These Curses Are Still Around Today -- Deuteronomy 27:11-26

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12 Curses The Israelites Were Warned About -- Deuteronomy 27:11-26

In verses 11-13 of this passage, Moses tells the people what is to happen when all the Israelites have crossed over the Jordan into the promised land. Six tribes were all to gather on Mount Gerizim. The other six tribes were to stand on Mount Ebal. You can see these two mountains on the map above.

The first group of tribes, who would stand on Mount Gerizim, including the priestly Levite tribe, was there to bless all the people. The job of the second group, standing on Mount Ebal, was not as clear. The text simply says (verse 13), "And for the curse," they were to stand on Mount Ebal. Commentators don't agree on whether or not this group of Israelites actually cursed all of the Israelites.

Then verse 14 comes along and says, "The Levites shall then answer and say to all with a loud voice," after which follows a list of 12 curses they had to avoid. Before we dig into the 12 curses it behooves us to get a better handle on this introduction -- six tribes on one mountain for the blessing and six on another for the curse, and the Levites then 'answering' and pronouncing the 12 curses.  Since verse 14 tells us the Levites were 'answering' we could safely assume the people were saying something first -- either something with respect to the blessing or something with respect to the curse.  Let's see what others think. 

Chuck Smith says simply six tribes were to 'pronounce' the blessings and six were to 'pronounce' the curses. He paints a picture of the two mounts each about 2,000 feet high with people standing on them pronouncing blessings and curses if one didn't obey. [What gets tricky for me is that the Levites were in the first group pronouncing blessings, but verse 14 has them reading out the curses as well -- so as queried about above, what exactly did the second group pronounce?]

David Guzik suggests that the second group simply pronounced that those who disobeyed would be cursed, rather than the actual curses which follow as spoken by the Levites in verses 15-26, and responded to by all the people saying "So be it". Guzik writes:

"God commanded this "open-air-audience-participation-sermon" to happen at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal for several important reasons.

i. This would be a beautiful place to do this. The whole nation could hear this reading of the Law, because the area has a natural amphitheater effect because of the contour of the hills.

ii. Because Gerizim and Ebal were in the geographic middle of the Promised Land, Israel had to control the middle of Canaan and the highlands to have the luxury of such an assembly at these mountains.

iii. Finally, the mountains themselves were pictures of blessing and cursing: "On all hands it is allowed that Gerizim abounds with springs, gardens, and orchards, and that it is covered with a beautiful verdure, while Ebal is as naked and barren as a rock." (Clarke)"

Now Let's Look At the Curses

Most if not all of these curses were associated with one of the Ten Commandments. The general idea being 'break the commandment and you are cursed'. Here's what would bring a curse:

Curse 1: Any form of idolatry (the one who makes any carved or molded image) -- overt or hidden.

Curse 2: Dishonoring one's parents (the one who treats a parent with contempt).

Curse 3: Cheating your neighbor or stealing in general (e.g. extending your fence onto his property even by an inch; or charging him more for his share of a joint purchase, etc.).

Curse 4: Taking advantage of the disabled or simply being cruel or misleading others.

Curse 5: Perverting a justice system via bribes or not extending to others especially strangers, orphans, and widows, their full rights under the law.

Curse 6: Incest with a parent or step-parent or any disobedience against God's sexual standards.

Curse 7: Bestiality (one who has sexual relations with an animal).

Curse 8: Incest wth a sibling or step-sibling.

Curse 9: Incest with an in-law.

Curse 10: Violence (e.g. striking your remember especially in secret).

Curse 11: Being hired to hurt others (e.g. accepting payment or a bribe to strike down an innocent person).

Curse 12: Disobedience to any of the words of the law.

I think that in reading these curses we need to take them primarily as examples of the general area being covered. Thus, for example, while the text says cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law (verse 23 or curse 9 above), we can assume that it also means "cursed is she who sleeps with her father-in-law". And so on for each of the curses.

And notice that for each and every curse uttered by the Levites, all the people were to answer "Amen" implying "so be it".

Matthew Henry is brilliant on this:

"The Levites or priests, such of them as were appointed for that purpose, were to pronounce the curses as well as the blessings. They were ordained to bless (ch. 10:8), the priests did it daily, Num. 6:23. But they must separate between the precious and the vile; they must not give that blessing promiscuously, but must declare it to whom it did not belong, lest those who had no right to it themselves should think to share in it by being in the crowd. Note, Ministers must preach the terrors of the law as well as the comforts of the gospel; must not only allure people to their duty with the promises of a blessing, but awe them to it with the threatenings of a curse.

To each of the curses the people were to say Amen. It is easy to understand the meaning of Amen to the blessings. The Jews have a saying to encourage people to say Amen to the public prayers, Whosoever answereth Amen, after him that blesseth, he is as he that blesseth."

Henry then goes on to answer this question "But how could they say Amen to the curses?" in a way which indicates the importance of this exercise for the Israelites and I would add for us today:

• (1.) It was a profession of their faith in the truth of them, that these and the like curses were not bug-bears to frighten children and fools, but the real declarations of the wrath of God against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, not one iota of which shall fall to the ground.
• (2.) It was an acknowledgment of the equity of these curses; when they said Amen, they did in effect say, not only, It is certain it shall be so, but, It is just it should be so. Those who do such things deserve to fall and lie under the curse.
• (3.) It was such an imprecation upon themselves as strongly obliged them to have nothing to do with those evil practices upon which the curse is here entailed. "Let God's wrath fall upon us if ever we do such things.' We read of those that entered into a curse (and with us that is the usual form of a solemn oath) to walk in God's law Neh. 10:29. Nay, the Jews say (as the learned bishop Patrick quotes them), "All the people, by saying this Amen, became bound for one another, that they would observe God's laws, by which every man was obliged, as far as he could, to prevent his neighbour from breaking these laws, and to reprove those that had offended, lest they should bear sin and the curse for them.'

A few implications for us today:

First, we have to understand that being a child of God is not easy. Don't let any person, minister or otherwise, trying to get more converts tell you otherwise. It is a very serious matter with very high stakes. Yes, the blessings can be incredibly wonderful.  But the curses can be incredibly dreadful.

Second, each of the above curses still stand for us today. In fact, a good number of them are also illegal under secular laws in most countries today.

Third, we must recognize both the blessings and the curses before us as we enter into and maintain our relationship with God. We need to do that individually and be aware of it continually. We need to understand the consequences of disobedience.

Fourth, we are to realize that as a body of local believers, we share a common responsibility with each other to help each other avoid the curses.

Finally, we need to review those curses regularly. Agreed, most of us would not fall prey to the majority but as we live a hurried life, chasing worldly goals, or gold pots at the end of a rainbow, perhaps we are indeed eligible for being cursed. We need to fix that right now.

How are you and I doing on these five aspects of being blessed and avoiding being cursed?  Love to hear your comments.

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