Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal

“When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal.” (Deuteronomy 11:29)

“All Israel, both native-born and foreigners, with their elders, officials and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.” (Joshua 8:33-34)

Mount Gerizim is a high plateau located south of ancient Shechem, rising 2,840 feet above sea level. It faces Mount Ebal, a famous mountain in Canaan that dominates the valley north of Shechem. Mount Ebal is about 1,400 feet high from the valley floor and 3,000 feet above sea level, making it roughly 200 feet higher than Mount Gerizim. A main road runs between the two mountains from west to east, with the city of Shechem serving as the gateway to the western plain. Even today, a small number of Samaritans still live on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. They do not possess the entire Bible, but they have an ancient manuscript of the Pentateuch. They create small scrolls from old tin cans, on which they copy parts of the Mosaic Law in the Samaritan script.

According to Moses’ command, six tribes of Israel were to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, while the other six tribes were to stand on Mount Ebal to declare the curses. The entire congregation, including “all Israel, and the women and children, and the foreigners living among them,” had to listen and give a unified “Amen.” After Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan and conquered Jericho and Ai, the people carried out Moses’ instruction to “proclaim the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal.” The six tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin stood on Mount Gerizim to bless the people. The six tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali stood on Mount Ebal to declare the curses. However, their descendants soon turned away from the blessings and fell into the curses, struggling between obedience and rebellion for the entire era of the Judges. It is easy for people to understand the truth, but it is not easy to make the right choice, and even harder to live it out.

We should never underestimate our sinful nature or overestimate our spiritual strength, thinking that we are better at making choices or obeying God than the Israelites were. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If we are unwilling to spend our lives carefully learning the lessons God wants us to learn, we will surely repeat the mistakes of the Israelites.