Okay, we're in Deuteronomy chapter 27. Deuteronomy chapter 27. I'll just read beginning in verse 1. Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you today.
And it shall be on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with wine. And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones.
You shall not use an iron tool on them. You shall build with whole stones the altar of the Lord your God and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. You shall offer peace offerings and shall eat there and rejoice before the Lord your God. And
The Law Written Plainly on Stone
you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law. Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, Take heed and listen, O Israel. This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. Therefore, you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God and observe his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.
And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people when you have crossed over the Jordan. Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levite shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel, cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsmen, and sets it up in secret.
And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor's landmark.
And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is the one who lies with his father's wife because he has uncovered his father's bed, and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal, and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother, and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law, and all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly, and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person, and all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Well,
Introduction: Covenant Structure
as we have had cause to reflect on the book of Deuteronomy, it is structured as a covenantal document. It begins with a preamble in chapter 1, verses 1 to 4. Then there is a historical prologue, which goes from chapter 1, verse 5, to chapter 4, verse 43. And then from 444 all the way to 2619 is the stipulation section, or the law section.
We have concluded that portion. And we move in now to the sanctions section, 27.1 to 30.20. And basically how the sanctions function in a covenant is simply this. There are blessings for obedience and there are cursings for disobedience.
The covenant, Lord, gives the law, gives the stipulations with his people, and this is appended. If they do what he calls them to do, they will prosper in the land. If they disobey his word, if they transgress his law, then they will be cursed. And then the fifth section in this covenantal document is 31.1 to 34.12, and that is succession, the passing of the baton from Moses to Joshua, he would then be the one that would lead them into the promised land.
Built into a covenant is the idea of succession, that it continues on to posterity. Harmon says, with reference to chapter 27 by way of introduction, he says, a new section of the book commences at this point. The stipulations having been set out in detail, the closing verses of the previous chapter have provided a transition from exposition of the law to allegiance to the Lord. Remember, we saw that last week in 26. 16 to 19, covenant commitment, the people of God swearing their allegiance to this particular word.
And that's precisely what we find here in 27. We see covenant renewal and the proclamation of curses. But notice chapter 27 deals with a future event. It deals with the time when they come into the land of Canaan.
So what we find in chapter 27 is a statement concerning what is necessary when they do cross the Jordan and arrive in the land of Canaan. Chapter 28 is a general statement concerning the blessings and the cursings. They're amplified, and they're explained, and it's demonstrated just what is involved in these blessings and cursings. And then in chapter 29, there is a ratification ceremony that takes place in their present.
In other words, it takes place on the plains of Moab. So if you read through this section, it's not strictly repetitious, but rather we're seeing different events. 27 is what's going to happen when they get to the Promised Land, when they get to Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, and 28, general statement concerning the blessings and the curses, and then 29 deals with their situation there on the plains of Moab.
Overview of Two Sections
So we're going to look at two broad categories this evening. First, the future covenant renewal in Canaan in verses 1 to 10. And then secondly, the proclamation of curses associated with covenant breaking in verses 11 to 26. This was the way that you ratified the covenant.
You swore, or there was this self-maledictory oath. You see that pattern. A statement is made and then all of the people shall answer and say, Amen. Essentially what they are doing is swearing their faithfulness or swearing their fidelity or allegiance to the covenant Lord and to the word that has been revealed.
But more on that when we get there. But
Future Covenant Renewal in Canaan
notice first of all with reference to this future covenant renewal, the command. Verse 1, now Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying." Now, this is interesting, because up to this point, all we've seen is Moses. I believe what Moses is doing or what the narrative is doing is preparing us for that idea of succession. But as well, Moses knows that he will not be in the promised land. he has been shown that he will die before they enter into the promised land.
So these elders that are with him more than likely will be those ones who actually participate in this ceremony that is at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. So they are present, this is continuity. Notice the specific direction in verse 1, keep all the commandments which I command you today. and that deals with what is to follow here in this particular chapter. It deals with this ceremony, this covenant ratification or covenant renewal ceremony in verses 2 through 8.
