Deuteronomy 28: God Puts You at the Head, Not the Tail

Introduction

"Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; and you will be above only, and you will not be beneath." This verse, Deuteronomy 28:13, is the foundation of a message given at the Friday evening youth service at the Centre Évangélique Sion. The preacher, introduced by the moderator as "our president," Marc, titled his talk "Be the Best of the Best of the Best."

He begins with a confession: on Friday evenings, after a week of work, he arrives tired. But as soon as the worship and prayer begin, strength returns to him. Before opening the Word, he invites the congregation to ask first that God's kingdom be established, just as Jesus taught his disciples.

Then he asks his question: if God promises that we will be the head, why do so many Christians stay at the tail for a year, five years, ten years? He wants everyone to leave with motivation, determination and resolve. He sees this time as an exchange in which each person brings a share of the truth and the Holy Spirit pulls it all together.

Message Outline

1. A Promise for All the Nations of the Earth

The congregation reads Deuteronomy 28:1-14: superiority over all nations, blessing in the city and in the field, on the fruit of the womb and of the ground, on the basket and the kneading trough, coming in and going out, and victory over enemies.
The preacher stresses one detail: "He didn't say over Grenoble, he didn't say over France, he didn't say over Europe. He said all the nations of the earth."
As he reads "you will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow," he pauses and remarks: "So you are going to have a lot of money!"
The condition is repeated all the way to verse 14: obey the voice of Yahweh, observe and put his commandments into practice, and do not turn aside to the right or the left to go after other gods.

2. Jesus Came to Open the Blessing to Everyone

These blessings were addressed to Israel. When Jesus came, many were waiting for him to come down from heaven and destroy the Romans who ruled the land. He did not do it.
Salvation seemed reserved for the Jews, yet there were others too. Jesus went to the Samaritans, to whom the Jews did not speak, and to the sick.
We all come from Adam and Eve. God had chosen Israel, and Jesus came so that we too could enter into this blessing.

3. Don't Compare Yourself to Your Brother, Aim for the Summit

Why "the best of the best of the best" and not simply "the best"? Because the goal is not to compare yourself to your brother or sister, or to the people in your village.
The preacher quotes a proverb: in the village of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. But the one-eyed man sees only on one side. He is the strongest in his village, and in reality he is weak.
If you sing, don't aim only to be the best singer in your church. God is the beginning and the end: every end is a new beginning. After the church, Grenoble; after Grenoble, the world. And even if you are the best intercessor in the world, "you must be the best intercessor in heaven."
This is why people are never satisfied: you buy an iPhone and a few days later it no longer excites you. God placed this principle in us: he wants us to keep progressing.

4. Waiting for the Promise Without Staying Passive

The preacher denounces passivity: we declare "I will be the head," but we stay at the tail. At work, your colleague finishes everything, clean and on time, while you trail behind, exhausted.
"I serve at church, I go to school, I don't have time." He answers: do you think Dena Mwana did not go through what you are going through before she became Dena Mwana?
Many Christians measure blessing by money: "I have money, so I am blessed; I don't, so I am cursed." Some even leave the Lord because they feel they lost everything by becoming Christians.
He observes that some doctors, after long years of study, work for someone who never went to school. In Ivory Coast, he mentions a man with no schooling who runs the biggest transport company, and another who employs people with master's degrees in egg production.
"It's not easy, but it's attainable." The person who does the cleaning knows the trade; one day they can start their own cleaning company. An electrician with ten years of experience can go out on their own. There is a time to learn and a time to become strong.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, in a remote corner. He wrote no book, he told the healed not to tell anyone, and yet there is no one on earth who does not know him. The preacher recounts an interview with Nicolas Sarkozy: asked to pick just one person to seek advice from, he reportedly answered Jesus, so that he could explain how he did it.
"And we, who are supposed to wake up with Jesus and go to bed with Jesus, why don't we think about this?" Faith has become routine: where is the fruit?

