THE ASSEMBLY AT SHECHEM THE COVENANT CURSES DEUTERONOMY 27:1-26

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 THE ASSEMBLY AT SHECHEM THE COVENANT CURSES DEUTERONOMY 27:1-26

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Text: Deuteronomy 27:1-26, THE ASSEMBLY AT SHECHEM THE COVENANT CURSES 1. Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: Pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today. 2. When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster. 3. Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you. 4. So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal these stones about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. 5. Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones do not use an iron tool on them. 6. You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7. Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. 8. You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 9. Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10. You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today. 11. Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: 12. The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13. And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14. The Levites will call out to every Israelite with a loud voice: 15. Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman and sets it up in a secret place. Then all the people will say, Amen! 16. Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother. Then all the people will say, Amen! 17. Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor s boundary marker. Then all the people will say, Amen! 18. Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road. Then all the people will say, Amen! 19. Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. Then all the people will say, Amen! 20. Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his father s former wife, for he dishonors his father. Then all the people will say, Amen! 21. Cursed is the one who commits bestiality. Then all the people will say, Amen!

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 22. Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother. Then all the people will say, Amen! 23. Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law. Then all the people will say, Amen! 24. Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private. Then all the people will say, Amen! 25. Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person. Then all the people will say, Amen! 26. Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law. Then all the people will say, Amen! (NET) Introduction: I. Hamilton noted that Deuteronomy 27 consists of three parts; viz.,... A. an injunction to keep the Torah (verses 1-8),... B. introduction to a brief code (verses 9-14), and... C. the Curses Code (verses 15-26). II. Smith noted that Moses third speech recorded in Deuteronomy is found in chapters 27-30 and consists of (1) covenant renewal, (2) blessings and curses, and (3) the threat of captivity. A. Coffman, Kline and The Pulpit Commentary view Moses Third Address as being found in chapters 27-30.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 III. Hall viewed Deuteronomy 27 as consisting of four sections; viz.,... A. verses 1-8,... B. verses 9-10,... C. verses 11-13, and... D. verses 14-26. Commentary: The Assembly at Shechem Covenant Renewal Deuteronomy 27:1, Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: Pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today. (NET) I. Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people:... A. In this chapter Moses, the elders of Israel and the Levitical priests all stood together to urge Israel to obey God s will, and to remind the people the obedient would be blessed and the disobedient would be cursed. (See Smith.) 1. Deuteronomy 27:9, Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: Be quiet and

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. (NET) 2. Moses would soon die leaving the elders, priests and their successors to carry on as commanded. B. The elders in Israel performed important functions. (See Hall) 1. Deuteronomy 31:9, 28, Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord s covenant, and to all Israel s elders. Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 19:12, The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger to die. (NET) 3. Deuteronomy 21:19-20, his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city. They must declare to the elders of his city, Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say he is a glutton and drunkard. (NET) 4. Deuteronomy 22:15-18, Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity for the elders of the city at

