Text -- Joshua 24:13-33 (NET)

24:13 I gave you a land in which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’ 24:14 Now obey the Lord and worship him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and worship the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire to worship the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, whether it be the gods whom your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family will worship the Lord!” 24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can worship other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery in the land of Egypt and performed these awesome miracles before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. 24:18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship the Lord, for he is our God!” 24:19 Joshua warned the people, “You will not keep worshiping the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God who will not forgive your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you; he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, though he once treated you well.” 24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will worship the Lord!” 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” They replied, “We are witnesses!” 24:23 Joshua said, “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to the Lord God of Israel.” 24:24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.” 24:25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement for the people, and he established rules and regulations for them in Shechem. 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness against you if you deny your God.” 24:28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land.

An Era Ends

24:29 After all this Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 24:30 They buried him in his allotted territory in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 24:31 Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. 24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. 24:33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jos 24:14

Whereby it appears, that although Joshua had doubtless prevented and purged out all public idolatry, yet there were some of them who practised it in their private houses and retirements.

Wesley: Jos 24:14

Terah, and Nahor, and Abraham, as Jos 24:2, and other of your ancestors.

Wesley: Jos 24:14

See Eze 23:3, Eze 23:8, Eze 23:19, Eze 23:21, Eze 23:27. Under these particulars, no doubt he comprehends all other false gods, which were served by the nations amongst whom they were, but only mentions these, as the idols which they were in more danger of worshipping than those in Canaan; partly because those of Canaan had been now lately and palpably disgraced by their inability to preserve their worshippers from total ruin; and partly, because the other idols came recommended to them by the venerable name of antiquity, and the custom of their forefathers.

Wesley: Jos 24:15

Unjust, unreasonable or inconvenient.

Wesley: Jos 24:15

Not that he leaves them to their liberty, whether they would serve God or idols; for Joshua had no such power himself, nor could give it to any other; and both he and they were obliged by the law of Moses, to give their worship to God only, and to forbear all idolatry in themselves, and severely to punish it in others; but it is a powerful insinuation, whereby he both implies, that the worship of God is so highly reasonable, necessary and beneficial; and the service of idols so absurd, and vain, and pernicious, that if it were left free for all men to take their choice, every man in his right wits must needs chuse the service of God, before that of idols; and provokes them to bind themselves faster to God by their own choice.

Wesley: Jos 24:15

But know this, if you should all be so base and brutish, as to prefer senseless and impotent idols, before the true and living God, it is my firm purpose, that I will, and my children, and servants (as far as I can influence them) shall be constant and faithful to the Lord. And that, whatever others do. They that resolve to serve God, must not start at being singular in it. They that are bound for heaven must be willing to swim against the stream, and must do, not as most do, but as the best do.

Wesley: Jos 24:19

He speaks not of an absolute impossibility, (for then both his resolution to serve God himself, and his exhortation to them had been vain) but of a moral impossibility, or a very great difficulty, which he alledgeth not to discourage them from God's service, but to make them more considerate in obliging themselves; and more resolved in answering their obligations. The meaning is, God's service is not, as you seem to fancy, a slight and easy thing, but it is a work of great difficulty, and requires great care, and courage and resolution; and when I consider the infinite purity of God, that he will not be mocked or abused; and withal your proneness to superstition and idolatry, even during the life of Moses, and in some of you, while I live, and while the obligations which God had laid upon you in this land, are fresh in remembrance; I cannot but fear that after my decease you will think the service of God burdensome, and therefore will cast it off and revolt from him, if you do not carefully avoid all occasions of idolatry.

Wesley: Jos 24:19

In the Hebrew, He is the holy Gods, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit. He will not endure a partner in his worship; you can not serve him and idols together.

Wesley: Jos 24:19

If you who own yourselves his people and servants, shall wilfully transgress his laws, he will not let this go unpunished in you, as he doth in other nations; therefore consider what you do, when you take the Lord for your God; weigh your advantages and inconveniences together; for as if you be sincere and faithful in God's service, you will have admirable benefits by it; so if you be false to your professions, and forsake him whom you have so solemnly avouched to be your God, he will deal more severely with you than with any people in the world.

Wesley: Jos 24:20

That is, he will alter his course and the manner of his dealing with you, and will be as severe as ever he was kind and gracious. He will repent of his former kindnesses, and his goodness abused will be turned into fury.

Wesley: Jos 24:21

Namely, him only, and not strange gods.

Wesley: Jos 24:22

This solemn profession will be a swift witness against you, if hereafter you apostatize from God.

Wesley: Jos 24:23

Those idols which you either brought out of Egypt, or have taken in Canaan, which some of you keep contrary to God's command, whether for the preciousness of the matter, or rather for some secret inclination to superstition and idolatry.

Wesley: Jos 24:25

He set or established that covenant with them, that is, the people, for a statute or an ordinance, to bind themselves and their posterity unto God for ever.

Wesley: Jos 24:26

That is, this covenant or agreement of the people with the Lord.

Wesley: Jos 24:26

That is, in the volume which was kept in the ark, Deu 31:9, Deu 31:26, whence it was taken and put into this book of Joshua: this he did for the perpetual remembrance of this great and solemn action, to lay the greater obligation upon the people to be true to their engagement; and as a witness for God, against the people, if afterward he punished them for their defection from God, to whom they had so solemnly and freely obliged themselves.

Wesley: Jos 24:26

As a witness and monument of this great transaction, according to the custom of those ancient times. Possibly this agreement was written upon this stone, as was then usual.

Wesley: Jos 24:26

That is, near the place where the ark and tabernacle then were; for tho' they were forbidden to plant a grove of trees near unto the altar, as the Gentiles did, yet they might for a time set up an altar, or the ark, near a great tree which had been planted there before.

Wesley: Jos 24:27

It shall be as sure a witness against you, as if it had heard. This is a common figure, whereby the sense of hearing is often ascribed to the heavens and the earth, and other senseless creatures.

Wesley: Jos 24:32

Joseph died two hundred years before in Egypt, but gave commandment concerning his bones, that they should not rest in a grave, 'till Israel rested in the land of promise. Now therefore they were deposited in that piece of ground, which his father gave him near Shechem. One reason why Joshua called all Israel to Shechem, might be to attend Joseph's bones to the grave. So that he now delivered as it were both Joseph's funeral sermon, and his own farewell sermon. And if it was in the last year of his life, the occasion might well remind him, of his own death now at hand. For he was just of the same age with his illustrious ancestor, who died being one hundred and ten years old, Gen 50:26.

Wesley: Jos 24:33

By special favour, and for his better conveniency in attending upon the ark, which then was, and for a long time was to be in Shiloh, near this place: whereas the cities which were given to the priests, were in Judah. Benjamin, and Simeon, which were remote from Shiloh, tho' near the place where the ark was to have its settled abode, namely, at Jerusalem. It is probable Eleazar died about the same time with Joshua, as Aaron did in the same year with Moses. While Joshua lived, religion was kept up, under his care and influence, but after he and his contemporaries were gone, it swiftly went to decay. How well is it for the gospel church, that Christ, our Joshua, is still with it by his Spirit, and will be always, even to the end of the world?

JFB: Jos 24:26

Registered the engagements of that solemn covenant in the book of sacred history.

JFB: Jos 24:26

According to the usage of ancient times to erect stone pillars as monuments of public transactions.

JFB: Jos 24:26

Or terebinth, in all likelihood, the same as that at the root of which Jacob buried the idols and charms found in his family.

JFB: Jos 24:26

Either the spot where the ark had stood, or else the place around, so called from that religious meeting, as Jacob named Beth-el the house of God.

JFB: Jos 24:29-30

LIGHTFOOT computes that he lived seventeen, others twenty-seven years, after the entrance into Canaan. He was buried, according to the Jewish practice, within the limits of his own inheritance. The eminent public services he had long rendered to Israel and the great amount of domestic comfort and national prosperity he had been instrumental in diffusing among the several tribes, were deeply felt, were universally acknowledged; and a testimonial in the form of a statue or obelisk would have been immediately raised to his honor, in all parts of the land, had such been the fashion of the times. The brief but noble epitaph by the historian is, Joshua, "the servant of the Lord."

JFB: Jos 24:31

The high and commanding character of this eminent leader had given so decided a tone to the sentiments and manners of his contemporaries and the memory of his fervent piety and many virtues continued so vividly impressed on the memories of the people, that the sacred historian has recorded it to his immortal honor. "Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua."

JFB: Jos 24:32

They had carried these venerable relics with them in all their migrations through the desert, and deferred the burial, according to the dying charge of Joseph himself, till they arrived in the promised land. The sarcophagus, in which his mummied body had been put, was brought thither by the Israelites, and probably buried when the tribe of Ephraim had obtained their settlement, or at the solemn convocation described in this chapter.

JFB: Jos 24:32

Kestitah translated, "piece of silver," is supposed to mean "a lamb," the weights being in the form of lambs or kids, which were, in all probability, the earliest standard of value among pastoral people. The tomb that now covers the spot is a Mohammedan Welce, but there is no reason to doubt that the precious deposit of Joseph's remains may be concealed there at the present time.

JFB: Jos 24:33

The sepulchre is at the modern village Awertah, which, according to Jewish travellers, contains the graves also of Ithamar, the brother of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar [VAN DE VELDE].

Clarke: Jos 24:14

Fear the Lord - Reverence him as the sole object of your religious worship

Clarke: Jos 24:14

Serve him - Perform his will by obeying his commands

Clarke: Jos 24:14

In sincerity - Having your whole heart engaged in his worship

Clarke: Jos 24:14

And in truth - According to the directions he has given you in his infallible word

Clarke: Jos 24:14

Put away the gods, etc. - From this exhortation of Joshua we learn of what sort the gods were, to the worship of whom these Israelites were still attached

1.    Those which their fathers worshipped on the other side of the flood: i.e., the gods of the Chaldeans, fire, light, the sun

2.    Those of the Egyptians, Apis, Anubis, the ape, serpents, vegetables, etc

3.    Those of the Canaanites, Moabites, etc., Baal-peor or Priapus, Astarte or Venus, etc., etc

All these he refers to in this and the following verse. See at the conclusion of Jos 24:33 (note). How astonishing is this, that, after all God had done for them, and all the miracles they had seen, there should still be found among them both idols and idolaters! That it was so we have the fullest evidence, both here and in Jos 24:23; Amo 5:26; and in Act 7:41. But what excuse can be made for such stupid, not to say brutish, blindness? Probably they thought they could the better represent the Divine nature by using symbols and images, and perhaps they professed to worship God through the medium of these. At least this is what has been alleged in behalf of a gross class of Christians who are notorious for image worship. But on such conduct God will never look with any allowance, where he has given his word and testimony.

Clarke: Jos 24:15

Choose you this day whom ye will serve - Joshua well knew that all service that was not free and voluntary could be only deceit and hypocrisy, and that God loveth a cheerful giver. He therefore calls upon the people to make their choice, for God himself would not force them - they must serve him with all their heart if they served him at all. As for himself and family, he shows them that their choice was already fixed, for they had taken Jehovah for their portion.

Clarke: Jos 24:16

God forbid that we should forsake the Lord - That they were now sincere cannot be reasonably doubted, for they served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Jos 24:31; but afterwards they turned aside, and did serve other gods. "It is ordinary,"says Mr. Trapp, "for the many-headed multitude to turn with the stream - to be of the same religion with their superiors: thus at Rome, in Diocletian’ s time, they were pagans; in Constantine’ s Christians; in Constantius’ s, Arians; in Julian’ s apostates, and in Jovinian’ s, Christians again! And all this within less than the age of a man. It is, therefore, a good thing that the heart be established with grace."

Clarke: Jos 24:19

Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is a holy God - If we are to take this literally, we cannot blame the Israelites for their defection from the worship of the true God; for if it was impossible for them to serve God, they could not but come short of his kingdom: but surely this was not the case. Instead of לא תוכלו lo thuchelu , ye Cannot serve, etc., some eminent critics read לא תכלו lo thechallu , ye shall not Cease to serve, etc. This is a very ingenious emendation, but there is not one MS. in all the collections of Kennicott and De Rossi to support it. However, it appears very possible that the first ו vau in תוכלו did not make a part of the word originally. If the common reading be preferred, the meaning of the place must be, "Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is holy and jealous, unless ye put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood. For he is a jealous God, and will not give to nor divide his glory with any other. He is a holy God, and will not have his people defiled with the impure worship of the Gentiles."

Clarke: Jos 24:21

And the people said - Nay; but we will serve, etc. - So they understood the words of Joshua to imply no moral impossibility on their side: and had they earnestly sought the gracious assistance of God, they would have continued steady in his covenant.

Clarke: Jos 24:22

Ye are witnesses against yourselves - Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of God’ s holiness - your own weakness and inconstancy - the need you have of Divine help, and the awful consequences of apostasy; and now ye deliberately make your choice. Remember then, that ye are witnesses against yourselves, and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner; or, as one terms it, index, judex, vindex .

Clarke: Jos 24:23

Now therefore put away - As you have promised to reform, begin instantly the work of reformation. A man’ s promise to serve God soon loses its moral hold of his conscience if he do not instantaneously begin to put it in practice. The grace that enables him to promise is that by the strength of which he is to begin the performance.

Clarke: Jos 24:25

Joshua made a covenant - Literally, Joshua cut the covenant, alluding to the sacrifice offered on the occasion

Clarke: Jos 24:25

And set then a statute and an ordinance - He made a solemn and public act of the whole, which was signed and witnessed by himself and the people, in the presence of Jehovah; and having done so, he wrote the words of the covenant in the book of the law of God, probably in some part of the skin constituting the great roll, on which the laws of God were written, and of which there were some blank columns to spare. Having done this, he took a great stone and set it up under an oak - that this might be עד ed or witness that, at such a time and place, this covenant was made, the terms of which might be found written in the book of the law, which was laid up beside the ark. See Deu 31:26.

Clarke: Jos 24:27

This stone - hath heard all the words - That is, the stone itself, from its permanency, shall be in all succeeding ages as competent and as substantial a witness as one who had been present at the transaction, and heard all the words which on both sides were spoken on the occasion.

Clarke: Jos 24:28

So Joshua - After this verse the Septuagint insert Jos 24:31.

Clarke: Jos 24:29

Joshua the son of Nun - died - This event probably took place shortly after this public assembly; for he was old and stricken in years when he held the assembly mentioned Jos 23:2; and as his work was now all done, and his soul ripened for a state of blessedness, God took him to himself, being one hundred and ten years of age; exactly the same age as that of the patriarch Joseph. See Gen 50:26.

Clarke: Jos 24:30

And they buried him - in Timnath-serah - This was his own inheritance, as we have seen Jos 19:50. The Septuagint add here, "And they put with him there, in the tomb in which they buried him, the knives of stone with which he circumcised the children of Israel in Gilgal, according as the Lord commanded when he brought them out of Egypt; and there they are till this day."St. Augustine quotes the same passage in his thirtieth question on the book of Joshua, which, in all probability, he took from some copy of the Septuagint. It is very strange that there is no account of any public mourning for the death of this eminent general; probably, as he was buried in his own inheritance, he had forbidden all funeral pomp, and it is likely was privately interred.

Clarke: Jos 24:31

And Israel served the Lord, etc. - Though there was private idolatry among them, for they had strange gods, yet there was no public idolatry all the days of Joshua and of the elders that overlived Joshua; most of whom must have been advanced in years at the death of this great man. Hence Calmet supposes that the whole of this time might amount to about fifteen years. It has already been noted that this verse is placed by the Septuagint after Jos 24:28.