The Ceremony: Stones, Altar, and Sacrifice
We notice first the ceremony proper. the occasion when they enter into on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you it's further described again in verse three is a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you so that's the occasion when you cross over to the land you will go to Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim in between these two mountains is a place called Shechem If you're familiar with biblical archaeology, Shechem is a unique place. Shechem is in Genesis 12, 6 and 7 where Abraham erected an altar and worshipped the Lord. Shechem as well is where Jacob erected an altar and worshipped the Lord in Genesis 33. It is where Joseph, or the bones of Joseph, are buried, according to Joshua chapter 24.
So Shechem is a key place. It is something of the place of promise, and so these mountains on either side of Shechem serve well to be the place of blessing and the place of cursing. Notice with reference to this ceremony proper, there are these stones indicated in verses 2 and 3, and then again in verse 8. and it shall be on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you that you shall set up for yourselves large stones and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you." And then there is another statement in verse 8, you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.
And the commentators say that this has affinity with the Egyptians. Mesopotamians would have carved in the stone. The Egyptians would write on the stone. So this is what Israel is doing.
Meredith Klein explains it this way. Covenant, consecration. That means devoting ourselves to the Lord must be an act of intelligent, informed faith and devotion. In other words, these stones were the place where you'd write the law of God As a reminder of who God is and what his word involves, it would as well function as a silent witness to the reality that we've entered into this, but it wasn't supposed to be this esoteric or unintelligible act.
You were supposed to know, and it was supposed to be communicated clearly, what the law of God says. And there is something Consistent with this in New Covenant religion, we've had cause to refer to Romans 12 before in this vein or in this sort of an analogous situation. Romans 12, 1, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." So biblical religion in both the Old and the New Testaments indicate that we are to know, we are to understand, we are to have theology, that then fuels our obedience and also our worship to the true and living God.
And that is what was to be envisioned when they go into this land of Canaan. Take these stones and write the law of God on there. They are living testimonies or emblems or representations of God's law to you as a people. So the occasion when they enter the land, the stones, and then notice the altar.
They were to construct an altar for sacrifice according to verses 5 and 6. And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You shall not use an iron tool on them. This is similar to what we find in Exodus 20.
Not supposed to use an iron tool. Why was the iron tool condemned? The best I could learn from the commentaries is that they would have had to get iron from pagan peoples and God didn't want them to have to be dependent upon them. So that's kind of a couple of things I saw in the commentaries.
I don't know if there's a... you know, a bad thing about iron. God just says here, He specifies that you're not to use an iron tool on this particular altar. But you shall build, rather, verse 6, with whole stones, the altar of the Lord your God. So you've got these stones in place, you've got an altar, and then you are to present sacrifice.
We saw this last week. They come into the land, this offering of first fruits, this triennial tie that was to be a worshipful thing toward the living God. And the same thing is true with this particular ratification ceremony. It was an act of public worship.
So they see these stones, they construct this altar, and then they offer up a burnt offering. And the burnt offering indicates consecration to the Lord. It has more of a vertical, between us and God, sort of a referent. And then there is a peace offering, which indicates that sort of communal element.
So we've got both the vertical and the horizontal in place, with reference to these sacrifices before the Lord. Verse 7 says, you shall offer peace offerings and shall eat there. Go back for just a moment to Exodus 24 11. This is another ratification ceremony.
In Exodus chapter 24, just after the Sinai event, just after the giving of the law at Sinai and then the exposition of the law in chapters 21 to 23, we then have ratification in chapter 24. And if you notice there in verse 11, but on the nobles of the children of Israel he did not lay his hands. So they saw God and they ate and drank. This is the sign of communion in the presence of the Lord.
Eating and drinking is a sign of fellowship, it's a sign of intimacy, and the same thing is to be conducted when they go into the land. In addition to this burnt offering and this peace offering, they were to eat there. It was a celebratory meal, it was a time of worship, an act of worship, wherein they would then rejoice before the Lord your God." This is what Moses specifies in Deuteronomy 27.7. You shall offer peace offerings and shall eat there and rejoice before the Lord your God.