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 the gate. The young woman s father must say to the elders, I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected her. Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, I discovered your daughter was not a virgin, but this is the evidence of my daughter s virginity! The cloth must then be spread out before the city s elders. The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish him. (NET) 5. Deuteronomy 25:7, But if the man does not want to marry his brother s widow, then she must go to the elders at the town gate and say, My husband s brother refuses to preserve his brother s name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me! (NET) 6. Deuteronomy 21:2-6, your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse. Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked that has never pulled with the yoke and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown. There at the wadi they are to break the heifer s neck. Then the Levitical priests will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, and to decide every judicial verdict) and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. (NET) 7. Deuteronomy 29:9-10, Therefore, keep the terms of this covenant and obey them so that you may be successful in everything you do. You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officials, every Israelite man, (NET) II. Pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today. A. The Israelites were to forever, permanently remember to keep the covenant law, not to forget their obligations after entering the Promised Land. 1. Deuteronomy 4:1-2, Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering to you. (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 5:1, Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 3. Deuteronomy 6:1, Now these are the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed (NET) B. Notice the repetitions in this and other chapters which is characteristic of Hebrew literary style. (See Coffman.) C. The Pulpit Commentary states that all the commandments God had given Israel up to this time had to be obeyed. Deuteronomy 27:2, When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster. (NET) I. When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you,... A. God was the giver of the Promised Land, a fact Israel must not forget. B. This ceremony of covenant renewal was to be observed without delay once Israel had crossed over Jordan, not necessarily on the very day Israel crossed Jordan. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) II. you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster. A. Covering these great stones with plaster facilitated the writing of inscriptions.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 1. The Pulpit Commentary states this was an ancient Egyptian custom. B. Smith wrote, Upon entering Canaan, Israel was to prepare for a covenant renewal ceremony. 1. This ceremony was to be conducted on Mount Ebal where this monument was to be erected which would serve as a permanent reminder of Israel s relationship with God. (See Hall.) C. Clarke reminds us that the number of stones to be erected is not stated. 1. Clarke also suggested plaster could be translated cement in view of the permanency of this memorial. Deuteronomy 27:3, Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you. (NET) I. Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over,... A. All the words of this law were to be written on these stones which may appear to be impossible to do, but the entire 284 laws of the Code of Hammurabi were carved on one eight-foot slate. Two pillars of similar size could probably hold the entire book of Deuteronomy.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 11 1. Also, if we do not know how many stones there were, who can say all the laws could not have written on them. 2. The Pulpit Commentary states the law, Torah, contains 613 laws. B. Then refers to the time, not a solar day of twenty-four hours. The nation had to cross Jordan, Jericho and Ai had to be captured, a firm area had to be secured free from imminent attack. Then this ceremony could be performed without fear as distractions. II. so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you. A. Israel s entering Canaan, defeating their enemies and their remaining there were dependent on their keeping all the words of the law, walking in the paths of righteousness. Deuteronomy 27:4, So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal these stones about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster. (NET) I. So when you cross the Jordan you must erect on Mount Ebal these stones about which I am commanding you today, and you must cover them with plaster.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 12 A. Mount Ebal was a mountain north of Shechem and opposite of Mount Gerizim. (Deuteronomy 11:29, When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (NET)) At a later time, Joshua and the other leaders of the Israelites did all the things commanded in Deuteronomy 27:1-8. (Joshua 8:30-35, Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, just as Moses the Lord s servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool. They offered burnt sacrifices on it and sacrificed tokens of peace. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses. All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony. Then Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them. (NET)) When Joshua read the blessings of the law, the people on Mount Gerizim responded with an Amen ; when he read the curses, the

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 13 people on Mount Ebal responded with an Amen. Hence, Mount Ebal became known as the Mount of Cursing. The tops of the two mountains are about two (2) miles from each other. (Nelson s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) 1. The stones were to be set up on Mount Ebal. (The Pulpit Commentary) a. Deuteronomy 11:29, When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (NET) B. Hall wrote that Mount Ebal was northwest of the plains of Moab where Moses was delivering the law. C. Between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim was a natural amphitheater in which a vast audience would be able to hear distinctly what was said by a favorably located speaker. These mountains were forty miles north of Jerusalem and twenty miles west of Jordan. Ebal was on the north and Gerizim on the south; and the principal trade route of that era went between the mountains. Ebal was 3,075 above sea level while Gerizim was 2,850 feet above sea level. (See Coffman, Kline, and Cook.) D. Coffman further noted that Mount Ebal was located near the north end of the city of Shechem, an important city in the history of the patriarchs Abraham, Jacob and Joseph.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 14 1. Genesis 37:12-14, When his brothers had gone to graze their father s flocks near Shechem, Israel said to Joseph, Your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them. I m ready, Joseph replied. So Jacob said to him, Go now and check on the welfare of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word. So Jacob sent him from the valley of Hebron. (NET) 2. Genesis 33:18-20, After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near the city. Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it from the sons of Hamor, Shechem s father, for a hundred pieces of money. There he set up an altar and called it The God of Israel is God. (NET) 3. Joshua 24:32, The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. (NET) E. Clarke wrote, On all hands it is allowed that Gerizim abounds with springs, gardens, and orchards, and that it is covered with a beautiful verdure, while Ebal is as naked as a rock. On this very account the former was highly proper for

