Moses continued to give the people instructions concerning what to do when they entered the Land as we read in this passage:
"When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool on them. Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God. And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up” (Deuteronomy 27:2-8).
The people were to erect an altar of stones, but they were not to beautify or perfect it, using man-made iron tools to smooth out the rough edges. Instead, they were to use the stones as they were, but they were to write the words of the law on them.
God was teaching the people that their worship and sacrifices at the altar weren't acceptable to Him through their effort, no matter how many sacrifices they made or how beautiful they could make their altar. Their worship was to be based on His words and the focus was to be on what God had done and was doing—not on their abilities or creativity. It was the words of the Law that sanctified the stones, not the works of the people. What's more, their sacrifices and worship weren't to be drudgery. They were to eat there, rejoicing in the presence of God.
The worship of God is a pretty simple matter of the heart, but we have often made it a flowery, ornate outward show of pomp and performance. Strive in the coming days to get in touch with the concept Paul described in 2 Corinthians 11:3: "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (emphasis added).
How are your altars these days? Are they places of joy or has legalism or boredom set into your life and work? Are you doing what gives you joy and worshiping God through it, or working to get a check? Are you worshiping God in spirit and truth—the truth of who you are and the beauty of who He is? What can you do to instill an element of wonder and exhilaration in the work of your hands?
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