of Babylon conquered it, and made it desolate, one thousand four hundred and sixty-eight years and …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Paul's Departure and Crown;
OR, AN EXPOSITION UPON 2 TIM. IV. 6-8 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR How great and glorious is the Christian's ultimate destiny--a kingdom and a crown! Surely it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive what ear never heard, nor mortal eye ever saw? the mansions of the blest--the realms of glory--'a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' For whom can so precious an inheritance be intended? How are those treated in this world who are entitled to so glorious, so exalted, so eternal, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Writings of St. Ambrose.
The extant writings of St. Ambrose may be divided under six heads. I. Dogmatic; II. Exegetic; III. Moral; IV. Sermons; V. Letters; VI. A few Hymns. I. Dogmatic and Controversial Works. 1. De Fide. The chief of these are the Five Books on the Faith, of which the two first were written in compliance with a request of the Emperor Gratian, a.d. 378. Books III.-V. were written in 379 or 380, and seem to have been worked up from addresses delivered to the people [V. prol. 9, 11; III. 143; IV. 119]. This …
St. Ambrose—Works and Letters of St. Ambrose

Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

The Hindrances to Mourning
What shall we do to get our heart into this mourning frame? Do two things. Take heed of those things which will stop these channels of mourning; put yourselves upon the use of all means that will help forward holy mourning. Take heed of those things which will stop the current of tears. There are nine hindrances of mourning. 1 The love of sin. The love of sin is like a stone in the pipe which hinders the current of water. The love of sin makes sin taste sweet and this sweetness in sin bewitches the …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold.
^A Matt. XXIV. 1-28; ^B Mark XIII. 1-23; ^C Luke XXI. 5-24. ^a 1 And Jesus went out from the temple [leaving it to return no more], and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him ^b as he went forth ^a to show him the buildings of the temple. ^b one of his disciples saith unto him, Teacher, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! ^c 5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said [The strength and wealth of the temple roused …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Right Understanding of the Law
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Before I come to the commandments, I shall answer questions, and lay down rules respecting the moral law. What is the difference between the moral laud and the gospel? (1) The law requires that we worship God as our Creator; the gospel, that we worship him in and through Christ. God in Christ is propitious; out of him we may see God's power, justice, and holiness: in him we see his mercy displayed. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
The duty of Covenanting is founded on the law of nature; but it also stands among the arrangements of Divine mercy made from everlasting. The promulgation of the law, enjoining it on man in innocence as a duty, was due to God's necessary dominion over the creatures of his power. The revelation of it as a service obligatory on men in a state of sin, arose from his unmerited grace. In the one display, we contemplate the authority of the righteous moral Governor of the universe; in the other, we see …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The True Manner of Keeping Holy the Lord's Day.
Now the sanctifying of the Sabbath consists in two things--First, In resting from all servile and common business pertaining to our natural life; Secondly, In consecrating that rest wholly to the service of God, and the use of those holy means which belong to our spiritual life. For the First. 1. The servile and common works from which we are to cease are, generally, all civil works, from the least to the greatest (Exod. xxxi. 12, 13, 15, &c.) More particularly-- First, From all the works of our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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