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 15 the ceremony of blessing, and the latter for the ceremony of cursing. Deuteronomy 27:5, Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones do not use an iron tool on them. (NET) I. Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones do not use an iron tool on them. A. The altar was to be built in keeping with the Law of Moses regarding altar construction. 1. Exodus 20:22, 25, The Lord said to Moses: Thus you will tell the Israelites: You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it of stones shaped with tools, for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it. (NET) B. The Pulpit Commentary reads, Besides the monumental stones, an altar of whole stones, on which no tool had passed was to be erected, and burnt offerings and peace offerings were to be presented as at the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, followed by the statutory festive entertainment. 1. Exodus 34:5, The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 16 Deuteronomy 27:6, You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. (NET) I. You must build the altar of the Lord your God with whole stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. A. Both burnt offerings and fellowship offerings were to be made on the altar on Mount Ebal. (See Hall.) 1. Exodus 24:5, He sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings to the Lord. (NET) 2. Exodus 32:6, So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play. (NET) 3. Joshua 22:27, but as a reminder to us and you, and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, You have no right to worship the Lord. (NET) 4. Judges 20:26, So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the Lord. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 17 5. 1 Samuel 10:8, You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days, until I arrive and tell you what to do. (NET) 6. 2 Samuel 6:17-18, They brought the ark of the Lord and put it in its place in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord. When David finished offering the burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. (NET) 7. 2 Samuel 24:25, Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel. (NET) 8. 1 Kings 3:15, Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants. (NET) B. Hall observed burnt offerings were totally consumed by fire on the altar. Everything went up to God in smoke and emphasized the vertical aspect of worship.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 18 1. Leviticus 1:3-17, If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent for its acceptance before the Lord. He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. Then the one presenting the offering must slaughter the bull before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, must present the blood and splash the blood against the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Next, the one presenting the offering must skin the burnt offering and cut it into parts, and the sons of Aaron, the priest, must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then the sons of Aaron, the priests, must arrange the parts with the head and the suet on the wood that is in the fire on the altar. Finally, the one presenting the offering must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. If his offering is from the flock for a burnt offering from the sheep or the goats he must present a flawless male, and must slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, will splash its blood against the altar s sides. Next, the one presenting the offering must cut it into parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest must arrange them on the

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 19 wood which is in the fire, on the altar. Then the one presenting the offering must wash the entrails and the legs in water, and the priest must present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering from the birds, he must present his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons. The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off its head and offer the head up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar. Then the priest must remove its entrails by cutting off its tail feathers, and throw them to the east side of the altar into the place of fatty ashes, and tear it open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. Finally, the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is in the fire it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. (NET) Deuteronomy 27:7, Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. (NET) I. Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. A. Hall further wrote, However, only the fat and entrails of the fellowship offering were burned. The rest was to be eaten by the worshipers. The worshipers were in fellowship with both God and each other.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 20 B. Hall also noted that fellowship lost by sin could be restored by repentance. Deuteronomy 27:8, You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear. (NET) I. You must inscribe on the stones all the words of this law, making them clear. A. Not only were all the words of the law to be written on the stones, they were all to be written clearly, plainly. 1. God s law then and now was to be read by all and obeyed by all. 2. God s law, what is required of us, is understandable. 3. Understanding God s will is not the problem. Obeying God s commands is the problem. a. Deuteronomy 1:5, So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words: (NET) b. Deuteronomy 27:1, 10, Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: Pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today. You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 21 c. 2 Corinthians 3:7, 9, But if the ministry that produced death carved in letters on stone tablets came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! (NET) d. Galatians 3:10, For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law. (NET) 4. The Law of the Lord was to be known by all the people, written here on huge stones for all to read. a. Habakkuk 2:2, The Lord responded: Write down this message! Record it legibly on tablets, so the one who announces it may read it easily. (NET) Deuteronomy 27:9, Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. (NET) I. Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel:...

