◄ Deuteronomy 27:12 ►
"When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Study Bible
When you have crossed the Jordan
This phrase refers to the Israelites' impending entry into the Promised Land, a significant event in their history. The Jordan River served as a natural boundary, and crossing it symbolized leaving the wilderness behind and entering a land of promise. This crossing is reminiscent of the Red Sea crossing, highlighting God's deliverance and faithfulness. It also prefigures Christian baptism, symbolizing the transition from the old life to the new.

these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people
Mount Gerizim, located in the central region of Canaan, was chosen as the site for pronouncing blessings. This mountain, along with Mount Ebal, formed a natural amphitheater near Shechem, a significant city in Israel's history. The act of standing on Mount Gerizim to bless the people underscores the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, emphasizing the blessings of obedience. This event foreshadows the blessings found in Christ, who fulfills the law and offers spiritual blessings to believers.

Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin
These six tribes were selected to stand on Mount Gerizim. Each tribe has its own historical and prophetic significance:
Simeon: Known for its dispersion within Israel, Simeon's inclusion here highlights God's grace and the potential for restoration.
Levi: The priestly tribe, representing spiritual leadership and intercession, pointing to Christ as our High Priest.
Judah: The tribe from which King David and ultimately Jesus Christ descended, symbolizing leadership and messianic promise.
Issachar: Known for wisdom and understanding of the times, reflecting the importance of discernment in following God's will.
Joseph: Represented by Ephraim and Manasseh, symbolizing fruitfulness and God's provision, with Joseph's life being a type of Christ in suffering and exaltation.
Benjamin: The youngest tribe, associated with strength and resilience, from which the Apostle Paul descended, highlighting the spread of the Gospel.

These tribes' role in blessing the people underscores the unity and diversity within the covenant community, pointing to the collective inheritance and responsibility of God's people.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Mount Gerizim
A significant mountain in the central region of ancient Israel, opposite Mount Ebal. It is the site where blessings were proclaimed over the Israelites.

2. The Tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin
These six tribes were chosen to stand on Mount Gerizim to pronounce blessings over the people of Israel. Each tribe has its own historical and spiritual significance within the nation of Israel.

3. Crossing the Jordan
This event marks the Israelites' entry into the Promised Land, a pivotal moment in their history, symbolizing a transition from wandering to settlement.

4. Blessings and Curses Ceremony
A covenant renewal ceremony where blessings were pronounced from Mount Gerizim and curses from Mount Ebal, emphasizing the importance of obedience to God's law.

5. Moses
The leader of the Israelites who, under God's direction, instructed the people regarding the blessings and curses as part of the covenant renewal.
Teaching Points
Obedience and Blessing
The act of standing on Mount Gerizim to pronounce blessings underscores the principle that obedience to God's commandments brings blessings. Reflect on how obedience in your life aligns with receiving God's blessings.

Community and Responsibility
The involvement of specific tribes in the ceremony highlights the communal aspect of faith and the shared responsibility of upholding God's law. Consider how you contribute to your faith community and uphold its values.

Symbolism of the Promised Land
Crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land symbolizes new beginnings and the fulfillment of God's promises. Reflect on the "Jordan" moments in your life where God has led you into new phases of His promises.

Role of Leadership
Moses' leadership in guiding the Israelites through this covenant renewal process illustrates the importance of godly leadership. Evaluate the leadership roles you hold and how you can lead others in faithfulness to God.

Covenant Renewal
The ceremony on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal serves as a reminder of the need for continual renewal of our commitment to God. Consider ways to renew your covenant with God regularly through prayer, study, and worship.
Bible Study Questions
1. What significance does the location of Mount Gerizim hold in the context of blessings, and how can this be applied to our understanding of sacred spaces today?

2. How does the selection of specific tribes to pronounce blessings reflect their historical roles and responsibilities within Israel, and what can we learn from this about our roles in our communities?

3. In what ways does the crossing of the Jordan River symbolize spiritual transitions in our lives, and how can we prepare for such transitions?

4. How does the concept of blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 27 relate to the broader biblical theme of covenant, and what implications does this have for our relationship with God?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced a "covenant renewal" in your spiritual journey. What prompted this renewal, and how did it impact your faith and actions?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Joshua 8:33-35
This passage describes the fulfillment of the instructions given in Deuteronomy 27, where Joshua leads the Israelites in the ceremony of blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.