And then the law, as I already mentioned, or the writing of the law on the stones, was to function as a means of proclamation. It was a reminder. It was a constant visual element of their status before the living and the true God. As well, it would serve as a witness of the binding covenant that they engaged in with the Lord.
Again, Harmon says, writing the law in this way would both be a symbolic demonstration of its binding nature on the covenant people and also a reminder of its character as a witness against them if they were disobedient. So those stones would certainly be a thing or a means by which God would indict the people if they were to transgress his holy covenant. And then with reference to this whole idea of these stones, it would demonstrate the permanence of the law over the covenant community. They were not a people governed by their emotions.
They were not a people governed by their feelings. They were a people, rather, governed by the law of the living and true God. And then as well, what we find with reference to the law published on these stones is that it would be clearly communicated. Notice in verse 8, and you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law." The verb is used again by Moses in chapter 1 verse 5.
On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law saying, So you see there, God wants us to understand His Word. God wants us to be clear concerning His truth. God wants us to know in order that we may be instructed to obey, to love, to serve, and to respond to Him in an appropriate manner. You shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.
And then
Fulfillment in Joshua 8
if you want, you can turn to Joshua chapter 8 for just a moment to see fulfillment. to see when this actually took place in redemptive history. Of course Moses is gone, elders would be there, Joshua would be there. It's in Joshua chapter 8 beginning in verse 30. Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.
And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. And there in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded before that they should bless the people of Israel.
And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them." You see, they took seriously that requirement of Deuteronomy 27. They didn't go into the land and forget. So we can praise God they were obedient that they did, in fact, carry out this particular procedure.
And
Covenantal Status Affirmed
the significance of this event is found in verses 9 and 10 of Deuteronomy 27. It was to affirm their covenantal status before the Lord and to declare their loyalty before the Lord. Remember, a covenant is a sworn oath. God obviously initiates it, but on the part of the people, we are swearing allegiance to the Covenant Lord.
Verse 9, Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, Take heed and listen, O Israel. This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. Now they were the people of the Lord their God. since they had been brought out of the land of Egypt. The idea again is renewal.
It is an affirmation of who we are before this Covenant Lord. And then in verse 10 there is this declaration, Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes, which I command you today." So that would be the future covenant renewal in Canaan, verses 1 to 10.
Proclamation of Curses
Now notice the proclamation of the curses associated with covenant breaking in 11 to 26. And
Maledictory Oath in Genesis 15
I think there's something analogous to this in Genesis 15. Remember when God comes to covenant with Abraham. And he makes, let's just go back there for a moment, I don't want to do it by memory. Notice my memory's not as good as it was a few months ago.
Hit 46 and the memory starts to go already. Yeah, that's what I hear, I'm scared. Okay, notice in Genesis chapter 15. Remember the scene, the Lord God makes a promise to Abraham, verse 6, he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness.
Then he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it? Abraham asks this question, God, how shall I know? In other words, give me a sign, Lord, help me to lay hold of something.
I understand, I believe you. It's already said in verse 6, he believed in the Lord, he accounted it to him for righteousness. And then Abram asks this question, how shall I know that I will inherit it? Notice the condescension of God.
God doesn't say, how dare you question me? You wretch, you horrible specimen of a human being, Abram. No, Abram asked the question, and then God, in his voluntary condescension, goes to this length to demonstrate to him that, in fact, Abram would inherit this land. Verse 9, So he said to him, Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.
Then he brought all these to him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other. But he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. The significance of this ceremony was simply this.
You caught the animals, you put them in two, and then the parties to the covenant marched between those sections of animal, with the implication being that if either of the parties were not faithful to the covenant, then may what happened to those animals happen to that party. It's a malediction. We know the word benediction. Benediction is a good word.
