Book of God

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

BOOK OF GOD

Josh 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 copied on stones the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 All Israel, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing those who carried it — the priests, who were Levites. 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 aliens who lived among them.

NIV

To hear all the words of the Book of the Law would have taken some time, and yet Joshua took his time and read every word out loud for all of Israel and the aliens that lived among them. As we know he did not have a sound system and microphone to carry his voice so that many people could hear him, however, we are told they heard his voice. We wonder if something supernatural was going on as Joshua read all the words of the law. Some of our churches today have altars while others have a platform with a small pulpit made of wood or we have seen glass or plexiglass ones. However, whatever type of pulpit area, it resides within a sanctuary which should be a holy place where we bring a sacrifice of praise, and we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to our Lord. This is the place where the book of God should always be read out loud before the people. Even on a personal level, we think it is good to read the book of God not with only our eyes, but with our voice. We would think that Joshua and all the people revered the Book of the Law, for it was God’s word to Moses who wrote it down and first spoke it to the people. This is why we believe the pastors of our churches today should always read the book of God to the people as they gather to worship the Lord in his sanctuary, the holy place where the book of God is read. Now, some of the holy places where the book of God is read can be heard by others via some media platforms, which is good, for some might not be believers, but aliens. However, unlike in the time of Joshua, aliens today can become a believer just by hearing the words of the book of God. Let us always be about speaking the words written in the book of God wherever we might find ourselves, but especially within the holy place, where we offer ourselves as living sacrifices and offer those sacrifices of praise, as we listen to the words of the book of God, with all its blessings and curses.