The Law of God is for the People of God

Deuteronomy 27:9–10 (ESV) Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You shall, therefore, obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”

Deuteronomy 27-28 outline God's prescribed ceremony for Israel once they come into the land of promise. They are to set up a monument with all the law written upon it. This monument is to be made up of large stones and covered with plaster. The law is written upon these stones which remain uncut by man. The natural shape of the stones will remain as they are built upon one another and then inscribed with the law of the Lord for His people. 

Interestingly, 6 tribes will stand on Mount Ebal and the other 6 will stand on Mount Gerizim and the blessing and curses will be recited for the nation as the priests read off the lists from these chapters. Commentators mention how these mountains on each side of this valley form a natural amphitheatre to maximize the hearing of the law. 

What is clear that God wants His people to hear and remember His law in order to abide by it. Not only the monument but the national participation in reciting the blessings and curses are to reinforce one very important reality: God's laws are for God's people. 

Christian, this is important for you to remember. You do not hold unbelievers accountable to what God has said. You DO hold believers accountable. Note Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 5:

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 (ESV) For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Now it is one thing for unbelievers to disobey what the scriptures teach. They will be held accountable by the Lord Himself at the great white throne judgment. For now, they are restrained by civil government (Romans 13). However, it is absolutely the responsibility of every believer to obey God's Word and be held accountable to it. 

How many times though are God's people guilty of judging those outside the church while being content to let sin dwell inside the church. What hypocrites we have been. It is this very action that propels many away from our churches and blasphemes the name of the Lord in the eyes of the world.

It was this very reality Paul corrected even in the first century with the Romans:

Romans 2:23–24 (ESV) You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Mind you, these were people Paul earlier noted were judging others while practicing the same things they judged in others. 

What we will see in the list of blessings and curses is that a lot more textual space is devoted to the curses than the blessings. God is reinforcing that this law will sustain them and prosper them and disobedience will only destroy them in tremendously damaging ways.

Finally, God's law is for God's people to declare to the world that when we obey and trust Him, it will go well with us and they will be attracted to Him. Ultimately, this is the way God has chosen to declare His goodness to the nations. It is not a sign from heaven, it is not a magic trick of celestial proportions. It is the blessing of God upon the people obedient to His ways.