It's when the pastor at the end of a service pronounces the benediction or the good word. Malediction is a bad word. And bad word, not like, you know, the bad words you were told as a kid not to say. Malediction means when we call down the curse of God upon ourselves.
That's what's going on in this covenant ceremony with Abram and God Most High. Well, as we move through the narrative, what is beautiful is that it's only God Most High that moves through the pieces. And it's only God Most High who is saying that if what I've promised does not happen in terms of this covenantal arrangement, then may what happened to these animals happen to me. And interestingly enough, when we get to the New Testament, it's the Lord Jesus who takes our place as the covenant head and mediator, so he becomes recipient. of the curse of God Most High.
So what happens to those animals actually does happen to the Lord Jesus. He is cut off, not because of His unfaithfulness, but because of the imputed unfaithfulness of us put on Him. But the point is there is malediction in this particular passage. That's what's going on at Ebal.
We're not given all the blessings until the next chapter, and again, that's more of an amplification, an explanation of what the blessings and the curses involve. In this ratification ceremony, the curse is pronounced and the people who hear it say, all the people shall answer and say Amen. You see what's happening. They're calling down the wrath and curse of God upon them if they do not operate in obedience to the covenant law.
That's the significance of the ceremony. So notice the setting, verses 11 to 14. We've already mentioned, Gerazim is blessing, Ebal is cursing. You've got the sons of Jacob who stand on these respective mountains.
On Gerasim you've got Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin, and on Ebal you've got Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. I went to Klein to ask the question, why do some on the blessing side and why some on the cursing side? I don't think we're supposed to get the idea that, you know, these are especially blessed and these are especially cursed. Had to be a division somehow.
He said this, six tribes descending from Jacob's wives, Leah and Rachel, were to stand on the slopes of the Mount of Blessing, and two of similar descent. The tribe of Reuben, who forfeited the birthright by the sin of incest, and the tribe of Zebulun, Leah's youngest son, were to join the four tribes descending from the handmaids on the Mount of Cursing." So you've got Rachel and Leah's sons on the one side, and then the sons of the handmaid, except for Reuben and Zebulun. and Reuben and who else is it, Zebulun, on the other side. So you've got the 12 tribes of Israel represented in these particular men, already indicated what's important here about the mountains in terms of their relationship to Shechem. And then this oath-taking ceremony, verse 14, the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel, So again, this is a solemn assembly.
This is a big to-do. This is the formal ratification and renewal of this ceremony wherein God has promised to be their Lord, and they have promised to be his subjects. So the people would hear the curse pronounced and respond with an amen. Now, when we move through this passage, I hope you appreciate what we have in the New Covenant.
I mean, when you read through this, it's heavy duty. It's heavy duty stuff. Now, when we approach these 12 curses, the 12 curses probably correspond to the 12 tribes of Israel. And if we look for a specific pattern, it's hard to find one particularly.
We do see the First and the Second Commandments represented. We see the Fifth Commandment represented. We see the Ninth Commandment, the Seventh Commandment, and the Sixth Commandment. Harmon says, there were 12 curses, and the sins were chosen to reflect God's total demands on the people.
All the curses relate to sins that are condemned elsewhere under the Mosaic law. So all these 12 pronouncements, curse it is the one, and then all of the people say amen. They're things you find in the remainder of God's law that have already been prohibited. But if you notice something interesting, verse 15, it says, Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsmen, and sets it up, notice, in secret.
He does this in secret. He's not engaged in a public act of apostasy. And then drop down to verse 24 for just a moment. Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.
And then if you notice, many of the other sins are sins or crimes that would be done in secret. Generally, sexual sin, infidelity, is done in secret. Men don't normally engage in incest on the corner. Men certainly don't engage in bestiality in people's backyards.
They probably seek out a place for privacy. So it might be the fact, or the implication might be that those things that are secret, those things that are unknown to the rank and file of Israel, are certainly seen by the living and true God. The idea might be that those stones, with the law of God, not only regulate external conduct in the society, but the law of God speaks to the heart of man. The law of God penetrates to the private place.
