Joshua 8

v1-2: Until we have repented of our sin, "which separates us and God," we cannot "expect to hear from God words of assurance, encouragement and strength."

v3-23: Here we have a picture of the Lord Jesus in Joshua, who "conquered by surrendering, as if he had himself been conquered." In the same way, when Christ "bowed his head and gave up his spirit, it seemed as if death had triumphed over him, and as if he and all he stood for had been completely destroyed, but in his resurrection he came back and totally defeated the powers of darkness."

v24-33: An altar was erected on Mount Ebal, which was where the curses of the Law were to be pronounced. These curses "would have been carried out immediately if atonement had not been made by sacrifice." Christ is the altar and sacrifice by which "we now have peace with God" because He has redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us.

v33-35: Every word of the Law was read. "Not even the minutest commands were omitted, nor the fullest commands shortened in any way. Not one jot or tittle of the Law will pass away, and so none was skipped over in the reading under the pretence of a lack of time. No part was thought unnecessary or unsuitable to be read."