Lesson Guide, Introduction: "Shechem was the place where Abraham had built an altar upon his arrival in the land, and where God first gave him the promise of the land (Gen. 12:7). Now, when the promises given to Abraham have been fulfilled, Israel renews the covenant with God at the very place where the first promise had first been given….
 "Israel's existence as a nation is not the merit of any of its ancestors but the exclusive work of God’s grace. The fact that the Israelites are settled in the land is not a ground for boasting but the very reason ...