Let's take our Bibles again and turn to the book of Joshua, chapter 8. And I'd like to read to you verses 30 through 35. Joshua, chapter 8, verses 30 through 35. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Hear God's word. Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal. as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had 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 has wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses which he had written. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord. The stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Abel. As Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded before, Afterward, he read all the words of the law, the blessings, the cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 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. Thus far, God's word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you help us as we give consideration to this event that took place, this renewal of the covenant, Father. Help us in our understandings, may we apply it to ourselves, and may the Holy Spirit indeed touch our hearts and minds. Indeed, we ask, as we read in the response of reading, that you would open our eyes, that we might behold wondrous things out of your law. And I pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. In some ways, as we've read through the account of Jericho and the city of Ai, these verses come at us in a kind of an abrupt way. One minute we're at the site of the city of Ai as the king there is being executed as his body is hung, and suddenly we're at the town of Shechem. Shechem is about 20-25 miles north of Ai, which means the people of Israel have traveled from Ai, which by the way is a city that had to be approached from the valley, and once Ai was conquered, they were really on the ridge of the mountain range. They were really in position to begin their military advance. to the south and also to the north but we don't see that happening here we see them going to Shechem perhaps along the path of the mountain and coming to this place which plays quite prominently actually in Old Testament that would be the place where God promised Abram that he would be the father of a great nation one day and all the families of the earth would be blessed You probably remember from our Wednesday Bible study, it would be Shechem, that would be the place that Jacob would finally return from those many years he spent with his uncle Laban, some 20-25 years, and it would be again a fulfillment of a promise, because although Jacob had been gone so long, Those years were kind of like wilderness years for him and yet the command was there and the promise was there that he would ultimately return to the land. So for him to come into Shechem was him coming back into the promised land. And so Shechem really, in several places, we've highlighted just a couple, is a place of God's faithfulness, faithfulness in terms of The fulfillment ultimately of what was promised to Abraham. And here are the people actually in Shechem. It's a place of renewal. It's a place of commitment. And as we're saying here too, it's also a place of worship. And it's interesting, it comes at this point in time, in the sequence of events that we've already been looking at, that Israelites have essentially experienced exactly what is being presented here. They have experienced the blessings of obedience, and they also have experienced the curses of disobedience in their activity with I. They went from the obedience at Jericho, they really did, per the command of God as transmitted to them through Joshua, march around the city those six days, finally the seventh day, the walls did fall, they destroyed the city, and yet we also see the curse of disobedience, God's anger burned against Israel because of the sin of one. which we observe really addresses the corporate nature of our participation in the church of God, God's people, that one person's activities really do affect the whole church. Just as something happens with the physical body, the whole body feels it. And yet God did not discard them after the failure, the terrible attempt to take I on their own. There was blessing again. blessings of obedience, but sin still had to be dealt with. There had to be confession, there had to be repentance, and so we see this pattern of obedience, we see the blessings associated with that, the curses of disobedience, but also, again, the blessings. And again, as I say, the timing was good, because to do this at this point in time, having experienced those events, that reading again of the curses and the blessings would have a greater impact on the people at this time. As if to say, yeah, we know exactly what that means. We've just experienced what is being presented there in the blessings of obedience and the curses. It is real. And this is exactly the pattern that God uses with his people. And it's fitting, therefore, for a time of renewal, to be reminded of these things, once again commit themselves to the Lord at this time. And they're doing essentially what they've done before. Before they attacked Jericho, you would have thought that not having crossed the river, they would immediately attack Jericho. They didn't. Their first was that time of consecration. The men were circumcised. once again they celebrated Passover so there was that consecration activity then the conquering of Jericho and here we are seeing a pause again because now having gained the high ground as it were conquering Jericho and ultimately the city of Ai higher up on the mountain ridge they were in a position to attack and yet there is a pause here and it was a pause that they needed