5. It Is Yahweh Who Puts You at the Head

The preacher gives the floor to the congregation. A first answer: to be the head, you must obey Yahweh's commandments, observe them and put them into practice. Another adds faith in the Word of God.
He clarifies: observing depends on you, but you are not the one who puts yourself at the head. "It's not you who becomes, it's he who places you." Whoever relies on their own strength stays limited, because man is limited.
He recalls the debate of John the Baptist's disciples about fasting, and the story of two men of God at a conference: one shut himself away to fast and pray, the other went for a walk and swam. God used the second, because he had understood that he depended on God.
Relying on God means smiling in the face of difficulty. Life is made of battles, and every battle is meant to lift you higher.
He tells of a scene from that very morning on the bus, while he was praying without ceasing. An older woman snapped at him to move aside; he looked at her without a word and kept praying. Before getting off, she came back and said: "Sir, forgive me, excuse me." For him, this illustrates the promise about enemies: "God is strong, he walks with me."
Even the strength to pray and fast comes from God. He helps you put his principles into practice so that you can rise.

6. What God Does Not Like: Deuteronomy 27

Starting at Deuteronomy 27:10, Moses places the tribes on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal to pronounce blessings and curses. The preacher goes through them as a list of behaviors to avoid if you want to be at the head.
The molten idol set up in secret: with God's help, that one is easy to avoid. Dishonoring your father and mother: that is where it gets harder. Whatever their intellectual or spiritual level, even if you are told they practice witchcraft, you must honor them.
Moving your neighbor's boundary stone: cheating at work, or lying about a sister to look important, is moving the boundary and taking what is not yours at someone else's expense.
Making the blind wander off the road: leading those who stayed back home to believe there is easy work elsewhere, getting them to sell everything and putting them in the same trap you fell into yourself. Instead, if you have built a business, hire the one who has just arrived.
Withholding justice from the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow: do not look down on someone who has just arrived, even if you have your own papers. God presents himself as father of the fatherless and defender of widows (Psalm 68:6), and true religion is to look after orphans and widows (James 1:27).
The list also condemns forbidden sexual relations, the one who strikes his neighbor in secret (through occult practices or poison), and the one who accepts a bribe to shed innocent blood.
"To be blessed, you must not do what I have just listed. If you can't manage it, ask God to help you."

7. A Blessing Money Cannot Give

Blessing is not money alone, otherwise the wealthy pagan could call himself blessed. Imagine someone who owns all the gold in the world and has cancer: who can help him? God can.
Jesus healed every sick person he met. He showed that nothing is impossible for God. True blessing is being made able to do all things, with nothing able to stop you.
The way is intimacy with God: when you get home, set aside time, an hour or even fifteen minutes, to begin. Open the Bible, ask your questions, ask God to teach you.
Don't try to catch up with someone: Elon Musk's fortune ten years ago is not what it is today. If you compare yourself, you are always running behind. "But when you aim for God's summit, it is the others who will run. The devil will run and he will be out of breath."
The closing prayer asks to be on top and not at the bottom, to respect God's principles, and to walk "from glory to glory."

Key Takeaways

The promise of Deuteronomy 28:13 is for all the nations of the earth: don't settle for being first in your small circle.
Comparing yourself to others keeps you at their level. Aim for the summit, which is becoming like Jesus.
Obeying and putting into practice is necessary, but it is Yahweh who puts you at the head. Relying on your own strength limits you.
Deuteronomy 27 lists what God does not like. Where you can't keep yourself from it, ask him for help.
Blessing goes beyond money, and it is nourished by regular time of intimacy with God.

Personal Application

Who are you comparing yourself to today, and how is that comparison holding you at a certain level?
In what area are you waiting passively for the promise, when there is a trade to learn or an effort to make?
Who do you really count on when a difficulty comes: your own strength or God?
Among the behaviors in Deuteronomy 27, which one concerns you: dishonoring your parents, small-scale cheating, how you look at the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow?
What moment of your day can you set aside, even just fifteen minutes, to open your Bible and ask God to teach you?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "you will be the head and not the tail" mean in Deuteronomy 28?

Deuteronomy 28:13 promises that Yahweh will make his people the head and not the tail, always on top and never at the bottom, when they obey his commandments. The preacher stresses that the promise covers "all the nations of the earth," not just Grenoble, France or Europe.

Is it my obedience that puts me at the head?

No. Obeying and putting the commandments into practice is necessary, but it is Yahweh who puts you at the head. If you rely on your own strength, you stay limited. God even helps you put his principles into practice so that you can rise.

Is the blessing of Deuteronomy 28 only about money?

No. Money is part of the blessing, but it is not limited to money, otherwise the wealthy pagan could call himself blessed. The blessing is what money and land cannot give you, like the healing no fortune can buy. It comes from God.