Blessings and Curses

(Deuteronomy 27:1 - 28:68 )
Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, “Obey all the commandments I have given you this day.  When you cross the River Jordan and enter the land Jehovah your god is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with lime plaster.  Write on them the whole body of the law, this after you have crossed the river to enter the land Jehovah your god is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as was promised your ancestors by Jehovah your god.  When you have crossed the River Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with lime plaster, as I am commanding you today.

“You must then build there a stone altar to Jehovah your god.  Do not work the stones with iron tools, but construct the altar only of undressed stones.  Use it to make your burnt offerings to Jehovah your god.  You should also make your peace offerings and have celebratory feasts before the altar of Jehovah your god.  You must clearly write on these stones all the words of this law.

Moses and the Levite priests proclaimed this to all the people of Israel, “Be silent and listen!  This day, O Israel, you have become the people of Jehovah your god.  You must therefore obey the words of Jehovah your god and follow his commandments and decrees that I have given you this day.”

On the same day, Moses commanded the people, “When you have crossed the River Jordan the following tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim and pronounce blessings to the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.  The following are the tribes that will stand on Mount Ebal and pronounce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher,  Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.  The Levites shall announce in a loud voice to the men of Israel:

‘Cursed be those who carve or cast an idol and secretly sets it up.  Such works of craftsmanship are an abomination to Jehovah.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who tampers with a neighbor’s boundary marker.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who leads a blindman astray on the road.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who subverts justice for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with any animal.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his sister or a half sister who is the daughter of his father or mother.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who assaults his neighbor from ambush.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who accepts payment to shed innocent blood,’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’

‘Cursed be anyone who does not accept and obey every word of these laws.’  And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’”

“If you faithfully obey the voice of Jehovah your god and carefully keep all the commandments that I have given you today, Jehovah your god will exalt you above all the nations on the earth.  All these blessings will be showered upon you and remain with you if you obey Jehovah your god.

“Blessed will you be in the city and in the country.

“Blessed will you be in your children, in the produce of your land, and in the increase of your flocks and herds.

“Blessed will you be in your harvests and in your stores of grain.

“Blessed will you be when you enter this life and when you depart from it.

“Jehovah will conquer your enemies when they rise up against you.  Though they may attack you from one direction, they will be made to scatter in seven.

“Jehovah will bless your storehouses and will bless all that you undertake.  He will bless you in the land that he, Jehovah your god, has given you.  As he promised he would,  Jehovah will establish you as a people sacred to him, provided you obey the commandments of Jehovah your god and follow his ways.  And when all the peoples of the world will come to see that you are under the protection of Jehovah, they will  respect you.  Jehovah will grant you abundance and prosperity, in your children and in your livestock and crops, within the land Jehovah your god promised he would give your ancestors.  Jehovah will open the celestial dome and from his rich storehouse, will send you rain in season and bless all that you put your hand to.  You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.  Jehovah will put you at the head and not in the rear.  And if you heed the commands of Jehovah your god I have given you this day and follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.  You must not deviate in any direction from any of the commands I am giving you today, and you must not follow and worship other gods.

“However, if you fail to obey Jehovah your god and carefully follow his commandments and the decrees I am giving you this day, these curses will fall upon you and overwhelm you:

“Cursed will you be in the city and in the country.

“Cursed will you be in your harvests and in your stores of grain.

“Cursed will you be in your children, in the produce of your land, and in the increase of your flocks and herds.

“Cursed will you be when you come into this life and when you depart from it.

“Jehovah will inflict upon you curses and confusion and thwart all that you put your hand to until, because of the evil you have done in forsaking him, you will be entirely destroyed and quickly perish.  Jehovah will make disease cling to you until he has wiped you off the land you are going in to possess.  Jehovah will strike you with debilitating illnesses, fever, inflammation, scorching heat and drought, blight and mildew.  These calamities will pursue you until you perish.  The skies above will be like bronze and the ground beneath you, like iron.  Jehovah will turn the rain that falls into powder and the dust will pour down from the heavens until you are exterminated.

“Jehovah will cause you to be defeated by your enemies.  You will attack your enemies from one direction, but flee from them in seven.  You will be scattered among all the nations of the earth.  You corpse will provide food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to scavenge; there will be no one to shoo them away.  Jehovah will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, scabs and itches from which you can never be cured.  Jehovah will afflict you with insanity, blindness, and derangement.  At noon you will grope about like a blind man in darkness.  You will not succeed in any of your endeavors; you will be continually robbed and persecuted and no one will save you.  You will become betrothed and your future wife will be raped by another man.  You will build a house, but will not have the opportunity to live with in it.  You will plant a vineyard, but not begin to enjoy its fruit.  Your cattle will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it.  Your donkey will be stolen from under your nose and will never be returned to you.  Your sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to get them back for you.  You sons and daughters will be sent as slaves into another land; you will strain your eyes searching for them, but you will be powerless to recover them.  A people unknown to you will eat the produce of your land and reap the fruit of your labors.  You will be constantly oppressed and continually frustrated.  You will be driven mad by what you see.  Jehovah will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that will not heal; they will spread from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

“You and the king you have chosen to rule over you Jehovah will exile to a foreign land unknown to you or your ancestors.  There you will worship other gods, of wood and stone.  You will become an object of disgust and mockery among the peoples where Jehovah will banish you.

