Tanak Foundations-Concepts in Deuteronomy-Chapter 27

Deut 27.1-28 tells us about another procedure they were to do once they enter the land (Josh 8.30-35); the building of an altar on Mount Ebal once in the land and offer korbanot on it; Israel is charged to obey the Torah; certain tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim for the blessings, and certain tribes on Mount Ebal for the curses. There are three portions of Scripture in the Torah that strike fear into the heart of every God-fearing believer, Deut 27.11-26, 28.15-63 and Lev 26.14-39.

v 1…”Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, ‘Keep all the commandments which I command you today.

v 2…So it shall be on the day when you shall cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones (so they can contain all the words of the Torah), and coat them with lime,

v 3…and write on them all the words of this law (no hint of an oral law here, all the words of the Torah were written down here after Joshua defeated Jericho and Ai, and there was not a word of all Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read in Josh 8.30-35 -see our teaching called “A Case Against a Divinely Inspired Oral Law” on this website if you want more information on this concept; Yeshua uses this event for those who are like “whited walls” and “tombs” meaning they had a form of the Torah in their heads, but not in their hearts-Matt 23.27; Jews outwardly but not inwardly-Rom 1.27) when you cross over, in order that you may enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you.

v 4…So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on Mount Ebal (bare mountain) these stones, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime.

v 5…Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them (this does not contrary to Deut 12 where an altar be set up only in the sanctuary; an altar is God’s ownership mark).

v 6…You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut (Hebrew “shalemot” meaning peace, whole, complete) stones and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God (Many have seen “altars” in churches or on TV where prayer requests are put, or they burn “debt” or “bills” or say the Catholic Mass, or where people come in response to an “altar call”; but these are not biblical and are invalid altars because they are man-made blocks from Home Depot, or some carpenter made it out of wood. An altar is a testimony to all who see it that the earth is the Lord’s and it was made by God. It is God’s ownership mark. How can one know who owns the land they are possessing? The one who can put restrictions on it. God put restrictions in Eden and he told them what they could eat from and what not to eat from. They challenged God’s ownership by eating something that was restricted, and they were evicted. God owns the earth and his altar must be of uncut stones);

v 7…and you shall sacrifice peace offerings (Korban Shelemot) and eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.

v 8…And you shall write on the stones all (no hint of an oral law; the stone allude to the duration of the Torah) words of this law very distinctly (so they can be easily read).

v 9…Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, ‘Be silent and listen, O Israel; this day (as if it was the day they entered the covenant at SInai) you have become a people for the Lord your God.

v 10…You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, and do his commandments and his statutes which I command you today.’ “

v 11…Moses also charges the people on that day (that he gave the order to set up the stones and build the altar), saying,

v 12…”When you cross the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim (when they get to Shechem) to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin (this would be on the right, alluding to Matt 25.34; alluding to the children of the free woman, Rachel and Leah).

v 13…And for the curse, these shall stand on Mount Ebal (on the left-Matt 25.41; alluding to the children of the “slave woman”; symbolic of the works of the flesh-Gal 3.10, 4.27-31): Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulon, Dan and Naphtali (four were of the handmaidens, and Reuben defiled his father’s bed, and Zebulon, were the first and last of Leah’s sons).

v 14…The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice;

v 15…’Cursed (understood as empowered to fail) is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret (the following curses relate to the most extreme cases of lawlessness; these are done in secret; people can obey publicly, but what about when no one sees them; we live in a society they says we are not to obey the commandments, and we are reaping the curse).’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen (certainly true and can be trusted).’

v 16…’Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who dishonors his father and mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 17…’Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 18….’Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who misleads a blind person on the road (this can include those who are morally weak and nieve).’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 19…’Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who distorts the justice due to an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 20…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt (idiom for marital relations-Ruth 3.9; Ezek 16.8).’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 21…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 22…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who lies with his sister (by either parent), the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 23…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 24…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who strikes his neighbor in secret (and kills him and it is not known, or through slander, gossip and false accusations).’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 25…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who accepts a bribe to strike down (take away) an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

v 26…Cursed (empowered to fail) is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them (sin is the transgression of the Torah-1 John 3.4; Matt 5.17-19).’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen’ (the altar and the sacrifices on Mount Ebal is a picture of the death of Yeshua on Golgotha where he became a curse for us and redeemed us from the curse of the law, which is spiritual death-Gal 3.10-14).

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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