BEN F. VICK, JR.

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day” (Deut.11:26-32).

In the central part of the land of Canaan proper are twin mountains, Mount Ebal to the north and Mount Gerizim to the south. The former is 3,075 feet above sea level, rising 1,402 feet above the valley floor, and the latter 2,850 above sea level. Their peaks are about 1.5 miles apart, but their bases are only 500 yards apart. The area forms a natural amphitheater.

Moses gave instructions concerning these mounts before his death. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, they were to build an altar of whole stones upon Mount Ebal. They were to offer burnt and peace offerings there and eat there. They were to write all the words of the law very plainly upon the stones. Israel was to read the blessings upon Mount Gerizim and the curses upon Mount Ebal. Instructions were given as to where each tribe was to stand. “And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali” (Deut. 27:11-13). The Levites were commanded to “speak and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice” these curses and blessings of the law. Joshua did these things when Israel came into the land (Josh. 8: 30-35).

J. W. McGarvey wrote:

Our route took us back through the valley, and we resolved that while passing between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, in the still morning air, we would try the experiment of reading the blessings and curses. It will be remembered by the reader that, in compliance with directions given before the death of Moses, Joshua assembled all the people on these two mountains, stationing six tribes on one, and six opposite to them on the other, and he stood between and read to them all the blessings and curses of the law. It has been urged by some skeptics that it was impossible for Joshua to read so as to be heard by six hundred thousand persons. It is a sufficient answer to this to show that while Joshua read, the Levites were directed to repeat the words ‘with a loud voice,’ and that it was an easy matter to station them at such points that their repetitions, like those of officers along the line of a marching army, would carry the words to the utmost limits of the multitude. But it is interesting to know that the spot chosen by God for this reading is a vast natural amphitheatre, in which the human voice can be heard to a surprising distance. About halfway between Shechem and the mouth of the valley in which it stands there is a deep, semicircular recess in the face of Mount Ebal, and a corresponding one precisely opposite to it in Mount Gerizim. No man with his eyes open can ride along the valley without being struck with this singular formation. As soon as I saw it I recognized it as the place of Joshua’s reading. It has been asserted repeatedly by travelers that, although two men stationed on the opposite slopes of these two mountains are a mile apart, they can read so as to the be heard by each other. We preferred to try the experiment in stricter accordance with Joshua’s example; so I took a position, Bible in hand, in the middle of the valley, while Brother Taylor and Frank, to represent six tribes, climbed halfway up the slope of Mount Gerizim; and Brother Earl, to represent the other six tribes, took a similar position on Mount Ebal. I read, and they were able to pronounce the amen after each curse or blessing. Brother Taylor heard me distinctly, and I could hear his response. But Brother Earl, though he could hear my voice, could not distinguish the words. This was owing to the fact that some terrace-walls on the side of the mountain prevented him from ascending high enough, and the trees between me and him interrupted the passage of the sound. The experiment makes it perfectly obvious that Joshua had a strong voice, - which I have not, - he could have been heard by his audience without the assistance of the Levites. As to the space included in the two amphitheatres, I think is ample to accommodate the six hundred thousand men, though of this I cannot be certain. If more space was required, the aid of the Levites was indispensable. (Lands of the Bible, 1881, pp. 507-508.)

The promise made to Abraham and repeated to his descendants that they would inherit the land was fulfilled (Josh. 21:43-45). When Israel entered the land, Moses’ instructions about what would occur on mounts Ebal and Gerizim were also fulfilled (Josh. 8:30-35).

The fact that God chose the perfect place for the reading of the law reminds us of the importance of hearing God’s word. We are told, “There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them” (Josh. 8:35). Even today, the little ones, children need to be listening to God’s word. Parents do their children an enormous disservice when they allow them to play games on their devices or read secular books during worship services. How long do you suppose it took Joshua to read “all that Moses commanded”? The wise man said, “Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). Teach your children to listen by setting the example yourself.

The reading of the curses and the blessings is also a reminder that we are free-will agents. We can choose to obey or disobey. Consequences follow with the choices we make.

--To be continued.