The law of God affects every area of life. In fact, Christopher Wright says the list speaks primarily of offenses that have an air of secrecy, either exquisitely, we've seen that in verses 15 to 24, or in the obvious nature of the offense. By their nature, therefore, they're not likely to come into open court for trial and judgment. The purpose of the curses, therefore, is to remind Israel that Yahweh sees and knows what happens in secret.
So it's not just these stones. And so when we get to the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, and Jesus says, you have heard that it was said, but I say to you, Jesus is not correcting Moses because Moses always spoke to the internality of God's law. The law of God always penetrated beyond external society to the heart of man. When Jesus says, you have heard that it was said, but I say to you, he's correcting the Pharisees.
He's correcting the scribes. He is correcting those who made the law of God only pertain to that which was external. We see in our study here the law of God always pertain to not only the external, but the internal as well. Wright goes on to say the criminal who escapes the wrath of the civil community will not escape the wrath of God.
And that's probably the significance of these 12 crimes or these 12 sins that are indicated here. So yeah, in a sense, they're comprehensive and representative of the breach of the entirety of God's law, but they do speak to those inward things, those internal risings up of the heart that God the Lord most certainly sees. And so what we have, I think, are six categories, six specific categories, violations of laws with respect first to God himself. Notice the pattern as well.
There is a conspicuous theological pattern that we find in the scripture. If our relationship with God is messed up, then everything else is messed up from thence on. Remember the Decalogue itself. How does it begin?
It begins with our duty and our responsibility to God, and then it turns toward our responsibility to man. When Jesus teaches us how to pray, how does he teach us to pray? First, with respect to God, and then with respect to ourselves. In the book of Romans, when Paul, or even before Paul, gets to his vice list, before Paul gets to that list of sins and acts of wickedness, he first states the real issue.
They knew God exists, but they didn't glorify God as God. nor were they thankful. So theology precedes our interaction with other people. And here the first curse is pronounced on the breach of the first and second commandments. Verse 15, cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.
So cursed is the one who makes a carved or a molded image. He might have one of another god, which is the violation of the first commandment. He might have a molded image of the true and living God, which then is a violation of the second commandment. Remember, the First Commandment says we must worship God and him alone.
The Second Commandment says we must worship God and him alone in the manner in which he prescribes. He doesn't give us freedom with reference to our approach. He dictates for us in the Second Commandment that we are to approach him as he says is fit, as he says is acceptable. So of course, this reflects the First Commandment found in Exodus 20. and in Deuteronomy chapter 5, and scattered throughout the Old Testament law.
Obviously, God has a problem with idolatry. Obviously, God has a problem with people seeking out other gods. Notice the response, and all the people shall answer and say, Amen. Were they faithful?
No, they were not. So what happens? They are invoking the curse of God when they make this particular statement. There's an interesting malediction in the book of Matthew as well.
It's when Jesus is on trial before Pontius Pilate. And the people say, may his blood be on us and our children. That is a maledictory oath that the nation of Israel brings upon its own head that I believe God delivered on very specifically in the first century through the Roman armies when they destroyed Jerusalem." So we see here this maledictory oath pronounced for a breach of the first and second words. When we get to the prophets, when we get to the exile, I hope you don't scratch your head and say, I wonder why the Lord is treating his people this way?
Because on Mount Ebal they stood in public, they stood before the Lord, they stood looking upon his law written on these stones, they had offered up burnt offering, they had offered up a peace offering, they had eaten before the Lord, they had rejoiced before the Lord, they had heard the Levites read this law, and they said, Amen. So that when they go into the land and they bow before Baal, they bow before the Canaanite deities, and God brings judgment upon them, there is not to be any surprise whatsoever. So the first is a violation with respect to God himself. Secondly, it is a violation with respect to lawful authority.
Verse 6. Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt. Powerful verse, parents. Take that one home.
Tell your children. On Mount Ebal. On Mount Ebal, they had to swear fidelity before the Covenant Lord, and the Fifth Commandment was primary. The Fifth Commandment was right there among the twelve.
