If you love me, keep My commandments

John 14:15
If you love me, keep My commandments

God never forces us to obey. From the Old Testament times, He presented His people with clear choices: obedience leads to blessings, disobedience leads to curses. God does not have to actively curse us, all He needs is withold His favour and this cursed world will have its effect on us. Jesus too usually begins His sayings with "if". The choice is still ours. However, if we belong to Him, we will be doing the right thing, and if we disobeyed and belong to Him, then we will feel rotten about it.

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am

John 13:13-16
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 

Yshua is both our Lord, Teacher and Master. He does not force and control us to do His will, but let us have  our own free will. On the other hand, He is also there in our times of trouble, even if we don't welcome His presence. The role of the Teacher and Lord is together, such that we who are His disciples are required to obey Him naturally and consistently, not out of anything else but because He loved us first.

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them

John 13:17
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

When we are given revelations by the Holy Spirit, we are expected to act on them. Obeying is an active pursuit rather than a set of laws about "Do nots". In prayer and in communion with God, He will reveal that things that we ought to do. The motivation may sometimes elude us and can only be understood by God. However, to those who obey and carry out the tasks, they will be blessed by God in return.

Are You going there again?

John 11:7-8
Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”

The disciples were genuinely concerned about the safety of their Master. We would say the same thing for the person we love too. It is easy to forget that Jesus is the Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Powerful one which the whole Universe is created by.

Today, the believer have the Holy Spirit in us who also lead us according to the will of the Father. But as humans, sometimes we think that we know better than the living God, although we meant no offence. It takes practise to train ourselves to trust God completely and obey Him, even though his direction for us seems contrary to our opinions.

You are that one’s slaves whom you obey

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?


The word slaves and obey are not exactly liked in popular literature. In particular slaves have a negative association about human rights. However, Paul used the word slaves to refer as being totally surrendered to the one or the thing that we are obeying. We can be slaves to various earthly things, slave to ourselves or slaves to God, as indicated by our obedience to any of these.

Only one of the above options is beneficial to us, that is obeying God and being a slave to Him. In fact this is the most liberating of all, since only in obeying God, can the slavery to all other addictions be broken.

For all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you

Jesus uses the analogy of the vine to explain the relationship between God the Father, Jesus Himself and His people. Jesus is the vine and His people are the branches. Those who bear fruit will be pruned and produce more fruit. Those who are unfruitful will be cast out, thrown away and burned. This is again the principle of increasing those who are faithful and removing those who are not. The goal at the end of this is that the Father is glorified.

Jesus continues to teach His disciples various important things regarding His relationship with them. They include:
- Loving Him mean obeying His commandments.
- Although commandment also include the Old Testament commandments, but the context is the commandment of love which all others hang on, together with the commandment to love God.
- Jesus describes the ultimate sign of love is to sacrifice ourselves for one another.
- Jesus does not regard us and Him as servant - master relationship. Indeed Jesus the Lord says He regards us as His friends. Some people emphasise the reverence and fear of God and disregard those who call Jesus as a friend. In this Scripture we see Jesus Himself clearly says if we obey Him, He regards us as friends.
- A significant result of such friendship between Jesus and us is that He would reveal many things to us, and we can no longer say those phrases like "God is a mysterious God", since Jesus says "for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."

Jesus explains that the world, meaning the unbelievers, will hate his followers. This is not because of the followers but because they are actually hating Jesus and so His followers will experience their hatred too. They will not hate their fellow unbelievers. Jesus also explained their source of hatred is fulfilling prophecy that they hated Him without a cause. Finally Jesus promises the Holy Spirit who will be send by the Father, who will witness Jesus to us.









John 15
The True Vine

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

The World’s Hatred

18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’[c]

The Coming Rejection

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Yet Your Eyes and Your Heart are for Nothing but Your Covetousness

This is another message directed at the King of Judah from God. Although the impeding judgment will be severe as revealed to Jeremiah, even at this last minute, the merciful Lord still give  the King an opportunity to repent and execute justice, promising that if the king did so, then he will be welcomed in heaven. To be clear, God explained that the coming judgment is for their forsaking Him and worshipping and serving other gods.

God mentioned the name of the King of Judah as Shallum or Jehoiakim , son of Josiah. This king practised violence, oppression, covetousness and the shedding of innocent blood. He did not obey God. He will be humbled and humiliated, those he loved would be taken into captivity. His suffering will be much worse than a woman's labour.

The prophecy continue on to Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin. He will be taken captive by the Babylonians / Chaldeans, and their King Nebuchadnezzar. God will end the line of the Kings of Judah here. He will not have descendants on the throne anymore.


 



Jeremiah 22

1 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! 3 Thus says the Lord: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. 5 But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.”’”