“You will plant seed in the field, but little of it will you harvest, for the locusts will devour it.  You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink the wine or harvest the grapes, because worms will eat them.  There will be olive trees throughout your land, but you will anoint yourself with its oil, because the olives will drop off prematurely.  You will father sons and daughters, but they will not belong to you, for they will become slaves.  The insect will take over your trees and the crops of your field.  The foreigner who lives among you will rise higher and higher as you sink lower and lower.  He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him.  He will be the head and you the tail.

“All these curse will come down upon you; they will pursue and overtake you until they destroy you, because you did not obey Jehovah your god and follow the commands and decrees he gave you.  They will forever be a sign and warning to you and your descendants.  Because you did not serve Jehovah your god joyfully and wholeheartedly while you enjoyed good times, in hunger and thirst, nakedness and deprivation you will serve the enemies Jehovah has inflicted upon you.  He will put an iron yoke round your neck until you are destroyed.

“Jehovah will bring against you a distant nation from the ends of the earth that will swoop down upon you like an eagle, a country whose language you do not understand, a hard-hearted people that will show no respect for the elderly or pity for the young.  It will consume the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed.  It will leave you no grain, no new wine, no grapes, no calves of your herd or lambs of your flock so that you will starve.  They will lay siege to all the towns of your country until the high walls upon which you have relied for your security will fall.  They will besiege all the cities in the land Jehovah your god is giving you.

“Because of the hardships your enemies will inflict upon you during the siege, you will consume your own offspring, the very flesh of the sons and daughters Jehovah your god has given you.  Even the most soft-hearted man among you will show no compassion, not to his own brother or his beloved wife or his surviving children, nor will he share with them the food he is eating, the flesh of his own children, for there will be nothing else to eat because of the horrible deprivation the siege will inflict upon all of your towns.  The most refined and delicate woman, one so delicate she would not let the sole of her foot touch the ground, will not share with the husband she loves or with her son or daughter.  She will secretly devour her afterbirth and her new-born child, for there will nothing else to eat due to the horrible deprivation the siege will inflict upon all of your towns.

“If you do not carefully follow the words of the law inscribed in this record and revere the glorious and awesome name of Jehovah your god, then Jehovah will inflict upon you and your descendants, extraordinary plagues that are severe and prolonged, and illnesses acute, chronic and lingering.  He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded and there will be no relief from them.  Jehovah will inflict upon you every illness and plague in existence, even those not mentioned in this book of laws, until you are wiped out.  Once as numerous as the stars in the sky, you will become few in number because you have not obeyed Jehovah your god.  Just as Jehovah found it pleasing to make you prosper and multiply, he will take delight in bringing you to ruin.  You will be uprooted from the land you are to enter and occupy.  Jehovah will scatter you among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other.  There you will worship gods of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors have known.  There, among these nations you will find no peace, no place to rest your feet, but Jehovah will give you an anxious mind, failing eyesight, and a dispirited heart.  You will live in constant dread both by night and day, never sure of your survival.  In the morning you will lament, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening, “If only it were morning!” Your heart will be filled with dread and your eyes will be horrified by what they see.  Jehovah will send you back in ships to Egypt by a route he promised you you would never have to see again.  There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves -- but none will buy you!”

Notes
1. Moses enjoins the Israelites to write the entirety of the law they have been given on stones.  First of all, as has often been observed, the Israelites would have been preliterate, there only Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mesopotamian cuneiform being the only available means of writing.  The stones would have be undressed, that is, rough and unfinished.  It is specified that no iron tool be used upon them.  Moses lived during the Bronze Age; it is unlikely that the Israelites at that time would have had access to any iron tools, so the prohibition seems pointless.  Plastering the stones would have provided a smooth surface upon which to write, but not, one would think, an archival surface.  Compared to the magnificent monuments erected by the great bronze-age civilization, this all seems very shabby indeed.

2. Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are adjacent peaks in the area of biblical Shechem and the later Nablus, 30 miles north of Jerusalem in what is now the West Bank.  Ebal is over 3000 feet high, 200 feet higher than Gerizim.  It consists mostly of limestone that was quarried considerably in ancient times.  The limestone would have furnished the material for the lime plaster that is referenced.  Archaeological excavations there have revealed what may have been altars.  Interesting that Ebal, the mountain of curses, is higher than Gerizim, the mountain of blessings.  Also interesting is the fact that Moses knew so much of the geography of the Promised Land, which he never saw nor would see.

3. The Israelites are hardly offered much of a choice by Jehovah.  He has ordained them as his people and there’s nothing they can do to get out of it.  The blessing he offers them would seem sufficient to secure to ensure their allegiance, but the curses would seem to make any act of disloyalty unthinkable.  Since Deuteronomy was written during the time of the Babylonian Captivity, the author probably included curses that may have resembled events that had come to pass during that period.  Among the religious of most creeds misfortunes and disasters are usually attributed to immorality, insufficient piety, or improper worship. 

4. The curses are very telling of Jehovah’s character.  As a master it is hard to imagine anyone more cruel, sadistic, and tyrannical, for it is with admittedly fiendish delight that Jehovah devises the harshest, most disgusting punishments imaginable for his people, if they disobey him.  He kills off the Israelites a half dozen times in a half dozen ways.  He even has them starving and resorting to cannibalism, eating their own children.  Dwelling so much on the horrific curses and bragging about the pleasure he would have in inflicting them, the Jehovah of Moses reveals himself -- again -- to be nothing less than a depraved, murderous psychopath, surely more the embodiment of evil than good.