The Lord God does not take lightly those who treat father or mother with contempt. And again, this could be some of that secret stuff going on. Remember back in Deuteronomy 21, we have the case of the rebellious son in verses 18 to 21. It probably took a long time and perhaps never got to the place where the parents actually turned the son over to the magistrate so that he could be stoned to death.
More than likely, sons would needle their parents in a private way. And so on e-ball, they were to think about this. Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt. Again, this is riddled throughout the Old Testament law.
The law of God specifies that we are to submit to lawful authority, whether it be parental, civil, whatever the particular case may be. So, violation of law with respect to God Himself. Secondly, to lawful authority, verse 16. Third is to truth.
I think the next three speak to the truth, or to deception. Notice in verse 17, Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor's landmark. Now that would be property theft to be sure, but there is deceit involved. If I move my neighbor's landmark, what is happening there?
I am deceiving my neighbor. I am defrauding my neighbor. I am keeping him from getting what is legitimately and rightfully his. Now, I think the property crime there is corollary, to be sure.
But I think the thing that unites these next three is a violation with respect to the truth. So with reference to the truth in verse 17, it is the one who moves his neighbor's landmark. All the people shall say, Amen." And you get to Micah the prophet, this is a big crime. You get to the prophet Isaiah, this is a big crime.
They are moving the landmark. They are taking and oppressing from others. They are collecting unto themselves all this stuff. Trace it all back to Ebal.
You all shouldn't have said, Amen, if you were going to go into the land and carry on like the heathen. And then notice, secondly, with reference to truth, the blind man. Leviticus 19.14 tells us the same thing. Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.
Now, that could have sixth commandment application, he could wander off the road and die. The idea is probably one of deception, frauding this particular blind man. Again, Harmon says, not only could there easily be deceitful dealing with such a person, I mean, come on, you could take advantage of a blind man if you were so inclined. I mean, that's pretty wretched, isn't it?
It's pretty ungodly, but people do take advantage of the of the handicapped or people that are limited in some way. He says, not only could there easily be deceitful dealing with such a person, but because of his blindness, there would be no possibility of identifying the offender. You see, the blind man couldn't go to the police and say, hey, that guy there made me fall off the road. No, these people were supposed to maintain fidelity and equity toward the people around them.
Harmon goes on to say, the covenant encouraged justice to all. And therefore, there is a curse on those who act deceitfully to defraud one of the most vulnerable groups in society. It is deception that is involved here. And God says, this is to bring a curse upon your head if you violate this law.
Of course, all of the people say, Amen. And then verse 19 is a violation of law with respect to the truth. Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Again, a recurring theme in the book of Deuteronomy, in the book of Exodus, in Leviticus as well.
You are not to have two standards of judgment. You are not to judge the the alien or the stranger in a way that was unrighteous or ungodly. You are not to be bigoted or racist or anything of the nature. You are not to pervert the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.
Those people in society that were vulnerable were not to be taken advantage of. It is simply incomprehensible with the living God. The covenant community is not to function in such a way as that its most vulnerable are the ones that are taken advantage of. It ought to be the opposite.
We ought to do everything we can to protect them. We ought to do everything we can to help them and not to defraud them. So violation of law with respect to God, verse 15. Lawful authority, verse 16.
Truth, verses 17 and 19. And
Violation Toward Family
then violation of law with respect to family in verses 20 to 23. The seventh commandment is that word that protects the family. Incest with your father's wife. prohibited in Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Deuteronomy 22, 30. You are not to do this. 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the apostle Paul indicts the Corinthian church for this very situation.
What is in the mind of the apostle when he's speaking of sexual immorality? He's thinking of the law of God that informs his new covenant ethic with reference to the church at Corinth. Now, I don't know if you've been watching the news over the week, but they caught this man, Christopher Dorner, last night. But if you had been seeing the news over the past week, you'll note that there were people that were rooting for Christopher Dorner.
There was a Team Dorner on Twitter. Now, this was a man who murdered three people, and another one, four total. He murdered people. There were actually people rooting for him. to win, OK?
