The blessings for the Jews abound, if they obey their GOD.
Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings that are offered, “if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your GOD, to observe carefully all His commandments… that the LORD your GOD will set you high above all nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1)
But further on, the curses are listed for disobedience
Deuteronomy 28:62-64 encourages us to trust GOD so that we are not warped into a false religion. The consequences of disobedience are severe and extensive:
“You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your GOD.
“And it will be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.
“Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the otters, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known — wood and stone.”
Why is GOD so severe?
The LORD said He was a jealous GOD but it is not only for Himself that He longs for His people to follow Him. It is for their protection as well as to glorify Him. And when He is glorified, the enemy Satan is defeated.
History
Under King David and King Solomon, Israel was truly a blessed nation as GOD had promised in Deuteronomy 26:18-19,
“Also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honour, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
But a deeper look at Solomon reveals the damage which began under his rule when he intermarried and allowed false gods to be worshipped. The decline was evidenced at his death when the kingdom became divided and in both Israel and Judah, king after king varied their stance: some worshipped the LORD GOD; some did not.
Rather than Solomon ruling and leading other nations to the One True GOD, he missed his call, got side-tracked (and depressed which a reading Ecclesiastes demonstrates) took numerous wives, and failed to lead the world to an understanding of their Creator GOD.
Likewise, centuries later, the leaders of the Temple missed the call of their long-awaited Messiah; they missed Jesus. Nevertheless, the church was begun by Jews, lead by Jews for three centuries, until the Roman authority “took over” and ultimately, countermanded the Jewish roots.
Anti-semitism was rife and Jews following Messiah dwindled to practically nothing for 1600 years.
Why is GOD so severe with His Jewish children?
Luke makes it clear the link between gift and expectation: “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
In John 8:44 Jesus says to the Pharisees,
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Who speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
But we do not war against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6). Ultimately, we war against the enemy of GOD.
Contemporary spiritual circumstances
If the Jews did not trust — and do not trust and obey GOD, if society does not trust Jesus as Messiah and we do not follow GOD’s ways and glorify Him, we practise a false religion, and Satan is victorious — for the short term.
Heaven and earth will pass away but GOD’s Word will never pass away (Matthew 25:35). And so the ultimate victory always will be GOD’s. But in the meantime, we can either live well or live badly, in health and joy or in sickness and grief, lead by Satan or by Jesus.
Jesus is the Word made flesh, as it says in John 1. Following the Law of Moses in ancient times or following the Messiah who has completed the Law, GOD leads the way to victory over the enemy of darkness and death.
We are blessed by GOD in every way possible and to the degree we honour Him. Further, we are protected from the devil as we yield to the Creator of the universe.
By being “so strict” GOD protects us from Satan. If we follow GOD, the enemy cannot accuse us of wrongdoing and therefore, he cannot have a legal entitlement in our lives. Jesus came to fulfil Jewish Law and by following the Law historically or its eventual fulfilment in Jesus, satan cannot win.
GOD is strict to protect us from the enemy. Thankfully, ultimately, we are saved by His grace not by human effort (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that makes the biggest difference of all — to every society.