In 2019, archaeologists found a small, folded lead sheet near the West Bank in Israel, near Mt. Ebal, about 35 miles north of Jerusalem. On this lead sheet was found, allegedly, the oldest known Hebrew inscription, dated to be about 1200 BC.

The folded sheet could not be opened without ruining it. But with the use of x-ray scans, scholars were able to view and read the inscriptions on the sheet. According to one of the team members who viewed the artifact, the writing says:

[You are] cursed by the god yhw, cursed.

[You will die], cursed – cursed, [you will surely die].

Cursed [you are] by yhw – cursed.

If these inscriptions are legitimate, they would contain the oldest known examples of the covenant name for God—YHWH—in the Hebrew script.

However, scholars hotly debate this finding. Some scholars have looked at the materials and dismiss the idea that the inscriptions exist, or that they say what they allegedly say.

We may never know whether these inscriptions are valid. The existence of the lead sheets would certainly be consistent with the contents of the passage we are looking at in Deuteronomy. Moses commanded the Israelites to visit Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim as soon as they entered the PL and make a series of blessings and curses. We don’t know if the Israelites wrote out these curses on pieces of lead, but they could have.

The blessings and cursings we find in our passage today were intended to remind the people about how they must behave themselves in their new land. If they obey the Lord, God will bless them abundantly. But if they disobey the Lord, they will suffer the curses listed here.

With all of Israel arranged on these two mountain, the Levites are supposed to lead the people in a set of curses, to which all the people are to respond, “Amen.” That’s 27:15-26. Then all of chapter 28 relates a whole series of blessings and cursings that Israel can expect, depending on how obedient or disobedient they are.

A couple of things we should recognize as we consider these lists of curses and blessings:

As I’ve stated many times before in our study of Deut, we are not the nation of Israel. These curses and blessings pertain primarily to Israel as it is getting ready to cross into the PL. They are in covenant with God, and they have already agreed to obey God’s commands. God has promised to bless them if they obey and discipline them if they disobey. This is all part of the old covenant—the law that God gave to Israel to regulate their beliefs and behaviors.

We are not under the old covenant; we are under the new covenant. These regulations and commands do not apply directly to us. Likewise, the specific blessings and the cursings do not apply directly to us. In a general sense, God blesses obedience and disciplines disobedience. But the specifics of this passage apply to Israel, not directly to us.

Second, you’ll note that most of the issues in view here are physical and earthly. They pertain to children, herds, flocks, livestock, harvests, military victories, political status, weather, land, and material prosperity. God truly did promise earthly health, wealth, and prosperity for Israel if they would obey.

God never makes promises like that in the NT. We are God’s people by faith; we are even children of Abraham by faith. But God’s promises to us are primarily spiritual and eternal, rather than physical, material, and political. We cannot take these blessings or curses we find here and apply them directly to ourselves.

The primary, timeless idea that we find here is still true: God expects his people to obey his commands. God expect loyalty and faithfulness. When we are obedient, God blesses us. When we are disobedient, we incur God’s fatherly displeasure, and discipline often follows disobedience. If we want to enjoy life and avoid problems, it’s best to obey God’s commands. In fact, it’s our duty to obey God’s commands.