The Way
Covenant Between Two Mountains
Words heard by two mountains facing each other
Story
The valley of Shechem is cut deep between two mountains. Mount Ebal stands to the north and Mount Gerizim to the south, facing each other. As Moses had commanded, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal of uncut stones that no iron tool had touched. On it the smoke of burnt offerings and peace offerings rose up.
Then, in the sight of the children of Israel, he copied the law of Moses onto those stones. The Levitical priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood in the middle, and the people lined up, half in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal. Elders, officials and judges were all there, and even the foreigners who lived among them.
Joshua opened the book of the law and began to read. The words of blessing and the words of curse crossed the valley, struck the slopes of the two mountains and echoed back. Of all that Moses had commanded, there was not a single word Joshua did not read. Women and children, and the foreigners living with them, heard every word that day.
Walk this scene on the map →God's Words
If you build an altar of stones for me, do not build it with cut stones. If you use a tool on the stones, you defile it.
See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse. When you enter the land, proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
Of all that Moses had commanded, there was not a word that Joshua did not read before the whole assembly. The women, the children and the foreigners heard it too.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Josh 8:30–35
Background
Shechem lies in the pass between Mount Ebal, about 940 metres high, and Mount Gerizim, a little over 880 metres. It is also where Abraham built his first altar in Canaan. Some regard a stone structure excavated on Mount Ebal in the 1980s as Joshua's altar, but the debate continues.
Pause and Reflect
Do I pick out only the words from God that are easy to hear?