Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
The verse pronounces a curse upon taking a reward or bribe to kill an innocent person, and all the people affirm that curse with Amen. It is one of the curses pronounced from Mount Ebal, the mount of curses, on the day Israel crossed the Jordan, set opposite Mount Gerizim, the mount of blessings where blessings upon the obedient were pronounced.
For the ceremony God commanded plastering a rock and writing His commandments on it, and having the blessings and the curses repeated aloud from two prominent opposite positions, so the people heard the advantage of blessing and the disadvantage of curse. The law was thus made known plainly to impress the people and make it familiar, because Israel was forgetful and needed exact direction and because the law was of great importance, teaching the advantages of blessing and the consequences of disobedience. After each declaration of blessing or curse the whole congregation said Amen, and by accepting the conditions placed themselves under solemn responsibility to fulfill them.
The law containing this curse was rehearsed by Joshua to Israel to warn that disregarding God's commands brings a curse, and it belonged to the vows Israel renewed at Shechem before Joshua's death, with Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim recalling covenant obligations. The voice speaking the verse is not the voice of man but the voice of Christ, with His own voice from the enfolding pillar of cloud. The verse is part of the statutes and judgments in Deuteronomy 26 through 28 that plainly state the blessings of obedience and are to be read carefully.
It expresses a principle of the law of the kingdom of God, made specific so minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty, given as a precaution and decided practical demonstration to remind that obedience to God's commandments is for present and future good. It shows obedience brings prosperity and disobedience results in a curse, and was given to deter from transgression and encourage obedience, for God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but takes the greatest pleasure in those who turn from sin. It lays a never-ceasing obligation on all whom God has blessed with life and health and temporal and spiritual advantages, as those who have avouched the Lord to be their God to walk in His ways and hearken to His voice, to keep and do His statutes and judgments with all the heart and with all the soul and to publicly acknowledge His favor so His name is glorified.
The verse pronounces a curse upon taking a reward or bribe to kill an innocent person, and all the people affirm that curse with Amen. It is one of the curses pronounced from Mount Ebal, the mount of curses, on the day Israel crossed the Jordan, set opposite Mount Gerizim, the mount of blessings where blessings upon the obedient were pronounced.
For the ceremony God commanded plastering a rock and writing His commandments on it, and having the blessings and the curses repeated aloud from two prominent opposite positions, so the people heard the advantage of blessing and the disadvantage of curse. The law was thus made known plainly to impress the people and make it familiar, because Israel was forgetful and needed exact direction and because the law was of great importance, teaching the advantages of blessing and the consequences of disobedience. After each declaration of blessing or curse the whole congregation said Amen, and by accepting the conditions placed themselves under solemn responsibility to fulfill them.
The law containing this curse was rehearsed by Joshua to Israel to warn that disregarding God's commands brings a curse, and it belonged to the vows Israel renewed at Shechem before Joshua's death, with Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim recalling covenant obligations. The voice speaking the verse is not the voice of man but the voice of Christ, with His own voice from the enfolding pillar of cloud. The verse is part of the statutes and judgments in Deuteronomy 26 through 28 that plainly state the blessings of obedience and are to be read carefully.
It expresses a principle of the law of the kingdom of God, made specific so minds are not left in ignorance and uncertainty, given as a precaution and decided practical demonstration to remind that obedience to God's commandments is for present and future good. It shows obedience brings prosperity and disobedience results in a curse, and was given to deter from transgression and encourage obedience, for God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but takes the greatest pleasure in those who turn from sin. It lays a never-ceasing obligation on all whom God has blessed with life and health and temporal and spiritual advantages, as those who have avouched the Lord to be their God to walk in His ways and hearken to His voice, to keep and do His statutes and judgments with all the heart and with all the soul and to publicly acknowledge His favor so His name is glorified.