Deuteronomy 27:2, commentary and pictures

On the day of passing over Jordan into the land the Lord God would give, great stones were to be set up and coated with plaster to provide a surface for writing the words of the law, so that God's commands would stand plainly visible and readable by all. What was to be written was not the Ten Commandments alone but also the additional laws Moses had written in a book. The monument was to stand on Mount Ebal beside an altar of unhewn stone where sacrifices were offered.

The command belonged to Moses' instructions to gather at Mounts Ebal and Gerizim and solemnly recognize God's law before taking possession of the inheritance, making the covenant terms plain in Canaan so that all would accept them and assent to blessing for obedience or curse for neglect, with renewal of covenant loyalty as the people's first duty. Its placement on the mountain of the curse showed that by breaking the law Israel had rightly incurred God's wrath, while the altar beside it represented atonement through Christ by which that judgment would be withheld. The exactness of the direction shows God's careful oversight and particular care to keep forgetful Israel in remembrance.

Israel needed this care because they were forgetful and moved by impulse like little children. The setting up of the stones stands joined to the ceremony of the mount of blessing and the mount of cursing, where from two prominent positions the advantages of the blessing and the disadvantages of the curse were pronounced in repetition and set before the people. The chapter states the blessings of obedience plainly and sets forth the principles of the law of God's kingdom specifically, so minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty, and it belongs with the surrounding chapters to be read carefully for that reason.

These directions were uttered by Christ Himself with His own voice enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, lest they be forgotten, as a practical precaution to remind that obedience to God's commandments is for present and future good. Obedience brings prosperity, while disobedience results in a curse. The verse teaches a continuing, never-ceasing obligation to obey God resting on all blessed with life, health, and temporal and spiritual advantages, so that when the Lord specially favors His people they publicly acknowledge it and God's name is glorified as testimony that His Word is verity and truth.

God's order was that His Word be written in a book and set up in a public, elevated place where Moses would stand to proclaim it, to be kept before Israel and repeated at almost every stopping place so they would not forget it. Whenever sin came the transgressors were proclaimed, and if they did not repent they were punished with death, while children learned the commandments by repeating them while marching in order and at each halting place the commandments were repeated together with the destruction that had come on the disobedient, so the words became familiar and affected mind, heart, and character. The same work remains now to have the living Word in heart and mind and to present it before people, knowing that God is watching and angels are watching to give help in time of necessity to those who watch unto prayer and keep God's commandments.