to have their commitment to the Lord and the knowledge of God's commitment to them such that they knew that God was with them. But they're reminded, yes, as if God is saying to them, yes, I'm with you, but there's a contingency here. The key to your victories in taking the land of Canaan as promised to you is your obedience. And so that takes a priority. This spiritual renewal that's taking place here, that takes priority over their military activities. It's a prerequisite to it. Well, the text here really does indicate to us that this is something that had been commanded by Moses, as God had worked through him. This was not Joshua's idea, necessarily. It was something It's something he knew that he was supposed to do, having been commanded. If you want to just turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 27, you'll see the foundation of what's taking place here. These are some of the last words that Moses would give the people as they were still there on the east side of the Jordan in Moab. And we read there in verse 1 of Deuteronomy 27, Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you today. And it shall be on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you. a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. Therefore it shall be when you've crossed over the Jordan that on Mount Ebel you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You shall not use an iron tool on them. You shall build up with whole stones, the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law." And if we go to verse 11, We read this, that Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people when you shall have crossed over the Jordan. Now addressing the various tribes. Simeon, the tribe of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. These shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse. Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. and the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel." And we won't read that this morning, but the beginning of it here, as commanded, is the curses are announced for disobedience. And you can get a sense of it, verse 16. Cursed is the one who treats his father or mother with contempt, and the people shall say, Amen. Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor's landmark, and the people shall say, Amen. But then it moves to the blessings over in chapter 28. Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all his commandments, which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. And again, we won't read them, but you can get a sense from, as we look at several, blessed shall you be in the city, blessed shall you be in the country, blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground, the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle, the offspring of your flocks. And so we see very definitive language as regards obedience or not, blessings or curses. And you see over in Deuteronomy 30, really what was probably the final words given by Moses, as it were, in Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, he said this to the people of Israel, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that both of your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days, and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, Jacob, to give them. And on this particular occasion, those commands that were given to the people through Moses were obeyed to the letter. There were these two mountains, Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, and you can find Shechem and Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal on some of the maps in your Bible, but you have these two mountains roughly about several thousand feet above sea level. The height of them were roughly around a thousand feet each. At the tips are the top of the mountains were probably about a mile and a half from one another, but the mountains were such that at the base of the mountains in the valley, the mountains were about 500 yards apart from one another. The remarkable thing about these two mountains, though, is they formed what you might call a natural amphitheater. There were limestone, which is actually highlighted here as to what they were to cover these stones with, able to write on the limestone when it was wet and smeared on the rocks. But the limestone formations created a kind of stepping natural steps where people could sit. It's a natural amphitheater and you think of all the people who are gathered there and the nature of it being an amphitheater has been actually tested. There have been tests in years past where people would stand on the top of one mountain, another on the other mountain, and they could hear each other talking. And they could hear all along the line. So God actually assembled this remarkable setup where all of these people could hear the various things that were being read to them. So we see the two mountains, Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebel, and yet we see only one altar. The altar would be built on Mount Ebel. And that altar would be built, there would be the sacrifices that were made, burnt offerings, the peace offerings, and there would then be the reading, the reading of the Law of Moses, as we began to read back in Deuteronomy. Those were the very things that were read on this particular occasion. And it's important to note, the issue here is obedience and blessing, that nothing was added to what was read to the people, nothing was taken away from what was read to the people of God. And therefore, to get a true understanding of what's happening here, it's useful to just step back for a minute and remind ourselves that these are not just general