6 For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:

“You are Gilead to Me,
The head of Lebanon;
Yet I surely will make you a wilderness,
Cities which are not inhabited.
7 I will prepare destroyers against you,
Everyone with his weapons;
They shall cut down your choice cedars
And cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’”

10 Weep not for the dead, nor bemoan him;
Weep bitterly for him who goes away,
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country.


Message to the Sons of Josiah

11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum[a] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, 12 but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
And his chambers by injustice,
Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages
And gives him nothing for his work,
14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house with spacious chambers,
And cut out windows for it,
Paneling it with cedar
And painting it with vermilion.’
15 “Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord.
17 “Yet your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness,
For shedding innocent blood,
And practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“They shall not lament for him,
Saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’
They shall not lament for him,
Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’
19 He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey,
Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry from Abarim,
For all your lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
But you said, ‘I will not hear.’
This has been your manner from your youth,
That you did not obey My voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all your rulers,
And your lovers shall go into captivity;
Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated
For all your wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon,
Making your nest in the cedars,
How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you,
Like the pain of a woman in labor?


Message to Coniah

24 “As I live,” says the Lord, “though Coniah[b] the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.

28 “Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol—
A vessel in which is no pleasure?
Why are they cast out, he and his descendants,
And cast into a land which they do not know?
29 O earth, earth, earth,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
‘Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.’”

Cursed is the Man who Does Not Obey the Words of this Covenant

The covenant, the promises and the obligations are repeated to the people here. God who established the covenant and saved the people from Egypt and beyond, expected obedience from His people. The result of disobedient is curses. God assigned Jeremiah to proclaim this to His people, and also explained His thoughts on His people turning away and serving other gods.

The extent of God's anger is also revealed when He told Jeremiah not to pray for the people. The judgment will come on the people and when the people cry out to God, God has determined not to listen. Although this may seem different from the God portrayed by Messiah, the fact is that His people has had much warnings and the time has come for God to execute a just judgment. Out of their disobedience, the most offensive is their worshipping and serving of other gods.

Jeremiah was also notified by the Lord that his life is in danger from the people of Anathoth. God asked him not to prophesy there and the He would deliver severe punishment to Anathoth.



Jeremiah 11
The Broken Covenant

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’[a] as it is this day.”’”

And I answered and said, “So be it, Lord.”

6 Then the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’”

9 And the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”

11 Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13 For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

14 “So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.

15 “What has My beloved to do in My house,
Having done lewd deeds with many?
And the holy flesh has passed from you.
When you do evil, then you rejoice.
16 The Lord called your name,
Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.
With the noise of a great tumult
He has kindled fire on it,
And its branches are broken.
17 “For the Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.”

Jeremiah’s Life Threatened

18 Now the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. 19 But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

20 But, O Lord of hosts,
You who judge righteously,
Testing the mind and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have revealed my cause.
21 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hand’— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.’”

Song of Moses

Like a big portion of Deuteronomy, the chapter below describes God's faithfulness in choosing and bringing Israel out of Egypt and their subsequent corruption. However this chapter is presented as a song so that Israel can remember. So read below again and be reminded of what God told Israel.

A few interesting points include God referred to Israel as the "Apple of His eye". Although God's faithfulness and warnings below can be applied to us, we need to understand that the passage below specifically describes Israel and cannot be replaced by Christians. Again, the passage can teach us lessons but does not replace Israel with Christians since it is clear from the details below that God refers to Israel.

The passage is also prophetic because the corruption of Israel and its subsequent disintegration is yet to happen when Moses wrote Deuteronomy, inspired by God. God provided for Israel, and we know God is patient. So what did Israel do that provoked God so much? One of the key sins that God finds abominable is from v15 onwards:

15    Then he forsook God who made him,
      And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
      With abominations they provoked Him to anger.

17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
      To gods they did not know,
      To new gods, new arrivals
      That your fathers did not fear.

We see clearly the purpose of the song as Joshua ends the song by encouraging the Israelites to be careful to observe all the Laws of God. So the Israelites have been given a glimpse of their bleak future which they can avoid by obeying God.

One last comment to refute the Replacement Theory is that in verse 40, God calls on the Gentiles (non-Israelites) to rejoice with the Israelites when God will bring vengeance on the nations that harm Israel. Clearly God knows who He is talking to and that this passage events describe those of the Israelites but God's will is for the Gentiles who believe in Him to have a role in this.


Deuteronomy 32

 1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
      And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

 2 Let my teaching drop as the rain,
      My speech distill as the dew,
      As raindrops on the tender herb,
      And as showers on the grass.

 3 For I proclaim the name of the LORD:
      Ascribe greatness to our God.

 4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
      For all His ways are justice,
      A God of truth and without injustice;
      Righteous and upright is He.

 5 “They have corrupted themselves;
      They are not His children,
      Because of their blemish:
      A perverse and crooked generation.

