Jun 18, 2018
After two major victories over the cities of Jericho and Ai, Joshua led the people of Israel to Mount Ebal and a place called Shechem, where they built an altar to God and offered sacrifices. This pause in the military action had been decreed by Moses years earlier and Joshua was simply doing what he and the people had been told to do when they finally entered the land. In Joshua 8:30-35 we are given a much-needed reminder that the people of Israel were to worship and revere God for all that He had done. He had set them free from slavery in Egypt. He had led them through the wilderness and into the promised land. And now, He had given them victory over their enemies. His provision for them deserved their worship of Him. So, an altar was built and the law of Moses was written on its stones – a permanent reminder of God’s requirement of holy behavior on the part of His people. The law was a non-negotiable part of their relationship with God. And, now that they were in the land, it was going to be important that they constantly recall His expectations of them, so that they might live holy lives.