Mount Gerizim Temple Worship - Part 1
Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore
November 26, 2017
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 27:11-13
Galilee to the North, Judah on the South and in the middle, was Samaria; three different areas of the former kingdom of Israel. And they were populated by very different individuals after Israel was deported because they broke God’s laws. The punishment, which they must have forgotten, was captivity by a foreign power; as the six tribes on Mt. Ebal read exactly what would happen to the Israel people if they disobeyed their God. The six tribes who read the curses consisted of the oldest and youngest sons of Leah: Reuben and Zebulon, and the two sons of Rachel’s handmaid and the two sons of the Leah’s handmaid. All the children of Rachel and four of the sons of Leah were assigned to read the blessings on Mt. Gerizim.
What a day that must have been. The Israelites were instructed to gather stones and put plaster over them. The Israelites were to write the laws of God on these stones that were located on either Mt. Gerizim or Mt. Ebal (there is confusion on which mountain, depending on what source you read). In addition, they were to build an altar unto the LORD their God, on which they were to offer burnt and peace offerings.