Clarke: Jos 24:32

And the bones of Joseph - See the note on Gen 50:25, and on Exo 13:19. This burying of the bones of Joseph probably took place when the conquest of the land was completed, and each tribe had received its inheritance; for it is not likely that this was deferred till after the death of Joshua.

Clarke: Jos 24:33

And Eleazar - died - Probably about the same time as Joshua, or soon after; though some think he outlived him six years. Thus, nearly all the persons who had witnessed the miracles of God in the wilderness were gathered to their fathers; and their descendants left in possession of the great inheritance, with the Law of God in their hands, and the bright example of their illustrious ancestors before their eyes. It must be added that they possessed every advantage necessary to make them a great, a wise, and a holy people. How they used, or rather how they abused, these advantages, their subsequent history, given in the sacred books, amply testifies

Clarke: Jos 24:33

A hill that pertained to Phinehas his son - This grant was probably made to Phinehas as a token of the respect of the whole nation, for his zeal, courage, and usefulness: for the priests had properly no inheritance. At the end of this verse the Septuagint add: - "In that day the children of Israel, taking up the ark of the covenant of God, carried it about with them, and Phinehas succeeded to the high priest’ s office in the place of his father until his death; and he was buried in Gabaath, which belonged to himself. "Then the children of Israel went every man to his own place, and to his own city. "And the children of Israel worshipped Astarte and Ashtaroth, and the gods of the surrounding nations, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of Eglon king of Moab, and he tyrannized over them for eighteen years.

The last six verses in this chapter were, doubtless, not written by Joshua; for no man can give an account of his own death and burial. Eleazar, Phinehas, or Samuel, might have added them, to bring down the narration so as to connect it with their own times; and thus preserve the thread of the history unbroken. This is a common case; many men write histories of their own lives, which, in the last circumstances, are finished by others, and who has ever thought of impeaching the authenticity of the preceding part, because the subsequent was the work of a different hand? Hirtius’ s supplement has never invalidated the authenticity of the Commentaries of Caesar, nor the work of Quintus Smyrnaeus, that of the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer; nor the 13th book of Aeneid, by Mapheus Viggius, the authenticity of the preceding twelve, as the genuine work of Virgil. We should be thankful that an adequate and faithful hand has supplied those circumstances which the original author could not write, and without which the work would have been incomplete. Mr. Saurin has an excellent dissertation on this grand federal act formed by Joshua and the people of Israel on this very solemn occasion, of the substance of which the reader will not be displeased to find the following very short outline, which may be easily filled up by any whose business it is to instruct the public; for such a circumstance may with great propriety be brought before a Christian congregation at any time: -

"Seven things are to be considered in this renewal of the covenant

I. The dignity of the mediator

II. The freedom of those who contracted

III. The necessity of the choice

IV. The extent of the conditions

V. The peril of the engagement

VI. The solemnity of the acceptance

VII. The nearness of the consequence

"I. The dignity of the mediator. - Take a view of his names, Hosea and Jehoshua. God will save: he will save. The first is like a promise; the second, the fulfillment of that promise. God will save some time or other: - this is the very person by whom he will accomplish his promise. Take a view of Joshua’ s life: his faith, courage, constancy, heroism, and success. A remarkable type of Christ. See Heb 4:8

"II. The freedom of those who contracted. - Take away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood; and in Egypt, etc., Jos 24:14, etc. Joshua exhibits to the Israelites all the religions which were then known

1. That of the Chaldeans, which consisted in the adoration of fire

2. That of the Egyptians, which consisted in the worship of the ox Apis, cats, dogs, and serpents; which had been preceded by the worship even of vegetables, such as the onion, etc

3. That of the people of Canaan, the principal objects of which were Astarte, (Venus), and Baal Peor, (Priapus). Make remarks on the liberty of choice which every man has, and which God, in matters of religion, applies to, and calls into action

"III. The necessity of the choice. - To be without religion, is to be without happiness here, and without any title to the kingdom of God. To have a false religion, is the broad road to perdition; and to have the true religion, and live agreeably to it, is the high road to heaven. Life is precarious - death is at the door - the Judge calls - much is to be done, and perhaps little time to do it in! Eternity depends on the present moment. Choose - choose speedily - determinately, etc

"IV. The extent of the conditions. - Fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and righteousness. Fear the Lord. Consider his being, his power, holiness, justice, etc. This is the gate to religion. Religion itself consists of two parts

I. Truth

1. In opposition to the detestable idolatry of the forementioned nations

2. In reference to that revelation which God gave of himself

3. In reference to that solid peace and comfort which false religions may promise, but cannot give; and which the true religion communicates to all who properly embrace it

II. Uprightness or integrity, in opposition to those abominable vices by which themselves and the neighboring nations had been defiled

1. The major part of men have one religion for youth, another for old age. But he who serves God in integrity, serves him with all his heart in every part of life

2. Most men have a religion of times, places, and circumstances. This is a defective religion. Integrity takes in every time, every place, and every circumstance; God’ s law being ever kept before the eyes, and his love in the heart, dictating purity and perfection to every thought, word, and work

3. Many content themselves with abstaining from vice, and think themselves sure of the kingdom of God because they do not sin as others. But he who serves God in integrity, not only abstains from the act and the appearance of evil, but steadily performs every moral good

4. Many think that if they practice some kind of virtues, to which they feel less of a natural repugnance, they bid fair for the kingdom; but this is opposite to uprightness. The religion of God equally forbids every species of vice, and recommends every kind of virtue

"V. The peril of the engagement. - This covenant had in it the nature of an oath; for so much the phrase before the Lord implies: therefore those who entered into this covenant bound themselves by oath unto the Lord, to be steady and faithful in it. But it may be asked, ‘ As human nature is very corrupt, and exceedingly fickle, is there not the greatest danger of breaking such a covenant; and is it not better not to make it, than to run the risk of breaking it, and exposing one’ s self to superadded punishment on that account?’ Answer: He who makes such a covenant in God’ s strength, will have that strength to enable him to prove faithful to it. Besides, if the soul do not feel itself under the most solemn obligation to live to God, it will live to the world and the flesh. Nor is such a covenant as this more solemn and strict than that which we have often made; first in our baptism, and often afterwards in the sacrament of the Lord’ s Supper, etc. Joshua allows there is a great danger in making this covenant. Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy, strong, and jealous God, etc. But this only supposes that nothing could be done right but by his Spirit, and in his strength. The energy of the Holy Spirit is equal to every requisition of God’ s holy law, as far as it regards the moral conduct of a believer in Christ

"VI. The solemnity of the acceptance. - Notwithstanding Joshua faithfully laid down the dreadful evils which those might expect who should abandon the Lord; yet they entered solemnly into the covenant. God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, but we will serve the Lord. They seemed to think that not to covenant in this case was to reject

"VII. The nearness of the consequence. - There were false gods among them, and these must be immediately put away. As ye have taken the Lord for your God, then put away the strange gods which are among you, Jos 24:23. The moment the covenant is made, that same moment the conditions of it come into force. He who makes this covenant with God should immediately break off from every evil design, companion, word, and work. Finally, Joshua erected two monuments of this solemn transaction

1. He caused the word to be written in the book of the law, Jos 24:26

2. He erected a stone under an oak, Jos 24:27; that these two things might be witnesses against them if they broke the covenant which they then made, etc.

There is the same indispensable necessity for every one who professes Christianity, to enter into a covenant with God through Christ. He who is not determined to be on God’ s side, will be found on the side of the world, the devil, and the flesh. And he who does not turn from all his iniquities, cannot make such a covenant. And he who does not make it now, may probably never have another opportunity. Reader, death is at the door, and eternity is at hand. These are truths which are everywhere proclaimed - everywhere professedly believed - everywhere acknowledged to be important and perhaps nowhere laid to heart as they should be. And yet all grant that they are born to die

On the character and conduct of Joshua, much has already been said in the notes; and particularly in the preface to this book. A few particulars may be added

It does not appear that Joshua was ever married, or that he had any children. That he was high in the estimation of God, we learn from his being chosen to succeed Moses in the government of the people. He was the person alone, of all the host of Israel, who was deemed every way qualified to go out before the congregation, and go in: to lead them out, and bring them in; and be the shepherd of the people, because the Spirit of God was in him. See Num 27:17, etc. He is called the servant of God, as was Moses; and was, of all men of that generation, next in eminence to that great legislator

Like his great master, he neither provided for himself nor his relatives; though he had it constantly in his power so to do. He was the head and leader of the people; the chief and foremost in all fatigues and dangers; without whose piety, prudence, wisdom, and military skill, the whole tribes of Israel, humanly speaking, must have been ruined. And yet this conqueror of the nations did not reserve to him self a goodly inheritance, a noble city, nor any part of the spoils of those he had vanquished. His countrymen, it is true, gave him an inheritance among them, Jos 19:50. This, we might suppose, was in consideration of his eminent services, and this, we might naturally expect, was the best inheritance in the land! No! they gave him Timnath-serah, in the barren mountains of Ephraim, and even this he asked Jos 19:50. But was not this the best city in the land? No - it was even No city; evidently no more than the ruins of one that had stood in that place; and hence it is said, he builded the city and dwelt therein - he, with some persons of his own tribe, revived the stones out of the rubbish, and made it habitable

Joshua believed there was a God; he loved him, acted under his influence, and endeavored to the utmost of his power to promote the glory of his Maker, and the welfare of man: and he expected his recompense in another world

Like Him of whom he was an illustrious type, he led a painful and laborious life, devoting himself entirely to the service of God and the public good. How unlike was Joshua to those men who, for certain services, get elevated to the highest honors: but, not content with the recompense thus awarded them by their country, use their new influence for the farther aggrandizement of themselves and dependents, at the expense, and often to the ruin of their country

Joshua retires only from labor when there is no more work to be done, and no more dangers to be encountered. He was the first in the field, and the last out of it; and never attempted to take rest till all the tribes of Israel had got their possessions, and were settled in their inheritances! Of him it might be truly said as of Caesar, he continued to work, nil actum reputans, si quid superesset agendum : for "he considered nothing done, while any thing remained undone.

Behold this man retiring from office and from life without any kind of emolument! the greatest man of all the tribes of Israel; the most patriotic, and the most serviceable; and yet the worst provided for! Statesmen! naval and military commanders! look Joshua in the face; read his history; and learn from It what true Patriotism means. That man alone who truly fears and loves God, credits his revelation, and is made a partaker of his Spirit, is capable of performing disinterested services to his country and to mankind

Masoretic Notes on Joshu

The number of verses in the Book of Joshua is 656, (should be 658, see on Jos 21:36 (note), etc.), of which the symbol is found in the word ותרן vetharon , (and shall sing), Isa 35:6

Its middle verse is Jos 13:26

Its Masoretic sections are 14; the symbol of which is found in the word יד yad , (the hand), Eze 37:1. See the note at the end of Genesis.

Calvin: Jos 24:15

15.And if it seem evil unto you, etc It seems here as if Joshua were paying little regard to what becomes an honest and right-hearted leader. If the people had forsaken God and gone after idols, it was his duty to inflict punishment on their impious and abominable revolt. But now, by giving them the option to serve God or not, just as they choose, he loosens the reins, and gives them license to rush audaciously into sin. What follows is still more absurd, when he tells them that they cannot serve the Lord, as if he were actually desirous of set purpose to impel them to shake off the yoke. But there is no doubt that his tongue was guided by the inspiration of the Spirit, in stirring up and disclosing their feelings. For when the Lord brings men under his authority, they are usually willing enough to profess zeal for piety, though they instantly fall away from it. Thus they build without a foundation. This happens because they neither distrust their own weakness so much as they ought, nor consider how difficult it is to bind themselves wholly to the Lord. There is need, therefore, of serious examination, lest we be carried aloft by some giddy movement, and so fail of success in our very first attempts. ²⁰¹ With this design, Joshua, by way of probation, emancipates the Jews, making them, as it were, their own masters, and free to choose what God they are willing to serve, not with the view of withdrawing them from the true religion, as they were already too much inclined to do, but to prevent them from making inconsiderate promises, which they would shortly after violate. For the real object of Joshua was, as we shall see, to renew and confirm the covenant which had already been made with God. Not without cause, therefore, does he give them freedom of choice, that they may not afterwards pretend to have been under compulsion, when they bound themselves by their own consent. Meanwhile, to impress them with a feeling of shame, he declares that he and his house will persevere in the worship of God.

Calvin: Jos 24:16

16.And the people answered and said, etc Here we see he had no reason to repent of the option given, when the people, not swearing in the words of another, nor obsequiously submitting to extraneous dictation, declare that it would be an impious thing to revolt from God. And thus it tends, in no small degree, to confirm the covenant, when the people voluntarily lay the law upon themselves. The substance of the answer is, that since the Lord has, by a wonderful redemption, purchased them for himself as a peculiar people, has constantly lent them his aid, and shown that he is among them as their God, it would be detestable ingratitude to reject him and revolt to other gods.

Calvin: Jos 24:19

19.And Joshua said unto the people, etc Here Joshua seems to act altogether absurdly in crushing the prompt and alert zeal of the people, by suggesting ground of alarm. For to what end does he insist that they cannot serve the Lord, unless it be to make them, from a sense of their utter powerlessness, to give themselves up to despair, and thus necessarily become estranged from the fear of God. It was necessary, however, to employ this harsh mode of obtestation, in order to rouse a sluggish people, rendered more lethargic by security. And we see that the expedient did not fail to obtain, at least, a momentary success. For they neither despond nor become more slothful, but, surmounting the obstacle, answer intrepidly that they will be constant in the performance of duty.

In short, Joshua does not deter them from serving God, but only explains how refractory and disobedient they are, in order that they may learn to change their temper. So Moses, in his song, (Deu 32:0) when he seems to make a divorce between God and the people, does nothing else than prick and whet them, that they may hasten to change for the better. Joshua, indeed, argues absolutely from the nature of God; but what he specially aims at is the perverse behavior and untamed obstinacy of the people. He declares that Jehovah is a holy and a jealous God. This, certainly, should not by any means prevent men from worshipping him; but it follows from it that impure, wicked, and profane despisers, who have no religion, provoke his anger, and can have no intercourse with him, for they will feel him to be implacable. And when it is said that he will not spare their wickedness, no general rule is laid down, but the discourse is directed, as often elsewhere, against their disobedient temper. It does not refer to faults in general, or to special faults, but is confined to gross denial of God, as the next verse demonstrates. The people, accordingly, answer the more readily, ²⁰² that they will serve the Lord.

Calvin: Jos 24:22

22.And Joshua said unto the people, etc We now understand what the object was at which Joshua had hitherto aimed. It was not to terrify the people and make them fall away from their religion, but to make the obligation more sacred by their having of their own accord chosen his government, and betaken themselves to his guidance, that they might live under his protection. They acknowledge, therefore, that their own conscience will accuse them, and hold them guilty of perfidy, if they prove unfaithful. ²⁰³ But although they were not insincere in declaring that they would be witnesses to their own condemnation, still how easily the remembrance of this promise faded away, is obvious from the Book of Judges. For when the more aged among them had died, they quickly turned aside to various superstitions. By this example we are taught how multifarious are the fallacies which occupy the senses of men, and how tortuous the recesses in which they hide their hypocrisy and folly, while they deceive themselves by vain confidence. ²⁰⁴

Calvin: Jos 24:23

23.Now, therefore, put away the strange gods, etc How can it be that those who were lately such stern avengers of superstition, have themselves given admission to idols? Yet the words expressly enjoin that they are to put away strange gods from the midst of them. If we interpret that their own houses were still polluted by idols, we may see, as in a bright mirror, how complacently the greater part of mankind can indulge in vices which they prosecute with inexorable severity in others. But, as I do not think it probable that they dared, after the execution of Achan, to pollute themselves with manifest sacrilege, I am inclined to think that reference is made not to their practice but to their inclinations, and that they are told to put all ideas of false gods far away from them. For he had previously exhorted them in this same chapter to take away the gods whom their fathers had served beyond the river and in Egypt. But nobody will suppose that the idols of Chaldea were treasured up in their repositories, or that they had brought impure deities with them from Egypt, to be a cause of hostility between God and themselves. The meaning, therefore, simply is, that they are to renounce all idols, and clear themselves of all profanity, in order that they may purely worship God alone. ²⁰⁵ This seems to be the purport of the clause, incline your heart unto the Lord, which may be taken as equivalent to, rest in him, and so give up your heart to the love of him, as to delight and be contented only with him.

