Joshua 8:30-35
Joshua Renews the Covenant (cf. Deuteronomy 27:4, 5)
30 Now Joshua built an altar to the LORD God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.
After Joshua led the armies of God in victory by His hand and word, he erected an altar of sacrificial worship with stones made by God and not carved by the work of man’s hands. He offered peace offerings there and inscribed the Law of commandments on the cold stone of the altar set up there so that God’s word and work could be met with sacrifice and not boasting of their accomplishments that brought them from the bondage of Egypt through the parting of waters in the sea and river and culminated in the defeat of two great godless cities also by God’s mighty hand. Joshua the servant leader blessed the congregation and then read the words of the LORD out loud as everyone listened attentively. He read the blessings of adherence and the cursings of disobedience as warnings. Joshua did not just read the good things that we all love to hear of good things by God’s hand of grace, but also the consequences of failure to follow God’s will in His word given on the mountain that the LORD inscribed personally on the tablets of stone. He read every word of God without leaving out the unpopular or unpleasant parts as we are to do today. Our aim should be to preach and teach the gospel that has elements of the bad news of sin’s consequences as well as the blessings of obedience to repent and believe the gospel word and sacrificial work of Jesus Christ our Deliverer. We recall how He has now inscribed His words on our very hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Hebrews 10:16-17) that we might hear every single word of blessing of grace and of the curse of our tainted works that cannot earn salvation from eternal punishment. May we not be as those who shrink back from hearing the gospel contained in the whole Bible (Hebrews 10:39) from Genesis to Revelation and only listen to what they like to benefit their ears with nice things but instead understand the wrath of God on sin that is answered by the grace found in the divine person and sacrificial work of Jesus Christ our Savior-Lord! Victory is found in Him alone (1 Corinthians 15:57) from here in this life to eternity that follows us all.
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