I continue to be blessed by reading Dutch Sheets’ book entitled “The Pleasure of His Company.” One of the chapters inspired today’s episode.
Deuteronomy 27:11-13 (NASB) Moses also charged the people on that day, saying, [12] "When you cross the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. [13] "For the curse, these shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
Ebal was barren and rocky—that’s where it got its name, which means “stony heap of barrenness.” Gerizim, on the other hand, was fertile and lush. Consistent with their names, Ebal became the mountain associated with the curses and judgments related to sin, while Gerizim was associated with the blessings of redemption. It was on these two mountains that the curses resulting from disobedience and the blessings associated with obedience were read to the twelve tribes of Israel:
Joshua 8:30-35 (NASB) Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, [31] just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. [32] He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. [33] All Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel. [34] Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. [35] There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them.
Sheets writes, “These blessings and curses can be found in their entirety in Deuteronomy 27 and 28. The reading ceremony was unique. With the Israelites in the valley (Shechem) between the two mountains, delegates from six tribes went to the top of Ebal, and representatives from the other six went to Gerizim. The curses were read from Ebal, no doubt a consequence of its condition and name, and the blessings were read from Gerizim. It would have been quite dramatic for the listeners below as these blessings and curses rang out across the valley.”
Then Sheets shares this wonderful insight. “What was not so clear was the picture of the cross and our redemption hidden in this event. Israel was commanded to build an altar on Ebal… on which they offered sacrifices and offerings to Jehovah. [And note that no altar was built on Gerizim.] The barrenness and absence of life on Ebal represented us humans in our spiritually dead and cursed condition. The altar and sacrifices offered there symbolized Jesus’ becoming our sacrifice in order to take our curse and spiritual death. He went to ‘Ebal,’ the place of barrenness and cursing, in order to give us the fruitfulness and blessings represented by Gerizim.”
The New Testament elaborates on this insight:
Galatians 3:13-14 (NASB) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"— (14) in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Why did God direct the Israelites to write the law of Moses (with its curses and blessings) on the stone tablets on Mount Ebal? The Holy Spirit revealed the answer to the apostle Paul:
Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT) You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. [14] He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Here is the big idea: It is by divine design that a copy of the handwritten records of the Law (“the charges against us”) were left on Mount Ebal, because its barrenness represented our spiritually dead and cursed condition before our salvation. By the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross, we receive not only forgiveness and eternal life, but also the “promise of the Spirit” and the blessings represented by the lush and fertile Mount Gerizim. And we receive these blessings not only in eternity, but also now, in this present life.
During this season of Lent, as we approach Palm Sunday and Easter, may we recognize the many hints throughout the Old Testament of God’s plan to rescue us from our sin, including the hints in today’s passage. Let us give thanks that God had this plan in mind from the very beginning of history.
Psalms 118:29 NASB Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Today, I encourage you to “Reflect on This.”