Disciplers Bible Studies
EGYPT TO CANAAN
LESSON 24
The Ratification of Israel's Covenant with God
Deuteronomy 27-30
Introduction
Still camped on the plains of Moab, the people of
Israel were surely looking forward with anticipation
to entering the Promised Land. Having completed his
review of God’s Law, Moses turned his attention to the
important issues of their covenant with the LORD and
the formal ceremonies surrounding it. There would
be blessings for obedience to God's Law and curses
for disobedience. Knowing the people's inclination to
rebellion, Moses looked beyond the curses that would
surely come to a hopeful future when Israel would
return to the LORD. But the choice would be theirs:
"life and good" or "death and evil" (30:15).
Outline of Deuteronomy 27-29
I. Prerequisite Ceremony - Deuteronomy
27:1-26
II. Promise of Blessings and Curses - Deuteronomy 28:1-68
III. Provisions of the Covenant – Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20
Returning to this location reinforced God’s faithfulness
to the original promises made to Abraham.
Six tribes were to stand on Mount Gerizim for the
blessing and six on Mount Ebal for the curse. The
Levites, standing in the valley between the tribes,
were to pronounce the twelve curses. After each curse,
the people were to respond “Amen”, indicating their
agreement. There is no particular pattern or theme
to the curses. However, eight refer to violations of the
Ten Commandments and most relate to secret actions
which might easily escape detection.
II. Promise of Blessings and Curses Deuteronomy 28:1-68
Having instructed the people on renewing their covenant
with the LORD, Moses described the blessings and
curses of that covenant. There are about four times
as many curses as blessings. This may have been the
traditional style of mid-eastern treaties or possibly a
foreshadowing of Israel’s eventual failure under the
covenant. Perhaps it was a combination of both.
I. Prerequisite Ceremony - Deuteronomy 27:1-26
Moses, along with the elders of Israel instructed the
people on the ratification ceremony which was to take
place when they entered the Promised Land.
A. The Law and the Altar - Deuteronomy 27:1-10
After crossing the Jordan River, and entering the
land, the people were to select large rocks, coat them
with lime, and write the Law upon them. When they
arrived at Mount Ebal, they were to use these uncut
stones to build an altar according to the law God had
previously given in Exodus 20:25. Burnt offerings and
peace offerings were to be offered on the altar and the
people were to eat and rejoice before the LORD.
Unfortunately, keeping God's law is often considered
onerous rather than joyous, even though obedience
always leads to joy and fulfillment.
B. The Ceremony - Deuteronomy 27:11-26
The people were to ratify the covenant in a ceremony on
Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, two mountains that
towered over Shechem to the north and south. Shechem
was located about thirty miles north of Jerusalem and
is the place the LORD first appeared to Abraham. It is
also where Abraham built his first altar to the LORD.
A. The Promise of Blessings - Deuteronomy
28:1-14
The blessings would result from diligent obedience to
the LORD and His commandments. The people would
be:
•
Set above all the other nations (28:1);
•
Blessed in the cities and in the country (28:3);
•
Blessed with children, crops, and herds (28:4);
•
Blessed with food (28:5);
•
Blessed when they went out or came in (28:6);
•
Victorious over their enemies (28:7);
•
Blessed with productivity from their labor (28:8).
28: 9-14 restates these specific blessings in a somewhat
more general form, continuing to emphasize that they
were contingent on the obedience of the people.
Four times, in verses 1, 2, 9, and 13, Moses stated that
these blessings would occur only “if” the people were
obedient to the commandments of the LORD. Motivation
to obey the LORD should not be simply to receive His
© 2014 by Disciplers Bible Studies, Inc., all rights reserved. Egypt to Canaan Lessons written by Pearl C. Hamilton, 1991
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Egypt to Canaan Lesson 24
blessings. We should desire to obey God because He
is worthy of our obedience. His blessings flow from
His love for us, coupled with our love for Him, which
is shown by our obedience. For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3).
III. Provisions of the Covenant - Deuteronomy
29:1-30:20
We must also bear in mind that Christians are not
promised material blessings. We are promised every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
(Ephesians 1:1-14). These include being chosen in Christ
to be holy and blameless, adoption as children of God,
redemption, forgiveness of our sins, and sealing with the
Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance. We are also
promised the blessings of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
(Galatians 5:22-23). These blessings are worth far
more and are more durable than the material blessings
promised to the children of Israel.
Moses reviewed the great works the LORD had done on
behalf of His people. He reminded them of the miracles
leading to their release from Egypt, His miraculous
provision for forty years in the wilderness, and their
military victories. Because of God’s love for His people
and His great power to perform such miracles, they
were to keep the words of the covenant.
B. The Promise of Curses - Deuteronomy
28:15-68
The lengthy list of curses was also contingent upon
the behavior of the people. We know the people were
disobedient after they entered the land, so this section
is somewhat predictive of their future.
