Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: "Keep all the commandments I am giving you today. Sermons
1. That the Law could not give life. 2. That it was not designed to give life. 3. That its real aim was to convince of sin, and so to shut men up to the faith that would afterwards be revealed (Galatians 3:23). Three topics in these verses - I. THE ERECTION OF THE STONES. (Vers. 2, 8.) Stones were to be set up, coated with plaster (a custom of Egypt), on which were to be written, "very plainly," "all the words of this Law" (ver. 8) - either the Law in Deuteronomy, or the Pentateuchal laws generally. The stones were: 1. Significant reminders of the tenure on which the land was held. 2. Witnesses against the people in case of disobedience. 3. A testimony to the plainness with which the Law had been made known to them. The last point reminds us of our own privilege in possessing a clear and full revelation of the will of God in the Bible. Copies of the Bible are like these stones, witnesses against us if we disobey the gospel. "Light has come into the world" (John 3:19). We are not left to the natural conscience, sufficient though that be to convict men of sin (Romans 2:14, 15). We are servants who know our Lord's will (Luke 12:47). We have the light both of Law and gospel. Supremely great are our privileges, and equally great are our responsibilities. II. THE STONES ERECTED ON EBAL. (Ver. 4.) But why on Ebal? Why on the mount of cursing? Had there been a Law which could have given life, "verily," Paul says, "righteousness should have been by the Law" (Galatians 3:21). In that case, the appropriate place for the erection of the stones would have been Gerizim - the mount of blessing. But the Law could not give life. In itself considered, as requiring perfect obedience, it could only condemn. Its principal function - its economic scope and purpose - was not to bless, but to give "knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:19, 20; Romans 7:9-14; Galatians 3.). Hence the appropriate place for the stones being planted was on the mount of cursing. III. THE ACCOMPANYING SACRIFICES. (Vers. 5-7.) 1. As the Law testified to sin, so the sacrifices testified to grace - to the provision in mercy which lay within the covenant for the removal of guilt. Burnt offerings and peace offerings, as well as the sin offerings, included the idea of propitiation. This was shown at the first forming of the covenant by the action of sprinkling the blood (Exodus 22:6-8; cf. Hebrews 9:19-28). Without sacrifice, without the means of removing, or at least covering guilt, Israel's position under the Law would have been a mockery. 2. The altar of unhewn stones testifies to the subordinate place which art ought to have in the worship of God. There was a special suitableness in the altar of propitiation being built of undesecrated materials. Himself sinful, man's art would have polluted it. Only when propitiation had been made was art permitted to resume its function of ministering to the beauty of Divine service. But art, in religion, needs to be carefully guarded. It is false art when it drowns other thoughts in admiration of the finish, injuring worship by that which draws away the mind from worship. 3. The burnt offerings and peace offerings testified - the one to the entire consecration of heart and life which is the condition of acceptable service; the other, to the peace and fellowship with God which, on the ground of sacrifice, are attained through consecration and obedience. - J.O.
A Syrian ready to perish was my father. Such was the confession required of every priest of Israel when he presented, before the altar, the offering of first-fruits. It was, therefore, in the midst of abundance, a memorial of former destitution, and an acknowledgment of utter unworthiness, under circumstances of peculiar obligation. The text is capable of divers renderings; but take whichever we may, the lesson is the same. It teaches us, that when the Divine promises are all fulfilled, and our salvation is complete, we are still to remember the past (Isaiah 51:1). The connection between acceptable thanksgiving and profound humiliation is a fact which none but a Pharisee would dare to disregard, and which it behoves the Christian to bear in mind in all his devout meditations and religious exercises. Should pride ever rise within his bosom — "Who maketh thee to differ?" is a consideration which may suffice to put it down: nor will he, if walking in the fear of God, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, when, by virtue of his "royal priesthood," he has "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," forget to say there — "A Syrian ready to perish was my father." The natural philosopher may rejoice that he is not a brute, and a pagan may glory in the attributes peculiar to man, but the devout student learns some very humbling facts concerning the position of our race. Among the rest is this, that, of intelligent beings, man is probably the lowest in the scale. That angels excel us in strength is obvious from everything we know concerning them; and that devils have far greater intellectual power than belongs to man, none acquainted with their devices will be disposed to question. To boast of our mental superiority, then, is but to mingle ignorance with pride. The humiliation which these considerations may be supposed to engender is deepened by the recollection, that our case is not one of poverty alone, but of degradation. Whatever may have been man's original glory, that glory has long since departed. His boast of heraldry is vain; traced back to its earliest antiquity, it bespeaks his ruin. His crest is an inverted crown. And this is his motto — "Man that was in honour abode not." The grace of God works wonders. It copes with depravity, and subdues it. It rescues the sinner from his degradation, and renders him meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. But it also teaches him never to forget, even amidst the splendours of the heavenly temple, to which it ultimately introduces him, the ancient acknowledgment of the adoring Israelite — "A Syrian ready to perish was my father."(D. E. Ford.) People Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Levi, Levites, Moses, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, ZebulunPlaces Beth-baal-peor, Jordan River, Mount Ebal, Mount GerizimTopics Charged, Command, Commanded, Commandeth, Commanding, Commandment, Commandments, Commands, Elders, Orders, Responsible, Saying, To-dayOutline 1. The people are commanded to write the law upon stones5. and to build an altar of whole stones 11. The tribes to be divided on Gerizim and Ebal 14. The curses to be pronounced on mount Ebal Dictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 27:1-8Library ObedienceTake heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do his commandments.' Deut 27: 9, 10. What is the duty which God requireth of man? Obedience to his revealed will. It is not enough to hear God's voice, but we must obey. Obedience is a part of the honour we owe to God. If then I be a Father, where is my honour?' Mal 1: 6. Obedience carries in it the life-blood of religion. Obey the voice of the Lord … Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments In Judæa and through Samaria - a Sketch of Samaritan History and Theology - Jews and Samaritans. How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way. Gilgal, in Deuteronomy 11:30 what the Place Was. In Galilee at the Time of Our Lord Meditations of the Misery of a Man not Reconciled to God in Christ. Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees. Differences in Judgment About Water Baptism, no Bar to Communion: Or, to Communicate with Saints, as Saints, Proved Lawful. Deuteronomy Links Deuteronomy 27:1 NIVDeuteronomy 27:1 NLT Deuteronomy 27:1 ESV Deuteronomy 27:1 NASB Deuteronomy 27:1 KJV Deuteronomy 27:1 Bible Apps Deuteronomy 27:1 Parallel Deuteronomy 27:1 Biblia Paralela Deuteronomy 27:1 Chinese Bible Deuteronomy 27:1 French Bible Deuteronomy 27:1 German Bible Deuteronomy 27:1 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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