Moses charged the people

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 27:11–25, “And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh 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. Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen. 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. Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

When Israel entered into the Promised Land and began to take possession of the Land, they were commanded to go to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal and recite the blessings and the curses. This was so that each adult would knowingly and deliberately accept the full contract they were making with the Lord. No individual in Israel could ever say that they didn’t understand the contract or made it unwillingly. In making the contract each person also committed themselves to telling their children about the contract and making sure that they understood it as well. (See, for example, Josh 4:6–7, “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.”) That was another reason why the commandments were to be written on stones that were visible for all to see. Every person was allocated their own share of the Land and no one was allowed to move the landmarks because they would be robbing their neighbour and, hence, the Lord Who actually owned the whole of the Land. There were other curses crucial to the compassion and purity of the nation that were recited. They had to make sure that they didn’t revert to the ways of the Amorites who lost the Land because they debased the Land with their sin.