Deuteronomy 27:1-26

Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love

Love and Obey the *LORD your God

Deuteronomy

Philip Smith

Chapter 27

v1 Moses and the leaders of the *Israelites ordered the people. ‘*Keep all the *commandments that I order you today. v2 You must do the following things when you have gone across the River Jordan. There you will find the country that the *LORD your God is giving to you. Put up some large stones. And cover them with material that is like white paint. v3 Write on the stones all the words of this law. Do that when you have entered the country. The *LORD your God is giving to you a rich and *fertile country. The *LORD, the God of your *ancestors, promised to give this country to you. v4 When you have crossed the River Jordan, put up the stones on *Mount Ebal. Do what I order you today. Cover the stones with material that is like white paint. v5 Build an *altar of stone there to the *LORD your God. Do not use any metal tools on the stones. v6 Build the *altar to the *LORD your God with stones that you have not cut. Give *burnt offerings on the *altar to the *LORD your God. v7 *Sacrifice and eat your *fellowship offerings there. Be happy in front of the *LORD your God. v8 You shall write very clearly on the stones. Write all the words of this law.’

v9 Then Moses, together with the priests who were *Levites, spoke to all the *Israelites. ‘*Israelites, be quiet and listen. Today you have become the nation that belongs to the *LORD your God. v10 Obey the *LORD your God. *Keep all his *commandments and his rules that I order you today.’

Moses tells the people how they must remember God’s *covenant with them. They must put up some stones. They must write parts of the law on the stones so that everyone could read them. People who came in the future would be able to read them also. The *Israelites must put up an *altar at *Mount Ebal. They must make it of stones that they did not cut. Other nations made their *altars out of stones that they cut. *Israel must be different. They must read the *curses publicly from *Mount Ebal. (That is where Abraham built his first *altar.) They must read the *blessings from *Mount Gerizim. The *burnt offerings showed that the *Israelites were completely loyal to God. With the *fellowship offerings, they thanked for what God had done on their behalf. Verses 9-10 may be part of a speech that urged the people to obey the *covenant. God gave the *covenant to them first. It was his free gift. They did not have to do good works to obtain the *covenant. They obeyed God because they were grateful for his *blessings.

v11 That day, Moses gave this command to the people.

v12 ‘When you have gone across the River Jordan, these *tribes shall stand on *Mount Gerizim. They are Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. There they will *bless the people. v13 These *tribes shall stand on *Mount Ebal to announce *curses. They are Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

v14 The *Levites will speak these words to the *Israelites in a loud voice:

v15 “God *curses anyone who makes an *idol out of stone, wood or metal. The *LORD hates the *idols that men make. And God *curses anyone who *worships them secretly.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v16 “God *curses anyone who brings shame on his father or on his mother.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v17 “God *curses anyone who moves the stone at his neighbour’s boundary.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v18 “God *curses anyone who leads a blind man in the wrong direction.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v19 “God *curses anyone who is not kind to foreigners, children without parents and widows.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v20 “God *curses anyone who has sex with his father’s wife. That brings shame on his father.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v21 “God *curses anyone who has sex with an animal.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v22 “God *curses anyone who has sex with his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v23 “God *curses anyone who has sex with his wife’s mother.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v24 “God *curses anyone who kills another person secretly.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v25 “God *curses anyone who accepts money as a payment to kill an innocent person.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.”

v26 “God *curses anyone who does not accept all of this law in order to obey it.” Then all the people shall say, “We agree.” ’

Moses divided the people into two groups when they declared publicly the *curses and *blessings. This passage gives only the *curses. The *blessings probably were the opposite of the *curses. Six of the *tribes stood on *Mount Gerizim, which was the southern hill. They were the *tribes who were *descendants of Rachel and Leah. The other 6 *tribes stood on *Mount Ebal, which was the northern hill. They were the *tribes who were the *descendants of the servants of Rachel and Leah. They also included the *tribe of Zebulun and the *tribe of Reuben. The *blessings and *curses were on behalf of all the *tribes. They were not just on behalf of the *tribes that repeated them. There were 12 *curses because there were 12 *tribes.

They must not make images. God created all things. However, nobody knew what God looked like. So nobody could make an image of God. Parents provide shelter, food and protection for their children. Therefore, people should love and show honour to their parents. People must not change the position of the stone at their neighbour’s boundary. Sometimes people moved the stone to steal extra property. They must not lead blind people in a wrong direction. They must love and look after the foreigners, the widows and the children without parents. They must not have sex with animals or with close family members. They must not kill another person secretly. They must not receive money because they killed someone.

God’s *curse came on all *sin. Moses named many *sins. People could hide most of those *sins from other people. But they could not hide their *sins from God.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.

covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
keep ~ to do whatever you should do because of a promise or a law; to respect and to give honour to the law.
commandment ~ a rule or a command that God gave to the Jews; the 10 rules that God gave to Moses. That was on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); a command from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
fertile ~ land that can produce many crops.
ancestors ~ people in your family who lived before you.
Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or sacrifices to God or to a false god.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
Levite ~ an Israelite who belonged to the tribe of Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob. Levites had special duties connected to worship. All Israelite priests were Levites.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
curse ~ the opposite of a blessing; bad things that God will do to people because they have been wicked; to say that God will curse someone.

blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.