population of people gathered together. This is Israel. This is the Church. Israel constitutes the very people of God. That's certainly brought out in the Abrahamic covenant. I will create a great nation of you. This is that great nation, several hundreds of years later, that is now formed in the land, as promised by God. The Ten Commandments, before they're read, If you go to Exodus chapter 20 in verse 2, there's a preamble, as it were, to the listing of the Ten Commandments, and it's this, which separates out the people of God. The Ten Commandments are very specially addressed to them on that occasion that Moses was on the mountain. We read there in verse 2 of Exodus 20, I'm the Lord your God. And the word, the title, Lord there again is his covenantal name, Yahweh. I'm the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. This is an important thing to point out here, we're talking about blessings and curses, certainly obedience is rewarded, sin is chastened. But there's an unconditional nature to God's dealings with His people. They are God's people. They are Israel. Ultimately, true Israel is the Church of God, as Paul makes very clear in the Romans. That doesn't change the fact that they're the people of God. God did not abandon them after the disaster at the city of Ai. There was a place of recovery. And so we need to keep that in mind, that God has a people for himself. That can't change. God will finish what he has begun with his people. There is no place, particularly for those who have a truth-saving faith, even in the midst of failure, they're not let go. God has a means of recovery, and that's what's being presented here. And what's being presented, though, is there's an unconditional aspect of our relationship with God and that we are God's people, period. That doesn't change. However, there is a conditional nature of our relationship with God, and it has to do with obedience. Obedience or disobedience. So with obedience, there is reward. With disobedience, there is chastening. There is discipline. Now I need to point out, because we've been impacted by our study of Job, Friends of Job had taken that principle of obedience and sin and pretty much leveled that at Job. Job, the reason you're suffering so badly is because you're such a terrible sinner. Stop sinning and there will be blessing. They had been locked into that. That is a principle of what we do has consequences. However, there are times, certainly as in the case of Job, and we need to just keep this in mind as an aside when we start talking about obedience and disobedience, there are times when God brings difficult things into our lives, not because of disobedience, but because of a sanctifying work that He's doing. There was not a particular sin. that brought about the sufferings of Job. And yet there was a sanctifying process that took place. There was a glorifying to God process that took place in the life of Job. He was a different man after his time of suffering. So we need to keep that in mind. But at the same time, we don't discard this principle that is being presented here at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. There is an unconditional aspect to our relationship with God Jesus made that very clear. No one can snatch my people out of my hand or out of the hand of the Father. Paul told the Philippians that God would complete what he had begun with them. Will there be the ups and downs of the Christian life? Obedience and disobedience? That principle is there. There is blessing and reward in obedience. And there can be chastening and discipline when we disobey. With that in mind, what's the fundamental message that's being presented to the people of Israel on this occasion? First of all, let's talk about the Law, because that's mentioned probably a half a dozen times here, in terms of, referred to as the Law, the Word. That comes out very strongly in this particular passage. And what is the Law? The Law is an expression of God's character. And what is God? God is holy. God is quintessentially the perfection of all that is morally good and right. And to be in union with God as we are in Christ, or as the people here are called out as the people of God, they are called to be holy. But what keeps us from that? Well, I think we know the answer to that. It's sin. And sin really has to be understood, this lawlessness, in terms of covenantal law-breaking. That's what we're doing as a Christian. When we sin, we're breaking that covenantal relationship that we have with God. Mount Gerizim, there's very clearly presented to the people as they heard the blessings, if you obey. Now, has that been abused? That understanding about blessings, if you obey? Certainly there were misunderstandings in the mind of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Well, it's almost as if Jesus said, maybe even thinking about Gerizim, said, well, if you want to inherit eternal life, if you want blessing, keep the law. And Jesus mentioned several points of the law. And the rich young ruler said, All these things I have kept since my youth." He should have said, all of these things I've broken since my youth. He didn't understand the relationship between the outward performance and what's going on in his heart. He, like many, I've encountered them myself, people who describe themselves as good people who are trying to do the best they can. Jesus, of course, exposed his misunderstanding by, you say you keep the law, then get rid of the idol that you have. