Deuteronomy 28:67
In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
It belongs to the curses Moses set before Israel in his last address, offering blessing for obedience and terrible curses for departure from God their only helper, so that prosperity or adversity would follow obedience or transgression of the law given at Sinai.
It pictures unrelenting terror and constant anxiety with no rest, ease, or security, a trembling heart and sorrow of mind with life hanging in doubt, fearing day and night until longing for night to come in the morning and for morning to come at night because of dread within and dreadful sights without.
It foretold what disobedient Israel would suffer when scattered among the nations from one end of the earth to the other, driven from the promised land for turning from God to idolatry, finding no ease and no rest for the sole of the foot.
It declares the lot of the guilty sinner whose own thoughts accuse him, for there is no keener torture than the sting of a guilty conscience, bringing continual distress with no rest day or night, as seen when Herod after murdering John the Baptist lived in constant troubled fear behind a dignified appearance.
Its promises and threatenings are conditional on obedience, for keeping God's judgments, ordinances, and statutes brings life and blessing, while transgression breaks down His barriers of protection and brings disease, suffering, calamity, and the curse.
Setting and Meaning
The verse belongs to the curses Moses read and set before Israel in his last address. That address was spoken from fear that the people would depart from God their only helper. It set before them blessing if they lived in obedience and terrible curses if they departed, with the blessings of obedience stated plainly. Prosperity and adversity were to come according to obedience or transgression of the law given at Sinai.
It pictures unrelenting terror and constant anxiety with no rest, ease, or security and no assurance of life. Disobedience would bring a trembling heart with failing of eyes and sorrow of mind, with life hanging in doubt and fear day and night. Each day they would dread the coming of night, and each night they would long for morning, wishing in the morning for evening and in the evening for morning. That longing would arise from fear of the heart and from the sights seen and faced, from inward terror and the horrors witnessed and dreadful things seen.
It stands under the final choice between life and death and blessing and cursing. The call is to choose life by loving the Lord, obeying His voice, and cleaving to Him. He is life and length of days, so that they and their seed may live. In that life they were to dwell in the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Foretold National Exile
The verse foretells what disobedient Israel would suffer through being scattered by the Lord among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, driven from the promised land because of transgression and turning from God through covenant with surrounding nations and their idolatry. In that scattering the people would find no ease and no rest for the sole of the foot, but would live in terror and constant anxiety with fear day and night and no assurance of life, with trembling heart and failing of eyes and sorrow of mind and life hanging in doubt. From fear of the heart and from the sights seen and faced they would dread each part of the day, longing for evening in the morning and for morning in the evening.
In that exile Israel would become an astonishment, a proverb and a byword among all nations. There they would serve other gods of wood and stone which neither they nor their fathers had known. Because of their sins their glory would depart, Jerusalem would lie in ruins and the people would be captives in foreign lands, and after their restoration they would finally come under Roman rule.
Israel's recent captivity showed the fulfillment of this prophecy, demonstrating that the terror and distress and homelessness without rest were the foretold result of turning from God and breaking covenant.
Guilty Conscience and Obedience
The verse declares the result of a course of sin for the guilty person and the criminal, whose own thoughts become his accusers. There is no keener torture than the stings of a guilty conscience, bringing continual distress with no rest day or night and no relief from terror. It portrays a life ruled by fear, with a trembling heart and sorrow of mind and fear day and night and no assurance of life or safety. From dread in the heart and from dreadful things seen, the fearful longs for evening to come in the morning and for morning to come in the evening.
This was fulfilled in Herod after ordering the murder of John the Baptist, when remorse and a guilty conscience left him in constant troubled fear day and night. He concealed his anxious heart behind a dignified appearance while dreading what he saw. He lived in relentless fear and distress that left him longing for the opposite time of day, terrified by what was seen and by the fear within. His guilty thoughts accused him and gave him no rest, illustrating the restless terror of the guilty person after John's execution.
He had become convinced that God is present everywhere and had seen the revelry, the command, and the triumph over the prophet. Stung by John's warning that nothing can be hidden from God, he recalled what he had witnessed. He feared that God's judgment was upon him and his house. He believed John had risen with greater power to condemn sin and avenge his death upon him, and would condemn him.
The verse belongs to a chapter whose promises and judgments are conditional on obedience. Keeping His judgments and keeping His ordinances and statutes brings life and the blessings promised for obedience. Disobedience brings calamity and the curse rather than blessing, and the altering of His purpose toward His people. So the Lord refused to bring the adults of the army that left Egypt into the promised land.
Disease and suffering of every kind come upon human beings because they transgress the law of God and break down the barriers God in His providence erected to preserve them from disease. God wants His people to live in health and holiness and to learn obedience. Christ is their invisible leader and mighty Healer who can cure the evils of the human heart.