Dt. 27-28 Blessings and Curses

That's a long passage isn't it?

Why read the WHOLE thing?

Well,

How did the reading of these blessings and curses affect you?

Did it shock you?

Did it horrify you?

Did you see how much God hates sin?

Did you see what YOU deserve for your sin?

The blessings are few in this passage;

the curses are many.

Once again we are seeing that God's Torah--God's law, his direction, his instruction--

God's Law shows us how sinful we are.

It shows us how much we need Christ.

And it shows us what God requires of his people.

But there is something new in this passage:

Notice who speaks in Dt. 27:1

It's interesting.

All through the first 26 chapters,

Moses has been pretty much the only voice we've heard.

But now, here at the end,

as Moses is about to die,

the voice of the elders, the priests and the Levites grows louder,

while voice of Moses grows quieter.

First, Follow Christ and His Elders

It is fitting that so far,

Moses has been speaking alone.

But now, he shares the stage with the elders of Israel.

Because Moses is reminding the Israelites that he is about to die.

What will happen when Moses is no longer there?

Moses will not be with them forever

--so now they must listen to the elders (recall Dt. 1).

This is prefiguring Moses' death

--already he "dies" by surrendering the sole leadership and sharing it with others.

Deuteronomy is marching toward the death of Moses

--and Moses reminds the people that all leadership is under the torah.

Your elders are called to lead you.

But how should an elder lead?

An elder must walk according to the Torah

According to God's instruction--God's direction.

An elder must lead where God has told him to go.

But where has God told him to go?

How will you know when to follow an elder,

and when not to?

After all, we saw in Dt 1 the penalty for following elders when they are wrong!

That is why Moses continually reminds the people AND the elders:

Do what God says.

Don't do anything else!

Because if you spend all your time DOING what God says,

then you won't have TIME to do anything else!

But how do you know what God has said:

Look to His Word.

The Israelites didn't have many copies of the Law,

so they made public billboards instead.

You thought that billboards were a modern invention, didn't you?!

But look at vv2-8

Stones as a "public billboard"

There was to be a huge stone altar built on Mt. Ebal,

and this altar was to be whitewashed,

and the Law written on it,

so that all the people could come and see what God had told them to do

The elders are to lead you and teach you what God desires for you,

but they must only lead and teach what God has said.

Second, Worship Christ in Spirit and in Truth

in v9-10--the priests and Levites join Moses:

What do Moses and the priests and Levites say?

They say that "this day" you have become the people of God.

This day? What about the promise to Abraham?

What about the Exodus?

What about Mt. Sinai?

How can Moses and the priests and Levites say

that it is "this day" that Israel has become the people of God?

Well, remember what we have seen:

every time Israel stands before God,

they are renewing the covenant.

They had been God's people before,

but when they gathered together before God,

God renewed them as his people.

In the same way--when we gather each Sunday,

God is renewing his claim on your life,

he is renewing his covenant with you.

Hebrews 12 says that when we worship,

we enter the presence of God himself.

And we come to a better place than Moses ever brought Israel,

because we come in the Name of Jesus Christ,

to His heavenly temple,

where we worship in Spirit and in Truth.

But in Dt. 27, Israel has come to a very different sort of place:

Gerizim and Ebal

back in ch 11,

they had been told to have a covenant renewal ceremony at Gerizim and Ebal

So all these laws of 12-26 are framed by the references to Gerizim and Ebal.

But did you notice in v4, that the law is written on Ebal--not Gerizim.

The law is written on the mountain of cursing, not the mountain of blessing

--because the Law cannot bring life.

The Law cannot save!

Every time the Israelites looked up at Mt Ebal,

and saw the Law written there:

with the warnings of its curses,

they were also to look over to Mt. Gerizim,

and see its fruitful slopes,

and have hope!

The Law was there on Ebal!

But there must be something in the future on Gerizim!

And indeed,

Mt. Gerizim is where Jesus met the Samaritan woman.

Mt. Gerizim, in John 4, is where Jesus declares that the TRUE worship of God,

is in Spirit and in Truth.

But for Moses and the Israelites,

all that was future.

They were standing on the brink of the Promised Land.

They were wondering:

"what will happen to us?"

"will God protect us?

"will God bless us?"

The answer is:

maybe!

If you ask me,

"will God bless me?"

What should I say?

Should I say, "of course he will!"?

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!"

But is that true?

So Third, You must trust in Christ and walk in ways.

Does God have a wonderful plan for your life?

Perhaps.

If you love God with all your heart and walk in his ways, then YES, God will bless you.

But if you rebel against him and reject his ways, then NO, God will curse you.

If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

repent of your sins,

and set your heart and mind on Christ,

then I can assure you that God WILL bless you.