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Your idol is your money." Now that idol can be many things for many people. Whatever thing we love and can't do without, which is described as very much a part of our happiness and peace of mind, that's an idol. Jesus was saying, you can't even keep the first commandment. Get rid of that money. And here's how, by the way, to keep the other half or the other table of the commandments, that's how to love God. Get rid of that money. Here's how to love your neighbor. Give it to the poor." The man did not understand it. He walked away sad, we're told. Wasn't that the experience of Paul? Paul, who was Saul prior to his conversion? As far as the law was concerned, he said, I was blameless. I kept all of it. And God showed him that, yes, you've not physically murdered somebody, you've not physically committed adultery, but you have been, you are a covenanter, Pauline, you're coveting the praise and adoration of men because you want to be the Pharisee of Pharisees. And he was convicted by the law, finally. But he was a rich young ruler, Paul were ones who approached God on Mount Gerizim, as it were, symbolically. on the idea, well, there's blessings with obedience. I can obey, that's simple to do, only to discover that there was idolatry and hypocrisy associated with that obedience. It's interesting, Mount Gerizim comes to play in the incident where Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, encounters the woman at the well. She was very close to Mount Gerizim, and we saw that Jesus, in encountering her, confronted her with her sin. So where's your husband? Well, yeah, I know, you've had several husbands, and the one you're living with now is not your husband. So she did what a lot of people do, and maybe we do on occasion when we're confronted with our sin, what to do? Change the topic. And what does she do? Let's talk about religion. And we have a record of it, as John gives it to us in his gospel. If you go to John chapter 4, And we read there, starting at verse 20, there is the woman speaking to Jesus on this particular occasion. And as I said, she's standing in a place where Mount Gerizim is in view. And she says this to Jesus, our fathers worshipped on this mountain, Mount Gerizim. And you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. And the woman said, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When he comes, he'll tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. Now how did Gerizim happen to be this place where the woman pointed to as where the Samaritans worshipped? If you know your biblical history of Israel, there came a time when the kingdom was split. after the reign of King Solomon because of his disobedience into the northern and southern kingdom. And there came a time when the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians because of their idolatry and wickedness and violence. And the Assyrian means of conquering a country was to bring some of their people into the conquered country and take some of their people and bring them into their country. And the idea is to cross Mary, to lose their sense of nationalism. So you have, by this point in time, the Samaritans. And they wanted to distinguish themselves from the Southern Kingdom, so they knew their biblical history. They looked at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebel and said, I think we'd rather be associated with Mount Gerizim. That's the place of blessings. Who wants to go to Mount Ebel, the place of cursing? And so Mount Gerizim became their place of worship. Essentially, in that action, we're approaching God on the basis of outward performance, outward works, that somehow that would bring about their proper relationship with God. And Jesus completely turns this around on her. It's not about Mount Gerizim. It's not about Jerusalem. The true worshippers come before God in spirit and in truth. It has everything to do with what's going on inside, in your heart, in your mind. That heart that's been transformed that from that tremendous heart transplant where the heart of flesh is taken and there's a heart of stone is taken and replaced with a heart of flesh and now that one wants to seek the Lord and that's all based on truth. The truth is presented by God himself, particularly through the person in the work of Jesus Christ. And what does he do? He directs her attention off of garrison. Forget garrison as it were. I've already pointed out your sin. How can you possibly Come to God through Mount Gerizim. There's no blessing in continuing in your lifestyle. There's no blessing in continuing with Jerusalem. I fulfilled all that was prophesied about Jerusalem. I'm the temple. I'm the high priest. I'm the king and the prophet. And he goes on to say, and she knew enough to know that Messiah was coming. And what does he do? He directs her attention off of Gerizim, off of Jerusalem, and says, look, come to me. I who speak to you am He. I am that Messiah. I am the one who did what was prefigured there at Mount Evil. Yes, there's curses with disobedience, but there's reconciliation. That's what the author is all about there on Mount Evil. Paul says this about the law in Romans chapter 7. Paul, who thought he was in good standing with God, with his idea of keeping the law, When his eyes were opened, when his heart was new, he asked this question, is the law sin there in Romans 7? Is it there such that when I'm confronted with it, that something's wrong with it, it makes me sin? He's saying, certainly not. The law is just, do this, there's blessing, don't do this, or there's cursing. It's up to you what you do with the law. He says, on the contrary, he says, I wouldn't have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet. I think God used that in a very strong way with Paul. He came to see that he was coveting the approval of man. That was his reason, his motivation, what was in his heart as regards keeping the law. He said, But sin taking opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. It was such that all it did was make me want to sin more, because that desire to covet was there. It was a strong desire. The law was what brought me under condemnation, for apart from the law, sin was dead. But I was alive once without the law. I thought it was okay. But when the commandment came, And when he says the commandment came, when it came with eyes that were open and ears that could hear and a heart that had a different orientation, sin revived. Now I see sin for what it is. I've offended God. It has everything to do with what's going on internally. