Deuteronomy 27

The chapter transitions from instructions for the initial occupation of the land to a highly ritualized, responsive ceremony of covenant renewal.

• The land that the Lord is giving to Israel, a land flowing with milk and honey (v3)

• Keep all the commandments (v1)
• Set up great stones and plaster them (v2)
• Write all the words of this law (v3, v8)
• Build an altar unto the Lord (v5)
• Offer peace offerings and rejoice (v7)
• Take heed and hearken (v9)
• Obey the voice of the Lord and do His commandments (v10)

• Curses pronounced against idolatry, dishonoring parents, removing landmarks, misleading the blind, perverting justice, sexual immorality, secret violence, and bribery (vv15-25)
• The comprehensive curse upon anyone who does not confirm all the words of the law (v26)

• The Israelites are standing at the threshold of Canaan; setting up the altar on Mount Ebal was a public assertion of ownership and loyalty to Yahweh in the heart of the land.
• The practice of writing law on plastered stones was a known method in the ancient world for public proclamations, ensuring treaties or decrees were readable and permanent.

• The 'Amen' was not merely a pious phrase but a legal oath—a solemn commitment whereby the speaker accepted the reality and fairness of the curse if the covenant were broken.
• The use of 'whole stones' for the altar ensured that the construction relied entirely on God's provision rather than human shaping (iron tools).

• This chapter serves as a ritual transition between the detailed legislative code (Deut 12–26) and the concluding blessings/curses (Deut 28–30).
• It acts as a formal 'seal' on the covenant established at Sinai and renewed on the plains of Moab.

• This passage is historically fulfilled in Joshua 8:30-35, where Joshua builds the altar on Ebal as commanded.
• Matthew Henry observes that in the Old Testament, the law is written with the curse annexed, which would overcome us with horror; however, the New Testament introduces Christ as the Altar, providing the consolation that the law's curse cannot provide.
• Regarding the Law's demand, theologians historically debate whether the Law is primarily a guide for the believer (the 'third use of the law') or a mirror that drives the sinner to Christ (the 'first use'). The text clearly presents the Law as binding upon the conscience.

• Galatians 3:10: Paul cites Deuteronomy 27:26 ('Cursed be every one that continueth not in all things...') to argue that no one can be justified by works of the law, as the law itself demands perfect adherence.

• צָוָה (tsavah, H6680): Intensively means to constitute or enjoin; used here to mark the authority of Moses as the lawgiver.
• מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeah, H4196): An altar, the place of sacrifice; essential for maintaining covenant peace.
• שָׁמַר (shamar, H8104): To hedge about or guard; the primary duty regarding the law.
• נָתַן (nathan, H5414): To give; emphasizes the land as an inheritance granted by God, not earned.

• The specific list of curses targets not only major sins like idolatry but also private/hidden sins (e.g., secret violence, perverting the judgment of the vulnerable), showing that the Law encompasses the heart and the private life.

• There is scholarly discussion regarding the exact logistics of the tribal distribution on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, specifically how the voices of the Levites would carry across the valley between the two peaks.