But if you do not believe,

if you do not repent,

and if you set your heart and mind on earthly things,

then I can assure you that God WILL curse you.

You may wonder,

but I'm not good enough!

God can't forgive me for what I've done...

Well, of course your not good enough!

No one is good enough except Jesus Christ!

And that is precisely why he came!

But if you repent of your sins, and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

then you will be saved, you and your household!

But let's take a minute to look at these curses as well.

Dennis Olson has written this about Dt 28

"the breakdown in relationships between God and people (disobedience) mushrooms into ecological disaster (drought, diseased crops), the revenge of nature, political defeat and slavery at the hands of other peoples, and the loss of personal health, family and security....Israelites will become slaves. People will eat their children. Adultery will be rampant....The images of disease, darkness, locusts, and the death of children all recall the plagues that came upon the Egyptians at the time of the exodus, but this time it is Israel who is threatened."

What is the fountain of all this destruction?

What leads to all this judgment?

Disobedience.

Continued, persistent, disobedience.

God will forgive them as long as they repent!

God will forgive YOU as long as YOU repent!

But if you rebel and disobey--and REFUSE to repent--

then this is only a shadow of the judgment that awaits you!

Can you see why I emphasize repentance and forgiveness in my teaching.

Deuteronomy 28 is a picture of HELL. (v21-24, 33-34, 53-57)

v58--importance of fearing the Lord

v61--everything NOT in written here will ALSO happen

v68--the final insult

Notice v45--shift from "if" to "when". Moses knows that Israel will fail.

The human struggle to live an obedient life will end in curse, judgment and death.

Moses knows that.

Moses knows that NO ONE can escape this curse.

No one?

What about Christ?

He struggled to live an obedient life too.

He even succeeded at living an obedient life.

He never even sinned ONCE.

And yet, did Jesus Christ escape the curses of Dt. 28?

His life ended in curse, judgment and death!

But praise God--that was the whole point!

God cursed his own Son, so that we might be blessed.

He was judged in our place, so that we might be judged in his place!

Jesus received our death, so that we might receive his life!

How can you avoid all the curses of Dt 28?

Trust in Jesus Christ.

Believe in him.

Repent of your sins.

And walk in his ways.

It is fascinating to me

that it is THIS passage which first places the elders on stage with Moses.

Because this is why God has given his church elders.

They are to lead you in trusting in Christ,

believing in him

repenting of sin

and walking in Christ's ways.

Just as the elders of Moses day joined him in promising blessing and warning of cursing,

so also the elders today must join Christ

in faithfully teaching you and direct you in the way.

And just like the elders of Israel were to be pictures of Moses--in a sense--

so also the elders of today are to be a picture of Christ.

An elder must teach and guard the church:

lead by example--be a picture of Christ

teach like Christ

forgive like Christ

repent so that you can be like Christ!

encourage like Christ

You are to go in search of lost sheep.

You are to gently rebuke and restore those who wander.

You are to build up and encourage those who are weary.

And the congregation must heed and follow the elder:

When you are struggling at home--come to these men.

They are not perfect.

They are sinners just like the rest of us.

But God has called them to lead you--and you have agreed with that call--

and they must now watch out for your souls.

They will now have to give an account to GOD for what happens to you.

How can you help them with that?

When you are having a hard time at work, come, ask them to pray for you.

When your kids are driving you crazy, come, ask for their help.

When you are discouraged,

and you are wondering whether God is even listening,

come and talk to them.

They are here for your good.

They are here to build you up.

God has put them here to point you to Christ.

The body needs one another.

You need elders to help you grow.

But it works both ways:

Paul says in Philippians 1:19 that he is dependent,

not only upon the working of the Spirit,

but also upon the Philippians' prayers.

These elders NEED you.

They need your prayers.

They need your encouragement.

They need your wisdom.

Sometimes they will need your gentle rebuke!

So while each part of the body has a different function,

all the parts need each other.

But the elders are given to protect the church.

After all, there are many churches which have fallen prey to heresy and liberalism.

They have rebelled against God, and are even now receiving his judgment.

It all started because their elders were too afraid to discipline sin,

and so before they realized what had happened,

they had rebellious sinners as their elders.

And now, those churches are beginning to experience the wrath of God.

The PCUSA was once a godly church.

Now they have many pastors and elders who do not believe the gospel,

including some who worship Sophia alongside of Christ.

The Episcopal church has bishops who deny the deity of Christ

and ordain homosexuals.

All that began because elders were unwilling to call sin "sin"

All that began because the church refused to practice discipline.

The elders are to protect the church in the name of Christ.

If they don't, then God's judgment and curse will destroy us.

That's a rather gloomy point to end on--but that's where Moses leaves us.

Let us pray!