The Proclaimers
Opening Prayer
“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalm 119:160).
Read Joshua 8:30-35
[30] Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, [31] as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses-an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. [32] There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. [33] All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. [34] Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law-the blessings and the curses-just as it is written in the Book of the Law. [35] There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What did Joshua build and why?Following their victory over the fortress city of Ai, Joshua led the Israelites to Mount Ebal, a mountain 20 miles to the north of the piles of rubble left in their wake. Joshua was not blazing a trail out on his own. He was carefully following the instructions Moses gave him (see Deuteronomy 11:29,30 and 27:1–26). The altar Joshua built would stand as a tangible reminder to the Israelites to live according to God’s ways, not those of the peoples around them.This is quite a picture. Half the Israelites were gathered on one side of the valley, on Mount Ebal, and the other half on the other side, on Mount Gerizim. The people on Mount Ebal shouted out the blessings of the covenant; the people on Mount Gerizim shouted out the curses from the covenant. The videos shared through social media would have been quite something – God’s truth proclaimed, ringing out from one mountain top to another. Why do you suppose Moses gave this instruction?Being vocal with God’s Word was clearly important: how does our experience compare today? Proclaiming God’s truth, out loud, in our challenges and temptations can be a powerful weapon to defeat doubt and fear and build up faith and confidence in God. Of course, in order to proclaim it, we need to know and understand it. APPLY • Over the next month, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to one verse a week to memorize and to proclaim regularly.
Apply
Over the next month, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to one verse a week to memorize and to proclaim regularly.
Closing prayer
Lord, help me to remain in Your Word and to proclaim it in my life and to others.
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