Calvin: Jos 24:25

25.So Joshua made a covenant, etc This passage demonstrates the end for which the meeting had been called, namely, to bind the people more completely and more solemnly to God, by the renewal of the covenant. Therefore, in this agreement, Joshua acted as if he had been appointed on the part of God to receive in his name the homage and obedience promised by the people. It is accordingly added, exegetically, in the second clause, that he set before them precept and judgment. For the meaning is corrupted and wrested by some expositors, who explain it is referring to some new speech of Joshua, whereas it ought properly to be understood of the Law of Moses, as if it had been said that Joshua made no other paction than that they should remain steadfast in observing the Law, and that no other heads of the covenant were brought forward; they were only confirmed in that doctrine which they had formerly embraced and professed. In the same way, Malachi, to keep them under the yoke of God, demands nothing more than that they should remember the Law of Moses. (Mal 4:4)

Calvin: Jos 24:26

26.And Joshua wrote these words, etc Understand that authentic volume which was kept near the ark of the covenant, as if it contained public records deposited for perpetual remembrance. And there is no doubt that when the Law was read, the promulgation of this covenant was also added. But as it often happens, that that which is written remains concealed in unopened books, ²⁰⁸ another aid is given to the memory, one which should always be exposed to the eye, namely, the stone under the ark, near the sanctuary. Not that the perpetual station of the ark was there, but because it had been placed there, in order that they might appear in the presence of God. Therefore, as often as they came into his presence, the testimony or memorial of the covenant which had been struck was in their view, that they might be the better kept in the faith.

Joshua’s expression, that the stone heard the words, is indeed hyperbolical, but is not inapt to express the efficacy and power of the divine word, as if it had been said that it pierces inanimate rocks and stones; so that if men are deaf, their condemnation is echoed in all the elements. To lie is here used, as it frequently is elsewhere, for acting cunningly and deceitfully, for frustrating and violating a promise that has been given. Who would not suppose that a covenant so well established would be firm and sacred to posterity for many ages? But all that Joshua gained by his very great anxiety was to secure its rigorous observance for a few years.

Calvin: Jos 24:29

29.And it came to pass after these things, etc The honor of sepulture was a mark of reverence, which of itself bore testimony to the affectionate regard of the people. But neither this reverence nor affection was deeply rooted. The title by which Joshua is distinguished after his death, when he is called the servant of the Lord, took away all excuse from those miserable and abandoned men who shortly after spurned the Lord, who had worked wonders among them. Accordingly, attention is indirectly drawn to their inconstancy, when it is said that they served the Lord while Joshua survived, and till the more aged had died out. For there is a tacit antithesis, implying lapse and alienation, when they were suddenly seized with a forgetfulness of the Divine favors. It is not strange, therefore, if, in the present day also, when God furnishes any of his servants with distinguished and excellent gifts, their authority protects and preserves the order and state of the Church; but when they are dead, sad havoc instantly commences, and hidden impiety breaks forth with unbridled license. ²⁰⁹

Calvin: Jos 24:32

32.And the bones of Joseph, etc The time when the bones of Joseph were buried is not mentioned; but it is easy to infer that the Israelites had performed this duty after they obtained a peaceful habitation in the city of Shechem. For although he had not designated a particular place for a sepulchre, they thought it a mark of respect to deposit his bones in the field which Jacob had purchased. It may be, however, that this is expressed as a censure on the sluggishness of the people, to which it was owing, that Joseph could not be buried with Abraham, that locality being still in the power of the enemy. Stephen (Act 7:0) mentions the bones of the twelve patriarchs, and it is not impossible that the other tribes, from feelings of emulation, gathered together the ashes of their progenitors. It is there said that the field was purchased by Abraham; but obviously an error in the name has crept in. With regard to sepulture, we must hold in general, that the very frequent mention of it in Scripture is owing to its being a symbol of the future Resurrection.

END OF THE COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK
OF JOSHUA.

Defender: Jos 24:15

This is the same choice confronting each person in every age. One can choose to serve the true God of creation and redemption (now revealed in Jesus Christ), or the pagan nature-gods of the world system (evolutionary pantheism), or attempt to serve both (as Terah and Nahor had done). But the true God "is a jealous God" (Jos 24:19). He will not share His glory with another. Joshua's exhortation is still needed: "Put away ... the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel" (Jos 24:23).

Defender: Jos 24:15

Abraham's father Terah had indeed served the gods of the Chaldeans when he was in Ur, on the other side of the "flood" (meaning the great river Euphrates). Pantheism and polytheism did become widespread soon after Nimrod introduced it at Babel. At Ur, the principal deity was the moon god, but there were also shrines to many other gods."

Defender: Jos 24:26

In effect, Joshua here places his own writings (our present book of Joshua) on a par with those of Moses. Moses and Joshua were the human writers, along with editorial inserts made for clarification by later scribes, but the end product in every case had been "given by inspiration of God" (2Ti 3:16)."

Defender: Jos 24:29

The last five verses of Joshua were obviously written by an unknown scribe living after "all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua" (Jos 24:31). This in no way brings into question the divine inspiration of the writings themselves."

Defender: Jos 24:32

Abraham had originally bought this property from Hamor, but in the long absence of Isaac and Jacob, the Shechemites had taken possession of it again. Jacob then repurchased it. (Compare Gen 33:19; Act 7:15, Act 7:16.)"

TSK: Jos 24:13

And I : Jos 21:45

cities : Jos 11:13; Deu 6:10-12, Deu 8:7; Pro 13:22

TSK: Jos 24:14

fear : Deu 10:12; 1Sa 12:24; Job 1:1, Job 28:28; Psa 111:10, Psa 130:4; Hos 3:5; Act 9:31

serve : Jos 24:23; Gen 17:1, Gen 20:5, Gen 20:6; Deu 18:13; 2Ki 20:3; Psa 119:1, Psa 119:80; Luk 8:15; Joh 4:23, Joh 4:24; 2Co 1:12; Eph 6:24; Phi 1:10

put : From this exhortation of Joshua, we not only learn that the Israelites still retained some relics of idolatry, but to what gods they were attached.

1.    Those whom their fathers worshipped on the other side of the food, or the river Euphrates, i.e., the gods of the Chaldeans, fire, light, the sun, etc.

2.    Those of the Egyptians, Apis, Anubis, serpents, vegetables, etc.

3.    Those of the Amorites, Moabites, Canaanites, etc., Baal-peor, Astarte, etc.

How astonishing is it, that after all that God had done for them, and all the miracles they had seen, there should still be found among them both idols and idolaters! Jos 24:2, Jos 24:23; Gen 35:2; Exo 20:3, Exo 20:4; Lev 17:7; Ezr 9:11; Eze 20:18; Amo 5:25, Amo 5:26

in Egypt : Eze 20:7, Eze 20:8, Eze 23:3

TSK: Jos 24:15

choose : Rth 1:15, Rth 1:16; 1Ki 18:21; Eze 20:39; Joh 6:67

whether the gods : Jos 24:14

or the gods : Exo 23:24, Exo 23:32, Exo 23:33, Exo 34:15; Deu 13:7, Deu 29:18; Jdg 6:10

as for me : Gen 18:19; Psa 101:2, Psa 119:106, Psa 119:111, Psa 119:112; Joh 6:68; Act 11:23

TSK: Jos 24:16

1Sa 12:23; Rom 3:6, Rom 6:2; Heb 10:38, Heb 10:39

TSK: Jos 24:17

Jos 24:5-14; Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11, Deu 32:12; Isa 46:4, Isa 63:7-14; Amo 2:9, Amo 2:10

TSK: Jos 24:18

will we also : Exo 10:2, Exo 15:2; Psa 116:16; Mic 4:2; Zec 8:23; Luk 1:73-75

TSK: Jos 24:19

Ye cannot : Jos 24:23; Rth 1:15; Mat 6:24; Luk 14:25-33

holy : Lev 10:3, Lev 19:2; 1Sa 6:20; Psa 99:5, Psa 99:9; Isa 5:16, Isa 6:3-5, Isa 30:11, Isa 30:15; Hab 1:13

a jealous : Exo 20:5, Exo 34:14; 1Co 10:20-22

he will not : Exo 23:21, Exo 34:7; 1Sa 3:14; 2Ch 36:16; Isa 27:11

TSK: Jos 24:20

he will turn : Jos 23:12-15; 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 15:2; Ezr 8:22; Isa 1:28, Isa 63:10, Isa 65:11, Isa 65:12; Jer 17:13; Eze 18:24; Act 7:42; Heb 10:26, Heb 10:27, Heb 10:38

TSK: Jos 24:21

Nay : Exo 19:8, Exo 20:19, Exo 24:3, Exo 24:7; Deu 5:27, Deu 5:28, Deu 26:17; Isa 44:5

TSK: Jos 24:22

Ye are witnesses : Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of God’ s holiness, and the nature of his service - your own weakness, inconstancy, and insufficiency - your need of the Divine help, and the hope of assistance held out in the law - and the awful consequences of apostasy, and now ye make your choice. Remember then that ye are witnesses against yourselves; and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner. Deu 26:17; Job 15:6; Luk 19:22

ye have : Psa 119:11, Psa 119:173; Luk 10:42

TSK: Jos 24:23

put away : Jos 24:14; Gen 35:2-4; Exo 20:23; Jdg 10:15, Jdg 10:16; 1Sa 7:3, 1Sa 7:4; Hos 14:2, Hos 14:3, Hos 14:8; 1Co 10:19-21; 2Co 6:16-18

incline : Pro 2:2; Heb 12:28, Heb 12:29

TSK: Jos 24:24

Deu 5:28, Deu 5:29

TSK: Jos 24:25

made : Exo 15:25, Exo 24:3, Exo 24:7, Exo 24:8; Deu 5:2, Deu 5:3, Deu 29:1, Deu 29:10-15; 2Ki 11:17; 2Ch 15:12, 2Ch 15:15; 2Ch 23:16, 2Ch 29:10, 2Ch 34:29-32; Neh 9:38, Neh 10:28, Neh 10:29

in Shechem : Jos 24:1, Jos 24:26

TSK: Jos 24:26

Joshua : Exo 24:4; Deu 31:24-26

took : Jdg 9:6

set it : Jos 4:3-9, Jos 4:20-24; Gen 28:18-22

under : Gen 35:4, Gen 35:8; Jdg 9:6

TSK: Jos 24:27

A curious coincidence of circumstances is related by Livy, the Roman historiancaps1 . hcaps0 e writes that ""when three ambassadors were sent from Rome to complain of the perfidious conduct of the Aqui, the General informed them, that they might deliver their message to an oak which shaded his tent.""On this one of the ambassadors turning away, said, ""This venerable oak, and all the gods, shall know that you have violated the peace; they shall now hear our complaints; and may they also soon be witnesses, when we revenge with our arms the violation of divine and human rights.""It is worthy of remark that Joshua merely set up a pillar under an oak - the one, perhaps, to protect the other; while the General directed the ambassadors to address the oak, perhaps with an idolatrous feeling that they were addressing one of the gods, who would aid his cause; while the Roman ambassadors caught the feeling, and really invoked the aid of the oak and the gods.

Jos 22:27, Jos 22:28, Jos 22:34; Gen 31:44-52; Deu 4:26, Deu 30:19, Deu 31:19, Deu 31:21, Deu 31:26; 1Sa 7:12

it hath : Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2; Hab 2:11; Luk 19:40

deny : Job 31:23; Pro 30:9; Mat 10:33; 2Ti 2:12, 2Ti 2:13; Tit 1:16; Rev 3:8

TSK: Jos 24:28

Jdg 2:6

TSK: Jos 24:29

after these : Deu 34:5; Jdg 2:8; Psa 115:17; 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8; Rev 14:13

an hundred : Gen 50:22, Gen 50:26

TSK: Jos 24:30

Timnathserah : Jos 19:50; Jdg 2:9

Gaash : 2Sa 23:30

TSK: Jos 24:31

served : Deu 31:29; Jdg 2:7; 2Ch 24:2, 2Ch 24:17, 2Ch 24:18; Act 20:29; Phi 2:12

overlived Joshua : Heb. prolonged their days after Joshua, which had. Deu 11:2, Deu 11:7, Deu 31:13

TSK: Jos 24:32

bones : Gen 50:25; Exo 13:19; Act 7:16; Heb 11:22

buried : Gen 33:19, Gen 48:22

pieces of silver : or, lambs

TSK: Jos 24:33

Eleazar : Jos 14:1; Exo 6:23, Exo 6:25; Num 3:32, Num 20:26-28

died : Job 30:23; Psa 49:10; Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2; Zec 1:5; Act 13:36; Heb 7:24; Heb 9:26, Heb 9:27

Phinehas : Jdg 20:28

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jos 24:15

Choose - Service of God in sincerity and truth can only result from a free and willing allegiance of the heart. This accordingly is what Joshua invites, as Moses had done before him (Deu 30:15 ff).

Barnes: Jos 24:25

Made a covenant with the people - i. e. he solemnly ratified and renewed the covenant of Sinai, as Moses had done before him Deu 29:1. As no new or different covenant was made, no sacrifices were necessary.

Barnes: Jos 24:26

Consult the marginal references.

That was by the sanctuary of the Lord - i. e. the spot where Abraham and Jacob had sacrificed and worshipped, and which might well be regarded by their posterity as a holy place or sanctuary. Perhaps the very altar of Abraham and Jacob was still remaining.

Barnes: Jos 24:33

(Eleazar’ s burial-place is placed by Conder not at Tibneh but in the village of ‘ Awertah.)

\brdrb \brdrs \brdrw30 \brsp20

Poole: Jos 24:13

Cities which you built not See Poole "Jos 11:12".

Poole: Jos 24:14

In sincerity and in truth either these two expressions note the same thing; or sincerity is opposed to the mixture of false gods with the true, as it here follows, or of a false and corrupt worship of God with that which God appointeth; and truth is opposed to dissimulation and falseness, and instability of heart.

Put away the gods whereby it appears, that although Joshua had doubtless prevented and purged out all public and manifest idolatry, yet there were some of them who practised it in their private houses and retirements. See Jos 24:23 Amo 5:25,26 Ac 7:42,43 . Your fathers, Terah, and Nahor, and Abraham , as Jos 24:2 , and others of your ancestors.

On the other side of the flood, and in Egypt: see Eze 23:3,8,19,21,27 . Under these particulars no doubt he comprehends all other false gods, which were served by the nations amongst whom they were, as appears from Jos 24:15 , but only mentions these, as the idols which they were in more danger of worshipping than those in Canaan; partly because those of Canaan had been now lately and palpably disgraced by their inability to preserve their worshippers from total ruin; and partly because the other idols came recommended unto them by the venerable name of antiquity, and the custom of their forefathers. See Jer 44:17 Eze 20:18 .

