What the Bible says about Putting Out Sin
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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)Related Topics: Avoiding Hypocrisy | Bread of Sincerity and Truth | Feast of Unleavened Bread | Hypocrisy | Leaven of Malice and Wickedness | Mount Ebal | Mount Ebal, Curses from | Mount Gerizim | Old Leaven | Putting Out Sin | Sin, Putting out | Singleness of Heart | Singleness of Mind | Singleness Of Purpose | Unity and Division | Wolves in Sheep's Clothing