“Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal. He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: “Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.” Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar the instructions Moses had given them. Then all the Israelites—foreigners and native-born alike—along with the elders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood in front of Mount Gerizim, the other in front of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. This was all done according to the commands that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously given for blessing the people of Israel. Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of Instruction. Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.”
Joshua 8:30-35 NLT
People are finite. By this, I mean to say that people cannot exist beyond the moment they exist in. This is unlike God who is present at all space and time, and is therefore the same in every moment and place. For a finite people to interact with an infinite God means that memory must play a major role. We must carry every thing we learned into every new moment, but a large part of the struggle of being human is built around the difficulty with doing so. We genuinely mean to grow, or change, or orient ourselves in a direction, but when the moment fades, we easily forget those truths from the past. This is why God instituted a system of continuity in worship. He wants us to continually, as a matter of discipline and devotion, orient each moment upon our pledges to him. Because the heart is, not only wicked, but it is finite and small. It is, therefore, important to continually return to these practices, which may at first seem a chore, but are instituted for our blessings. Practices of devotion, such as the disciplines of worship, prayer and reading your Bible provide anchor points for our fading memory and keep us grounded in God from one moment to the next. We should be thankful for them rather than disdain them.
JOSH McGARY. COM 