This past week, as I've reflected upon that, I'm ashamed to be a part of this society. That's a very sad thing, when there's people rooting for a murderer. When there's people saying, well, you know, he was treated poorly at LAPD. I don't care how poorly you were treated.
You don't go and murder people. And then throw your manifesto on Facebook. Whoa, some kind of a hero there. But I think that that feeling of revulsion that I think many of us had when we saw this Team Dorner is the same sort of feeling of revulsion that we all ought to have when we see this next law.
It's not only Cursed is the one who lies with his father's wife, but verse 21 says Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of an animal. I mean, that we live in the race of man where such a law has to even be given ought to make us hang our heads in shame. We are certainly not engaged in the sort of things that God has made us for. We are image bearers of the living and the true God.
We are not to lie with animals. This is prohibited by the law of God. And if one stood on e-ball and said, amen, and then went into Canaan and lay with animals, they would be executed, they would indeed be put to death. We've got incest with a father's wife, bestiality, incest with a sister, incest with a sister.
That should make us hang our heads in shame. Not that the bestiality is... I mean, bestiality is terrible, so are all these sexual sins. Sexual perversion is wrong.
God doesn't say it's okay to have same-sex marriage. It is a sin against God. It is against nature. It is wrong.
It is vile. And the Lord says, don't do it. It's just that clear. We are not to misuse our organs.
We are not to use our sexuality in a way that the Lord God condemns. And in verse 22, cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. You see, this is the attack on the family.
The seventh word is to protect that covenantal arrangement wherein marriage is held in high esteem under God within the community itself. And then verse 23, Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law, and all the people shall say, Amen. We have violation of laws with respect to God, lawful authority, truth, family, fifth category to human life, verses 24 and 25. Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.
Probably murder is in view. premeditation, malice aforethought, a desire to take our neighbor out, we do it in secret, we dispose of his body so that we will not be found out. You're not supposed to murder in the covenant community. And all the people sad Amen. When they get into the land, do they live consistently with that pronouncement?
Absolutely not. All of these things, all of these sins, all of these categories are fleshed out in the history of Israel. It is no accident, it is not a mystery as to why they were ultimately exiled and the land vomited them out of its mouth. and then notice this bribe to assassinate an innocent person. That's another one that's just a humdinger in a society.
Really? We have to be told that we can't take a bribe to slay an innocent person? Yes. You know, the law of God is not superfluous.
The Lord speaks to genuine transgression. The Lord doesn't make things up. When the law of God prohibits bestiality, it's because somebody out there is going to do it. When the law of God prohibits a bribe to assassinate an innocent person, it's because somebody is going to do it.
And on Mount Ebal, they were to affirm, they were to say before the living and the true God that they were not to engage or they were not going to engage in this sort of activity. And then
Violation of the Covenant as a Whole
the sixth major category is to God's covenant as a whole. Verse 26. Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
I wonder if as they were saying, Amen, they knew that they were cursed. Have you ever sang a hymn in church and thought, man, I don't really love Jesus the way I'm singing? Have you ever sang a hymn or a psalm and said, Lord God, help this to be true of me? You know, some of these hymns where we talk about how wonderful the Lord Jesus is, sometimes we're as sluggish as a dead fish.
Can we honestly and earnestly affirm everything we sing and everything we hear in the Word of God? I wonder if on Ebal, when they sat or they heard the Levites say, Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them. All the people shall say, Amen. Now our confession of faith stipulates that the obedience that man is to render to the law of God is to be personal, entire. exact and perpetual.
In other words, if you're going to live by the law or get your acceptance with God by the law, then it must be personal, entire, exact, and perpetual. If you remember, Paul cites this particular verse in Galatians 3. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do that." So when we go back to Ebal at Deuteronomy 27, God knew very well that the people of Israel were not going to engage in personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience.
Much of what we read in this arrangement has to do with their standing in the land. But in terms of its spiritual nature, there is one emphasis that this law was to produce among the people. It was to cause them to look outside themselves to another. That's Paul's point, Galatians 3.
