Moses and the elders now tell the Israelites that when they cross the Jordan, they must set up some large stones and write on them all the the words of the law. They must have been very large stones. He also says that they must set up an altar on Mount Ebal and sacrifice fellowship offerings there, "eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord". The stones are to be coated in plaster, but they must not be worked with iron tools. God wants His altar to be honest and simple. He wants our worship to be the same.
Moses then tells the people that once they have crossed the Jordan (and presumably after they have set up the altar) six tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and six must stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. The tribe of Levi is one of those instructed to give the blessings, but now we are told that the Levites must recite a list of twelve curses, all beginning with "Cursed is the man who..." and ending with a violation of the law. These curses don't even come close to covering the entire law, but maybe the sins cursed here were the main problems of the day. Moses understood the times because He listened to God and to the people, and he spoke accordingly. We need to do the same. It's also interesting that after each curse, the people must say "Amen". If we choose to follow God's rule, we must signal our intent.
Now Moses tells the people that if they obey God, He will bless them and grant them "abundant prosperity", but if they disobey Him, He will curse them with disease and famine and oppression. The number and detail of the curses is quite chilling. You get the impression that this was written by the sort of person who comes up with the plots for the more gruesome crime dramas. This passage seems to say that good behaviour will be rewarded, while bad behaviour will be punished. In some ways it's an attractive idea - everyone gets what they deserve, and that's only fair, right? - but it doesn't hold up. A simple look at our own lives and the lives of those around us shows that the world doesn't really work like that. Sometimes we struggle no matter how hard we try to do the right thing, and sometimes we succeed because of our sin. If a multi-national company turns over billions of pounds of profit because it pays it's workers a pittance, is it's prosperity really a reward from God? And if a person who has tried their best to live a good and godly life dies of cancer at the age of forty, is that really a punishment for lying to their parents once when they were thirteen? I don't think so. And as I've said before, I think that way of thinking can actually be quite dangerous, as it can lead to complacency and pride in times of wealth, and feelings of despondency and abandonment in times of trouble.
God clearly doesn't reward the good and punish the bad on an individual basis, so where does that leave this passage? Well, I think we need to remember that we are not reading God's word verbatim, but an interpretation of that word. And if that interpretation doesn't work, we need to rethink it. It doesn't mean the Bible's wrong or that we should reject it entirely, it just means we need to apply a little wisdom and judgement of our own in order to understand what God is really trying to say.
So, if it's not all part of some divine justice system, why do some prosper while others suffer? I think it's important to remember that God isn't the only power at play. He also has our free will and the opposing powers of evil to contend with. He can't make everything work out the way He wants it to because sometimes we make bad decisions which make that impossible. And when we make those bad decisions, when we sin, we allow evil to remain in the world and screw things up even more. And God can't do anything about that because He can't mess with our free will. He is all-powerful but He is not all-controlling. God vs evil vs us means one big mess in which people don't always get what they deserve. But that doesn't mean we should give up or despair. It means we need God even more, because when we walk with Him we can enjoy the good times, but we can also handle the bad times. And it doesn't mean that God doesn't work in our lives at all. When we work with Him and we let Him get involved, He can and will work wonders.
But back to the passage. Moses reminds the people of all that God has done for them, and calls on them to follow the terms of the covenant. It's no coincidence that these two things - remembrance and obedience - come together. You don't obey somebody unless you trust them, and you can only trust them if they've proved themselves worthy of that trust. God had proved Himself worthy when He rescued the Israelites form Egypt and guided and protected and provided for them in the desert, and it was important that they remembered that, because then they could obey Him with confidence and faith. It's important that we do the same.
I knew there was an unforgivable sin in the New Testament, but I hadn't realised there was an unforgivable sin in the Old Testament too. Moses says that if a person hears the covenant and because of it invokes a blessing on himself and thinks that he will be safe even if he persists in going his own way, he will bring down disaster and God will never forgive him. We must not become arrogant in our faith, or treat it as a lucky charm or 'get out of jail free' card. But why is such a sin unforgivable? Maybe because a person who holds this attitude already thinks they've got it sorted and so will never repent, and while the offer of forgiveness always stands and is available to everyone, atonement cannot come without true repentance.
Now Moses prophesies, telling the people that when they have received the blesses and curses he has described and finally turn back to God, He will show compassion and restore their fortunes. So there is always a way back. Whoever we are and whatever we have done, if we turn to God with an honest and willing heart, He will take us into His arms and love us as we never knew was possible. This passage is also interesting as it shows that God knew exactly what would happen to the Israelites. He knew they would stray and suffer and be scattered. So why did He let it happen? Again, it's that age old answer of free will. He couldn't stop it. But that doesn't mean He wanted or enjoyed or condoned their fate. It doesn't mean He planned it. It's like watching Little Women for the umpteenth time. You know Beth's going to catch scarlet fever from the baby, and that that will weaken her and lead to her death, and you want to stop her from visiting the child, but you can't because that's not the way it works. And even though you know what's going to happen, you still weep every single time. I believe it's the same for God. He knows when we'll screw up and He wants to grab hold of us and stop us. He'll scream at us not to do it, but He can't do anything against our will because that's not the way it works either. And so even though He knows the ending, still He weeps.
Finally, Moses tells the people that what he's asking is not too hard for them or beyond their reach. They know what they must do - it is in their hearts and their mouths - now they must just get on and do it. We'll never be perfect, but God knows that. He makes allowances for that. All He asks is that we try, that we do our best. We can all do that.
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