Joshua 8:30-35 (NRSV)
30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, “an altar of unhewn stones, on which no iron tool has been used,” and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed offerings of well-being. 32 And there, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses that he had written. 33 All Israel, alien as well as native-born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded earlier, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who resided among them.
Prayer
God of beginnings and endings, you know us and our history. You know what we have done and what we have left undone. The ways in which we work in the world and the ways that we rest. As we continue to write our story through our years of study, be with us and guide us. May we be mindful of all the ways you walk with us on our journey. Amen.
Written by Rev. Margaret (Maggie) Alsup (she/her/hers),
College Chaplain and Director of Service, Lyon College (Arkansas)
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