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I thought I was in good shape. All it did is it brought death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, killed me. Therefore the law is holy. and the commandment holy and just and good. The moral problem is not having to do with the law, it has to do with the heart of Paul and the heart of everyone who approaches God from Mount Gerizim. You can't get there from here. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And what Jesus was doing with the woman at the well was saying, I'm the way. In fact, the hymn we just sang was based on that particular occasion when Jesus said to his disciples, I'm the way, I'm the truth, and I'm the life. No one, absolutely no one comes to the Father except through me, not Malgharazin. It has everything to do with what was built on evil. Two mountains, but one altar. The place of cursing was the place where the altar was placed. Evil really is the mountain whereby God is essentially saying to the people, this is you. This is, yes, your call to obey. That is what is expected of a people that have been called out. My people, you're to be holy because I am holy. But you're not. Morally. And that's the same message to us. Mount Abel points as negative as it sounds. It points to us as well. That's us. But God is also saying, look, this is the ideal, this is where I want you to be, Mount Gerizim, and keeping the law perfectly, but you're not there. You're going to sin. That's going to characterize your life as the nation of Israel. That's going to characterize our life. But no, that's the bad news. The good news is, but I've provided a means of reconciliation on those occasions when you do sin. sacrifices that are made there in verse 31 of our text. They offered on the altar a burnt offering and they also sacrificed a peace offering. The burnt offering was such that animals were placed on the altar. Their blood would be shed in the place of the worshipper. There was that wonderful principle of substitution. One would suffer in the place of the sinner, and the shedding of that blood would satisfy God, propitiate God, that justice had been done. And now there's reconciliation. Now it's time to offer the next in line a peace offering. A peace offering is a recognition that there's reconciliation that's take place. That we have a relationship again. Look at Exodus chapter 20 verse 24 and the description of this altar. An altar of earth you shall make for me and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. One comes before the other. There is no peace offering before the burnt offering. It's the other way around. God has to be satisfied from a judicial point of view only then, only when justice has been satisfied is there any peace offering. Peace offering is what one offers when there's Thanksgiving and praise and worship and then comes a meal afterwards. And if you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it on hewn stone. For if you use your tool on it, you've profaned it. You see the symbolic representation? It has to be simple. It has to have no evidence of the work of man on it. You don't have to chisel on it, decorate it, paint it, do all the things that we like to do with things that look so simple. We want something better that he said, don't touch it at all. Just put it together, put a mixture of the lime and the water such that you can etch in it the law on top of it. There are to be no works. That's the message. Don't come to that altar bringing something of your own, your own works. It's grace alone, faith alone. There's nothing added to it. Francis Schaeffer described it, used the expression, in the presentation of this altar, the way the description as to how it's being constructed, it should be a complete, as he wrote, a complete negation of all humanism. You see, the message to the people is, Mount Gerizim is still the goal. That's where you're to be. You're to be in a place of complete obedience. There's obedience. But you're still going to sin. You're still a sinner. And that's the same message to us today. We're still sinners. If you're in Christ and have a true saving faith, you haven't suddenly become perfect. But it's the ongoing recognition of the goal, as it were, as we move in that direction, and yet we're going to fail. But that's why there has to be renewal. And this is what's occurring here. This is what I said at Shechem, with Mount Gerizim and Mount Nebo. Quite frankly, that's what's occurring here. We come here for renewal of the covenant, as it were. We see the significance of the reading of the Law and the Word. Listen to this quote. This is written by a man named Abraham Kurevilla. He's describing covenant renewal which is taking place here in the context of what we're doing right now as we gather together with God's people because we have, as he says, he defines the reading and the exposition of the biblical text in a corporate ecclesial context, that's what