In Deuteronomy 26, Moses describes two rituals designed to help the Israelites stay on track in carrying out their divine mission. One (vv 1-11) is a firstfruits ceremony, in which a family would bring the firstfruits of a year's harvest to the central sanctuary and present them to the priest. The head of household would recite a statement rehearsing the nation's history and God's mighty works on their behalf.
No time is specified for this ceremony, but a natural time for it to occur would be annually at the time of Pentecost, when lots of people would be traveling to the sanctuary. These would be wonderful times to rejoice together and include everyone in the celebration (v 11).
Moses lays out a second ritual in verses 12-15, one to take place in the third and sixth years of every seven, the years in which one gave a tithe to help the needy (Dt 14:28-29). In this ritual one affirmed one's allegiance to God and his covenant and prayed for God's covenant blessings.
To our ears this statement might sound boastful, but it is not intended that way. The statement is not making a claim of moral perfection; instead it is an affirmation of loyalty. Understanding the difference can help us gain a more balanced understanding of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. In that parable the Pharisee can be faulted for looking down on the tax collector but not for affirming his obedience to God.
Verses 16-19 of Deuteronomy 26 are a conclusion to Moses' address in Deuteronomy 12-26. This conclusion implies that in conjunction with Moses' address, the Israelites carried out a covenant renewal ceremony (vv 17-18).
There would be an additional covenant renewal ceremony when the Israelites crossed the Jordan in a few short weeks. The principles of the Torah were to be written on large plastered stones which they were to set up at Mount Ebal (verses 1-8). Then there would be a ceremony at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (already mentioned in Dt 11:29), with 6 tribes represented at each mountain. Levites would give a series of twelve imprecations that would be affirmed by the people.
The twelve imprecations, listed in Deuteronomy 27:9-26, cover a range of issues representing the entire Torah. Two of them (vv 14, 25) explicitly mention things done in secret, leading to the observation that a number of the things covered are private actions that would not be prosecuted in court. For the Israelites to prosper in the land, they would need to follow God even when no humans were looking.
The ritual at Gerizim and Ebal was carried out as described (Joshua 8:30-35). After that, people could look at the two mountains and remember the importance of the choices they made each day.
This region would play an important role in Israel's later history. For example, Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4) would take place there. Kyle Kettering discussed this fascinating episode in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on August 12, 2023.
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