The place of the renewal on this occasion is significant. Picture the whole area. Shechem is a valley with Mount Ebal on the North and Mount Gerizim on the South. The ark of the covenant was to be held between representatives of the tribes of Israel on both its sides. Half of them facing Mount Ebal, and the other half facing Mount Gerizim.
The reading of the Law was an essential element in the covenant renewal. In God's presence they read his Law. The Law is to rule faith and life altogether. The Scriptures are my rule for faith and life. I must be committed to read and study it all the days of my life. Covenant renewal requires a commitment to God's Word.
As the Law is read, the people remember God's great deeds. How God called them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Moreover, the remembrance of the mighty acts of God on behalf his people to make it all possible must be recalled. The strength, smarts, and strategies of the people did not bring them into the land, but the mighty hand of God. I must commit to remember what God has done for me. How he rescued my life from utter darkness. How he has given me abundant life. True covenant renewal requires me to remember where I come from and how God brought me out of it.
Finally, covenant renewal requires reflection. The geography itself helped the Israelites on this. Mount Ebal was stony and barren, representative of the curses for violating the covenant. Mount Gerizim was covered with trees and fruitful, representative of the blessings for keeping the covenant. It is also significant that the valley between the two mountains is a Levitical city of refuge. The place to run when one is in trouble.
Father, I desire to renew my covenant with you. May your word be a priority in my life. May I remember what you have done for me. May I reflect on the blessings for keeping the covenant and the curses for breaking it. Be my refuge in times of need.
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