DEUTERONOMY 27
1 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.
The people- God’s peculiar and holy people (26.18,19). What we will be studying tonight are the promises and the admonitions of a heavenly father who has already proved Himself to love His people with a perfect love. He has already redeemed them from bondage to sin and death. He has already delighted to show them mercy after mercy, kindness after kindness, and notwithstanding their lapses of faith and trust in His promises, has by grace made them to be His very own people.
As this chapter commences, Moses, along with "the elders of Israel," orders the nation to pledge their allegiance to the Law of God. Much of the book of Deuteronomy is written after the same pattern as ancient agreements or covenants between kings and their subjects.
Here, the idea of the covenant is clear: God is the king, and the people of Israel are His subjects agreeing to the terms of the covenant.
2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great (large) stones, and plaister (whitewash or coat) them with plaister:
3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.
· Beloved, through Jesus Christ, all of the promises of God belong to you and me as His children and are meant to demonstrate His glory.
2Co 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
4 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal (about 40 miles north of Jerusalem), and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.
The location chosen as the place where these great stones would be erected to display the law of God was the area near "Mount Ebal" and "Mount Gerizim," or Shechem. Shechem was highly significant in Israelite history. It was the location where Abraham received the covenant promise (Gen. 12:6), the site of Jacob’s well (Gen. 33:19), and the place where the bones of Joseph were finally buried (Josh. 24:32).
5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.
Exo 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
This altar was to be built next to these great plastered stones. They were not to lift up any tool upon the altar; that was because this altar that was exclusively for sacrifices was not to be viewed for it’s artistic or ornate value. The sacrificial altar of God was to be kept simple. On this altar blood was to be shed for the sins of the people. This altar was the place where the innocent substitute lays down it’s life for the guilty. God accepted the worshippers on the basis of the blood shed on the altar, not upon their own merits or works.
If you are getting hung up on the mechanics of Christianity….if your walk with The Lord is becoming one tedious series of “duties” after another, it is time for me and you to get back to the simplicity of the cross and the sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ every day. Walking in The Spirit….living a life of prayer and praise. There is no thing that is deeper than walking in sweet fellowship with The Lord.
6 Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God:
7 And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God.
Burnt offering (Lev. 1:1-17) was an offering that symbolized a person’s total consecration to The Lord. As the sacrifice was totally consumed upon the altar, the worshipper who brought the offering was totally dedicating themselves to The Lord and His will for their lives.
Peace offering (Lev 3.1-17) was the offering of joyful celebration. The worshipper was allowed to eat part of the offering before The Lord. It was a celebration of the fact that because of the sacrifice that He made, the worshipper was at peace with The Lord. The peace offering was actually a fellowship offering.
Rejoice- Rejoice in The Lord always. When they would come before The Lord they were to rejoice in the provision that God has made for them. Among the fruit of the Spirit is joy.
8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly (clearly; distinctly).
Here we see that the words of the law were to be written very plainly upon these massive plastered stones. I love those words very plainly. The word plainly also means clearly or distinctly
This was previously commanded in Deut 11.26-29. Joshua later literally carried out this command in Josh 8.30-35.
After the victory at Ai, Joshua wanted to do everything he could to walk in obedience to The Lord, so he led the nation in obedience to this command in Deuteronomy 27. By doing this, Joshua was showing himself to be a man of the Book, and Israel a people of the Book; they would order their lives after God's Word.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Our love for Christ is demonstrated by our applying His Word to our lives.
9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God.
10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
11 ¶ And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,
12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizim (beautiful) to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
13 And these shall stand upon mount Ebal (barren) to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
What did we just read was placed upon Mt Ebal? The altar and the plastered stones with the law written upon them.
Ebal means barren, and the barreness of course is not on God’s part, but on our part whenever we choose to turn away from The Lord in disobedience and rebellion. There is barrenness because God cannot bless rebellion and disobedience.
These blessings and curses that we will now be reading are the true measure of His love, and care, and interest in their welfare. They are the counsel of our heavenly father who seeks our good above all else.
14 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
The Levites stood in the valley (ampitheatre) between the two peaks, reciting the blessings and the curses, and the other tribes would echo with "Amen".
15 Cursed be the man that maketh (carves) any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
The very first thing that the Israelites were to pledge when they came into the land was absolute fidelity to The Lord. They were to destroy all idols. Also note that God sees what we do in secret.
16 Cursed be he that setteth light (treats with contempt; dishonors) by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark (property line). And all the people shall say, Amen.
Property was marked off by landmarks. Moving the landmark would be equivalent to stealing your neighbor’s land.
18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.
What a shame that God would even have to say things like this to us, but it only proves how well He knows our fallen natures.
19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment (withholds justice) of the stranger (non-Israelite), fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
20 Cursed be he that lieth with (has sexual intercourse) his father's wife (incest); because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.
21 Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.
24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.
25 Cursed be he that taketh reward (accepts a bribe) to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
This would refer to people who hire a “hit man” to kill another person. I also believe that in our day and age it refers to the payment that is given to a doctor who performs an abortion.
26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
When these curses were pronounced to the nation, the 6 tribes mentioned in verse 13 on My Ebal would say Amen, or so be it.
Paul used this verse to show that eternal life could NOT be achieved by the keeping of the Law: Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Salvation is not an accomplishment or a reward to doing good, salvation is a gift of God that is received by grace through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ.
DEUTERONOMY 28
1 ¶ And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
This is the theme of the book of Deuteronomy. The word hearken means to listen carefully to what God is saying with the intent of obeying.
The only way, then, that covenant life could be enjoyed to its fullest was "in fellowship with Yahweh and in obedience to His commandments" (Thompson, 269).