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 22 A. Moses and Levitical priests joined together to urge all Israel to obey all God s commandments and to walk in the Lord s way of righteousness. 1. Joshua 8:33, All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony. (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 31:9-13, Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord s covenant, and to all Israel s elders. He commanded them: At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts, at the Feast of Temporary Shelters, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses, you must read this law before them within their hearing. Gather the people men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law. Then their children, who have not known this law, will also hear about and learn to fear the Lord your God

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 23 for as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. (NET) 3. Deuteronomy 27:12, The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. (NET) B. By the Israelites dedicating themselves to revere and obey God, the land and people became the nation and people of God. (The Pulpit Commentary) 1. Deuteronomy 26:17-18, Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him. And today the Lord has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may keep all his commandments. (NET) 2. Micah 4:5, Though all the nations follow their respective gods, we will follow the Lord our God forever. (NET) II. Be quiet and pay attention, Israel. Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. A. When God s word is to be read and taught, we are duty bound to concentrate on what is being said, be quiet and pay close attention.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 24 1. Habakkuk 2:20, But the Lord is in his majestic palace. The whole earth is speechless in his presence! (NET) 2. Zephaniah 1:7, Be silent before the Lord God, for the Lord s day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests. (NET) 3. Zechariah 2:13, Be silent in the Lord s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place. (NET) B. At Sinai Israel dedicated themselves to obey the Lord their God and became thereby the people of God. (See Hall.) 1. Exodus 24:3, 7, Moses came and told the people all the Lord s words and all the decisions. All the people answered together, We are willing to do all the words that the Lord has said, He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people, and they said, We are willing to do and obey all that the Lord has spoken. (NET) 2. In the wilderness wanderings the people had all too often departed from the Lord. 3. It was past time for the Israelites to again rededicate themselves to the Lord and to be restored to their position as the people of the Lord.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 25 C. This refers to the time of the assembly on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. The thing that made Israel God s people was their dedication to live by, obey the laws of the Lord. D. In our noisy and all too busy world there is most definitely a great need to be quiet and pay attention to God. 1. Nehemiah 8:11, Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve. (NET) 2. Zephaniah 1:7, Be silent before the Lord God, for the Lord s day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests. (NET) 3. Zechariah 2:13, Be silent in the Lord s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place. (NET) 4. Habakkuk 2:20, But the Lord is in his majestic palace. The whole earth is speechless in his presence! (NET) Deuteronomy 27:10, You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today. (NET) I. You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 26 A. Hall emphasized that this was not a rash pledge lightly made, but a serious commitment to abide fully by the will of the Lord all their lives and to teach the will of God to their children generation after generation in perpetuity. B. The parties to this covenant were in no way equal. God commanded and Israel was to obey. Deuteronomy 27:11, Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day: (NET) I. Moreover, Moses commanded the people that day:... A. Moses then turned attention to the particulars of the covenant renewable ceremony. 1. Moses was careful of the overall picture and of details involved in achieving the long term goals/objectives. Deuteronomy 27:12, The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. (NET) I. The following tribes must stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 27 A. In the ceremony, the tribes listed here were to stand on Mount Gerizim and proclaim the blessings announced by Moses. 1. Joshua 8:33, All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony. (NET) B. Hall observed that the tribes were arranged in relation to their ancestral parentage. 1. Tribes listed above in verse 12 descended from the two wives of Jacob, Leah and Rachel. 2. The sons of Jacob s wives were to stand on the mount of blessings. C. The blessings would be the opposites of the curses and would represent all the blessings contained in the Torah, the Law of Moses. D. Israel was to proclaim upon the land the blessing and the curse of the law. For this purpose six tribes were to station themselves on Mount Gerizim, and six on Mount Ebal, the former to pronounce the blessings and the latter

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 28 the curses. The six tribes by whom the blessings were to be pronounced were sons of Jacob s wives, Leah and Rachel. The tribes by whom the curse was to be uttered descended from Bilhah, Rachel s handmaid, and Zikpah, Leah s handmaid. Zebulun and Reuben descended from Leah. Zebulun and Reuben may have been placed in the group assigned to pronounce the curses because Reuben had grievously sinned and had thereby forfeited his birthright, and Zebulun was the youngest of Leah s sons, chosen to equalize the number of tribes on each mountain. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 1. Genesis 49:4, You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father s bed, then you defiled it he got on my couch! (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 11:29, When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (NET) Deuteronomy 27:13, And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (NET) I. And these other tribes must stand for the curse on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. A. Hamilton wrote that Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim were, at their closest, within 1,700 feet of each other.

