Deuteronomy 29:24-25
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The verse highlights that Israel's future desolation will be so extreme that it will provoke questions from all nations, not just neighboring peoples. This universal astonishment underscores that God's judgment on unfaithfulness is a cosmic event, a clear demonstration of His righteous anger for all the world to witness and ponder.
all the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt,
English Standard Version (ESV)
As God renews His covenant with the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land, Moses spells out the severe consequences of their future disobedience. He warns that if they turn to other gods, God's anger will burn against them, bringing devastating plagues and destruction upon the land. This judgment will be so complete and astonishing that future generations and even foreign nations will witness the desolation and question why the Lord inflicted such wrath.
Imagine a land so utterly ruined, so scorched and barren, that passing travelers from distant nations stop and ask, 'What happened here?' This verse paints a vivid picture of God's judgment leaving a land as a testament for all to see.
Deuteronomy 29:24 describes a future scenario where the land of Israel, due to its persistent disobedience and forsaking of God's covenant, will be struck by devastating plagues and become utterly desolate. This desolation is not meant to be a private tragedy for Israel alone, but a public spectacle.
A Sign for All Nations
The verse explicitly states, 'all nations shall say...' This highlights that the judgment on Israel will be so extreme and unnatural that it will provoke questions and wonder among surrounding peoples, even those who do not know God. They will be forced to confront the reality of divine justice.
The Heat of Great Anger
The question posed by these nations – 'What meaneth the heat of this great anger?' – points to the intensity and severity of God's wrath. This isn't a fleeting irritation but a profound, burning anger stemming from a deep offense, specifically Israel's betrayal of their covenant with God.
What kind of judgment makes a land uninhabitable, like a scorched wasteland? Deuteronomy describes a ruin so profound that it defies natural explanation, pointing to a supernatural cause.
The description of the land's condition in the verses leading up to Deuteronomy 29:24 (specifically verse 23) is crucial. It details a transformation from a potentially fertile land into a place of 'brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein.' This is not just agricultural failure; it's an inversion of the natural order.
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A Divine Impossibility
This level of destruction is presented as unnatural and shocking. It’s like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, a divine act that renders the land permanently barren. The nations' question, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land?' stems from seeing something so contrary to how a land should be, especially a land promised to be fruitful.
The Covenant Betrayed
The 'great anger' mentioned is directly linked to the betrayal of the covenant. When a people turns away from the God who established them, worships idols, and forsakes His laws, the consequences are severe. The land, which was meant to be a blessing flowing from faithfulness, becomes a curse reflecting their unfaithfulness.
Understand the original words
azab · Hebrew Verb
The act of willfully forsaking, turning away from, or rejecting a relationship or commitment. In a biblical sense, it often refers to apostasy—a deliberate turning from the true God to idols or disobedience.
This verse speaks from the perspective of a future generation or surrounding nations looking at the devastated land of Judah after its destruction by Babylon. It highlights the profound shock and questioning that such divine judgment would provoke, even among non-Israelites.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
God delivers the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, establishing a covenant with them and leading them through the wilderness.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest of Canaan
The Israelites, after 40 years in the wilderness, conquer and settle the Promised Land of Canaan.
c. 931 BC
Division of the Kingdom
Following Solomon's reign, the united kingdom of Israel splits into two: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria and Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, scattering its people and leading to the loss of the ten northern tribes.
597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
The Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar deports many of Judah's elite, including King Jehoiachin, to Babylon following a rebellion.
587/586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Babylon destroys Jerusalem and its sacred Temple, exiling the remaining population of Judah, fulfilling prophecies of judgment for covenant unfaithfulness.
After 586 BC
Generations Reflect on Exile
Future generations, both Israelites and surrounding nations, will look upon the ruins of Judah and ponder God's judgment and anger.
This passage directly echoes the question posed in Deuteronomy, with God Himself providing the answer to why His land is devastated: the people have forsaken Him for foreign gods.
1 Kings 9:8-9After the Temple's dedication, God warns that if Israel forsakes Him, its destruction will be so complete that passing nations will ask why the LORD has done such a thing, mirroring the question in Deuteronomy.
Matthew 24:21Jesus speaks of a time of unprecedented tribulation, a 'great tribulation,' which implies a catastrophic event so severe that it would prompt similar questions of divine anger from observers.
Romans 1:18-32This passage explains God's wrath being revealed against human ungodliness and unrighteousness, providing a theological framework for understanding the 'heat of His great anger' as a consequence of persistent rebellion.
Revelation 18:10The fall of Babylon, a symbol of worldly power and corruption, elicits questions from kings and merchants who witness its destruction, asking 'Alas! alas, you great city... for in a single hour your judgment has come!'.
calvinDeuteronomy 29:10-28: "Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,"
That he may establish thee today for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Ut statuat te hodie sibi in populum, et ipse sit tibi in Deum, quemadmodum loquutus est tibi, et quemadmodum juravit patrib…
pulpitDeuteronomy 29:24: "Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?"
Verse 24. - What meaneth the heat of this great anger? The reply to this question comes in what follows (vers. 25-28).
The verse highlights that Israel's future desolation will be so extreme that it will provoke questions from all nations, not just neighboring peoples. This universal astonishment underscores that God's judgment on unfaithfulness is a cosmic event, a clear demonstration of His righteous anger for all the world to witness and ponder.
As God renews His covenant with the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land, Moses spells out the severe consequences of their future disobedience. He warns that if they turn to other gods, God's anger will burn against them, bringing devastating plagues and destruction upon the land. This judgment will be so complete and astonishing that future generations and even foreign nations will witness the desolation and question why the Lord inflicted such wrath.
As God renews His covenant with the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land, Moses spells out the severe consequences of their future disobedience. He warns that if they turn to other gods, God's anger will burn against them, bringing devastating plagues and destruction upon the land. This judgment will be so complete and astonishing that future generations and even foreign nations will witness the desolation and question why the Lord inflicted such wrath.
"all the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which he made with them…" — The verse highlights that Israel's future desolation will be so extreme that it will provoke questions from all nations, not just neighboring peoples. This universal astonishment underscores that G…
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Last reviewed October 2026