Although there are precious biblical principles that we are drawing from our chapters tonight, it is important to keep in mind that the specific covenant blessing mentioned here in 28:1-2 was in order that the exalt nation of Israel would be set "high above all the nations on earth."
De 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
God’s redeems us in order that we might be salt and light in the world and by doing so, be a means of winning others into the kingdom. Ye are My witnesses.
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Once the nation of Israel was made aware of the law of God and chose to walk in His ways, God promised to bless them.
The NT principle regarding the blessing and curses is found in these 2 chapters are Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
When Israel chose to walk in the ways of The Lord and God blessed them, the surrounding nations would know that the reason they were blessed was because of the hand of The Lord was upon them.
11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
When Israel walked after the Lord and His blessings overtook them, these blessings were real; one example of this is when the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon and saw a nation so blessed, she knew it had to be of God (1 Kings 10:1-13).
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
As far as God is concerned, going to the right hand or going to the left hand from His commandments is not only disobedience, but idolatry. Bowing your knee to forbidden pleasure is worshipping another god. The worship of the almighty dollar is idolatry. The magnifying of any instrument that God uses to bless your life is idolatry, beloved.
God considers the bowing of the knee to any other being or creature or pleasure is idolatry. Satan is no dummy beloved….he knows that there is pleasure in sin for a season. Satan does not tempt you or me to eat roofing nails or drink Elmer’s glue. He sets the trap with the bait of sin and pleasure, in order to steal, kill and destroy.
Only bowing the knee to Jesus Christ brings wholeness, which is the fruit of being holy, or dedicated to The Lord God. Beloved, keep yourself in the love of God, the best is yet to come. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. Choose to obey The Lord lovingly, not legally. We are obeying for a reason and for a purpose beloved…we obey for the glory to God.
15 ¶ But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Beginning in verse 16, take note the consequences of choosing to walk in rebellion against the ways of The Lord. Truly, the wages if sin is death. Living in sin is a sure cause of misery and oppression. Read Ecclesiastes…ask Solomon what seeking life under the sun is like….vanity; emptiness.
Please keep in mind that God is warning them about these curses before they actually happen to them. In other words, these curses would happen to them if they after hearing or reading God’s law, and then choosing to either ignore or refuse to hearken to God.
Does that sound like someone that you know tonight? Does that sound like you or me? Are you ignoring the warnings of God’s Word? Remember beloved that the serpents lie that brought down Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is the same today…hath God said flee fornication? Hath God said, beware of covetousness? Hath God said that he that sows discord amongst the brethren is an abomination in the sight of God?
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
Verses 16-19 are the exact opposite of the blessings stated earlier in verses 3-6.
20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation (confusion), and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness (evil) of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
God would go on to say through the prophet Jeremiah these words. Jer 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Note the consequences of forsaking The Lord. God doesn’t make life difficult for us…we do.
21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting (blight), and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
Many times in Scripture God gets our attention by putting His holy finger on His creation. This will be especially true during the tribulation period.
25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
Rebellion against The Lord weakened them in warfare.
26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
Beloved, ultimately we are by nature spiritual beings. God calls these clay pots that we live in carcasses.
27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch (boils) of Egypt, and with the emerods (lit. tumors), and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart (dismay of heart and mind):
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand (there will be nothing you can do to prevent it).
When the children of Israel rebelled against The Lord; their children were carried away into Assyria and Babylon.
33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see (what they would see would drive them mad).
35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch (painful boils) that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
A prediction of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, which would be more than 700 years in the future.
37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword (object of scorn and ridicule), among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.
42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45 ¶ Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
This verse ought to be noted by every single person in our KF family.
God says that these curses came upon the Israelites because they chose the pleasures of sin for a season instead of serving The Lord Who blessed them.
Beloved if you or me choose to serve The Lord mechanically instead of from a heart of joy and gladness, inevitably our walk with The Lord will turn out to be a bummer instead of a blessing. Serve The Lord with gladness. God wants our service unto Him to be a joy and honor; a source of gladness, not gloom.
When the people of God lose sight of the goodness and blessings of God, they inevitably become sour and dour.
48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
We can either serve The Lord with gladness or we can serve our enemies with sadness. The Prodigal son was not a happy person feeding his flesh in the enemy’s camp beloved.
We are confronted with this choice each and every day. We an either chose to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and serve The Lord, or we can choose to love the world and it’s fleeting, empty pleasures for a season. Either decision has consequences.
49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
Assyria, Babylon and Rome had the symbol of the eagle in some of their flags.
50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body (cannibalism), the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:
This became horribly true in the days of the later kingdom. 2 Kings 6:24-30 describes a famine so severe in a besieged Israelite city that there was a fight between two women over eating their children! A terrible fulfillment of the promise
54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
The absence of the fear of God is at the root of all of the curses that we read about. Oh may God give to our church family a biblical, healthy fear of Him.
60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
Trembling heart, failing of eyes, sorrow of mind, doubt, fear and no assurance of life- All because they are disconnected from their Creator and their Lord.
God alone is worthy of our absolute submission and service. How low a man sinks when he is ruled by any lesser authority!
67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
A prophecy of the dispersion of the Jewish people among all people (nations) after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in a.d. 70. At that time, according to Josephus, many were consigned to slavery and transported in ships to Egypt
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Make yourself accountable to others in the body. A healthy body is a holy body.
When we are weary in well doing, or beginning to compromise God’s Word a little here and a little there, may the reading these curses explode in the depth of our souls and compel us as Jude exhorts us, keep ourselves in the love of God unto eternal life. Only a deep love for Jesus Christ will overcome the world and the lusts thereof.