The four curses in 28:16-19 are the exact opposite of
the blessings in 28:3-6. The curses in 28:20-68 are an
elaboration of the four curses. The curses include:
•
Destruction (28:20);
•
Disease (28:21-22);
•
Drought (28:23-24);
•
Defeat (28:25-26);
•
Diseases from Egypt (28:27-29);
•
Oppression (28:30-35);
•
Exile (28:36-37);
•
Economic ruin (28:38-44);
•
Curses will cumulatively pursue, overtake and
destroy them (28:45-48);
•
Invasion by the enemy (28:49-52);
•
Cannibalism resulting from the seige (28:53-57);
•
Destructive plagues and diseases (28:58-62);
•
Ensuing exile from the land (28:63-68).
A. Review of the LORD's Past Works - Deuteronomy 29:1-9
Sadly, the Israelites had a "heart condition" which
caused them to be "spiritually blind to the significance of
what the LORD had done for them, lacking understanding
even as Moses was speaking" (The MacArthur Bible
Commentary, John MacArthur).
What is the condition of your heart? Do you carefully
read the Bible and your lesson notes, praying and
seeking understanding of what God wants to teach
you? Or do you race through your study time to get
on to the seemingly more important busyness of your
day? Reflect for a moment on the wonders the LORD has
worked in your life. Will you ask Him to open your heart
to understand His love and care for you? Will you let His
goodness and mercy comfort you when you are lonely
and hurting? God's mercies in your life demonstrate
not only His power, but also His love for you.
B. The Central Purpose - Deuteronomy 29:10-16
1. The people - 29:10-12
As they stood before Him, Moses charged every Israelite
with responsibility to the covenant. He spoke to the
leaders, elders, officers, all men, children, women,
strangers in the land, and servants. The same principle is
valid today. No one is exempt from the LORD’s commands
regardless of their position, whether high or low.
2. The purpose - 29:13
The central purpose of the covenant was the
establishment of Israel as God's people, "a people for
Himself, and that He may be God to you." Who is your
God? Is the LORD your only God? Or are you like the
Israelites who went after whatever god they encountered
among the pagan nations?
We are presented daily with opportunities to choose
who or what we will serve and place first in our lives.
Sometimes we are insensitive to the danger that our
desire for something or someone may lead us to place
God at a lower priority. Be on guard! Satan would
like nothing better than to have you place something
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other than God on the throne of your life. Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour
(1 Peter 5:8). It is important to choose your priorities
wisely and never waver.
3. The entire nation - 29:14-16
The covenant included not only those present that day
in Moab, but all the people of the nation.
C. Warning Against Idolatry - Deuteronomy
29: 17-29
Moses warned the people about the severe consequences
of idolatry. Initially, they would deceive themselves
thinking all was well as they strayed from God. As they
sank deeper into sin, they would begin to experience the
curses of the covenant until the land was laid waste.
Ultimately, God would expel them from the land.
1. Self-deception - 29:19
Some would claim to have peace even while hardening
their hearts. They would say, “I shall have peace, even
though I follow the dictates of my heart.” Moses exposed
the futility of that claim, “as though the drunkard could
be included with the sober.”
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not need to delve into the "secret things" of His divine
revelation. Writing about the future of Israel, the apostle
Paul made a similar statement, Oh, the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past
finding out (Romans 11:33)!
D. Promise of Restoration - Deuteronomy 30:1-10
Although Israel would profane the covenant and
experience every curse, Moses also foresaw a future
blessing when the people of Israel would return to
God. Their heart condition would be remedied, "The
LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart
of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all
your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."
1. Return to the land - 30: 1-5
The people in exile would remember the LORD’s
words and begin to obey them. Then the LORD would
have compassion on them and restore them to the
land, gathering them from the "farthest parts" of the
earth. They would possess the land and restore it to
productivity. There was a fulfillment of this prophecy
in 1948 when the Jews returned to their homeland
from all over the world. Since then, they have turned
what was a wasteland into a beautiful and productive
country.
2. Curses - 29:20-21
The anger of the LORD would burn against the idolaters,
their names would be blotted out of heaven, and the
curses of the covenant would fall upon them.
3. Destruction of the land - 29:22-27
The plagues and diseases infecting the land would
leave it a wasteland. This would cause all the nations
to ask the questions, “Why has the LORD done so to this
land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?”
The answer would be clear: the people had forsaken
the covenant to serve and worship other gods.
4. Exile - 29:28
The people would be uprooted from their land and sent
into exile.
5. God's secret things - 29:29
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those
things which are revealed belong to us and to our children
forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
God had revealed His law and His covenant to the
people of Israel as their special treasure. He had made
known all they needed to know. Beyond that, they did
Historically, the people of Israel were taken into captivity
in Babylon in the 6th century B.C., later permitted to
return to the land God had given them, dispersed again
in 70 A.D., and finally returned again in the twentieth
century. But as a nation they have yet to turn their
hearts to the LORD.
