Wednesday June 26
Remembering God’s Word
Joshua 8:30-35
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.
The book of Joshus is teaching us that we overcome the obstacles in our Christian walk by faith and obedience. We learn that there will be victories but there will also be defeats and failures. I have often thought that whenever I felt like I took three steps forward, that next I seemed to fall back five steps. Joshua 3-4 are chapters of victory as Israel miraculously crossed the Jordan River. Joshua 5-6 are chapters of conquest as the people go through the painful suffering of preparation before the walls of Jericho fall down in front of them. Joshua 7, is a chapter of defeat at Ai because of “sin in the camp”. But now again in Joshua 8, the people experience victory as they by faith obey the instructions of the LORD.
These chapters remind me of Romans 6, 7, 8, and 12. In Romans 6, after our wonderful experience of salvation, we find our position of being baptized into Jesus Christ. Like crossing the Jordan River and conquering Jericho! In Romans 7, we find we still have to deal with the “old man”, our old nature of sin. Pride sneaks in and we experience failure because of “I”. But then in Romans 8, we find the Spirit filled life and become more than conquerors through Christ and His love! In Romans 12, we come by faith to the altar of the mercy of God at Calvary and present the sacrifice of our lives to the Lord and renew our minds daily with God’s Word. This sounds familiar as we study these last verses of Joshua 8.
Joshua not only built an altar (Joshua 8:30-31), but he also wrote the Law on stones (vv. 32-33). This act was in obedience to the command of Moses we find in Deuteronomy 27:1-8). 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 (Joshua 1:7-8). In later years, whenever Israel turned away from God's Law, they got into trouble and had to be disciplined. Remember what Moses asked in Deuteronomy 4:8, "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?"
Believers today have the Word of God written on their hearts by the Holy Spirit of God (Rom. 8:1-4; 2 Cor. 3). 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 (Gal. 3:19-25), 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).
We need daily to remember God’s Word that we have written in our minds and hearts and by faith obey it if we are to live victorious lives over the devil, sin, and the world!
God Bless!
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