Deuteronomy 11:22-32
MOSES goes on to tell the people that if they loved the Lord and walked in His ways, then He would drive out all the nations from before them, and they would possess nations greater and mightier than themselves.
"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be." v. 24.
Thus the utmost bounds of the land promised is set before them, not merely the area which they actually possessed, but from the Mediterranean Sea as far east as the Euphrates itself. In the days of David and Solomon Israel held sway over the peoples and lands that filled these countries, but it was not for long. In the coming day, when the Christ their King returns. Israel will yet have all this land in possession including the lands of Edom, Moab and Ammon.
The Lord told them that every bit of the land their feet trod upon should be theirs forever, but they had to fight every step of the way. If their feet trod on a rich field or vineyard, it was a proof that they had put out the enemy that used to live there. But only upon that which the soles of their feet would tread could they say they really possessed.
And so it is with us; we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3), but we only possess in reality the truth in which we walk. This is important for us to remember, for though we are truly rich in Christ, we can walk through the world enjoying very little of our heavenly portion, to our own shame and loss.
And now Moses says, "I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing if you obey, and a curse if you disobey."
There were two mountains on the other side of the Jordan. Gerizim and Ebal, and they exactly faced each other north and south. Gerizim was to represent blessing, and Ebal the curse. We are told that after Ezra rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, a Samaritan temple was built on mount Gerizim, where they had priests and sacrifices. No doubt this was the cause of the great enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans. Later the Samaritan temple was destroyed, but the people still clung to the spot as a right place of worship. The Samaritan woman in the 4th of John said to the Lord, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain" (John 4:20). We are told also that Ebal was a wild place frequented by jackals and other wild animals.
Joshua in his day, in obedience to the word of the Lord, read the blessings to the people from mount Gerizim while the cursings of the law were read from mount Ebal (Josh. 8:33-35). There was only a narrow valley between, so he could be distinctly heard. In recent years a Christian traveler and his friend tells of how they stationed themselves, one on each mount, and then read the blessings and the curses, and were distinctly heard by all present.
It is little wonder that Israel finally lost the land altogether, for if blessing is upon the ground of man's faithfulness, all is lost. Oh how good to turn to the Lord Jesus, the "faithful and true witness" and see His finished work on Calvary as the true ground of blessing. Through this Israel will possess the land again in a future day, and through that same blessed work we also shall have our place in the eternal glory. Salvation is all of grace.
Messages of the Love of God 3/9/1975