their central march. He came to Shechem, Bethel, Ai, and the Negev; they would go up from the Negev to Bethel, Ai, and Shechem, where the covenant would be enacted (Josh. 24). But God required faith for any generation that wished to share in those promised blessings. Israel thus shared the same call that their founding ancestor received—to go on a pilgrimage by faith to the Land of Promise and to worship and proclaim God there. They would have to believe in the promises in order to go, and their
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