Yes — Deuteronomy 28:63-64 says the LORD who rejoiced over Israel to do them good would rejoice to destroy them, bring them to nought, pluck them from the land, and scatter them among all peoples if they disobeyed.
The two verses describe the curse side of the covenant God placed before Israel: just as He had rejoiced to bless and multiply an obedient nation, so He would rejoice in their destruction and removal from the land if they turned from Him. Moses delivered this warning while Israel was still outside the Promised Land, and Les Feldick applies the resulting curse to what the Jews have experienced among the nations ever since.
Deuteronomy 28:63-64 — These are the verses in question, describing the reversal of God's rejoicing from blessing to destruction and the scattering of Israel among all peoples.
Deuteronomy 28:63-64 describes a dramatic reversal in God's actions toward Israel, tied directly to their obedience. Verse 63 declares, "And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess." Verse 64 adds, "And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone." The chapter sets the condition for all of this in verse 15: "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." The catalogue of curses includes verse 37, "And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee," and verses 65-66, which describe the life of the scattered nation: "And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life."
Les Feldick teaches that Deuteronomy 28 sets before Israel the conditions of blessings or curses. "If they would be obedient, He would bless them every which way. But on the other hand, if they would turn their back on Jehovah, if they would become disobedient, then He listed all the curses that would befall the nation of Israel" (Clip 0). Reading verse 63, Les draws out the contrast: "as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to naught" (Clips 0, 1). Les stresses the setting: the nation was still outside the Promised Land when Moses spoke — sitting on the plains of Moab in one account (Clip 0), still in the Sinai in another (Clip 1) — and they had not yet come in to possess it. He then shows the historical outworking of the curse: the Jew has become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword in almost every nation on earth, "all because of their rejecting the love and the mercy of their Jehovah God" (Clip 2). The reason for these catastrophes, Les says, is made plain back in verse 15: Israel would not hearken to the voice of the LORD (Clip 4). Les also keeps the passage in the context of God's covenant mercy. When the Scripture says God would chasten Israel with the rod of men, Les points to the word "But" that follows: "my mercy shall not depart from them" (Clip 3). And he reminds his listeners that Israel is still at the center of all God's dealings with the human race, even anticipating the time of Jacob's trouble (Clip 5).
Les Feldick notes that the nation of Israel had not yet entered the Promised Land when Moses delivered the words of Deuteronomy 28. In one study he says they were still sitting out on the plains of Moab (Clip 0); in another, he says they were still there in the land of Sinai and had not come into the Promised Land yet (Clip 1). In either case, the warning of verse 63 — "ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess" — was given before they went in to possess it.
Deuteronomy 28:15 sets the condition plainly: "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." Les makes the same point when he says the reason for "these catastrophes" is made so plain in chapter 28, verse 15 — they would not hearken (Clip 4). He also emphasizes that Israel had turned their back on Jehovah and rejected the love and mercy of their God (Clip 2).
Verse 63 deliberately echoes the language of blessing: "as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought." Les teaches that the blessings and curses were the two sides of God's conditional dealings with Israel — obedience brought His blessing every which way, but turning their back on Jehovah brought the curses He had listed (Clip 0).
Les applies the curses to Jewish history: "this is exactly what the Jew experiences in almost every nation on earth" — becoming an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword (Clip 2). He links it directly to Israel's rejection of their Jehovah God. The same chapter adds that among the nations where the LORD scattered them they would find no ease, with a trembling heart, failing of eyes, sorrow of mind, and their life hanging in doubt (Deuteronomy 28:65-66).
Les balances the severity of Deuteronomy 28 with God's covenant mercy. Referring to the Davidic covenant passage where God says, "If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men," Les draws attention to the word "But" that begins the next statement: "my mercy shall not depart from them" (Clip 3). Even though God would use other nations to discipline Israel and disperse them, the mercy promised to the house of David would remain. Les also reminds his audience that Israel remains at the center of all God's dealings with the human race, and he points to the coming time of Jacob's trouble (Clip 5).
