Post by Mark on Sept 20, 2008 5:03:42 GMT -8
Here’s the picture: The nation of Israel is told to split into two camps. Half of the people go to Mount Ebal where they will pronounces curses. Half of the people will go to mount Gerazim to pronounce blessings. What does this mean? We really don’t know; but there is no shortage of answers. It is noted by many that only children of Leah and Rachel are on Mount Gerazim, where the blessings are to be pronouced, while on Mount Ebal, the sons of the handmaidens are there with Reuben and Zebulun (both sons of Leah). Some speculate that because Reuben dishonored his father he was placed on the mount for cursing. Not many have an answer as to why Zebulun is there. Actually, most teachers read through this segment rather quickly, hoping that no one asks any questions.
Ebal is a round hill, grassy and smooth. Gerazim literally means "rocky". It is more difficult a climb and hard to retain one’s footing because the ground is so coarse and uneven. Upon Mount Ebal is erected a monument which has written upon it the entire
. From Mount Gerazim, the people, the descendents of Leah and Rachel, pronounce blessings toward the people on Ebal.
The imagery must have been compelling. Toward the craggy cliffs where the sons of Jacob were struggling to stand, their brothers were pronouncing curses, from the hill that was easy, where the stood behind them. Toward the smooth hill, where the stood erect, the people shouted blessings, declaring how obedience would promise peace and prosperity in this land.
Over and over, as I come into contact with people deceived by the antinomian Church, I see this vision turned around and backwards. "Don’t you see how difficult the Law is?" they ask as they try to balance their worlds of confusion between religious piety and worldly gratification. How much better it is to stand on Ebal. The Church has grown accustomed to her terrain, so much that she doesn’t see the value in a well beaten path. Finding her own way, slipping and scuffing her hands and knees, falling against her neighbors and causing them to stumble, somehow seems better than stepping where we know the ground is even and the grass is soft.
Throughout the Bible, not just the, not just the Old Testament, obedience promises blessings. Nothing in this has changed. Transgression of is still, at least according to Paul and John, the definition of sin.
Call me a wimp, if you want. I prefer to rise to the top of Ebal where I will find a pillar where is written the very words of Adonai to us. On the top of Gerazim? There are just more rocks and a bunch of other people looking for something just as confused as you are.
Ebal is a round hill, grassy and smooth. Gerazim literally means "rocky". It is more difficult a climb and hard to retain one’s footing because the ground is so coarse and uneven. Upon Mount Ebal is erected a monument which has written upon it the entire
. From Mount Gerazim, the people, the descendents of Leah and Rachel, pronounce blessings toward the people on Ebal.The imagery must have been compelling. Toward the craggy cliffs where the sons of Jacob were struggling to stand, their brothers were pronouncing curses, from the hill that was easy, where the
stood behind them. Toward the smooth hill, where the stood erect, the people shouted blessings, declaring how obedience would promise peace and prosperity in this land. Over and over, as I come into contact with people deceived by the antinomian Church, I see this vision turned around and backwards. "Don’t you see how difficult the Law is?" they ask as they try to balance their worlds of confusion between religious piety and worldly gratification. How much better it is to stand on Ebal. The Church has grown accustomed to her terrain, so much that she doesn’t see the value in a well beaten path. Finding her own way, slipping and scuffing her hands and knees, falling against her neighbors and causing them to stumble, somehow seems better than stepping where we know the ground is even and the grass is soft.
Throughout the Bible, not just the
, not just the Old Testament, obedience promises blessings. Nothing in this has changed. Transgression of is still, at least according to Paul and John, the definition of sin. Call me a wimp, if you want. I prefer to rise to the top of Ebal where I will find a pillar where is written the very words of Adonai to us. On the top of Gerazim? There are just more rocks and a bunch of other people looking for something just as confused as you are.
