Deuteronomy 28:15-32
From now until the end of this long chapter, the LORD lists all the curses which await Israel if they do not listen. Sadly, Scripture, as well as the history of that people, confirms that in fact "they were dull of hearing" and that consequently all those afflictions came upon them. As for us who are under grace, our responsibility is even greater, which is why we are told "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh" (Hebrews 12:25). We would not only be rejecting the words but also the Person who spoke them.
Now if we have remained deaf to the voice of His good Word it becomes necessary for Him to use another language which is far more painful and severe: that of afflictions. As long as we persist in going the way of our own will we will necessarily encounter the will of the Lord against us. Let us learn to discern His will behind the measures used to discipline us. And may the Lord keep us from having to undergo all sorts of troublesome experiences before we understand that we cannot be happy away from Him! The son in the parable teaches us that lesson without our having the need to learn it by following him into "a far country" (Luke 15).