Poole: Jos 24:15

If it seem evil unjust, unreasonable, or inconvenient.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve: not that he leaves them to their liberty, whether they would serve God or idols; for Joshua had no such power or liberty himself, nor could give it to any other; and both he and they were obliged by the law of Moses to give their worship to God only, and to forbear all idolatry in themselves, and severely to punish it in others; but it is a rhetorical and powerful insinuation, whereby he both implies that the worship of God is so highly reasonable, so necessary and beneficial, and the service of idols is so absurd, and vain, and pernicious, that if it were left free to all men to make their choice, every man in his right wits must needs choose the service of God before that of idols; and provokes them to bind themselves faster to God by their own choice. See such manner of speeches in Rth 1:8,15 1Ki 18:21 .

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord but know this, if you should all be so base and brutish, as to prefer senseless and impotent idols before the true and living God, it is my firm purpose, that I will, and my children and servants (as far as I can influence them) shall, be constant and faithful to the Lord.

Poole: Jos 24:19

Ye cannot serve the Lord: he speaks not of an absolute impossibility, (for then both his resolution to serve God himself, and his exhortation to them to do so, had been vain and ridiculous,) but of a moral impossibility, or a very great difficulty, which he allegeth not to discourage them from God’ s service, which is his great design to engage them in; but only to make them more considerate and cautious in obliging themselves, and more circumspect and resolved in answering their obligations. The meaning is, God’ s service is not, as you seem to fancy, a slight and easy thing, as soon done as said; but it is a work of great difficulty, and requires great care, and courage, and resolution; and when I consider the infinite purity of God, that he will not be mocked or abused; and withal your great and often manifested proneness to superstition and idolatry, even during the life of Moses, and in some of you whilst I live, and whilst the obligations which God hath laid upon you in this land are fresh in remembrance; I cannot but fear that after my decease you will think the service of God too hard and burdensome for you, and therefore will cast it off, and revolt from him, if you do not double your watch, and carefully avoid all occasions of idolatry, which I fear you will not do, but I do hereby exhort you to do.

He is a jealous God he will not endure a co-rival or partner in his worship; you cannot serve him and idols together, as you will be inclined and tempted to do.

He will not forgive your transgressions if you who own yourselves for his people and servants, shall wickedly and wilfully transgress his laws by idolatry or other crimes, he will not let this go unpunished in you, as he doth in other nations; therefore consider what you do when you take the Lord for your God; weigh your advantages and inconveniences together; for as if you be sincere and faithful in God’ s service, you will have admirable benefits by it; so if you be false to your professions, and forsake him whom you have so solemnly avouched to be your God, he will deal more severely with you than with any people in the world.

Poole: Jos 24:20

He will turn i.e. he will alter his course and the manner of his dealing with you, and will be as severe as ever he was kind and gracious.

Consume you, after that he hath done you good he will repent of all his former kindness, and his goodness abused will be turned into fury.

Poole: Jos 24:21

To wit, him only, and not strange gods, as was supposed by Joshua, Jos 24:20 .

Poole: Jos 24:22

Ye are witnesses against yourselves this solemn profession will be a swift witness against you, if hereafter you apostatize from God.

Poole: Jos 24:23

The strange gods which are among you those idols which yon either brought out of Egypt, or have taken in Canaan, which I have too much reason to believe that some of you, contrary to God’ s command, do keep, whether for the preciousness of the matter, or rather for some secret inclination to superstition and idolatry, as the following words imply. See Jos 24:14 .

Poole: Jos 24:25

Either,

1. He set , or propounded, or declared unto them the statute and ordinance , i.e. the sum of the statutes and ordinances of God, which their covenant obliged them to Or,

2. He set or established it, to wit, that covenant, with them, i.e. the people for a statute or an ordinance , to bind themselves and their posterity unto God for ever, as a statute and ordinance of God doth.

Poole: Jos 24:26

These words i.e. this covenant or agreement of the people with the Lord. In the book of the law of God, i. e. in that volume which was kept in the ark, Deu 31:9,26 , whence it was taken and put into this book of Joshua. This he did, partly, for the perpetual remembrance of this great and solemn action; partly, to lay the greater obligation upon the people to be true to their engagement; and partly, as a witness for God, and against the people, if afterwards he severely punished them for their detection from God, to whom they had so solemnly and freely obliged themselves.

Set it up there as a witness and monument of this great transaction, according to the custom of those ancient times, as Gen 28:18 31:45 35:14 Exo 24:4 Deu 27:2 Jos 4:3 8:32 . Possibly this agreement was written upon this stone, as was then usual.

Under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord i.e. near to the place where the ark and tabernacle then were; for though they were forbidden to plant a grove of trees near unto the altar, Deu 16:21 , as the Gentiles did, yet they might for a time set up an altar, or the ark, near a great tree which had been planted there before.

Poole: Jos 24:27

It hath heard it shall be as sure a witness against you as if it had heard. This is a common figure, called prosopopaie , whereby the sense of hearing is oft ascribed to the heavens and the earth, and other senseless creatures, as Deu 32:1 Isa 1:2 Jer 2:12 .

Poole: Jos 24:32

In Shechem not in the city of Shechem, but in a field near and belonging to it, as appears from the following words, and from Gen 33:18 , and from the ancient custom of the Israelites to have their burying-places without cities, in fields or gardens.

Poole: Jos 24:33

By special favour, and for his better conveniency in attending upon the ark, which then was, and for a long time was to be, in Shiloh, which was near to this place; whereas the cities which were given to the priests were in Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon, which were remote from Shiloh, though near to the place where the ark was to have its settled abode, to wit, to Jerusalem.

PBC: Jos 24:15

See Little: MAKING THE CHOICE

Haydock: Jos 24:14

The gods. Some still retained in their hearts an affection for these idols, though privately; (Calmet) so that Josue could not convict them, or bring them to condign punishment; as no doubt he, and Moses before him, would have done, if they had been apprized of any overt act of idolatry. Amos (v. 26,) says, You carried a tabernacle of your Moloch and the image of your idols, &c., which is confirmed by Ezechiel xxiii. 3, 8., and Acts vii. 42. For these acts many of the people were punished, (Numbers xxv. 3, 9,) and the rest were either sincerely converted, or took care to hide their impiety till after the death of Josue. Yet the secret inclination of many was still corrupt; and these no sooner found a proper opportunity than they relapsed repeatedly into the worship of idols, for which reason the prophets represent their disposition as criminal from their youth. (Haydock) ---

St. Augustine (q. 29,) cannot think that the people, who are so often praised for their fidelity during the administration of Josue and of the ancients, (chap. xxii. 2., and xxiii. 3, 8., and xxiv. 31,) and who had testified such zeal against every appearance of idolatry in Ruben, (chap. xxii.) should be themselves infected with this deadly poison. He therefore supposes that Josue exhorts them to repent, if any of them should have retained a predilection for the worship of their ancestors in Mesopotamia, and in Egypt, (Calmet) which, by the prophetic light he say, was secretly the case. (Worthington) ---

Yet, though the great majority was clear of this crime, it seems many concealed from their leaders their secret attachment to it, ver. 23; (Calmet) or if they were sincere, for a time, their former bad habits soon gained the ascendancy, and involved them in perdition. (Haydock) ---

Fathers. He does not exempt Abraham, and the Jews acknowledge that he was once an idolater, which is the opinion of St. Ephrem, of the author of the Recognitions, B. i., and of many moderns; some of whom think that St. Paul gives him the epithet of impious, or ungodly, on that account, Romans iv. 5. The idolatry of the Hebrews in Egypt, is no less certain than that of their ancestors in Mesopotamia, Ezechiel xxiii. 2, 8, 27. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 24:15

Choice. Josue was persuaded that no restraint could bind the will; (Haydock) and that, if the Israelites did not freely adhere to the Lord, they would not serve him long, nor would their adoration have any merit. (Calmet) ---

Hence he endeavours by all means to draw from them a free and candid acknowledgment of his divinity; and he leads the way, by declaring that all his house will adhere to the true and only God. They answer his fullest expectations, and profess in the most cordial manner, that every tie of gratitude must bind them for ever to the service of the same Lord. (Haydock) ---

Elias makes a similar proposition; (3 Kings xviii. 21. See Ecclesiasticus xv. 18.; Menochius) not that it can be ever lawful to choose evil and to reject the sovereign good. But by this method the minds and hearts of the audience are stimulated to make the free and decided election of what alone can ensure their eternal happiness. (Haydock) ---

Thus we often set before the people hell or heaven for their choice. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jos 24:19

You will not be able to serve the Lord, &c. This was not said by way of discouraging them; but rather to make them more earnest and resolute, by setting before them the greatness of the undertaking, and the courage and constancy necessary to go through with it. (Challoner) ---

Josue knew the fickle temper of his subjects. He insinuates, therefore, that if they do not lay that aside, they will not stand to their engagements, (Calmet) and will irritate God the more, if they enter into a covenant with him, and afterwards prove inconsistent. Hebrew La thuclu, "you cannot," may perhaps have the first u redundant; (Kennicott) as that is a letter which is often inserted or omitted at the transcriber's pleasure. (Aben Ezra Simon) ---

Hallet suggests that we ought to read lo thucelu, "you shall not cease," which would obviate the apparent difficulty of Josue's attempting, as it were, to cool the fervour of the people, by insinuating that they will not be able to stick to their resolutions, and that at a time when he is exerting every nerve to make them sensible of their duty, and to engage them to swear an inviolable fidelity to the Lord. "Cease not to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, he is a jealous God, he will not forgive your rebellion, ( Copssaco. Job xxxiv. 27,) nor your sins; if you forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and consume you." (Kennicott, Dis. 2.) ---

If we were to read with an interrogation, "Will you not be able? &c., it might answer the same end. Josue may be considered as starting an objection, which is but too common in the mouth of the slothful, and of may of the pretended reformers, Luther, &c., who endeavour to persuade the world that they are not able to comply with the rigour of God's law, and even make his severity an encouragement for their despair. Josue replies that these pretexts are groundless, and that God, who has already done so much for them, (ver. 20,) will not abandon them in their wants, if they cry unto him; and that, instead of being dejected by the thought of his judgments, they ought to strive, with the utmost fervour, to comply with his divine will. (Haydock) ---

A general sometimes withholds the ardour of his soldiers, telling them that they are not a match for the enemy, in order to inflame their courage the more. (Menochius) ---

A torrent which has been long repressed, rushes forward with greater fury when the dam is broken down. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 24:20

Turn, and alter his conduct in your regard, instead of being your protector, he will destroy you.

Haydock: Jos 24:21

Lord. We shall not experience the chastisements with which thou hast threatened us, because we will adhere inviolably to the Lord. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 24:25

Covenant. He renewed the one that had been formerly made, stipulating, on the part of God, that the people should serve Him alone, ver. 23. After which he probably read some of the most striking passages of Deuteronomy, (Calmet) particularly the Decalogue, or ten commandments, with the blessings and curses which enforced the observance of them, Deuteronomy v., and xxvii., and xxviii., and xxix., and xxx. (Haydock) ---

Then the people swore that they would observe the law, the customary sacrifices were offered, and a record of the whole was subjoined by Josue to that of Moses, in order that it might be deposited in or near the ark, Deuteronomy xxxi. 26. (Calmet) ---

This renewal of the covenant prefigured the law of grace. (St. Augustine, q. 30.) (Worthington)

Haydock: Jos 24:26

Lord, particularly what related to the ratification of the covenant, which was the last public act of this great man. He placed it in its proper order in the continuation of the sacred history, which Moses had commenced. (Haydock) ---

Stone unpolished, except where there was an inscription, relating what had taken place. (Menochius) ---

This monument of religion was not forbidden, Deuteronomy xvi. 22. (Calmet) ---

Oak. Hebrew alla, is translated a turpentine tree, Genesis xxxv. 4., (Haydock) and by the Septuagint here. But most people translate the oak. (Chaldean; Aquila; &c.) Under it Jacob buried the idols of Laban, and Abimelech was chosen king; (Judges ix. 6,) as Abraham had entertained the angels under the same tree, Genesis xviii. 1., (Calmet) and had sat under it when he first came into Sichem, Genesis xii. 6. On which supposition it must have subsisted about 500 years. (Menochius) ---

It was even shewn some ages after Christ. But it is hardly credible that the same tree should have continued for such a length of time. ---

Sanctuary, or tent, where the ark was placed on this occasion under the oak. (Calmet; Bonfrere) ---

Some think it was at Silo. (Menochius; ver. 1.) ---

Kennicott denies that the ark was present, and supposes that they offered sacrifices upon the very altar which Josue had erected on Garizim, between 20 and 30 years before; and that this mountain is here called the sanctuary or "holy place." Upon it the oak might very well grow, and Josue might "with great propriety take some large stone, and set it up for a witness, making at the same time this striking remark, that this stone had heard all the words of the Lord, or had been present when his law was inscribed and read to the people at their former solemn convention." Hence he infers against Collins, "that the Jews had thoughts of worshipping, and did worship at Gerizim long before the separation of Israel from Juda;" and it was probably for fear of the Israelites returning to a sense of their duty, by the sight of these monuments of the old religion, that Jeroboam refrained from setting up his golden calves in the vicinity. (Diss. ii. p. 119.) (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 24:27

It hath heard. This is a figure of speech, by which sensation is attributed to inanimate things; and they are called upon, as it were, to bear witness in favour of the great Creator, whom they on their part constantly obey, (Challoner) which is the best manner of hearing. They rise up to our confusion. (Theodoret, q. 19.) (Worthington) ---

The oriental writers delight in these strong figurative expressions, which are not confined to poetry. Jesus Christ says, that if the children were silent, the stones would cry out, Luke xix. 40. See Numbers xiii. 33., and Genesis iv. 10. (Calmet) ---

Lest. Hebrew, "it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest you deny your God;" or literally, "lie unto your Elohim." (Haydock) ---

The expression often means to revolt and prove faithless, Deuteronomy xxxiii. 29., &c.

