Deuteronomy 27:15

13 and ^athese shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 “And ^athe Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel:

15 ^a‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image,¹ an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ ^b“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’

16 ^a‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

17 ^a‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

18 ^a‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

19 ^a‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

20 ^a‘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 ^a‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

22 ^a‘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 ^a‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

24 ^a‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

25 ^a‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

26 ^a‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Deuteronomy 27:15 Mean?

Deuteronomy 27:15

The first-mentioned source of curses is not public or institutionalized idolatry, as practiced by the world's religions, but hidden idolatry, that clandestine—maybe subliminal—elevation of anything before the true God. The reference is to the breaking of the first and second commandments (Exodus 20:2-6). In a modern context, such covert idolatry would include placing career, family, pleasure, or even, more subtly, social status in the church, above the worship of the true God.

Charles Whitaker
Unity and Division: The Blessing and the Curse (Part Four)

Deuteronomy 27:15

God does care how we worship Him; He gives specific commands about how He wants to be glorified according to His standards and not our own. It does matter whether or not we share in the celebration of this world's pagan religious holidays. Though the Bible—the Word of God—makes no direct references to New Year's Eve, Lent, Easter, Halloween, or Christmas, the origins of these pagan holidays are mentioned as being abominations to God.

Martin G. Collins
Pagan Holidays

Deuteronomy 27:11-26

Looking at the underlying commonality of the Ebal-curses—that they focus on secret sin—we may conclude that the six tribes on Ebal represent those church members whom we could call “wolves in sheep's clothing,” in whom God finds unrepented sin, individuals living a secret life, closeted in some way, hypocrites.

Conversely, we may conclude that the six tribes atop Mount Gerizim symbolize those people in God's church who exhibit sincerity and wholeness of heart, unwavering commitment to keeping the principle inherent to the Feast of Unleavened Bread—and, by extension, living their entire lives—“not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Corinthians 5:8).

Those on Gerizim, unlike their fellows on the Mount of Cursing, represent individuals who break their bread with “singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46), fully committed to abandoning all sin, no matter how stubbornly closeted it may have been at one point in their lives, no matter how tenacious its addiction, no matter how much carnal pleasure it might bring. On Gerizim stand, symbolically, those of God's people who, recognizing the damnation of the charade, have firmly rejected living a double-life. Those who so shun sham and find no pleasure in the mask really do stand on the Mountain of Blessing!

Charles Whitaker
Unity and Division: The Blessing and the Curse (Part Five)

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What Does Deuteronomy 27:15 Mean?

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