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 29 B. In the ceremony, the tribes listed here were to stand on Mount Ebal and proclaim the curses announced by Moses. C. The tribes mentioned above were descended from Jacob s concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah with the exceptions of Reuben and Zebulun, sons of Jacob s wife, Leah. 1. Reuben lost his right of primogeniture because of his sinfulness. 2. Zebulun, the youngest son of Leah, rounded out the six tribes on each Mount, Ebal and Gerizim. 3. The sons of the concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah, were to stand on the mount of curses along with disgraced Reuben and the youngest son of Leah, Zebulun. a. Genesis 49:3-4, Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power. You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father s bed, then you defiled it he got on my couch! (NET) b. Genesis 35:22, While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father s concubine, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 30 D. The blessings and curses were against individuals who broke God s laws, not against tribes, Coffman advised. The Covenant Curses Deuteronomy 27:14, The Levites will call out to every Israelite with a loud voice: (NET) I. The Levites will call out to every Israelite with a loud voice:... A. Smith wrote, The Levites were to stand in the valley between the two mounts and loudly recite twelve terse curses. The people... were to respond with a hearty Amen. 1. There were twelve curses which corresponded in number with the twelve tribes. (See Hall.) B. Blessings and curses were included in other similar ceremonies, but only curses are mentioned here which gave a negative tone to the ceremony. (See Hall.) 1. Deuteronomy 28:3-6, 16-19, You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. Your children will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field. Your basket

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 31 and your mixing bowl will be cursed. Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. (NET) 2. Joshua 8:34, Then Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. (NET) 3. Deuteronomy 29:19-28, When such a person hears the words of this oath he secretly blesses himself and says, I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit. This will destroy the watered ground with the parched. The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger will rage against that man; all the curses written in this scroll will fall upon him and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory. The Lord will single him out for judgment from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law. The generation to come your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places will see the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it. The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 32 Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. Then all the nations will ask, Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger all about? Then people will say, Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship. That is why the Lord s anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the curses written in this scroll. So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today. (NET) 4. Deuteronomy 30:1, 4, When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses I have set before you, you will reflect upon them in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. (NET) 5. Deuteronomy 31:16-21, Then the Lord said to Moses, You are about to die, and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they are going. They will reject me and break my covenant that I have made with them. At that

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 33 time my anger will erupt against them and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome them so that they will say at that time, Have not these disasters overcome us because our God is not among us? But I will certainly hide myself at that time because of all the wickedness they will have done by turning to other gods. Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites! For after I have brought them to the land I promised to their ancestors one flowing with milk and honey and they eat their fill and become fat, then they will turn to other gods and worship them; they will reject me and break my covenant. Then when many disasters and distresses overcome them this song will testify against them, for their descendants will not forget it. I know the intentions they have in mind today, even before I bring them to the land I have promised. (NET) C. Hall wrote, Unfortunately Israel s later history demonstrated that this pessimism was well founded. D. Those presiding were to speak plainly, call out with a loud voice, to recite in a high-pitched voice so all could better hear. (See Coffman.)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 34 E. Of interest is the fact that curses were enunciated in this ceremony. 1. The people had entered Canaan and were enjoying blessings at the time of this ceremony. 2. They desperately needed to be impressed with the dangers and costs of disobedience to God. F. These private sins remind us that God sees all things, even those in the secret places of the heart. (See Watts via Coffman.) G. The person or persons who break these laws will indeed be cursed, under the wrath and indignation of God, their Maker and Judge. (See Clarke.) 1. These curses are strongly reflexive of the decalogue. H. The Levites, those who belonged to the priesthood and bore the ark of the covenant, stood in some convenient spot midway between the two mountains and pronounced with a loud voice the blessing and the curses, so that all might hear, and the people were to give their assent by a resounding series of Amens! (The Pulpit Commentary) 1. Joshua 8:33, All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 35 Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony. (NET) 2. The curses and blessings were declared in unison by six tribes with the Levites speaking their lines in unison. Spoken in loud voices in unison, the sound must have been understandable at substantial distances. Also the natural amphitheater between the mountains assisted in amplification. Another example of such an amphitheater is Red Rocks near Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., (See The Pulpit Commentary.) NOTE: Each Of these curses begins with, Cursed is the one... This speaks to the individual nature of the commission of each of these sins. The sins involved people who may not have been in a position to seek redress of their grievance. The sins were ultimately made against God. Even if the crimes were done in secret, God would still know it and call the criminal to account. (See Hall.) Deuteronomy 27:15, Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman and sets it up in a secret place. Then all the people will say, Amen! (NET) I. Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman and sets it up in a secret place. Then all the people will say, Amen!

