2024-05-05 Deuteronomy 27:1-10 Monuments and The Lord

Text Read

Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.” 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today. 11 That day Moses charged the people, saying, 12 “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Text Explained

A Monument: In the 5th century, the Greek Historian Herodotus, described the seven wonders of the ancient world. Each of these wonders were known for their size, material used, the structural engineering, and for their beauty and power. They are: The Great Pyramid of Giza which is still standing today; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Colossus of Rhodes; the Lighthouse of Alexandria; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. These were magnificent monuments. But what is the purpose of a monument? Monuments are potent symbols that express the collective goals, joys, and sorrows of a society. They reflect a societies identity. In fact the word monument comes from the latin word moneo which means: “to remind.” One researcher puts it this way, “A monument is a way in which society remembers its past and formulates its identity and future hopes.” (The Importance of Monuments - RealHistoryResources.org) Monuments are tools of communication, of education, and of inspiration. (Illustration: When I lived out in PA, my friend’s and I would travel to Gettysburg. Gettysburg is a battlefield littered with over 1200 monuments & markers. Some are enormous structures and some are small plaques. As my friends and I would go from monument to monument, we could see how the battle unfolded over the course of three days. On one of our visits, we were hiking on a side trail that went up about six feet, there we noticed a little plaque/monument noting that this was where a small number of soldiers defended another attack. The monuments spread all over the battlefield told the story of how close of a fight it was. The sheer volume of monuments and markers tell the story of battle that balanced on a razors edge and it help to teach us and all those who visited. Monuments help a society remember their past, and express their collective goals. As we come to today’s passage we find Moses commanding the people to raise a monument immediately upon their entrance across the Jordan River. Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. While this particular pillar has not been discovered, we know from archeology that other monuments like this one have been erected in much the same way. The stones would be stacked, then they would be whitewashed with an application of Lime-Plaster which would aid in whatever was written on the stone monument. Archeology also has informed us that in both ancient Egypt and Syria-Palestine, stone stacks such as the one described here were erected for the sense of permanence and public display, with the plaster being used to improve the quality of writing on the stone. The purpose of the monument described in today’s text was to be that point of reminding and teaching of the people. In fact, when this command is carried out in Joshua 24:27 Joshua personifies the stone as a witness. “And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that He spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” But what were the Israelites supposed to write upon this monument? 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. The Mosaic Law was to be written on this stone monument giving it a sense of permanence to the current and future generations in the place where they crossed over. Where the conquest of the Promised Land would begin. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. At the start of the entrance of the Promised Land, they were to erect a monument of the Law of the Lord. That monument was to be a reminder of what God expected of them. Yet that was not the only thing they were to build. They were to build an altar.

An Altar: 5 And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Not only were they to build a monument inscribed with the entire Law of the Lord, they were to also build an altar to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Yet this altar had some specific requirements. You shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. This altar was to follow the commands given to Moses by God back in Exodus 20:25 “If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.” Side not: Why would using iron tools profane it? We are not exactly sure, yet we know that in the time of Saul, in 2 Samuel 13:19-23, the Israelites had to go to the Philistines in order to have their iron implements repaired. As one scholar notes: “...it is possible that even from an early date, the use and maintenance of iron tools was indicative of dependence on non-Hebrews, a thing discouraged by the exclusive nature of the covenant relationship.” (Craigie, P. C. (1976). The Book of Deuteronomy (p. 329). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) Regardless of the reason, the Israelites were given specific parameters of their task and were expected to carry it out in obedience to the Lord. This altar that was to be built near the monument was for the purpose of burnt offerings, peace offerings, and an opportunity to rejoice even in the first steps of entering the Promised Land. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God. Then Moses gives a final exhortation on how the writing on the monument. 8 And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.” In other words, make it legible & easy to read.

Exhortation: 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping His commandments and His statutes, which I command you today.” You belong to the Lord, now do what He says.

Text Applied

In the text today there are three parts, the monument, the altar, and the exhortation.

The Monument: When we think of a monument, we naturally think of something carved into or out of stone. Yet this is not the only thing that qualifies as a monument. You see the importance of the monument that the Israelites raised was not in the stacked stones, but on the message that was written on it. Namely, the Law of the Lord. The stack of stones was not the focus of the monument, but what was written on them. Matthew 5:18 Jesus tells us “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The stones that had the Law of God engraved on them have been lost to time, yet the message of that monument continues in the pages you have carried here today. There is a monument in your hand and it contains the very words of the Lord are contained in it. In your hands contains the unique, divine revealing of the Creator of the Universe to those He created. In its’ pages contains the story of how we got to where we are. It tells of Creation, the Sinful Fall of humanity & the Righteous Standard of the Creator, It tells of how mankind has tried to go our own way and make gods in our own image. It tells of how the Creator revealed Himself, and how the Creator entered His Creation to redeem the sheep that had gone astray. It tells of how and why the perfect Creator had to suffer and die, betrayed by the ones He came to save, and it tells of His Resurrection, Ascension, and His Second Coming. Dear One, you have a Monument to the Creator in your hands, yet how much do we cherish this monument. Oh yes, it gives thou shalt and thou shalt nots, b/c He is the Creator and we can only please Him on His terms. But I ask again, how much do we cherish this monument to the glory of the Creator? Psalms 119 is the longest Psalm with 176 verses. The Psalm is broken down into sections and in each section there is a focus on the value of the Law of the Lord. Psalm 119:174 “I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight.” Do we actually have that mind when we read the thou shalt and the thou shalt nots? or do we grumble about the requirements of the Lord. Dear one, you have a monument to the Creator in your hands and in the pages of that monument you can read the Creator’s words to you. Do you value it as you should?

The Altar: In our text today, there was to be a monument with the Law that the Lord had given to His people. And then there was to be an altar in which the people were able to respond to the Lord in worship. The Law was the word of God to His people, and the Altar was to give opportunity for His people to respond with sacrifices and rejoicing. You see when we are in Scripture/the Bible/the Law of the Lord, we see God clearer and clearer. and as we get a better understanding of who God is through His revealing of Himself to us, that ought to cause a response. That response is sometimes sorrow over sin that the Word has pointed out in our lives. So we respond with repentance. Sometimes it is thankfulness at being reminded of how good God is. But it should always bring us to a point of rejoicing because God cares for us.

The Exhortation: Today we ended with the exhortation of Moses telling the people to obey the Word of the Lord. Today I want to end with an exhortation from Psalm 19:7–14 “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” The Monument in your hands is the revealed word of the Creator to you. Read it, Study it, Understand it, Do it.