Deuteronomy 11:29
Earlier in Deuteronomy, God instructs the Israelites about the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal, reinforcing the importance of obedience to His commandments.

Genesis 49
The blessings and prophecies given by Jacob to his sons, the patriarchs of the tribes, provide background on why certain tribes might be chosen for specific roles in Israel's history.
Sermons
Ebal and GerizimJ. Orr Deuteronomy 27:11-26
ResponsesR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 27:11-26
The Decalogue Nationally ReciprocatedD. Davies Deuteronomy 27:11-26
People
Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Levi, Levites, Moses, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Jordan River, Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim
Topics
Benjamin, Bless, Blessing, Cross, Gerizim, Ger'izim, Gerizzim, Issachar, Is'sachar, Jordan, Joseph, Judah, Levi, Mount, Passed, Passing, Places, Simeon, Stand, Tribes
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 27:1-26

     7797   teaching

Deuteronomy 27:9-26

     5827   curse

Deuteronomy 27:11-13

     7266   tribes of Israel

Deuteronomy 27:12-13

     1657   numbers, fractions
     4254   mountains

Library
Obedience
Take 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.
We have no means of determining how long Jesus may have tarried in Jerusalem after the events recorded in the previous two chapters. The Evangelic narrative [1850] only marks an indefinite period of time, which, as we judge from internal probability, cannot have been protracted. From the city He retired with His disciples to the country,' which formed the province of Judæa. There He taught and His disciples baptized. [1851] [1852] From what had been so lately witnessed in Jerusalem, as well …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way.
What Christ hath done to purchase, procure, and bring about our justification before God, is mentioned already, viz. That he stood in the room of sinners, engaging for them as their cautioner, undertaking, and at length paying down the ransom; becoming sin, or a sacrifice for sin, and a curse for them, and so laying down his life a ransom to satisfy divine justice; and this he hath made known in the gospel, calling sinners to an accepting of him as their only Mediator, and to a resting upon him for …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Gilgal, in Deuteronomy 11:30 what the Place Was.
That which is said by Moses, that "Gerizim and Ebal were over-against Gilgal," Deuteronomy 11:30, is so obscure, that it is rendered into contrary significations by interpreters. Some take it in that sense, as if it were near to Gilgal: some far off from Gilgal: the Targumists read, "before Gilgal": while, as I think, they do not touch the difficulty; which lies not so much in the signification of the word Mul, as in the ambiguity of the word Gilgal. These do all seem to understand that Gilgal which …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

In Galilee at the Time of Our Lord
"If any one wishes to be rich, let him go north; if he wants to be wise, let him come south." Such was the saying, by which Rabbinical pride distinguished between the material wealth of Galilee and the supremacy in traditional lore claimed for the academies of Judaea proper. Alas, it was not long before Judaea lost even this doubtful distinction, and its colleges wandered northwards, ending at last by the Lake of Gennesaret, and in that very city of Tiberias which at one time had been reputed unclean! …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Meditations of the Misery of a Man not Reconciled to God in Christ.
O wretched Man! where shall I begin to describe thine endless misery, who art condemned as soon as conceived; and adjudged to eternal death, before thou wast born to a temporal life? A beginning indeed, I find, but no end of thy miseries. For when Adam and Eve, being created after God's own image, and placed in Paradise, that they and their posterity might live in a blessed state of life immortal, having dominion over all earthly creatures, and only restrained from the fruit of one tree, as a sign …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Differences in Judgment About Water Baptism, no Bar to Communion: Or, to Communicate with Saints, as Saints, Proved Lawful.
IN ANSWER TO A BOOK WRITTEN BY THE BAPTISTS, AND PUBLISHED BY MR. T. PAUL AND MR. W. KIFFIN, ENTITLED, 'SOME SERIOUS REFLECTIONS ON THAT PART OF MR BUNYAN'S CONFESSION OF FAITH, TOUCHING CHURCH COMMUNION WITH UNBAPTIZED BELIEVERS.' WHEREIN THEIR OBJECTIONS AND ARGUMENTS ARE ANSWERED, AND THE DOCTRINE OF COMMUNION STILL ASSERTED AND VINDICATED. HERE IS ALSO MR. HENRY JESSE'S JUDGMENT IN THE CASE, FULLY DECLARING THE DOCTRINE I HAVE ASSERTED. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'Should not the multitude of words be answered? …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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