2. Return to the LORD - 30:6-10
At some point, the LORD will cause the hearts of His
people to turn to Him. When that happens, the curses
that once fell upon them will fall upon their enemies.
The LORD will prosper the people abundantly. “For the
LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced
over your fathers.”
God's dealing with Israel is a picture for us. God is a
loving God. No matter what sin you have committed, no
matter how far you have strayed, He is always willing
to take you back. Have you strayed? Are you ready to
return?
E. The Ultimate Decision - Deuteronomy
30:11-20
The ultimate decision would be determined by the
people. Moses assured them the decision to follow the
LORD was not beyond their reach; it was not difficult
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to know His will. Moses' admonition in Deuteronomy
30:11-12 is poetically beautiful and applies to us as
well. "For this commandment which I command you
today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It
is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who will ascend
into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear
it and do it?' Nor is it beyond the sea that you should
say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us
that we may hear it and do it?' But the word is very
near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you
may do it."
God's commands through Moses were clear and
offered the people a distinct choice. They could choose
obedience, life, and blessings or disobedience, adversity,
and death. Each of us is confronted with that same
choice. Choose obedience and life. The LORD will add
His blessings.
Egypt to Canaan Lesson 24
Applications
1. How are your daily choices affecting your ultimate
destiny? Do you choose to obey God even when it is
distasteful or difficult, or do you put your own comfort
and pleasure first? What is more important to you,
obeying God or indulging yourself? How do your life
choices reflect your answers to these questions?
2. What choice will you make today concerning
obedience to God and your future?
3. How near is the Word of God to you? Does your Bible
sit on a shelf and gather dust? Or is it close to you, in
your hand as you study and in your lap as you read?
Is the Word of God stored away in your mind through
memorization? Is it in your heart because you love it
and long to obey?
4. Ultimately, as this lesson has pointed out, choices
spring from the heart. What is the condition of your
heart toward God?
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QUESTIONS
Questions are based on the New King James Version of the Bible.
DAY ONE: Read lesson notes and references.
1. a. From memory, list some results of obeying God.
b. List results of disobeying God.
2. What was helpful, important, or new to you in this lesson?
DAY TWO: Read Deuteronomy 31.
3. a. In 31:1-8, what good advice did Moses give to Israel?
b. What advice did he give Joshua?
c. How can this advice help you today?
d. How can you help someone else with this advice?
4. In Hebrews 13:5-6, where Deuteronomy 31:6 is quoted, how can you confidently respond?
5. a. Who is said to have written "this law"? Give Verse.
b. For whom was the law written? What were they to do with it?
c. Why was this to be done?
6. a. In 31:14-29, how did Moses know what the people would do after he was gone?
b. List some of his predictions.
c.  (Thought Question) Do you think God knew the people’s future because He predestined them to act in a certain way or because He knew the people and how they would act? Give reasons for your answer.
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Egypt to Canaan Lesson 24
DAY THREE: Read Deuteronomy 32.
7. a. In Moses’ song, which verses form the introduction? What was Moses' purpose in this song?
Give verse.
b. Give phrases, with verses, that speak of the following:
Praising God and the name of the LORD
The people’s foolishness
Creation, Babel, and the dispersion of the nations
The birth and infancy of the nation Israel
Israel as a blessed and prosperous nation
Israel’s rebellion and idolatry
God’s displeasure with His people
The punishment of the people
God’s mercy toward His people
The restoration of the people
8. a. What name for God is most frequently used in the song? Give Verses.
b. Which verse is quoted in Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30?
c. Which verses or phrases were most meaningful to you? Please explain why.
9. a. In what ways is both God’s tenderness and severity (or judgment) seen in 32:48-52?
b. What similarity do you see to Romans 14:10b?
DAY FOUR: Read Deuteronomy 33.
10. Give three phrases from 33:2 which reflect the dignity and majesty of the giving of the Law?
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Egypt to Canaan Lesson 24
11. a. Moses, as a patriarch, gave prophecies to the twelve tribes. Find a prophecy for each of the following tribes.
Reuben
Judah
Levi
Benjamin
Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh)
Zebulun and Issachar
Gad
Dan
Naphtali
Asher
b. Which of the twelve tribes is omitted?
12. The song ends with praise. Which verse of the song stands out to you? Why?
DAY FIVE: Read Deuteronomy 34.
13. How does Psalm 116:15 fit with this chapter?
14. What facts about Moses stand out to you in this final chapter of Deuteronomy?
DAY SIX: Read Psalm 90, a Psalm of Moses.
15. a. What do you think this Psalm is about?
b. In what way is it a summary of Moses’ walk with God?
16. (Heart Question) From Deuteronomy 34 and Psalm 90, how would you like your life to emulate that of Moses?
17. How has the study of Egypt to Canaan changed your outlook on life?