Read Aloud His Word and Your Hearts Will be Full of Praise
Scripture Passage: Joshua 8:30-35 (NASB)
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no one had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. 33 And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel. 34 Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything 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.
SUMMARY
After the battle against Ai, Joshua followed what was commanded by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and is written in the Book of the Law. He built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Joshua wrote on the stones, a copy of the Law in the presence of the sons of Israel. Joshua read all the words of the Law, the blessings and the curse, before all the assembly of Israel with their priests, elders, officers, judges, the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.
REFLECTION
In these passages following Israelites’ victory over Ai and the complete destruction of Ai, there is no description of celebration of their triumph in this chapter. In its place, what followed their conquests was the renewal of their covenant with God. Burnt offerings to show their complete surrender and commitment to God. Peace offerings to thank God for the victory. Joshua wrote the Law on stones and read all the words to all the assembly of Israel. I reflected on how my attitudes and actions are, after many battles that God fought for me and my family. Have I shown my gratitude to God and give Him all my praise? Have I surrendered all to God? I examined my heart and found numerous times that I overlooked the grace and mercy of God. Those times I let pride creep into me. I celebrated as if I overcame with my own strength, or I achieved with my own effort. Those same attitudes are starting to show in my children. They prayed for God to help them, after that, they forgot to give the glory to God– the same way as I do.
APPLICATION
My application is to recite the Words of God to myself and to my children. With our sinful nature, we can never live a humble life on our own. We need God’s Word to saturate our life. We need the continuous reminder from the Holy Spirit to correct us to be on the right path. Not just to thank God by our lips, but truly glorify God for every win and thank God for every opportunity from our hearts. The Holy Spirit reminds me of what we initiated in the beginning of this year to read Proverbs together with my children and help them gain understanding. I will commit every day in February to recite each chapter with my children while they are on their break from school.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Forgive my ungratefulness. Thank you for making Your Word available to us that we shall never let Your Word depart from our mouth. Help me be careful to do so accordingly. Not to turn from it to the right or to the left. Help my children to understand the importance of Your Word. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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