The Reading on the Mountains

From: Messages of God's Love: 1938

Joshua 8:30-35³⁰Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, ³¹As Moses the servant of the Lord 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 hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. ³²And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. ³³And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. ³⁴And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. ³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them. (Joshua 8:30‑35)

Near the center of Canaan is a bare, rocky mountain, called Ebal, and about half a mile south, another mountain rises, not as high, but much like it.

God had said that when the people of Israel got into Canaan, the words of the law should be written on big stones on Mt. Ebal, and the people should come there to hear them read. Joshua did not forget to do thin He brought all the people, and also the ark, which held the law written at Mt. Sinai, to the valley between the two mountains.

The big stones were first plastered so the writing would show well; then the words of the law were written plainly on them, and read to the people. This law was what we call the “Ten Commandments,” given first at Mt. Sinai to the people of Israel, and repeated to their children here at Mt. Ebal (Ex. 20:1-18¹And God spake all these words, saying, ²I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ¹²Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. ¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. (Exodus 20:1‑18)). It was the agreement between God and Israel, also called, “the covenant”, and spoken of many times in the Bible.

If the people kept the words of the law, God had told the good things He would do for them; those promises were called blessings: if the people worshiped idols, and did not keep His law, God had told the sorrows they should have; those were called, the curses.

After the law was read from Mt. Ebal, the blessings were loudly read by men on Mt. Gerizim, while men from six of the tribes stood there; then, the curses were loudly read by men on Mt. Ebal, while men from the six other tribes stood there. Each time all the people said, “Amen”, that meant they agreed God’s words were true (Deut. 27).

What a loud answer it must have been from all those people! Even the little children were there. Perhaps many of the children did not understand all the reading from the mountains, yet God wished them to listen. And we may be sure He wishes all now to listen to His words. We hear a more wonderful message than they. We hear of One, the Lord Jesus, Who took the curse of that law, that all who trust Him may be blessed forever.

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Galatians 3:13¹³Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians 3:13).

ML 04/10/1938

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