Haydock: Jos 24:29

And after, &c. If Josue wrote this book, as is commonly believed, these last verses were added by Samuel, or some other prophet. (Challoner) ---

Scholastic History. (Worthington) ---

Josue had governed Israel 17 years with the greatest prudence and fidelity. (Calmet) ---

Some extend his administration to a longer period. (Haydock) ---

He paid the debt of nature [i.e., he died] probably not long after the ratification of the covenant. It does not appear that he was ever married. (St. Jerome, contra Jov. 1.; St Chrysostom) ---

The Scripture does not mention that the people mourned for him, as they had done for Moses, &c. Yet we cannot doubt but they would shew this mark of respect to his memory, on account of the many benefits which they had received from him. The Holy Ghost has vouchsafed to be his panegyrist, Numbers xxvii. 12., and Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 1., &c. Josephus ([Antiquities?] v. 1,) represents him as a most universal character, equally perfect in everything that he took in hand. His greatest honour is to have been so striking a figure of Jesus, whose name he bore, (Calmet) and whose sacred office in administering a second circumcision after he had caused the people to cross the Jordan, he so well described. Like him he introduces the faithful into the land of promise, overthrows their enemies, and establishes them in peace, taking care both at the beginning and at the end of his administration, to set before their eyes the will of the heavenly Father, the God who is both holy and jealous, ver. 19. Under Josue the Israelites are invincible, only as long as they continue faithful, chap. vii. But Jesus secures his Church both from infidelity and from the attacks of all her enemies, by his all-powerful grace. (Haydock) ---

The Jews have attributed to Josue ten regulations, which are too trifling to have been made by him. (Selden, Jur. vi. 2.) ---

The Samaritan chronicle embellishes the account of this great man with many surprising and puerile fictions, as if the true history were not sufficient to excite our attention. See Basnage and Serarius. (Calmet) ---

The Jews say Josue died on the 26th of Nisan, unmarried. The Roman martyrology honours his memory on the 1st of September. (Salien, in the year before Christ 1453.) It is probable that the Egyptian or Tyrean Hercules, who encountered so many giants and difficulties, was no other than Josue, whose history the pagans have obscured with fables. (Vossius.) (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 24:30

Thamnathsare. Judges ii. 9. The last word is written hares ( eros ) the first and last letters being transposed in one of these places. It may probably be in this verse, as we read of Mount Hares, Judges i. 35. Kennicott rather thinks that Sare is the proper reading, as it is found in the Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate versions of the Book of Judges. He observes, that if we were to read in an English historian that the renowned Marlborough was buried at Blenheim, near Woodstock, and a few pages after that his remains were interred "at Blenmein, &c., we should naturally conclude that two letters had exchanged their places. And may we not allow the same in this part of the sacred history, as it is universally printed" in Hebrew? (Dis. i.) Some, however, maintain that Thamnath hares was so called, on account of "the image of the sun" being placed in the tomb of Josue, along with the knives of stone used by him in circumcision, which last the Septuagint and St. Augustine (q. 30,) admit. But these must be reckoned among the Jewish or Oriental fables, (Calmet) though it is not improbable but the circumcising knives might be thus preserved, as a monument of the covenant made with the Israelites. (Haydock) ---

Gaas. This was another name for Mount Sare, or Hares, a part of Mount Ephraim; where St. Jerome tells us St. Paula visited the tomb of Josue. It was shewn near Thamna in the days of Eusebius. (Calmet) ---

No mention is made of mourning, as for Moses, &c., to insinuate that under the law the saints descended into limbo, but are admitted into paradise under the gospel. (St. Jerome, mans. 34.) (Worthington)

Haydock: Jos 24:31

Long time; perhaps fifteen years. These ancients kept the people in order by their authority (Calmet) and good example, so great an influence have the manners of superiors upon those of the subjects. (Menochius) ---

Regis ad exemplar totus componitur orbis. See 2 Paralipomenon xxiv. 2, 16. After the death of these virtuous rulers, who had been formed in the school of Moses and of Josue, and had beheld the wonders of God, (Haydock) the people began to embrace the worship of Baalim, Judges ii. 11.

Haydock: Jos 24:32

Sichem. Joseph had charged his brethren to take his bones with them, Genesis l. 24., and Exodus xiii. 19. Masius supposes that they were solemnly interred after the altar was erected near Sichem, and the covenant ratified, when all the people were together. Others think that they deferred doing this till the country was conquered and divided. Josue would lose no time unnecessarily in performing these last rites to the revered patriarch. ---

Field. Jacob had given this field to his son. He had first purchased it; (Genesis xxxiii. 19,) and when the Amorrhite had taken possession again, after the unhappy affair at Sichem, he recovered it by the sword, Genesis xlviii. 22. ---

Ewes. Hebrew Kesita may denote also some species of money, though not perhaps marked with any figure of a lamb, &c. (Calmet) ---

Protestants, "pieces of silver." (Haydock) ---

The mausoleum of Joseph at Sichem, was to be seen in St. Jerome's time. (q. Heb. in Gen.) (Worthington)

Haydock: Jos 24:33

Eleazar, the second high priest, was succeeded by his son Phinees. They were both of a very unexceptionable character. The Holy Ghost says, (Ecclesiasticus xlv. 28,) Phinees, the son of Eleazar, is the third in glory, by imitating him (his father or grandfather) in the fear of the Lord, &c. The Jews seem to have adopted the doctrine of Pythagoras, with respect to Phinees, (Haydock) as they say that he was the man of God, (3 Kings ii. 27,) who appeared to Heli, (Trad. Heb. in Reg.) and that he was consulted by Jephte, and gave him advice to fulfil his vow; that he was the same person with Elias, and with one Phinees, who returned from the captivity with Esdras, 1 Paralipomenon ix. 20. They will even have him to be an incarnate angel. (Ap. Munster, &c.) But without dwelling any longer on these fabulous accounts, (Calmet) he was surely a man of the greatest zeal and piety. (Haydock) ---

In consideration of his extraordinary merit, the city of Gabaath was given to him, though it was not properly a sacerdotal city, and priests could not regularly possess any land as their inheritance. Grotius supposes that he obtained this city along with his wife, as she was an heiress of the tribe of Ephraim. But if that had been the case, must she not have married some of the same tribe? Numbers xxxvi. 8. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint (Grabe) add, "In that day the children of Israel taking the ark of the covenant of God, carried it about among themselves, and Phinees was priest instead of his father, till he died, and he was buried in Gabaath, his own city. But the Israelites went each to his own place and city; and the children of Israel worshipped Astarte and Asteroth, and the gods of the surrounding nations, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of Eglon, the king of Moab, and he held them in subjection 18 years. See Judges iii. 12, 14. Why this is recorded in this place does not appear, unless it be to insinuate that the servitude under Eglon did not commence till after the death of Phinees, who had been high priest 40 years. Abisue, his son, entered upon the pontificate in the first year of the administration of Aod, 1 Paralipomenon vi. 4, 50. (Salien, in the year of the world 2641, in the year before Christ 1412.) Josue and Eleazar had reigned nearly during the same period of time, and finished their course together. They had assisted each other in keeping the people of God under due restraint. Their successors in office acted with the like zeal and concord, though they were not quite so successful. It is probable that Phinees would have the chief sway in "the aristocracy" of the ancients, which Josephus says took place between Josue and Othoniel. Their government is acknowledged by most authors, though Salien supposes that their authority, as distinct from the Sanhedrim, consisted in giving good example. Many assert that Phinees ruled the people twenty-three years. (Haydock)

Gill: Jos 24:13

And I have given you a land for which you did not labour,.... Or, in which ^z, by manuring and cultivating it, by dunging, and ploughing, and sowing:

and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; neither built the houses in them, nor the walls and fortifications about them; in which now they dwelt safely, and at ease, and which had been promised them as well as what follows; see Deu 6:10,

of the vineyards and oliveyards, which ye planted not, do ye eat; thus far an account is given of the many mercies they had been and were favoured with, and thus far are the words of the Lord by Joshua; next follow the use and improvement Joshua made of them.

Gill: Jos 24:14

Now therefore fear the Lord,.... Since he has done such great and good things, fear the Lord and his goodness, fear him for his goodness sake; nothing so influences fear, or a reverential affection for God, as a sense of his goodness; this engages men sensible of it to fear the Lord, that is, to worship him both internally and externally in the exercise of every grace, and in the performance of every duty:

and serve him in sincerity and in truth: in the uprightness of their souls, without hypocrisy and deceit, and according to the truth of his word, and of his mind and will revealed in it, without any mixture of superstition and will worship, or of the commands and inventions of men:

and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; that is, express an abhorrence of them, and keep at a distance from them, and show that you are far from giving in to such idolatries your ancestors were guilty of, when they lived on the other side Euphrates, in Chaldea, or when they were sojourners in Egypt; for it cannot be thought that the Israelites were at this time guilty of such gross idolatry, at least openly, since Joshua had bore such a testimony of them, that they had cleaved to the Lord unto that day, Jos 23:8; and their zeal against the two tribes and a half, on suspicion of idolatry, or of going into it, is a proof of it also:

and serve ye the Lord: and him only.

Gill: Jos 24:15

And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord,.... Irksome and troublesome, a burden, a weariness, and not a pleasure and delight:

choose you this day whom you will serve; say if you have found a better master, and whose service will be more pleasant and profitable:

whether the gods your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood; the river Euphrates; these may bid rid rest for antiquity, but then they were such their fathers had relinquished, and for which undoubtedly they had good reason; and to take up with the worship of these again was to impeach their wisdom, judgment, and good sense:

or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but then these were such as could not preserve their worshippers in the land, or the Israelites had not dwelt in it, and therefore no dependence could be had upon them for future security. The Amorites are only mentioned, because they were a principal nation, some of which dwelt on one side Jordan, and some on the other, and indeed there were of them in the several parts of the land:

but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord; be your choice as it may be: this was the resolution of Joshua, and so far as he knew the sense of his family, or had influence over it, could and did speak for them; and which he observes as an example set for the Israelites to follow after; he full well knowing that the examples of great personages, such as governors, supreme and subordinate, have great influence over those that are under them,

Gill: Jos 24:16

And the people answered and said,.... To Joshua, upon his proposal to them, the option he gave them to serve the Lord or idols, and which was only done to try them:

God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; they speak with the utmost abhorrence of idolatry, as a thing far from their hearts and thoughts, as the most abominable and execrable that could be thought or spoken of; to forsake the word, and worship, and ordinances of God, and serve the idols of the Gentiles, strange gods, whether more ancient or more recent, such as their fathers worshipped in former times, or the inhabitants of the land they now dwelt in, for which they were spewed out of it.

Gill: Jos 24:17

For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt,.... When Pharaoh, the king of it, refused to let them go, yet he wrought such wonders in it and inflicted such plagues on it, as obliged Pharaoh and his people to dismiss them:

from the house of bondage: where they were held in the greatest thraldom and slavery, and their lives made bitter and miserable:

and which did those great signs in our sight; meaning the wonders and marvellous things wrought before Pharaoh and his people, and in the sight of Israel, Psa 78:11; though Abarbinel is of opinion it refers to what had been done in their sight of late in the land of Canaan, as the dividing of the waters of Jordan, the fall of the walls of Jericho, the standing still of the sun in Gibeon; but this seems not so well to agree with what follows:

and preserved us in all the way wherein we went: in the wilderness from serpents and scorpions, and beasts of prey, and from all dangers from every quarter:

and among all the people through whom we passed; through whose borders they passed, as the Edomites, Moabites, and Amorites; though the above writer seems to understand it of preservation from the dangers of their enemies in the land of Canaan.

Gill: Jos 24:18

And the Lord drave out from before us all the people,.... The seven nations of the land of Canaan:

even the Amorites which dwelt in the land; the strongest and most populous of the nations, Amo 2:9, or especially the Amorites, so Vatablus; or "with the Amorites", as others; those that lived on the other side Jordan, over whom Sihon and Og reigned:

therefore will we also serve the Lord: as well as Joshua and his house, for the reasons before given, because he had done such great and good things for them:

for he is our God: that has made and preserved us, and loaded us with his benefits, and is our covenant God, and therefore will we fear and serve him.

Gill: Jos 24:19

And Joshua said unto the people,.... To their heads and representatives now assembled together, and who had returned to him the preceding answer:

ye cannot serve the Lord; which he said not to discourage or deter them from serving the Lord, since it was his principal view, through the whole of this conversation with them, to engage them in it, but to observe to them their own inability and insufficiency of themselves to perform service acceptable to God; and therefore it became them to implore grace and strength from the Lord to assist them in it, and to depend upon that and not to lean to and trust in their own strength; as also to observe to them, that they could not serve him perfectly without any defect and failure in their service, for there is no man that does good and sins not; and therefore when a man has done all he can, he must not depend upon it for his justification before God; or consider it as his justifying righteousness, which was what that people were always prone to; some supply it,"you cannot serve the Lord with your images,''or along with them, so Vatablus:

for he is an holy God: perfectly holy, so that the best of men, and the heat of their services, are impure and unholy before him and will not bear to be compared with him, and therefore by no means to be trusted in; and it requires much grace and spiritual strength to perform any service that may be acceptable to him through Christ. In the Hebrew text it is, "for the Holy Ones are he": which may serve to illustrate and confirm the doctrine of the trinity of, persons in the unity of the divine Essence, or of the three divine holy Persons, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit, as the one God, see Isa 6:3,

he is a jealous God; of his honour and glory, and of his worship, in which he will admit of no rival, of no graven images, or any idols to be worshipped with him, or besides him; nor will he suffer the idol of men's righteousness to be set up in the room of, or in opposition to, the righteousness of God, even no services and works of men, be they ever so good, since they cannot be perfect before him:

he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins; even the transgressions and sins of such that forsake the worship and service of him, and fall into idolatry, or who seek for justification by their own services, these are both abominable to him; otherwise he is a God pardoning the iniquity, transgression, and sin, of all those who seek unto him and serve him, confess their sins, and renounce their own righteousness; see Exo 23:21.

Gill: Jos 24:20

If you forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods,.... Joshua knew the proneness of this people to idolatry, and therefore expresses his jealousy of them, that they would not be able to continue in the service of God, and would be apt to be carried away after idols; and therefore, to make them the more cautious and watchful, he represents to them the danger they were in, and what would befall them should they forsake the Lord they now promised to serve, and follow after other gods, which their fathers worshipped before they were called out of their estate of Heathenism, or which the Canaanites, or Egyptians worshipped, whose examples they were too ready to imitate:

then he will turn and do you hurt; not that there is properly any change in God, either of his counsel or covenant, or of love and affection to his people, but of his providential dealings, or outward manner of acting towards men; or the sense is, he will again do you hurt, bring evils and calamities upon you again and again, frequently as you revolt from him, such as the sword, pestilence, famine, and captivity, which these people after experienced when they fell into idolatry:

and consume you; by these his sore judgments:

after that he hath done you good; by bringing you into such a good land, and bestowing so many good things upon you, natural, civil, and religious; and yet, notwithstanding, being disobedient to him, and especially in the instances mentioned, they are made to expect his resentment, and the effects of it.

Gill: Jos 24:21

And the people said unto Joshua, nay,.... We will not serve strange gods:

but we will serve the Lord; according to his revealed will, and him only.

Gill: Jos 24:22

And Joshua said unto the people,.... In reply to their answer and resolution:

ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen you the Lord God to serve him; that is, should they, after this choice of him, which they had so publicly declared, desert his service, and go into idolatry, their testimony would rise up against them, and they would, be self-condemned:

and they said, we are witnesses; should we ever apostatize from the Lord and his worship, we are content to have this our witness produced against us.

Gill: Jos 24:23

Now therefore put away, said he,.... Which last words are rightly supplied, for they are the words of Joshua:

the strange gods which are among you; not their private notions and secret sentiments that some of them had imbibed in favour of idols, and the worship of them, as Ben Gersom thinks; but, as the Targum expresses it,"the idols of the Gentiles;''either such as they had brought out of Egypt, or had found among the plunder of the Canaanites, and had secretly retained; or, as others think, their "penates", or household gods, they had privately kept and worshipped, such as those that were in Jacob's family, which he caused to be delivered to him, and which he hid under an oak in this place where Israel were now assembled, Gen 35:2; and which Joshua by a prophetic discerning spirit perceived were now among them:

and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel; to love, fear, and serve him; that is, pray that your hearts may be inclined thereunto, and make use of all means that may tend to direct your hearts to him, and his service; so the Targum,"to the worship of the Lord God of Israel.''

Gill: Jos 24:24

And the people said unto Joshua,.... A third time, that as by the mouth of two or three witnesses everything is confirmed, so by three testimonies of the same persons:

the Lord our God will we serve; as they had before declared, and to which they add:

and his voice will we obey; or his word, as the Targum, not only his word of command, but his essential Word, the Son of God.

Gill: Jos 24:25

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day,.... Proposing to them what was most eligible, and their duty to do, and they agreeing to it, this formally constituted a covenant, of which they selves were both parties and witnesses:

and set statute and an ordinance in Shechem; either made this covenant to have the nature of a statute and ordinance binding upon them, or repeated and renewed the laws of Moses, both moral and ceremonial, which had been delivered at Mount Sinai, and now, upon this repetition in Shechem, might be called a statute and ordinance there.

