8:32 And he wrote there upon the stones a {n} copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.
(n) Meaning, the ten commandments, which are the sum of the whole Law.
8:32 Upon the stones - Not upon the stones of the altar, which were to be rough and unpolished, ver.31, but upon other stones, smooth and plaistered, as is manifest from Deut 27:2. The law of Moses - Not certainly the whole five books of Moses, for what stones and time would have sufficed for this, but the most weighty parts of the law, and especially the law of the ten commandments.
8:30-35 As soon as Joshua got to the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, without delay, and without caring for the unsettled state of Israel, or their enemies, he confirmed the covenant of the Lord with his people, as appointed, De 11; 27. We must not think to defer covenanting with God till we are settled in the world; nor must any business put us from minding and pursuing the one thing needful. The way to prosper is to begin with God, Mt 6:33. They built an altar, and offered sacrifice to God, in token of their dedicating themselves to God, as living sacrifices to his honour, in and by a Mediator. By Christ's sacrifice of himself for us, we have peace with God. It is a great mercy to any people to have the law of God in writing, and it is fit that the written law should be in a known tongue, that it may be seen and read of all men.
