Deut 28:13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them
This verse seems to be a proof text for word of faith teachers. They often claim that God will bless others and prosper them simply for being a follower of God. The context of this passage is totally ignored and the application of it disregards what the text actually says. Correct interpretation of a passage calls for understanding the genre of that passage. In this case, the Law is in view.
When interpreting the Law one must take great care to distinguish which promises are for the nation of Israel as a whole and which principles should be applied to the individual. Opponents of Christianity often cite dietary and clothing laws, for example, to try and prove the hypocrisy of Christians in calling others to repentance from immoral lifestyles. But they usually do so without regard for how the Law should be interpreted.
In the same way, word of faith teachers extensively quote the Old Testament promises of prosperity as proof that God wants people to be rich and completely ignore how it should be applied.
The context of Deuteronomy 28:13 is one of these passages. The immediate context starts at verse 1. It should also be noted that the context of the book is the nation of Israel about to enter into the promised land for the first time and so God is renewing the covenant with them, communicating the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience.
Deut 28:1-14 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
The main purpose of God's prospering the nation of Israel is in bold and italicized; it was so the Lord would establish Israel as a nation separate and distinct from all the other nations around them.
Applying this verse as an individual promise for God to bless and prosper you may always end up in frustration. It was never intended for such.
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