SAY "AMEN!"

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God. Obey the Lord your God and follow His commands and decrees that I give you today."

On the same day Moses commanded the people:

“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.”

“The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

‘Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol—a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of the craftsman's hands—and sets it up in secret.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's boundary stone.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless, or the widow.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who sleeps with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who has sexual relations with any animal.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

"Cursed is the man who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother." Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who kills his neighbor secretly.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.’

Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

Deuteronomy 27:9-26

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We find the Bible using the word “curse” quite often and as you can see, it is central to this passage from the closing verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 27. A quick look into the dictionary renders this meaning for the word:

1. A cause of great harm or misfortune.

2. Evil or misfortune that comes as retribution.

We also find the word “Amen” proclaimed in response to every statement regarding the accursed. Going back to our trusty dictionary, we find this concerning the word:

Used to express solemn ratification (as of an expression of faith) or hearty approval (as of an assertion).

With these two definitions in hand, we can now move into looking at our text for today. There we find Moses telling the Israelites that they were to divide up into two groups, each consisting of six tribes. This was to happen after they “crossed the Jordan” and we read where the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin were to “stand on Mount Gerizim” while the tribes of “Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali” were to “stand on Mount Ebal”.

The scriptures also let us know that each group was given specific responsibilities as they stood on their respective mountains. The tribes on Mount Gerizim were told to “bless the people” while those on Mount Ebal were to “pronounce curses”.

With the tribes in place, we see where the Levites then began to declare a series of curses. Note that these curses were delivered well after God had given His people commands through Moses. Those commands made it clear that His disfavor and judgment, or in other words…a curse, would fall on anyone who disobediently violated His demands. These demands included:

- No worshipping of idols.

- No dishonoring of parents.

- Not cheating others.

- Not allowing injustice to fall on the underprivileged.

- No sexual immorality.

- No murder.

These weren’t mere suggestions. God expected complete compliance with no deviation. To do so otherwise would bring His curse on the offender and the Israelites were well aware of what could happen if the Lord decided to unleash His punishment upon them. They only needed to remember the accounts passed down from their ancestors when God sent not just one but ten curses on the Pharaoh of Egypt and his nation. Indeed, there was no question regarding the powerful penalties God could bring to bear.

So that covers the first part of each of these verses, the judgment that would be upon anyone who broke God’s directives. He expected His Word to be followed to the tee.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the second half of all these verses which involved the response of all of God’s people as the Levites proclaimed curses on sinful offenders of the Law. We see in the scriptures that after every curse was announced, all the people were to say “Amen!” In other words, they were essentially conveying that they understood the punishment that would come for each transgression and were in agreement that it was appropriate.

In other words, through collectively saying the word, “Amen!”, God’s people acknowledged that they concurred with the idea that “great harm or misfortune” should fall on anyone who would disobey or break any of the pronounced commandments. They agreed with God…as they should have.

So what do we gain from this scripture today?

I would offer you the following three takeaways:

1. God expects our complete obedience. He demands that we be knowledgeable and mindful of His word, totally adhering to it in everything we do in life.

2. God can and will bring judgment or curses on anyone who decides they want to blatantly disobey His commands. There is no question that He expects us to respect and honor Him by following His Word. Will, and way.

3. God expects us to affirm His Word, will, and way for us. He wants us to not just say the word, “Amen!”, when we read what He desires and mean it when we say it.

Friends, every day we should intentionally grade ourselves on the obedience scale. When we do this, nothing but full honesty will do because we need to remember that God can see everything. We may be able to conceal our lives from others but not one thing we do is out of the sight and knowledge of our Lord and we need to remember that He has the authority to qualify us for a curse or a blessing, depending on what we deserve.

If we take this seriously, then we see how we have the ultimate accountability partner in our God, an accountability partner who only wants the best for us in life and that means showing others that we were created in His very image as we go through each day.

Let’s all recommit ourselves to ensure we are a blessing to our Lord so we might continue to experience His abundant blessings as we move toward the eternal Kingdom He has prepared for us.

My prayer is that all the people will say, “Amen!”, to that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.