God planned a huge observance for the entire nation upon their entrance into the Promised Land, involving burnt offerings to God, peace offerings that they would eat together in a single gathering of the entire nation, and rejoicing before the Lord.
All I can say about the command to pronounce curses on those who fail to “confirm the words of the Law by doing them” from the two mountaintops is that it would have been an unforgettable ceremony, involving the huge population of the entire nation on the two mountains which together surround a valley. My guess is that it would have inspired them to fulfill the commands.
Notice that the blessings God promised to give them were of such a nature that they could be attributed to things other than God. Abundant crops, abundant harvests, prolific herds and flocks, enemies running away in defeat, blessings in all they put their hands to, financial prosperity – all could be easily taken for granted or pridefully attributed to one’s own work and talents. Are you guilty of that today?
Notice also the effect their sin would have on their animals, on the land, and on their sons and daughters. Sin had a much broader impact than simply on the one who committed it. Sin hasn’t changed in all the years since.
If you know anything about the history of the nation of Israel, you know that God fulfilled His promises given here in a most tragic way. Scripture tells of their suffering the exile He promised. From the time Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, Jews have endured periodic persecution wherever they have scattered, some of it horrific, culminating in the Holocaust during World War II. Their history is indeed one of horror. The history shows that God has power to do everything He says He will do, and in fact has been faithful to do it, because they didn’t “serve the Lord (their) God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things,” they didn’t revere His “honored and awesome name,” and didn’t obey Him.
How are you at doing what God wants His chosen people to do? Think today about those things He wanted from His chosen people:
- Serving Him as Lord with joy and a glad heart
- Enjoying His abundance with joy and a glad heart
- Revering His name as honored and awesome
- Obeying Him
Why not ask God what He thinks of how you are doing?