we're doing right now, an event mediated by the preacher. He's the one who presents the word, he's the one who explains it, it's in the context of God's people gathering together for this covenant renewal, and it culminates not just in the reading of it and the explanation of it, but culminates in the application of it. What do I do with it? How does this apply to me? How does this change the way I live? How should I understand this as a renewal and once a reminder again of who I am and my relationship to God? It culminates in an application that readjusts. This is what happens every Lord's Day, every first day of the week. You're getting readjusted. You're getting a tune-up. It's a covenant renewal that's taking place through the Word as it's mediated, as it's made effectual in the lives of God's people to remind them of who you are. And not only your position, but the expectation that is ours. We are to be a holy people. Readjust the congregation. What? To their God. and his demands. It's not just believe, it's also obey. Trust and obey. That should characterize the Christian experience. And when that doesn't happen, we need to hear about it. And restores them. Weekly restoration that's taking place restores them in a proper relationship to him. It's an opportunity to reflect on this past week. Have I lived for God? Have I offered up those sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving? Have I stuck to His Word? Have I added to it? Have I taken away from it? Thus reaffirming. Here's what you should be able to walk out of here with. A reaffirmation of your status before God. And what is it? That you are a purchased people. Purchased people with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. and delivered by God. That is the message. That's what covenant renewal is all about. And that's what's being presented to the people. Why the reading of the Word? Paul makes it clear to Timothy, as he encouraged him in his preaching, you have the Word and it's sufficient, Timothy, it's all you need. All you need because it's sufficient for instructing God's people It's sufficient for correcting God's people, for exhorting, encouraging. It's also there for rebuke. And out of that should come revival, as it were. Ongoing basis. As we're reminded of the importance of the covenantal faithfulness of God, and we are called to that covenantal faithfulness, and the basis of it. How has that come to pass? Christ. That's what the Altar of Mount Evil's all about. That's what the burnt offering's all about. And the resultant peace offering that's offered there, the place where we, in this life, approach God. Here's Mount Gerizim, that's the goal, but we still are sinners. And we still need to be ongoing, there needs to be that ongoing renewal. And to come to Him through Christ and Him crucified, then come the peace offerings. What are they? That's why we sing hymns. That's why we praise. That's why we offer up Thanksgiving. And that's why we also offer sacrifices of service, not just mechanical, formal, oppressive service, but loving service. If you really love God, There should be some desire that says to God, Lord, when you get up in the morning, what do you want me to do today? I have some plans, but I want you to tell me what you want me to do. And to start the day, get your Bible out. If you're not doing that on a regular basis, you're going to miss out on some of this. You're not going to have that renewal process taking place, not just on Lord's Day as we're gathered together, but every day. Read some Scripture. See, what is he saying there? To instruct you? Are you going to be corrected? I think we get corrected regularly. Are you going to be encouraged? Are you going to accept the rebukes that come from Scripture? One of the benefits of reading through the Bible on the McShane plan or any other plan is you have to read it in succession. You can't just pick out certain verses and ignore other portions of the Bible. There's that renewal. Every day is a renewal. The sun comes up. It's a new day. It's a new opportunity to offer peace offerings to God because of your relationship. It's another day to be reminded of who you are. You're blood-bought children of God. And you're not on Mount Gerizim yet. That's still the goal of perfection. you still come to God through evil because we are reminded daily that we're sinners. But there's reconciliation. There's recovery. That's what the whole message is about. It's interesting, at a later time, when the conquering of the land has taken place, we find the people of Israel and Joshua once again at Shechem. We find them there in chapter 24. In that chapter, we see Joshua reminding the people, you're here now, you're in the land. And God has given you victory. God has protected you. God has delivered you. God has never let you go. That's the unconditional aspect of our relationship with God. Yes, you've been disciplined. Yes, you've been chastened. But here you are. The great victories that have been achieved. And what does he say to them? We have it there in chapter 24. He says, Now therefore, in the light of all these things, as regards to who God is in your relationship to him and on the basis upon which you are reconciled to God, through what's pictured there at the altar, justice has to be satisfied. There has to be, in order for God to justly forgive us. And now begins the great process of renovation. And Mount Gerizim gives us the gold. That word is a lamp under my feet. That's the direction he wants me to go. And he said to the people, now therefore, in the light of all this, fear the Lord. Not the trembling prisoner in the prisoner's dock in the courtroom, but that reverent awe, that holy fear, that awe of God. Fear the Lord. Serve Him. There's your peace offering. Serve him in sincerity and truth, not for yourself, but to glorify him. And put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Whatever idol you have in your life, put it aside. I don't know what it is. We all have idols. We're idol makers. Serve the Lord, he says, not yourself. