It seems that Moses had finished speaking The Law of The LORD and now he is joined by the elders of Israel in commanding the people to keep all of the commandments and when they cross over into the land, on that very day, they were to set up an altar comprising of large stones which they were to whitewash. They were to write all of God’s law on them. They were to do this at Mount Ebal and build an altar of whole stones. They were not to use an iron tool on them so, no carving them, simply rough large stones, for offering burnt offerings on them and peace offerings. They were to eat there and rejoice and the words were to be written in plain writing (v1-8). The altar was not to be an ornate affair so that no credit be given to a man, but simple, rough stones painted white upon which they could write God’s law, and which could be clearly seen by all.
Joshua carried out this instruction (Joshua 8:30-32).
Moses proclaimed to them they were to listen to the words of The LORD their God and obey them. By this they became the people of The LORD their God and as such, they must obey Him (v9,10). They had previously been the people of God, but in a special way this was renewal and restatement of it, and they must obey Him. It was as if the contract was signed here.
We then come to strange event (v11-13) where Moses commanded to divide into two groups when they crossed over the Jordan, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali to stand on Mount Ebal to curse. It is interesting that Joseph is included in this list as, to my knowledge, the tribe of Joseph is not mentioned elsewhere, but his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Levi had no inheritance as they were the priests and were to serve God and the people.
It seems that the latter group was to curse those who disobeyed God’s law. This came to pass in Joshua 8 after they had suffered an ignominious defeat against the small town of Ai. They had not followed God’s instructions but after the defeat, they did follow His instructions and had a victory.
It was vital that they obeyed God’s commands, and they would be blessed if they did, but if not, they would be cursed. The LORD God made it abundantly clear to them, and this seemed to be like a visual aid to help them to realise that.
The Levites were to issue the curses, and they are listed in v14-26. They spell out in detail what they will be cursed for. They are very much in line with the Ten Commandments – no idols, failing to honour father and mother, theft, sexual immorality, and failing to obey God’s law in general, and to each section the people were to say “Amen”. In other words, “I agree”. It is often easy to say that but difficult to put into practice as the history of the people showed. However, note where the altar was built at the beginning of this chapter, Mount Ebal, the very place where the curses were to be given. The place where we must confess our sin, and God offers the means of forgiveness.
We, today, are in the unique position, since Christ Jesus has died for our sin, and we are no longer under the curse because He took the curse for us. This does not mean that we can disobey His commands with abandon. God has to chasten us because He loves us, but Jesus has taken the penalty for our sins. How blest we are if we are in Christ. It is vital that we confess our sin, repent and receive The Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord.
