A new commitment (Josh. 8:30–35)

At some time following the victory at Ai, Joshua led the people thirty miles north to Shechem, which lies in the valley between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. Here the nation obeyed what Moses had commanded them to do in his farewell speech (Deut. 27:1–8). Joshua interrupted the military activities to give Israel the opportunity to make a new commitment to the authority of Jehovah as expressed in His law.

I. Joshua built an altar (Josh. 8:30–31).

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.

A. Joshua’s altar was built on Mt. Ebal, because only a sacrifice of blood can save sinners from the curse of the law.

In building the altar, Joshua was careful to obey Exodus 20:25 and not apply any tool to the stones picked up in the field. No human work was to be associated with the sacrifice lest sinners think their own works can save them.

God asked for a simple stone altar, not one that was designed and decorated by human hands, “that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:29). It’s not the beauty of man-made religion that gives the sinner forgiveness, but the blood on the altar.

B. The priests offered burnt offerings to the Lord as a token of the nation’s total commitment to Him.

The peace offerings, or “fellowship offerings,” were an expression of gratitude to God for His goodness. A portion of the meat was given to the priests and another portion to the offerer so that he could eat it joyfully with his family in the presence of the Lord.

By these sacrifices, the nation of Israel was assuring God of their commitment to Him and their fellowship with Him.

II. Joshua wrote the Law on stones (Josh 8:32–33).

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.

A. Obedience to the command of Moses.

In the Near East of that day it was customary for kings to celebrate their greatness by writing records of their military exploits on huge stones covered with plaster. But the secret of Israel’s victory was not their leader or their army; it was their obedience to God’s Law.

In later years, whenever Israel turned away from God’s Law, they got into trouble and had to be disciplined. “And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this Law which I set before you this day?” asked Moses

B. Believers today have the Word of God written on their hearts by the Holy Spirit of God.

The Law written on stones was external, not internal, and could instruct the people but could never change them. Paul makes it clear in the Epistle to the Galatians that while the Law can convict sinners and bring them to Christ, it can never convert sinners and make them like Christ. Only the Spirit of God can do that.

This is now the fourth public monument of stones that has been erected. The first was at Gilgal (Josh. 4:20), commemorating Israel’s passage across the Jordan. The second was in the Valley of Achor, a monument to Achan’s sin and God’s judgment (7:26). The third was at the entrance to Ai, a reminder of God’s faithfulness to help His people (8:29). These stones on Mt. Ebal reminded Israel that their success lay only in their obedience to God’s Law (1:7–8).

III. Joshua read the Law (Josh. 8:34–35).

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.

A. Joshua now reaffirmed the Law in the land of promise.

God had given the Law through Moses at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19–20), and the people had accepted it and promised to obey. Moses then repeated and explained the Law on the Plains of Moab at the border of Canaan. He applied that Law to their lives in the Promised Land and admonished them to obey it. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God”.

Since the area between Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim was a natural amphitheater, everybody could hear the words of the Law clearly and respond with intelligence. By shouting “Amen” to the statements that were read, the people admitted that they understood the Law with its blessings and curses, and that they accepted the responsibility of obeying it.

B. God’s people today stand in a valley between two mounts.

We are between Mt. Calvary, where Jesus died for our sins, and Mt. Olivet, where He will return in power and great glory. The Old Testament prophets saw the Messiah’s suffering and glory, but they did not see the “valley” between this present age of the church.

Believers today aren’t living under the curse of the Law, because Jesus bore that curse “on a tree”. In Christ believers are blessed with “every spiritual blessing” because of the grace of God. However, because Christians “are not under the Law, but under grace”, it doesn’t mean that we can live any way we please and ignore the Law of God or defy it.

We aren’t saved by keeping the Law, nor are we sanctified by trying to meet the demands of the Law; but “the righteousness of the Law” is “fulfilled in us” as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we put ourselves under Law, we forfeit the enjoyment of the blessings of grace. If we walk in the Spirit, we experience His life-changing power and live so as to please God.