See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.
Deuteronomy 27:12-26
When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
“Cursed is anyone who makes an idol—a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.”
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
(vv16-26 continues with the Levites' pronouncement of the curses including many of the expanded versions of the Ten Commandments)
Now imagine this: when the Israelites (numbered likely over 2 millions) crossed the Jordan, they are to celebrate by dividing up into two groups by their tribes of origin (apparently there has not been any academic consensus as to how the division was made). One group will pronounce blessings on Mount Gerizim) and the other will pronounce curses on Mount Ebal.
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| Mount Gerizim |
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| Mount Ebal |
The blessings or the curses are directly tied to obedience or disobedience to God's laws. I wonder what it must have been like to stand on one of these mountains - to say "Amen!" following each of the Levite's blessings or listening to the echoes of "Amen's" coming from across the valley following the pronouncement of the curses. It must make a deep impression on me the solemnity of the moment, and the presence of God's "holiness" (Bible.org has a very good explanation on the Holiness of God).
This celebration is to be done before an impossible task - to fight enemies who are more numerous and stronger than myself, who have built fortresses with walls reaching "the sky" (Deuteronomy 9:1). This calls for a profound change in my attitude when facing such a task:
- The Almighty God is going with me.
- So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Is 41:10)
- God's chosen people are with me.
- And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Mt:16:18)
- God's ultimate purpose for his people is to receive from him the land of his promise, a land rich in blessings, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land where he will dwell among us for eternity.
- But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. (Leviticus 20:24)
- God sets us apart from the nations around us. He does so by putting his holy laws in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Through Christ's death on the cross the curses and the blessings are now only blessings for those who are in Christ.
- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1)
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