Moses' Warning on the Plains of Moab
Les reads Deuteronomy 28:63 and explains that the LORD who rejoiced to do Israel good would likewise rejoice to destroy them and bring them to nought, plucking them from the land they were going to possess.
The Blessing-Curse Reversal
Les quotes Deuteronomy 28:63-64 and verse 65, emphasizing that Moses spoke these words while the nation still had not come into the Promised Land.
Astonishment, Proverb, and Byword
Les applies the curse of Deuteronomy 28:37 to the Jewish experience in almost every nation on earth, attributing it to their rejection of the love and mercy of their Jehovah God.
God's Mercy Shall Not Depart
Les highlights the word "But" in the Davidic covenant, teaching that even though God chastens Israel with the rod of men, His mercy shall not depart from them.
The Reason for the Catastrophes
Les connects the catastrophes of Deuteronomy 28 back to verse 15, where the condition is that Israel would not hearken to the voice of the LORD.
Israel at the Center of God's Dealings
Les reminds his listeners that Israel is at the center of all God's dealings with the human race, and he anticipates the coming time of Jacob's trouble.
Why Israel Failed to Enter the Promised Land (Exodus 23 & Deut 1)
God is. He's not telling Israel they have to. God says, I will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come. I will make all thy enemies to turn their backs and run before thee. Verse 29. I will not drive them out before thee in one year. In other words, this isn't going to happen all of a sudden, because otherwise Israel wouldn't be able to keep up with it.
Why God Commanded Israel to Destroy Entire Nations — Deuteronomy 7
Now he is talking about how they are to deal with the people who occupy the promised land at that time. And remember, this is a holy, righteous, just, and fair God that is speaking. Deuteronomy chapter 20, verse 17, where God says, Thou shalt utterly destroy them, namely, and here they come now, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, as the Lord thy Go…
Deuteronomy 28:63: And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess.
This is the core verse of the question, showing the reversal of God's rejoicing from blessing to destruction.
Deuteronomy 28:64: And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
This verse completes the answer by describing the scattering of Israel among all nations.
Deuteronomy 28:15: But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
This verse states the condition that triggers the curses, which Les points to as the reason for the catastrophes.
Deuteronomy 28:37: And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
Les says this curse is exactly what the Jew experiences in almost every nation on earth.
Deuteronomy 28:65: And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
This verse describes the restless, fearful condition of Israel among the nations where they were scattered.
Deuteronomy 28:66: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
This verse continues the description of Israel's life hanging in doubt, as Les reads in the surrounding curses.
2 Samuel 7:14: I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
Les reads this to show that God would use other nations to chasten Israel.
2 Samuel 7:15: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
Les emphasizes the word "But" here to show that God's mercy would not depart from Israel even in discipline.
The main message is that God's blessing and cursing of Israel were two sides of the same conditional covenant. The LORD who rejoiced over Israel to do them good and multiply them would, if they were disobedient, rejoice to destroy them, bring them to nought, and scatter them among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other.
Moses spoke these words to the nation before they entered the Promised Land. Les Feldick pictures Israel on the plains of Moab in one study (Clip 0) and still in the land of Sinai in another (Clip 1), but his point in both is that they had not yet come in to possess the land.
Because the blessings of the covenant were conditioned on obedience. Deuteronomy 28:15 states that if Israel would not hearken to the voice of the LORD, all the curses would come upon them. Les adds that Israel had turned their back on Jehovah and rejected His love and mercy (Clip 2).
Les teaches that the curse of becoming an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword is exactly what the Jew has experienced in almost every nation on earth (Clip 2). He connects the catastrophes of the chapter to Israel's failure to hearken, citing Deuteronomy 28:15 (Clip 4).
Yes. Les highlights the word "But" that opens the promise that God's mercy shall not depart from Israel even when He chastens them with the rod of men (Clip 3). He also teaches that Israel is still at the center of God's dealings with the human race, anticipating the time of Jacob's trouble (Clip 5).
Watch the Teaching: Why Moses Was Forbidden From the Promised Land — The Real Reason