 6 Do you thus deal with the LORD,
      O foolish and unwise people?
      Is He not your Father, who bought you?
      Has He not made you and established you?

 7 “ Remember the days of old,
      Consider the years of many generations.
      Ask your father, and he will show you;
      Your elders, and they will tell you:

 8 When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations,
      When He separated the sons of Adam,
      He set the boundaries of the peoples
      According to the number of the children of Israel.

 9 For the LORD’s portion is His people;
      Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

 10 “He found him in a desert land
      And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
      He encircled him, He instructed him,
      He kept him as the apple of His eye.

 11 As an eagle stirs up its nest,
      Hovers over its young,
      Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
      Carrying them on its wings,

 12 So the LORD alone led him,
      And there was no foreign god with him.

 13 “He made him ride in the heights of the earth,
      That he might eat the produce of the fields;
      He made him draw honey from the rock,
      And oil from the flinty rock;

 14 Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock,
      With fat of lambs;
      And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
      With the choicest wheat;
      And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.

 15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
      You grew fat, you grew thick,
      You are obese!
      Then he forsook God who made him,
      And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

 16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
      With abominations they provoked Him to anger.

 17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
      To gods they did not know,
      To new gods, new arrivals
      That your fathers did not fear.

 18 Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
      And have forgotten the God who fathered you.

 19 “And when the LORD saw it, He spurned them,
      Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.

 20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them,
      I will see what their end will be,
      For they are a perverse generation,
      Children in whom is no faith.

 21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
      They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols.
      But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
      I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

 22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
      And shall burn to the lowest hell;
      It shall consume the earth with her increase,


 23 ‘I will heap disasters on them;
      I will spend My arrows on them.

 24 They shall be wasted with hunger,
      Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction;
      I will also send against them the teeth of beasts,
      With the poison of serpents of the dust.

 25 The sword shall destroy outside;
      There shall be terror within
      For the young man and virgin,
      The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

 26 I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces,
      I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”

 27 Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy,
      Lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
      Lest they should say, “Our hand is high;
      And it is not the LORD who has done all this.”’

 28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
      Nor is there any understanding in them.

 29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
      That they would consider their latter end!

 30 How could one chase a thousand,
      And two put ten thousand to flight,
      Unless their Rock had sold them,
      And the LORD had surrendered them?

 31 For their rock is not like our Rock,
      Even our enemies themselves being judges.

 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom
      And of the fields of Gomorrah;
      Their grapes are grapes of gall,
      Their clusters are bitter.

 33 Their wine is the poison of serpents,
      And the cruel venom of cobras.

 34 ‘Is this not laid up in store with Me,
      Sealed up among My treasures?

 35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
      Their foot shall slip in due time;
      For the day of their calamity is at hand,
      And the things to come hasten upon them.’

 36 “For the LORD will judge His people
      And have compassion on His servants,
      When He sees that their power is gone,
      And there is no one remaining, bond or free.

 37 He will say: ‘Where are their gods,
      The rock in which they sought refuge?

 38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
      And drank the wine of their drink offering?
      Let them rise and help you,
      And be your refuge.

 39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He,
      And there is no God besides Me;
      I kill and I make alive;
      I wound and I heal;
      Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

 40 For I raise My hand to heaven,
      And say, “As I live forever,

 41 If I whet My glittering sword,
      And My hand takes hold on judgment,
      I will render vengeance to My enemies,
      And repay those who hate Me.

 42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
      And My sword shall devour flesh,
      With the blood of the slain and the captives,
      From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.”’

 43 “ Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people;[a]
      For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
      And render vengeance to His adversaries;
      He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”
44 So Moses came with Joshua[b] the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo
  
48 Then the LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; 50 and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; 51 because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”

Curses from Mount Ebal, Laws Inscribed on Large Stone Altar

Through all the various laws that is spelled out, the underlying requirement of God from the Israelites is that they obey the LORD God, observe His commandments and His statutes. One particular thing of reminder that they are required to do when they enter the Promised Land is to set up some very large stones to build an altar. On these stones will be inscribed the law God had told them.

And when they came to Mount Ebal, a list of curses were pronounced to all the people. The contents of the curses are listed below. Generally, the curses are towards sinners who have committed abominable acts in God's sight. It is interesting to note that the list of actions leading to the curses are mostly different to the acts in the Ten Commandments. Many of the acts listed here which led to curses involve acts against nature or the natural order of human relationship that God had designed.


Deuteronomy 27

The Law Inscribed on Stones

 1 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2 And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’[a] just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. 7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”
9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of the LORD your God. 10 Therefore you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”

Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal
  
11 And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, 12 “These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 and these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
14 “And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: 15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’
“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’
16 ‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
18 ‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
20 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
21 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
22 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
23 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
24 ‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’
26 ‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’
“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’”