Gill: Jos 24:26

And Joshua wrote these words,.... Which had passed between him and the people:

in the book of the law of God; written by Moses, and which he ordered to be put in the side of the ark, and that being now present, the book could be easily taken out, and these words inserted in it, Deu 31:26,

and took a great stone: on which also might be inscribed the same words:

and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord; or "in it" ^a; that is, in the field or place where the ark was, which made it sacred, and upon which account the place was called a sanctuary, or an holy place; for there is no need to say that the tabernacle or sanctuary itself was brought hither, only the ark; and much less can it be thought that an oak should be in it; though it was not improbable, that had it been thither brought, it might have been placed under, or by an oak, as we render it; and it is a tradition of the Jews, which both Jarchi and Kimchi make mention of, that this was the same oak under which Jacob hid the strange gods of his family in Shechem, Gen 35:4; Mr. Mede ^b is of opinion that neither ark nor tabernacle were here, but that by "sanctuary" is meant a "proseucha", or place for prayer; such an one as in later times was near Shechem, as Epiphanius ^c relates, built by the Samaritans in imitation of the Jews; but it is a question whether there were any such places so early as the times of Joshua, nor is it clear that such are ever called sanctuaries.

Gill: Jos 24:27

And Joshua said unto all the people,.... The chief of them now gathered together, and who represented the whole body:

behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; of the covenant now made, and the agreement entered into, as the heap of stones were between Jacob and Laban, Gen 31:45,

for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us; this is said by a figure called "prosopopaeia", frequent in Scripture, by which inanimate creatures are represented as hearing, seeing, and speaking, and may signify, that should the Israelites break this covenant, and disobey the commands of the Lord they had promised to keep, they would be as stupid and senseless as this stone, or more so, which would rise in judgment against them. Nachmanides ^d a Jewish commentator, interprets this stone of the Messiah, the same as in Gen 49:24,

it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God; for a memorial and testimony to prevent them from going into atheism, a denying of the true God, or into apostasy from him, and into idolatry and false worship. The Targum of which is,"behold, this stone shall be to us as the two tables of stone of the covenant, for we made it for a testimony; for the words which are written upon it are the sum of all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us, and it shall be unto you for a memorial, and for a testimony, lest ye lie before the Lord.''

Gill: Jos 24:28

So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance. Dismissed them, and took his final leave and farewell of them, dying soon after; upon which they returned to the possessions and inheritances assigned by lot to the several tribes, of which they were the heads and princes.

Gill: Jos 24:29

And it came to pass, after these things,.... Some little time after, very probably the same year:

that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old; he wanted ten years of Moses his predecessor, Deu 34:7, and just the age of Joseph, Gen 50:22, from whom he sprung, being of the tribe of Ephraim, Num 13:8.

Gill: Jos 24:30

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance,.... In a field belonging to his estate; for they buried not in towns and cities in those times. The Greek version adds,"and they put into the tomb, in which he was buried, the stone knives with which he circumcised the children of Israel at Gilgal, when he brought them out of Egypt;''and an Arabic writer ^e affirms the same, but without any foundation:

in Timnathserah, which is in Mount Ephraim; which was his city, and where he dwelt; and of which See Gill on Jos 19:50; and his grave was near the city; here, they say ^f, his father Nun, and Caleb also, were buried:

on the north side of the hill of Gaash; of the brooks or valleys of Gnash mention is made in 2Sa 23:30; which very probably were at the bottom of this hill.

Gill: Jos 24:31

And the children of Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua,.... Without going into idolatrous practices:

and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua; that lived a few years longer than he; some of them that came young out of Egypt, and were now elderly men; and some of them doubtless were of the court of the seventy elders; these could not overlive Joshua a great many years, for, in the times of Chushanrishathaim, Israel fell into idolatry, Jdg 2:6,

and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel; in Egypt, at the Red sea, in the wilderness, as well as since their coming into the land of Canaan.

Gill: Jos 24:32

And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt,.... At the request, and by the order of Joseph, Gen 50:25; which were punctually observed by the children of Israel under the direction and command of Moses, and therefore is ascribed to him, as here to them, Exo 13:19,

buried they in Shechem; not in the city, but in a field near it, as the next clause shows. The Jews in their Cippi Hebraici say ^g, that Joseph was buried at a village called Belata, a sabbath day's journey from Shechem; but Jerom says ^h he was buried in Shechem, and his monument was to be seen there in his time. Not that they buried him at the same time Joshua was buried, but very probably as soon as the tribe of Ephraim was in the quiet possession of this place; though the historian inserts the account of it here, taking an occasion for it from the interment of Joshua:

in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for an hundred pieces of silver; of which purchase See Gill on Gen 33:19,

and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph; and particularly of the tribe of Ephraim by lot, agreeably to the gift and disposal of it by Jacob to Joseph; see Gill on Gen 48:22.

Gill: Jos 24:33

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died,.... Very probably in a short time after Joshua; and, according to the Samaritan Chronicle ⁱ, he died as Joshua did, gathered the chief men of the children of Israel a little before his death, and enjoined them strict obedience to the commands of God, and took his leave of them, and then stripped himself of his holy garments, and clothed Phinehas his son with them; what his age was is not said:

and they buried him in a hill that pertaineth to Phinehas his son; or in the hill of Phinehas; which was so called from him, and might have the name given it by his father, who might possess it before him, and what adjoined to it. The Jews in the above treatise say ^k, that at Avarta was a school of Phinehas in a temple of the Gentiles; that Eleazar was buried upon the hill, and Joshua below the village among the olives, and on this hill is said ^l to be a school or village of Phinehas:

which was given him in Mount Ephraim; either to Eleazar, that he might be near to Shiloh, where the tabernacle then was, as the cities given to the priests and Levites were chiefly in those tribes that lay nearest to Jerusalem; though the Jews say, as Jarchi and Kimchi relate, that Phinehas might come into the possession of that place through his wife, or it might fall to him as being a devoted field; but it is most likely it was given to his father by the children of Ephraim, for the reason before observed. The Talmudists say, that Joshua wrote his own book, which is very probable; yet the last five verses, Jos 24:29, must be written by another hand, even as the last eight verses in Deuteronomy, Deu 34:5, were written by him, as they also say; and therefore this is no more an objection to his being the writer of this book, than the addition of eight verses by him to Deuteronomy is to Moses being the writer of that; and the same Talmudists ^m also observe, that Jos 24:29, "Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died", &c. were written by Eleazar, and Jos 24:33, "and Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died", &c. by Phinehas, which is not improbable.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jos 24:13

¹ tn Or perhaps, “for.”

² tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.

NET Notes: Jos 24:14

¹ sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

² tn Heb “fear.”

³ tn Or “and serve.”

⁴ tn Heb “your fathers.”

⁵ tn Or “served.”

⁶ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

⁷ tn Or “and serve.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:15

¹ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

² tn Or “to serve.”

³ tn Or “will serve.”

⁴ tn Heb “your fathers.”

⁵ tn Or “served.”

⁶ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

⁷ tn Heb “house.”

⁸ tn Or “will serve.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:16

¹ tn Heb “to.”

² tn Or “can serve.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:17

¹ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

² tn Heb “for the Lord our God, he is the one who brought up us and our fathers from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”

³ tn Or “great signs.”

⁴ tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:18

¹ tn Or “will serve.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:19

¹ tn Heb “said to.”

² tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

³ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

⁴ tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.

⁵ tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”

sn This assertion obviously needs qualification, for the OT elsewhere affirms that God does forgive. Joshua is referring to the persistent national rebellion against the Mosaic covenant that eventually cause God to decree unconditionally the nation’s exile.

NET Notes: Jos 24:20

¹ tn Or “when.”

² tn Or “and serve.”

³ tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “bring you to an end.”

⁵ tn Heb “after he did good for you.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:21

¹ tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”

² tn Or “will serve.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:22

¹ tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”

² sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.

NET Notes: Jos 24:23

¹ tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.

² tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.

NET Notes: Jos 24:24

¹ tn Or “will serve.”

² tn Heb “and listen to his voice.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:25

¹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

² tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:27

¹ tn Heb “all the words of the Lord which he spoke with us.”

² tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:28

¹ tn Heb “And Joshua sent the people away, each to his inheritance.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:29

¹ tn Heb “after these things.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:30

¹ tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:31

¹ tn Or “served.”

² tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived him.”

³ tn Heb “who knew all the work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

NET Notes: Jos 24:32

¹ tn Heb “one hundred qesitahs.” The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qesitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value and/or weight is unknown. The word occurs only here and in Gen 33:19 and Job 42:11.

² tn Heb “and they became for the sons of Joseph an inheritance.” One might think “bones” is the subject of the verb “they became,” but the verb is masculine, while “bones” is feminine. The translation follows the emendation suggested in the BHS note, which appeals to the Syriac and Vulgate for support. The emended reading understands “the part (of the field)” as the subject of the verb “became.” The emended verb is feminine singular; this agrees with “the part” (of the field), which is feminine in Hebrew.

NET Notes: Jos 24:33

¹ tn Heb “in Gibeah of Phinehas, his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.”

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:14

Now therefore ^{( f )} fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

^{( f )} This is the true use of God's benefits, to learn by it to fear and serve him with an upright conscience.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:15

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: ^{( g )} but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

^{( g )} This teaches us that if all the world would go from God, yet every one of us particularly is bound to cleave to him.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:18

And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: [therefore] will we also serve the LORD; ^{( h )} for he [is] our God.

^{( h )} How much more are we bound to serve God in Christ, by whom we have received the redemption of our souls.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:22

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye [are] witnesses ^{( i )} against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, [We are] witnesses.

^{( i )} If you do the contrary, your own mouths will condemn you.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:23

Now therefore put away, [said he], the strange ^{( k )} gods which [are] among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.

^{( k )} Out of your hearts and otherwise.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:25

So Joshua ^{( l )} made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

^{( l )} By joining God and the people together: also he repeated the promises and threatenings out of the Law.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:27

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it ^{( m )} hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

^{( m )} So that man's deception should not go unpunished, the dumb creatures will cry for vengeance.

Geneva Bible: Jos 24:31

And Israel ^{( n )} served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.

^{( n )} Such are the people commonly as their rulers are.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jos 24:1-33

1 Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem.

2 A brief history of God's benefits, from Terah.

14 He renews the covenant between them and God.

26 A stone the witness of the covenant.

29 Joshua's age, death, and burial.

32 Joseph's bones are buried.

33 Eleazar dies.

Maclaren: Jos 24:19-28

Joshua 24:19-28

We reach in this passage the close of an epoch. It narrates the last public act of Joshua and the last of the assembled people before they scatter every man unto his inheritance.' It was fitting that the transition from the nomad stage to that of settled abode in the land should be marked by the solemn renewal of the covenant, which is thus declared to be the willingly accepted law for the future national life. We have here the closing scene of that solemn assembly set before us.

The narrative carries us to Shechem, the lovely valley in the heart of the land, already consecrated by many patriarchal associations, and by that picturesque scene (Joshua 8:30-35), when the gathered nation, ranged on the slopes of Ebal and Gerizim, listened to Joshua reading all that Moses commanded.' There, too, the coffin of Joseph, which had been reverently carried all through the desert and the war, was laid in the ground that Jacob had bought five hundred years ago, and which new had fallen to Joseph's descendants, the tribe of Ephraim. There was another reason for the selection of Shechem for this renewal of the covenant. The gathered representatives of Israel stood, at Shechem, on the very soil where, long ago, Abram had made his first resting-place as a stranger in the land, and had received the first divine pledge, unto thy seed will I give this land,' and had piled beneath the oak of Moreh his first altar (of which the weathered stones might still be there) to' the Lord, who appeared unto him.' It was fitting that this cradle of the nation should witness their vow, as it witnessed the fulfillment of God's promise. What Plymouth Rock is to one side of the Atlantic, or Hastings Field to the other, Shechem was to Israel. Vows sworn there had sanctity added by the place. Nor did these remembrances exhaust the appropriateness of the site. The oak, which had waved green above Abram's altar, had looked down on another significant incident in the life of Jacob, when, in preparation for his journey to Bethel, he had made a clean sweep of the idols of his household, and buried them under the oak which was by Shechem' (Gen. 35:2-4). His very words are quoted by Joshua in his command, in Joshua 24:23, and it is impossible to overlook the intention to parallel the two events. The spot which had seen the earlier act of purification from idolatry was for that very reason chosen for the later. It is possible that the same tree at whose roots the idols from beyond the river, which Leah and Rachel had brought, had been buried, was that under which Joshua set up his memorial stone; and it is possible that the very stone had been part of Abram's altar. But, in any case, the place was sacred by these past manifestations of God and devotions of the fathers, so that we need not wonder that Joshua selected it rather than Shiloh, where the ark was, for the scene of this national oath of obedience. Patriotism and devotion would both burn brighter in such an atmosphere. These considerations explain also the designation of the place as the sanctuary of the Lord,'--a phrase which has led some to think of the Tabernacle, and apparently occasioned the Septuagint reading of' Shiloh' instead of' Shechem' in Joshua 24:1, 25. The precise rendering of the preposition in Joshua 24:26 (which the Revised Version has put in the margin) shows that the Tabernacle is not meant; for how could the oak-tree be in' the Tabernacle? Clearly, the open space, hallowed by so many remembrances, and by the appearance to Abram, was regarded as a sanctuary.

The earlier part of this chapter shows that the people, by their representatives, responded with alacrity--which to Joshua seemed too eager--to his charge, and enumerated with too facile tongues God's deliverance's and benefits, His ear must have caught some tones of levity, if not of insincerity, in the lightly-made vow. So he meets it with a douche of cold water in Joshua 24:19-20, because he wishes to condense vaporous resolutions into something more tangible and permanent. Cold, judiciously applied, solidifies. Discouragements, rightly put, encourage. The best way to deepen and confirm good resolutions which have been too swiftly and inconsiderately formed, is to state very plainly all the difficulty of keeping them. The hand that seems to repel, often most powerfully attracts. There is no better way of turning a somewhat careless we will' into a persistent nay, but we will,' than to interpose a ye cannot.' Many a boy has been made a sailor by the stories of hardships which his parents have meant as dissuasive. Joshua here is doing exactly what Jesus Christ often did. He refused glib vows because He desired whole hearts. His very longing that men should follow Him made Him send them back to bethink themselves when they promised to do it. Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest!' was answered by no recognition of the speaker's enthusiasm, and by no word of pleasure or invitation, but by the apparently cold repulse: Foxes have holes, birds of the air roosting-places; but the Son of Man has not where to lay His head. That is what you are offering to share. Do you stand to your words?' So, when once great multitudes' came to Him He turned on them, with no invitation in His words, and told them the hard conditions of discipleship as being entire self-renunciation. He will have no soldiers enlisted under false pretences. They shall know the full difficulties and trials which they must meet; and if, knowing these, they still are willing to take His yoke upon them, then how exuberant and warm the welcome which He gives!

There is a real danger that this side of the evangelist's work should be overlooked in the earnestness with which the other side is done. We cannot be too emphatic in our reiteration of Christ's call to all the weary and heavy-laden' to come unto Him, nor too confident in our assurance that whosoever comes will not be cast out'; but we may be, and, I fear, often are, defective in our repetition of Christ's demand for entire surrender, and of His warning to intending disciples of what they are taking upon them. We shall repel no true seeker by duly emphasizing the difficulties of the Christian course. Perhaps, if there were more plain speaking about these at the beginning, there would be fewer backsliders and dead professors with a name to live.' Christ ran the risk of the rich ruler's going away sorrowful, and so should His messengers do. The sorrow tells of real desire, and the departure will sooner or later be exchanged for return with a deeper and more thorough purpose, if the earlier wish had any substance in it. If it had not, better that the consciousness of its hollowness should be forced upon the man, than that he should outwardly become what he is not really, --a Christian; for, in the one case, he may be led to reflection which may issue in thorough surrender; and in the other he will be a self-deceived deceiver, and probably an apostate.