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you'll serve. Elijah in a later time would echo those words. Choose you this day whom you will serve. The people have been caught up with idolatry, with Baal. And he's telling them, you can't ride the fence. There is no fence riding. You're either serving God or you're serving Baal. You're serving your idols. Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Can you say that this morning? Sincerely? Truthfully? Two mountains, one altar. You can either come to God as the rich young ruler tried to do and Saul tried to do prior to becoming Paul or the Samaritans. You can come through Mount Gerizim your self-righteousness, you won't get there, you can't get there, or the alternative choice is to come to God as a sinner and to be reconciled to Him and forgiven, as pictured in the author, forgiven and cleansed through Jesus Christ. Those are the choices. Choose you to stay whom you will serve. That's what we do every time we gather together on the Lord's Day, and what you essentially do every time you get up in the morning. Choose your day, who are you going to serve? Are you going to serve yourself, and your own needs, and your own agenda, or are you going to serve the Lord? Whichever way takes you. It's interesting that the way Paul, in Romans 12, lays out the Christian life. If you read that whole chapter, you'll see that when you become, have a truth-saving faith in the Lord, it changes everything. The first couple of verses say your relationship with God is completely different now. The middle verses talk about you now have a brand new relationship with your fellow brothers and sisters. And the latter part of that chapter tells you that you now have an incredibly different relationship with the world. But he starts out, appropriately, the very first thing he talks about, and he doesn't treat it lightly, because he says in verse 1 of Romans 12, I beseech you. He doesn't say, oh, by the way. I beseech you, therefore, and he addresses them, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, because that's the only way you'll be able to do it, that you present your bodies All of us, mind, will, affections, physical body, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, not above and beyond the call of duty. That's the expectation. And don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed. There's the word that every day, Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. With what? The Word. The Law of God. This is the emphasis here in this passage that we're looking at. The event that occurred between Mount Ebel and Mount Gerizim. That's the deciding factors that were as to what is the basis of our response. The Word. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In the process, you will end up proving that which is ultimately good and acceptable and is the perfect will of God. So that's the message. Choose you this day. And that's why we're here. And that's why coming and gathering together as God's people on the first day of the week is of paramount importance. It is not extracurricular activity. God works through His Word, and He works with churches, even little churches like Tekoa. And it's so incredibly important to experience this covenantal renewal every week. And personally, on a daily basis, get up with it. Our first thoughts, by God's grace, Lord, what do you want me to do today? I have an agenda, bringing it before you, but I'm willing to give me the grace to be willing to abide by your agenda. That's how God interrupts our schedules, doesn't he? He has a way of doing that in a variety of ways, but it's for a purpose, to sanctify us, to make us a holy people. The goal is still Mount Gerizim, but we're still sinners, and the good news is there's an altar on Mount Ebel. There's reconciliation. Jews. Heavenly Father, what a sobering thought that is, to choose. The world isn't going to choose it for me. Family. I personally choose. What are you going to do? Joshua, near the end of his days, you choose. You can choose Mount Gerizim, or you can choose Mount Ebel. You can choose self-righteousness. You can choose the idolatry. that's associated with that in hypocrisy, or you can come to me in spirit and in truth to Mount Eagle, humbly confessing, repenting, but then being wonderfully reconciled because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. What a wonder that is. Oh, Lord, keep us close to the cross. Keep us close to contemplating, as Paul did, about Jesus. Life I live, I no longer live for myself. Christ lives in me. Yes, the Christ who loved me. And he tells us how. Who gave himself for me. He became poor that I might become rich. He died that I might live. And we have a living Savior now, which was the proof that he accomplished what he came to do. Father, thank you for these occasions every week when we come together corporately for renewal, reviving, Father. To be instructed from your Word and to have it not only explained but made application of it to our lives, Father, that we might be reminded of who we are and our relationship with you, our standing with you, but also our responsibilities as your people. We are a people to be a holy people, just as you are holy. By God's grace, may we do it. I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.