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 36 A. Idolatry was totally forbidden. (See Hamilton.) 1. Exodus 20:4-6, You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 5:8-10, You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath. You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me, but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments. (NET) 3. Leviticus 26:1, You must not make for yourselves idols, so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before it, for I am the Lord your God. (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 37 B. Public idolatry committed by groups or large assemblies had been repeatedly forbidden. The idolatry here appears to be idolatry committed by individuals privately. 1. Deuteronomy 4:16, 23, 25, I say this so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female, Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he has forbidden you. After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 7:1-6, 25-26, When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy! You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 38 and he will quickly destroy you. Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth. You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath along with it. You must absolutely detest and abhor it, for it is an object of divine wrath. (NET) 3. Deuteronomy 12:2-3, You must by all means destroy all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, burn up their sacred Asherah poles, and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place. (NET) 4. Deuteronomy 5:8-10, You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath. You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons,

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 39 grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me, but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments. (NET) 5. Exodus 20:23, You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves. (NET) 6. Exodus 34:17, You must not make yourselves molten gods. (NET) 7. Leviticus 19:4, Do not turn to idols, and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal. I am the Lord your God. (NET) 8. Leviticus 26:1, You must not make for yourselves idols, so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before it, for I am the Lord your God. (NET) C. These twelve curses represent all the laws of God in their entirety just as the twelve tribes of Israel represent all the tribes. D. The number of the curses was twelve likely corresponding to the twelve tribes. Blessings were not mentioned here, but they were pronounced as stated in Joshua 8:34, Then Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 40 the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. (NET) perhaps alternately. Deuteronomy 27:16, Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother. Then all the people will say, Amen! (NET) I. Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother. Then all the people will say, Amen! A. Parents are to be honored. (See Hamilton.) 1. Exodus 20:12, Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you. (NET) 2. Deuteronomy 5:16, Honor your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you. (NET) 3. Deuteronomy 21:18-21, If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail, his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city. They must declare to the elders of his city, Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say he is a glutton and drunkard. Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 41 out wickedness from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid. (NET) 4. Exodus 21:17, Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully must surely be put to death. (NET) 5. Leviticus 20:9, If anyone curses his father and mother he must be put to death. He has cursed his father and mother; his blood guilt is on himself. (NET) Deuteronomy 27:17, Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor s boundary marker. Then all the people will say, Amen! (NET) I. Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor s boundary marker. Then all the people will say, Amen! A. Boundary markers were not to be moved. (See Hamilton.) 1. Deuteronomy 19:14, You must not encroach on your neighbor s property, which will have been defined in the inheritance you will obtain in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (NET) 2. Proverbs 23:10, Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless, (NET)

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 42 3. Leviticus 25:23, The land must not be sold without reclaim because the land belongs to me, for you are foreigners and residents with me. (NET) 4. Deuteronomy 5:19, You must not steal. (NET) 5. Hosea 5:10, The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers. I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood! (NET) 6. Proverbs 22:28, Do not move an ancient boundary stone which was put in place by your ancestors. (NET) 7. Proverbs 23:10, Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless, (NET) 8. 1 Kings 21:1-29, After this the following episode took place. Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will pay you silver for it. But Naboth replied to Ahab, The Lord forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance. So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, I will not sell to you my