Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 27-28.

Moses told the Israelites that when they crossed over the Jordan they should build an altar on Mount Ebal and write God’s commands on the altar.  Then, half of the tribes should stand on Mount Gerizim to pronounce blessings on the people, and the other half should stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curses that would occur if the Israelites failed to keep God’s laws.  What struck me first was that the tribes were listed according to the sons of Jacob.  Manasseh and Ephraim were not mentioned as tribes.  They were lumped together under their father Joseph.

Once the tribes were in position, the Levites were to call out a list of commands which would bring curses on people and the people would affirm theses commands as binding.  Then Moses lists the blessings which will come from obeying God’s commands, followed by the reciprocal curses for disobedience.  The blessings, or the curses, would come whether they were in the city or in the country, when they came home and when they travelled.   If they obeyed God’s commands. their families and livestock would reproduce healthily.  If they disobeyed, their families and their livestock would be sickly and diminish.  If they obeyed, all of their economic activity would prosper.  If they disobeyed everything to which they turned their hand would fail.  If they obeyed God’s commands, their enemies would scatter before them.  If they disobeyed, they would scatter before their enemies.   Now, as I read these blessings and curses, Moses goes into more detail on the curses.  The curses include disease and plague, inflammation and fever, drought and heat, sores, madness, and confusion.  As I read this, the curses seem to me to be those which fall on a society which honors self-indulgence, greed, envy, and sexual immorality.  On the other hand, the blessings look like those experienced by a society which practices honor, self-discipline, and generosity.  Look around, where you see the first of those, you see the curses described here, where you see the latter, you see the blessings.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 27-28.

When I read today’s passage the first thing I am first struck by the idea that the curses sound like what happens when people pollute their environment, but, as I read more closely, I realize that oversimplifies things.  That being said, God told the Israelites that if they kept His commands He would bless them with a land where the environment prospered and if they did not keep His commands their land would suffer environmental devastation.   However, the blessings and the curses would be more than environmental.  Those peoples who keep God’s commands will live at peace with freedom in a land where everything prospers, their enemies will fear them.  Those who disobey God’s commands will live in a land where living things are blighted and crime is rampant, they will suffer invasion and live in constant fear of their enemies.  If a society lives according to God’s commands, its lands and its people will prosper.  If a society lives in defiance of God’s commands, its lands and its people will experience great suffering.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 27-28.

Today’s passage describes the first of several altars which Moses instructed the Israelites to set up in the land to remind them of what God had done in giving them the land.  They were to build an altar on Mount Ebal and write the words of the Law on it.  After they had built the altar half of the Israelite were to stand on Mount Gerizim and half on Mount Ebal.  Those on Mount Gerizim were to speak the blessings which come from following God’s Law while those on Mount Ebal were to speak the curses which would come upon those who disobeyed God’s Law.  Reading the blessings and curses described here I get the same sense that I got when I read Deuteronomy 11-13: the blessings and curses are built into the way in which God created the world to work.  Those who obey God’s commands will be blessed because that is how He created the world to work.  Those who disobey God’s commands will be cursed because they have done things which result in those bad things happening to them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 27-28.

This passage contains blessings and curses for the people of Israel: blessings if they obey the Laws God gave them through Moses, curses if they do not.  While I believe the specific blessings and curses contained in this passage specifically apply to the Israelites, I believe the general principle of them applies to all people.  If we follow God’s commands and desires, we will be blessed.  If we violate God’s commands and desires, we will be cursed.  Moses instructed the people to divide into two parts, one half of the people to stand on Mt Gerizim to pronounce the blessings, one half to stand on Mt Ebal to pronounce the curses.  The purpose of this exercise was to reinforce the laws to the people and to give them a feeling of unity.  If you have ever been part of a large group which has done such a responsive reading you will understand how powerful such a thing is.

I really get two things out of this passage.  First, the closer a society keeps God’s commands, the more powerful and wealthy they will be.  To me this means that the majority holds to values which reflect God’s will (even when many of those people may not actually worship God) and that those who rebel against God’s will are ostracized to one degree or another, such that they hide their rebellion from general knowledge.  On the other hand, a society which openly embraces rebelling against God will become progressively weaker and poorer and will experience ever increasing suffering.  To the greatest extent I believe this results from natural forces.  I also believe that if we as individuals follow God’s will, we will be blessed, although not necessarily in ways which the world at large will recognize.

Every time I write about a passage like this, I come away feeling like I have failed to adequately communicate what it says to me.  Today is no different.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 27-28.

Moses instructed the Israelites that once they entered into the Promised Land they should assemble in the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.  Then the Levites would call out blessings for obedience from Mount Gerizim and curses for disobedience from Mount Ebal.  The people would acknowledge each blessing and each curse the Levites called out.  One can read the things which would lead to a curse and learn important lessons about our behavior.  However, I want to focus on what this exercise meant for the Israelites and for us today.  The things which the Levites called out and of which the people acknowledged acceptance represented a basic set of values which everyone accepted and agreed to live by.  In order for a society to be functional it must have such a set of values by which everyone agrees to abide if they wish to be part of that society.  The idea that a country needed such a set of common values was rejected during my childhood and early adult years, but today I see an attempt to establish a new set of values to which everyone is required to abide.  This new set of values appears to me to be contrary to those laid out for the people of Israel and to be those which will result in the curses described later in this passage.