Deuteronomy 27:1-8 - Keep all these commands

27:1-4

We have now finished with the formal second giving of the Law, though it will of course impact on the rest of the book. And we see this in the very first line with the commandment to “keep all these commands”. They are then commanded to set up “some large stones and coat them with plaster”. This would make it easier to carry out the writing. The Law was to be written upon these stones. It was only because of the Lord that they were a people at all, that they were able to enter the land. They were totally dependent upon the Lord. Indeed, this is true of all of us! For it was God who created us, and provides the world that we live in. The land was the Promised Land.

27:5-8

They were also to build an altar of stones. The prohibition on the stones having any iron tool used on them may have been related to pagan practices. It was also consistent with Ex 20:25. Offerings to the Lord were to be made there. They were to make sacrifices and to eat the sacrifices, and to rejoice in the Lord’s presence. There is a close link between giving to God and rejoicing. There is a repeat of the command to write the commands upon the stones setup for that purpose.