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Bible Commentaries
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible Coffman's Commentaries
Copyright Statement
Coffman's Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Coffman's Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliographical Information
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Deuteronomy 27". "Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/deuteronomy-27.html. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Deuteronomy 27". "Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible". https://studylight.org/
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Verse 1
THE THIRD ADDRESS OF MOSES (DEUT. 27-30)
That this chapter is properly placed, that it is indeed from Moses, as is specifically claimed three different times in the chapter, and that it is a logical and necessary continuation of what has preceded - all of this is now considered a certainty by orthodox Christian scholars. It has been only a few short years since the critics were declaiming that: "This chapter, in the third person, is an interruption, a later addition, etc."[1] "It is clearly not part of Moses' speech."[2] "This chapter has probably been misplaced ... it breaks the connection."[3] "It seems clear that this chapter was not originally intended for this place"[4] etc., etc. All such NONSENSE has been thoroughly refuted and discredited by the discovery of what the chapter really is! The following words from Kline make it clear:
Verse 9
"And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Keep silence, and hearken, O Israel: This day thou art become the people of God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day."
"This day thou art become the people of God ..." This indicates that these two verses were spoken by Moses and the Levites upon the same day as the oath of ratification reported in Deuteronomy 26. It was that oath that made Israel God's people:
"The silence commanded in this passage marked the climax of the ceremonies just concluded. Nehemiah 8:11; Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13 record examples of the use of silence in such a manner. See also Habakkuk 2:20."[17]
This silence was also symbolical of a very important fact: "In the covenant relationship, the parties were by no means equal: God issued the commands, but Israel could not command God in any manner."[18] The silence dramatically symbolized that truth.
"Thou shalt therefore obey ..." (Deuteronomy 27:10). Many Protestant commentators insist on misconstruing this order to "obey." Again from Cousins: "Obedience is fundamental to the covenant, but as a consequence, not as a condition of the covenant."[19] But, of course, obedience was indeed a condition of the covenant, as proved by the fact that when Israel disobeyed, God commanded Zechariah to break Beauty and to break Bands, dramatically indicating that God abrogated the covenant on the grounds of Israel's disobedience. As Phillips accurately stated it, "It was obedience to the law which not only determined Israel's physical welfare, but ultimately possession of the land itself."[20]
Not satisfied with attempting to shout the command for OBEDIENCE out of the N.T., some would like to eliminate it from the O.T. as well. The history of Israel is the only refutation that such theories require. When Israel obeyed God they prospered; when they disobeyed they suffered. And when they finally rebelled against God they were rejected as the chosen people and removed from the promised land.
Verse 11
"And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin. These shall stand upon mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. And the Levites shall answer, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice."
Moses here set up the procedure for that second ratification of the covenant that was scheduled to take place very early after Joshua succeeded to the leadership following Moses' death. The particular part of the ceremony in review here was that of the blessings and cursing, standard feature of all the suzerainty treaties of that period. Many scholars have commented on the appropriateness of the location of this great ratification ceremony in which a major portion of the host of Israel would participate. The natural amphitheater afforded by the favorable contour of the two mountains made it easy to hear voices for an incredibly long distance, and to help out, the Levites were commanded to speak in a certain way. The words in Deuteronomy 27:14 are, literally, "recite in a high-pitched voice!"[21]
Regarding the division of the tribes, six on Gerizim, and six on Ebal, Cook pointed out that, "Those on the mount of blessing were all sons of Jacob's legitimate wives; and those on the mount of cursing were the sons of the concubines, with the renegade Reuben (who for his incest lost his primogeniture, Genesis 49:41), and in order to make up the required six, Zebulun the youngest."[22]
The identification of these tribes, six with each mountain, has no suggestion in it that, "the six tribes on Ebal were under the curse. All twelve tribes had been favored by God with the gift of the land. The curses were against individuals who broke God's laws, not against tribes."[23]
Verse 15
"Cursed be the man that maketh a graven or molten image, an abomination unto Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and setteth it up in secret. 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 moveth his neighbor'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 wresteth the justice due to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
"Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife, because he hath uncovered 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 neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen.
"Cursed be he that taketh a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
"Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen."
Note that there are exactly twelve of these regulations, one for each of the twelve tribes, and strongly suggesting the symbolical nature of the laws here cited. These should not be understood as exclusive, but as symbolical of all of God's laws, as surely indicated by Deuteronomy 27:26. Remember, this was a ceremony, but regardless of specific segments of it, all of God's law is in view throughout.
Searching for some kind of a pattern in the list, we find that most of the things mentioned here would have been secret violations of God's law. Some of them, however, do not fall into such a classification. It is also obvious that several of these relate directly to the Decalogue itself.
The big surprise is that the blessings are not here enumerated. Keil thought it was unnecessary to specify the blessings, since, "It is easy to single out the corresponding blessings,"[24] the same being the opposite of the violations mentioned along with the curses. Thus, the blessing would pertain to him that "honors father and mother." and the curse pertained to him who did not do so. Also, there are blessing in large numbers before this ceremony is completed.
We have already made full comment on each one of the stipulations here mentioned with respect to the curses, under the references where each occurs in previous portions of the Bible. "Each of the first eleven curses here is directed against some particular sin already denounced in the Law; and the twelfth is directed generally against all breaches of the Law.[25] This, coupled with the fact of there being exactly twelve of these, corresponding to the twelve tribes, "shows that they were selected by way of specimens."[26] We might say, that as they stand here, they are symbolical indications of the entire Law of Moses. The repetition of the phrase, "all the words of this law," a number of times in the chapter is further proof of this.
Here is a checklist for where these forbidden things are previously mentioned, and where additional comment is available:
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