If you affirm obedience to the law, then it must be perpetual. It must be exact. It must be entire. On Mount Ebal, the faithful hopefully would have thought, there is no way we can continue in this law.
We must have a Redeemer. We must have the Christ. We must have the Lord Jesus Himself. who will come and engage in this work on our behalf. One of the functions of the Mosaic Law, one of the functions of the Old Covenant, was yes, to hedge the people in, yes, to preserve them until the promised seed Christ would come, yes, it was to define for them terms for life in the land, but it was to drive them, it was to show them, it was to indicate to them their sinfulness and their waywardness and their great need for redemption.
In other words, part of this covenant was to show the people their sinfulness and their need for the Redeemer. The old covenant was therefore not only necessary to lead to Christ, But it was also necessary that Christ fulfill it. When Christ comes to live, what law do you think he is fulfilling? He's fulfilling what they were told to do.
He's fulfilling that obedience. He's fulfilling that personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience. This is the significant contribution of Samuel Petto in the realm of covenant theology. The Sinai covenant had specific ends for the nation of Israel.
It defined for them life in the land. It defined for them blessings in terms of national benefit. But he also says that the Sinai Covenant functioned as the covenant of works for the Lord Jesus, so that when he comes and he lives, he fulfills the law of God as it was spoken. He does what man could not do.
He does it in our place. He does it in our stead, so that we have not only forgiveness through his blood, but we have righteousness through his life. We have the imputation of the active obedience of Christ that answers to the demands of God for perfect obedience to his law. It's a beautiful thing.
So on Ebal, the faithful, would have seen, yes, we're doomed, yes, we're going to have trouble in the land, but yes, there's going to be one who comes to save us from our sins and to redeem us unto himself. This is Paul's point in Galatians 3 and 4 when he compares, when he parallels the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament brings bondage, it brings death, it brings pain, it brings all of the things associated with the wrath and curse of God in terms of the spirituality. Now with reference to Christ, he comes, he fulfills that particular law, and he brings benefit to his people.
So as you read through these curses on Ebal, and as you think through them, probably you're going to conclude, I don't do these things, I'm not going to be faithful, I'm not, you know, perfect, exact, entire, perpetually obedient as well. So when you get to the end of Ebal, praise God for the Lord Jesus, that he is the one who fulfills the righteousness of God by having obeyed the law perfectly. See, Jesus is the only one who could say amen with reference to God, amen with reference to lawful authority, amen with reference to truth, amen with reference to the seventh commandment, amen with reference to human life, and amen with reference to God's covenant. It's only Christ who fulfills the demands of his father.
That's why he's the surety of a better covenant. That's why the new covenant is a better covenant, founded on better promises, and it contains a better hope because of its head and mediator, the Lord Jesus, in whom we have redemption. So the law of God ought to define for us the parameters of faithfulness and holiness and righteousness in terms of our life, but it also should drive us continually back to our Lord Jesus Christ in humble appreciation for what he did on our behalf, that we have one who could have stand at Ebal and said amen to all these things and entered in by his own virtue. It's a beautiful thing what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, because we all, standing there with these fellows at Ebal, would have been saying amen to our own malediction.
And it's Christ alone who brings forgiveness and righteousness that we desperately need. Well, let us close in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for this, your word. We thank you for your loving kindness in providing Jesus as the mediator of the new covenant, the surety of the better covenant.
How we thank you, God, that he has fulfilled the law on our behalf, that he has died as a sacrifice and a substitute on our behalf, and that he has risen again. We praise you for his current session. We look forward to his return again in glory when he will judge the living and the dead. And we praise you that by your grace and for your glory you've hidden us in him.
Do forgive us though, Father, when we sin. Forgive us and cleanse us and help us to take the law as a rule, as a pattern for our life. We pray that you'd fill us with your spirit and cause us to walk in obedience. And we pray through Christ our Lord.
Amen.