Note the special form of Joshua's warning. It turns mainly on two points,--the extent of the obligations which they were so lightly incurring, and the heavy penalties of their infraction. As to the former, the vow to serve the Lord' had been made, as he fears, with small consideration of what it meant. In heathenism, the service' of a god is a mere matter of outward acts of so-called worship. There is absolutely no connection between religion and morality in idolatrous systems. The notion that the service of a god implies any duties in common life beyond ceremonial ones is wholly foreign to paganism in all its forms. The establishment of the opposite idea is wholly the consequence of revelation. So we need not wonder if the pagan conception of service was here in the minds of the vowing assembly. If we look at their vow, as recorded in Joshua 24:16-18, we see nothing in it which necessarily implies a loftier idea. Jehovah is their national God, who has fought and conquered for them, therefore they will serve Him.' If we substitute Baal, or Chemosh, or Nebo, or Ra, for Jehovah, this is exactly what we read on Moabite stones and Assyrian tablets and Egyptian tombs. The reasons for the service, and the service itself, are both suspiciously external. We are not judging the people more harshly than Joshua did; for he clearly was not satisfied with them, and the tone of his answer sufficiently shows what he thought wrong in them. Observe that he does not call Jehovah your God.' He does so afterwards; but in this grave reply to their exuberant enthusiasm he speaks of Him only as the Lord,' as if he would put stress on the monotheistic conception, which, at all events, does not appear in the people's words, and was probably dim in their thoughts. Then observe that he broadly asserts the impossibility of their serving the Lord; that is, of course, so long as they continued in their then tone of feeling about Him and His service.

Then observe the points in the character of God on which he dwells, as indicating the points which were left out of view by the people, and as fitted to rectify their notions of service. First, He is an holy God.' The scriptural idea of the holiness of God has a wider sweep than we often recognize. It fundamentally means His supreme and inaccessible elevation above the creature; which, of course, is manifested in His perfect separation from all sin, but has not regard to this only. Joshua here urges the infinite distance between man and God, and especially the infinite moral distance, in order to enforce a profounder conception of what goes to God's service. A holy God cannot have unholy worshippers. His service can be no mere ceremonial, but must be the bowing of the whole man before His majesty, the aspiration of the whole man after His loftiness, the transformation of the whole man into the reflection of His purity, the approach of the unholy to the Holy through a sacrifice which puts away sin.

Further, He is a jealous God.' Jealous' is an ugly word, with repulsive associations, and its application to God has sometimes been explained in ugly fashion, and has actually repelled men. But, rightly looked at, what does it mean but that God desires our whole hearts for His own, and loves ns so much, and is so desirous to pour His love into us, that He will have no rivals in our love? The metaphor of marriage, which puts His love to men in the tenderest form, underlies this word, so harsh on the surface, but so gracious at the core.

There is still abundant need for Joshua's warning. We rejoice that it takes so little to be a Christian that the feeblest and simplest act of faith knits the soul to the all-forgiving Christ. But let us not forget that, on the other hand, it is hard to be a Christian indeed; for it means forsaking all that we have,' and loving God with all our powers. The measure of His love is the measure of His jealousy,' and He loves us no less than He did Israel. Unless our conceptions of His service are based upon our recognition of His holiness and demand for our all, we, too, cannot serve the Lord.'

The other half of Joshua's warnings refers to the penalties of the broken vows. These are put with extraordinary force. The declaration that the sins of the servants of God would not be forgiven is not, of course, to be taken so as to contradict the whole teaching of Scripture, but as meaning that the sins of His people cannot be left unpunished. The closer relation between God and them made retribution certain. The law of Israel's existence, which its history ever since has exemplified, was here laid down, that their prosperity depended on their allegiance, and that their nearness to Him ensured His chastisement for their sin. You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.'

The remainder of the incident must be briefly disposed of. These warnings produced the desired effect; for Joshua did not seek to prevent, but to make more intelligent and firm, the people's allegiance. The resolve, repeated after fuller knowledge, is the best reward, as it is the earnest hope, of the faithful teacher, whose apparent discouragements are meant to purify and deepen, not to repress, the faintest wish to serve God. Having tested their sincerity, he calls them to witness that their resolution is perfectly voluntary; and, on their endorsing it as their free choice, he requires the putting away of their strange gods,' and the surrender of their inward selves to Him who, by this their action as well as by His benefits, becomes in truth the God of Israel.' Attempts have been made to evade the implication that idolatry had crept in among the people; but there can be no doubt of the plain, sad meaning of the words. They are a quotation of Jacob's, at the same spot, on a similar occasion centuries before. If there were no idols buried now under the old oak, it was not because there were none in Israel, but because they had not been brought by the people from their homes. Joshua's commands are the practical outcome of his previous words. If God be holy' and jealous,' serving Him must demand the forsaking of all other gods, and the surrender of heart and self to Him. That is as true to-day as ever it was. The people accept the stringent requirement, and their repeated shout of obedience has a deeper tone than their first hasty utterance had. They have learned what service means,--that it includes more than ceremonies; and they are willing to obey His voice. Blessed those for whom the plain disclosure of all that they must give up to follow Him, only leads to the more assured and hearty response of willing surrender!

The simple but impressive ceremony which ratified the covenant thus renewed consisted of two parts,-the writing of the account of the transaction in the book of the law'; and the erection of a great stone, whose grey strength stood beneath the green oak, a silent witness that Israel, by his own choice, after full knowledge of all that the vow meant, had reiterated his vow to be the Lord's. Thus on the spot made sacred by so many ancient memories, the people ended their wandering and homeless life, and passed into the possession of the inheritance, through the portal of this fresh acceptance of the covenant, proclaiming thereby that they held the land on condition of serving God, and writing their own sentence in case of unfaithfulness. It was the last act of the assembled people, and the crown and close of Joshua's career.

THE END

Judges

MHCC: Jos 24:1-14

We must never think our work for God done, till our life is done. If he lengthen out our days beyond what we expected, like those of Joshua, it is because he has some further service for us to do. He who aims at the same mind which was in Christ Jesus, will glory in bearing the last testimony to his Saviour's goodness, and in telling to all around, the obligations with which the unmerited goodness of God has bound him. The assembly came together in a solemn religious manner. Joshua spake to them in God's name, and as from him. His sermon consists of doctrine and application. The doctrinal part is a history of the great things God had done for his people, and for their fathers before them. The application of this history of God's mercies to them, is an exhortation to fear and serve God, in gratitude for his favour, and that it might be continued.

MHCC: Jos 24:15-28

It is essential that the service of God's people be performed with a willing mind. For LOVE is the only genuine principle whence all acceptable service of God can spring. The Father seeks only such to worship him, as worship him in spirit and in truth. The carnal mind of man is enmity against God, therefore, is not capable of such spiritual worship. Hence the necessity of being born again. But numbers rest in mere forms, as tasks imposed upon them. Joshua puts them to their choice; but not as if it were indifferent whether they served God or not. Choose you whom ye will serve, now the matter is laid plainly before you. He resolves to do this, whatever others did. Those that are bound for heaven, must be willing to swim against the stream. They must not do as the most do, but as the best do. And no one can behave himself as he ought in any station, who does not deeply consider his religious duties in family relations. The Israelites agree with Joshua, being influenced by the example of a man who had been so great a blessing to them; We also will serve the Lord. See how much good great men do, by their influence, if zealous in religion. Joshua brings them to express full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. They must come off from all confidence in their own sufficiency, else their purposes would be in vain. The service of God being made their deliberate choice, Joshua binds them to it by a solemn covenant. He set up a monument of it. In this affecting manner Joshua took his last leave of them; if they perished, their blood would be upon their own heads. Though the house of God, the Lord's table, and even the walls and trees before which we have uttered our solemn purposes of serving him, would bear witness against us if we deny him, yet we may trust in him, that he will put his fear into our hearts, that we shall not depart from him. God alone can give grace, yet he blesses our endeavours to engage men to his service.

MHCC: Jos 24:29-33

Joseph died in Egypt, but gave commandment concerning his bones, that they should not rest in their grave till Israel had rest in the land of promise. Notice also the death and burial of Joshua, and of Eleazar the chief priest. The most useful men, having served their generation, according to the will of God, one after another, fall asleep and see corruption. But Jesus, having spent and ended his life on earth more effectually than either Joshua or Joseph, rose from the dead, and saw no corruption. And the redeemed of the Lord shall inherit the kingdom he prepared for them from the foundation of the world. They will say in admiration of the grace of Jesus, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew Henry: Jos 24:1-14

Joshua thought he had taken his last farewell of Israel in the solemn charge he gave them in the foregoing chapter, when he said, I go the way of all the earth; but God graciously continuing his life longer than expected, and renewing his strength, he was desirous to improve it for the good of Israel. He did not say, "I have taken my leave of them once, and let that serve;"but, having yet a longer space given him, he summons them together again, that he might try what more he could do to engage them for God. Note, We must never think our work for God done till our life is done; and, if he lengthen out our days beyond what we thought, we must conclude it is because he has some further service for us to do.

The assembly is the same with that in the foregoing chapter, the elders, heads, judges, and officers of Israel, Jos 24:1. But it is here made somewhat more solemn than it was there.

I. The place appointed for their meeting is Shechem, not only because that lay nearer to Joshua than Shiloh, and therefore more convenient now that he was infirm and unfit for travelling, but because it was the place where Abraham, the first trustee of God's covenant with this people, settled at his coming to Canaan, and where God appeared to him (Gen 12:6, Gen 12:7), and near which stood mounts Gerizim and Ebal, where the people had renewed their covenant with God at their first coming into Canaan, Jos 8:30. Of the promises God had made to their fathers, and of the promises they themselves had made to God, this place might serve to put them in mind.

II. They presented themselves not only before Joshua, but before God, in this assembly, that is, they came together in a solemn religious manner, as into the special presence of God, and with an eye to his speaking to them by Joshua; and it is probable the service began with prayer. It is the conjecture of interpreters that upon this great occasion Joshua ordered the ark of God to be brought by the priests to Shechem, which, they say, was about ten miles from Shiloh, and to be set down in the place of their meeting, which is therefore called (Jos 24:26) the sanctuary of the Lord, the presence of the ark making it so at that time; and this was done to grace the solemnity, and to strike an awe upon the people that attended. We have not now any such sensible tokens of the divine presence, but are to believe that where two or three are gathered together in Christ's name he is as really in the midst of them as God was where the ark was, and they are indeed presenting themselves before him.

III. Joshua spoke to them in God's name, and as from him, in the language of a prophet (Jos 24:2): " Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah, the great God, and the God of Israel, your God in covenant, whom therefore you are bound to hear and give heed to."Note, The word of God is to be received by us as his, whoever is the messenger that brings it, whose greatness cannot add to it, nor his meanness diminish from it. His sermon consists of doctrine and application.

1. The doctrinal part is a history of the great things God had done for his people, and for their fathers before them. God by Joshua recounts the marvels of old: "I did so and so."They must know and consider, not only that such and such things were done, but that God did them. It is a series of wonders that is here recorded, and perhaps many more were mentioned by Joshua, which for brevity's sake are here omitted. See what God had wrought. (1.) He brought Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, Jos 24:2, Jos 24:3. He and his ancestors had served other gods there, for it was the country in which, though celebrated for learning, idolatry, as some think, had its rise; there the world by wisdom knew not God. Abraham, who afterwards was the friend of God and the great favourite of heaven, was bred up in idolatry, and lived long in it, till God by his grace snatched him as a brand out of that burning. Let them remember that rock out of which they were hewn, and not relapse into that sin from which their fathers by a miracle of free grace were delivered. "I took him,"says God, "else he had never come out of that sinful state."Hence Abraham's justification is made by the apostle an instance of God's justifying the ungodly, Rom 4:5. (2.) He brought him to Canaan, and built up his family, led him through the land to Shechem, where they now were, multiplied his seed by Ishmael, who begat twelve princes, but at last gave him Isaac the promised son, and in him multiplied his seed. When Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau, God provided an inheritance for Esau elsewhere in Mount Seir, that the land of Canaan might be reserved entire for the seed of Jacob, and the posterity of Esau might not pretend to a share in it. (3.) He delivered the seed of Jacob out of Egypt with a high hand (Jos 24:5, Jos 24:6), and rescued them out of the hands of Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, Jos 24:6, Jos 24:7. The same waters were the Israelites' guard and the Egyptians' grave, and this in answer to prayer; for, though we find in the story that they in that distress murmured against God (Exo 14:11, Exo 14:12), notice is here taken of their crying to God; he graciously accepted those that prayed to him, and overlooked the folly of those that quarrelled with him. (4.) He protected them in the wilderness, where they are here said, not to wander, but to dwell for a long season, Jos 24:7. So wisely were all their motions directed, and so safely were they kept, that even there they had as certain a dwelling-place as if they had been in a walled city. (5.) He gave them the land of the Amorites, on the other side Jordan (Jos 24:8), and there defeated the plot of Balak and Balaam against them, so that Balaam could not curse them as he desired, and therefore Balak durst not fight them as he designed, and as, because he designed it, he is here said to have done it. The turning of Balaam's tongue to bless Israel, when he intended to curse them, is often mentioned as an instance of the divine power put forth in Israel's favour as remarkable as any, because in it God proved (and does still, more than we are aware of) his dominion over the powers of darkness, and over the spirits of men. (6.) He brought them safely and triumphantly into Canaan, delivered the Canaanites into their hand (Jos 24:11), sent hornets before them, when they were actually engaged in battle with the enemy, which with their stings tormented them and with their noise terrified them, so that they became a very easy prey to Israel. These dreadful swarms first appeared in their war with Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites, and afterwards in their other battles, Jos 24:12. God had promised to do this for them, Exo 23:27, Exo 23:28. And here Joshua takes notice of the fulfilling of that promise. See Exo 23:27, Exo 23:28; Deu 7:20. These hornets, it should seem, annoyed the enemy more than the artillery of Israel, and therefore he adds, not with thy sword nor bow. It was purely the Lord's doing. Lastly, They were now in the peaceable possession of a good land, and lived comfortably upon the fruit of other people's labours, Jos 24:13.

2. The application of this history of God's mercies to them is by way of exhortation to fear and serve God, in gratitude for his favour, and that it might be continued to them, Jos 24:14. Now therefore, in consideration of all this, (1.) " Fear the Lord, the Lord and his goodness, Hos 3:5. Reverence a God of such infinite power, fear to offend him and to forfeit his goodness, keep up an awe of his majesty, a deference to his authority, a dread of his displeasure, and a continual regard to his all-seeing eye upon you."(2.) "Let your practice be consonant to this principle, and serve him both by the outward acts of religious worship and every instance of obedience in your whole conversation, and this in sincerity and truth, with a single eye and an upright heart, and inward impressions answerable to outward expressions."This is the truth in the inward part, which God requires, Psa 51:6. For what good will it do us to dissemble with a God that searches the heart? (3.) Put away the strange gods, both Chaldean and Egyptian idols, for those they were most in danger of revolting to. It should seem by this charge, which is repeated (Jos 24:23), that there were some among them that privately kept in their closets the images or pictures of these dunghill-deities, which came to their hands from their ancestors, as heir-looms of their families, though, it may be, they did not worship them; these Joshua earnestly urges them to throw away: "Deface them, destroy them, lest you be tempted to serve them."Jacob pressed his household to do this, and at this very place; for, when they gave him up the little images they had, he buried them under the oak which was by Shechem, Gen 35:2, Gen 35:4. Perhaps the oak mentioned here (Jos 24:26) was the same oak, or another in the same place, which might be well called the oak of reformation, as there were idolatrous oaks.

