The covenant renewal ceremony that takes place between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim is also a testimony to God’s faithfulness to his promises. In the first place, it testifies that the Lord is keeping the promises he made through his servant Moses. In Deuteronomy 11:26–32 and Deuteronomy 27:1–13, Moses told the people that they would come to Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim once the Lord has brought them across the River Jordan. He made this promise to them while they were in the desert. Now, in Joshua 8:30–35, the people of Israel are standing in the land in the very place where Moses promised them they would be. The Lord is faithful to his promises.

The covenant renewal ceremony ultimately testifies not to the promises made through Moses, but the promises that God made to Abraham. In Genesis 12:5–7 we read that it was at Shechem, the name of the place between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, where the Lord promised to give the land of Canaan to Abram’s descendants. In response, Abram built an altar to the Lord and now the people of Israel are building an altar to the Lord in exactly the same place. The choice of Mount Ebal was not random. It may have taken more than four hundred years but the Lord is faithful to his promises. He told Abraham he would give this land to hid descendants and now here they are, standing in the land of promise.