Matthew Henry: Jos 24:15-28

Never was any treaty carried on with better management, nor brought to a better issue, than this of Joshua with the people, to engage them to serve God. The manner of his dealing with them shows him to have been in earnest, and that his heart was much upon it, to leave them under all possible obligations to cleave to him, particularly the obligation of a choice and of a covenant.

I. Would it be any obligation upon them if they made the service of God their choice? - he here puts them to their choice, not as if it were antecedently indifferent whether they served God or nor, or as if they were at liberty to refuse his service, but because it would have a great influence upon their perseverance in religion if they embraced it with the reason of men and with the resolution of men. These two things he here brings them to.

1. He brings them to embrace their religion rationally and intelligently, for it is a reasonable service. The will of man is apt to glory in its native liberty, and, in a jealousy for the honour of this, adheres with most pleasure to that which is its own choice and is not imposed upon it; therefore it is God's will that this service should be, not our chance, or a force upon us, but our choice. Accordingly,

(1.) Joshua fairly puts the matter to their choice, Jos 24:15. Here, [1.] He proposes the candidates that stand for the election. The Lord, Jehovah, on one side, and on the other side either the gods of their ancestors, which would pretend to recommend themselves to those that were fond of antiquity, and that which was received by tradition from their fathers, or the gods of their neighbours, the Amorites, in whose land they dwelt, which would insinuate themselves into the affections of those that were complaisant and fond of good fellowship. [2.] He supposes there were those to whom, upon some account or other, it would seem evil to serve the Lord. There are prejudices and objections which some people raise against religion, which, with those that are inclined to the world and the flesh, have great force. It seems evil to them, hard and unreasonable, to be obliged to deny themselves, mortify the flesh, take up their cross, etc. But, being in a state of probation, it is fit there should be some difficulties in the way, else there were no trial. [3.] He refers it to themselves: " Choose you whom you will serve, choose this day, now that the matter is laid thus plainly before you, speedily bring it to a head, and do not stand hesitating."Elijah, long after this, referred the decision of the controversy between Jehovah and Baal to the consciences of those with whom he was treating, 1Ki 18:21. Joshua's putting the matter here to this issue plainly intimates two things: - First, That it is the will of God we should every one of us make religion our serious and deliberate choice. Let us state the matter impartially to ourselves, weigh things in an even balance, and then determine for that which we find to be really true and good. Let us resolve upon a life of serious godliness, not merely because we know no other way, but because really, upon search, we find no better. Secondly, That religion has so much self-evident reason and righteousness on its side that it may safely be referred to every man that allows himself a free thought either to choose or refuse it; for the merits of the cause are so plain that no considerate man can do otherwise but choose it. The case is so clear that it determines itself. Perhaps Joshua designed, by putting them to their choice, thus to try if there were any among them who, upon so fair an occasion given, would show a coolness and indifference towards the service of God, whether they would desire time to consider and consult their friends before they gave in an answer, and if any such should appear he might set a mark upon them, and warn the rest to avoid them. [4.] He directs their choice in this matter by an open declaration of his own resolutions: " But as for me and my house, whatever you do, we will serve the Lord, and I hope you will all be of the same mind."Here he resolves, First, For himself: As for me, I will serve the Lord. Note, The service of God is nothing below the greatest of men; it is so far from being a diminution and disparagement to princes and those of the first rank to be religious that it is their greatest honour, and adds the brightest crown of glory to them. Observe how positive he is: "I will serve God."It is no abridgment of our liberty to bind ourselves with a bond to God. Secondly, For his house, that is, his family, his children and servants, such as were immediately under his eye and care, his inspection and influence. Joshua was a ruler, a judge in Israel, yet he did not make his necessary application to public affairs an excuse for the neglect of family religion. Those that have the charge of many families, as magistrates and ministers, must take special care of their own (1Ti 3:4, 1Ti 3:5): I and my house will serve God. 1. "Not my house, without me."He would not engage them to that work which he would not set his own hand to. As some who would have their children and servants good, but will not be so themselves; that is, they would have them go to heaven, but intend to go to hell themselves. 2. "Not I, without my house."He supposes he might be forsaken by his people, but in his house, where his authority was greater and more immediate, there he would over-rule. Note, When we cannot bring as many as we would to the service of God we must bring as many as we can, and extend our endeavours to the utmost sphere of our activity; if we cannot reform the land, let us put away iniquity far from our own tabernacle. 3. "First I, and then my house."Note, Those that lead and rule in other things should be first in the service of God, and go before in the best things. Thirdly, He resolves to do this whatever others did. Though all the families of Israel should revolt from God, and serve idols, yet Joshua and his family will stedfastly adhere to the God of Israel. Note, Those that resolve to serve God must not mind being singular in it, nor be drawn by the crowd to forsake his service. Those that are bound for heaven must be willing to swim against the stream, and must not do as the most do, but as the best do.

(2.) The matter being thus put to their choice, they immediately determine it by a free, rational, and intelligent declaration, for the God of Israel, against all competitors whatsoever, Jos 24:16-18. Here, [1.] They concur with Joshua in his resolution, being influenced by the example of so great a man, who had been so great a blessing to them (Jos 24:18): We also will serve the Lord. See how much good great men might do, if they were but zealous in religion, by their influence on their inferiors. [2.] They startle at the thought of apostatizing from God (Jos 24:16): God forbid; the word intimates the greatest dread and detestation imaginable. "Far be it, far be it from us, that we or ours should ever forsake the Lord to serve other gods. We must be perfectly lost to all sense of justice, gratitude, and honour, ere we can harbour the least thought of such a thing."Thus must our hearts rise against all temptations to desert the service of God. Get thee behind me, Satan. [3.] They give very substantial reasons for their choice, to show that they did not make it purely in compliance to Joshua, but from a full conviction of the reasonableness and equity of it. They make this choice for, and in consideration, First, Of the many great and very kind things God had done for them, bringing them out of Egypt through the wilderness into Canaan, Jos 24:17, Jos 24:18. Thus they repeat to themselves Joshua's sermon, and then express their sincere compliance with the intentions of it. Secondly, Of the relation they stood in to God, and his covenant with them: "We will serve the Lord (Jos 24:18), for he is our God, who has graciously engaged himself by promise to us, and to whom we have by solemn vow engaged ourselves."

2. He brings them to embrace their religion resolutely, and to express a full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. Now that he has them in a good mind he follows his blow, and drives the nail to the head, that it might, if possible, be a nail in a sure place. Fast bind, fast find.

(1.) In order to this he sets before them the difficulties of religion, and that in it which might be thought discouraging (Jos 24:19, Jos 24:20): You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, or, as it is in the Hebrew, he is the holy Gods, intimating the mystery of the Trinity, three in one; holy, holy, holy, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit. He will not forgive. And, if you forsake him, he will do you hurt. Certainly Joshua does not intend hereby to deter them from the service of God as impracticable and dangerous. But, [1.] He perhaps intends to represent here the suggestions of seducers, who tempted Israel from their God, and from the service of him; with such insinuations as these, that he was a hard master, his work impossible to be done, and he not to be pleased, and, if displeased, implacable and revengeful, - that he would confine their respects to himself only, and would not suffer them to show the least kindness for any other, - and that herein he was very unlike the gods of the nations, which were easy, and neither holy nor jealous. It is probable that this was then commonly objected against the Jewish religion, as it has all along been the artifice of Satan every since he tempted our first parents thus to misrepresent God and his laws, as harsh and severe; and Joshua by his tone and manner of speaking might make them perceive he intended it as an objection, and would put it to them how they would keep their ground against the force of it. Or, [2.] He thus expresses his godly jealousy over them, and his fear concerning them, that, notwithstanding the profession they now made of zeal for God and his service, they would afterwards draw back, and if they did they would find him just and jealous to avenge it. Or, [3.] He resolves to let them know the worst of it, and what strict terms they must expect to stand upon with God, that they might sit down and count the cost. " You cannot serve the Lord, except you put away all other gods for he is holy and jealous, and will by no means admit a rival, and therefore you must be very watchful and careful, for it is at your peril if you desert his service; better you had never known it."Thus, though our Master has assured us that his yoke is easy, yet lest, upon the presumption of this, we should grow remiss and careless, he has also told us that the gate is strait, and the way narrow, that leads to life, that we may therefore strive to enter, and not seek only. " You cannot serve God and Mammon; therefore, if you resolve to serve God, you must renounce all competitors with him. You cannot serve God in your own strength, nor will he forgive your transgressions for any righteousness of your own; but all the seed of Israel must be justified and must glory in the Lord alone as their righteousness and strength, "Isa 45:24, Isa 45:25. They must therefore come off from all confidence in their own sufficiency, else their purposes would be to no purpose. Or, [4.] Joshua thus urges on them the seeming discouragements which lay in their way, that he might sharpen their resolutions, and draw from them a promise yet more express and solemn that they would continue faithful to God and their religion. He draws it form them that they might catch at it the more earnestly and hold it the faster.

(2.) Notwithstanding this statement of the difficulties of religion, they declare a firm and fixed resolution to continue and persevere therein (Jos 24:21): " Nay, but we will serve the Lord. We will think never the worse of him for his being a holy and jealous God, nor for his confining his servants to worship himself only. Justly will he consume those that forsake him, but we never will forsake him; not only we have a good mind to serve him, and we hope we shall, but we are at a point, we cannot bear to hear any entreaties to leave him or to turn from following after him (Rth 1:16); in the strength of divine grace we are resolved that we will serve the Lord."This resolution they repeat with an explication (Jos 24:24): " The Lord our God will we serve, not only be called his servants and wear his livery, but our religion shall rule us in every thing, and his voice will we obey. "And in vain do we call him Master and Lord, if we do not the things which he saith, Luk 6:46. This last promise they make in answer to the charge Joshua gave them (Jos 24:23), that, in order to their perseverance, they should, [1.] Put away the images and relics of the strange gods, and not keep any of the tokens of those other lovers in their custody, if they resolved their Maker should be their husband; they promise, in this, to obey his voice. [2.] That they should incline their hearts to the God of Israel, use their authority over their own hearts to engage them for God, not only to set their affections upon him, but to settle them so. These terms they agree to, and thus, as Joshua explains the bargain, they strike it: The Lord our God will we serve.

II. The service of God being thus made their deliberate choice, Joshua binds them to it by a solemn covenant, Jos 24:25. Moses had twice publicly ratified this covenant between God and Israel, at Mount Sinai (Ex. 24) and in the plains of Moab, Deu 29:1. Joshua had likewise done it once (Jos 8:31, etc.) and now the second time. It is here called a statute and an ordinance, because of the strength and perpetuity of its obligation, and because even this covenant bound them to no more than what they were antecedently bound to by the divine command. Now, to give it the formalities of a covenant, 1. He calls witnesses, no other than themselves (Jos 24:22): You are witnesses that you have chosen the Lord. He promises himself that they would never forget the solemnities of this day; but, if hereafter they should break this covenant, he assures them that the professions and promises they had now made would certainly rise up in judgment against them and condemn them; and they agreed to it: " We are witnesses; let us be judged out of our own mouths if ever we be false to our God."2. He put it in writing, and inserted it, as we find it here, in the sacred canon: He wrote it in the book of the law (Jos 24:26), in that original which was laid up in the side of the ark, and thence, probably, it was transcribed into the several copies which the princes had for the use of each tribe. There it was written, that their obligation to religion by the divine precept, and that by their own promise, might remain on record together. 3. He erected a memorandum of it, for the benefit of those who perhaps were not conversant with writings, Jos 24:26, Jos 24:27. He set up a great stone under an oak, as a monument of this covenant, and perhaps wrote an inscription upon it (by which stones are made to speak) signifying the intention of it. When he says, It hath heard what was past, he tacitly upbraids the people with the hardness of their hearts, as if this stone had heard to as good purpose as some of them; and, if they should forget what was no done, this stone would so far preserve the remembrance of it as to reproach them for their stupidity and carelessness, and be a witness against them.

The matter being thus settled, Joshua dismissed this assembly of the grandees of Israel (Jos 24:28), and took his last leave of them, well satisfied in having done his part, by which he had delivered his soul; if they perished, their blood would be upon their own heads.

Matthew Henry: Jos 24:29-33

This book, which began with triumphs, here ends with funerals, by which all the glory of man is stained. We have here 1. The burial of Joseph, Jos 24:32. He died about 200 years before in Egypt, but gave commandment concerning his bones, that they should not rest in their grave until Israel had rest in the land of promise; now therefore the children of Israel, who had brought this coffin full of bones with them out of Egypt, carried it along with them in all their marches through the wilderness (the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, it is probable, taking particular care of it), and kept it in their camp till Canaan was perfectly reduced, now at last they deposited it in that piece of ground which his father gave him near Shechem, Gen 48:22. Probably it was upon this occasion that Joshua called for all Israel to meet him at Shechem (v. 1), to attend Joseph's coffin to the grave there, so that the sermon in this chapter served both for Joseph's funeral sermon and his own farewell sermon; and if it was, as is supposed, in the last year of his life, the occasion might very well remind him of his own death being at hand, for he was not just at the same age that his illustrious ancestor Joseph had arrived at when he died, 110 years old; compare Jos 24:29 with Gen 50:26. 2. The death and burial of Joshua, Jos 24:29, Jos 24:30. We are not told how long he lived after the coming of Israel into Canaan. Dr. Lightfoot thinks it was about seventeen years; but the Jewish chronologers generally say it was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years. He is here called the servant of the Lord, the same title that was given to Moses (Jos 1:1) when mention was made of his death; for, though Joshua was in many respects inferior to Moses, yet in this he was equal to him, that, according as his work was, he approved himself a diligent and faithful servant of God. And he that traded with his two talents had the same approbation that he had who traded with his five. Well done, good and faithful servant. Joshua's burying-place is here said to be on the north side of the hill Gaash, or the quaking hill; the Jews say it was so called because it trembled at the burial of Joshua, to upbraid the people of Israel with their stupidity in that they did not lament the death of that great and good man as they ought to have done. Thus at the death of Christ, our Joshua, the earth quaked. The learned bishop Patrick observes that there is no mention of any days of mourning being observed for Joshua, as there were for Moses and Aaron, in which, he says, St. Hierom and others of the fathers think there is a mystery, namely, that under the law, when life and immortality were not brought to so clear a light as they are now, they had reason to mourn and weep for the death of their friends; but now that Jesus, our Joshua, has opened the kingdom of heaven, we may rather rejoice. 3. The death and burial of Eleazar the chief priest, who, it is probable, died about the same time that Joshua did, as Aaron in the same year with Moses, Jos 24:33. The Jews say that Eleazar, a little before he died, called the elders together, and gave them a charge as Joshua had done. He was buried in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which came to him, not by descent, for then it would have pertained to his father first, nor had the priests any cities in Mount Ephraim, but either it fell to him by marriage, as the Jews conjecture, or it was freely bestowed upon him, to build a country seat on, by some pious Israelite that was well-affected to the priesthood, for it is here said to have been given him; and there he buried his dear father. 4. A general idea given us of the state of Israel at this time, Jos 24:31. While Joshua lived, religion was kept up among them under his care and influence; but soon after he and his contemporaries died it went to decay, so much oftentimes does one head hold up: how well is it for the gospel church that Christ, our Joshua, is still with it, by his Spirit, and will be always, even unto the end of the world!

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:1-18

Renewal of the Covenant at the National Assembly in Shechem. - Jos 24:1. Joshua brought his public ministry to a close, as Moses had done before him, with a solemn renewal of the covenant with the Lord. For this solemn act he did not choose Shiloh, the site of the national sanctuary, as some MSS of the lxx read, but Shechem, a place which was sanctified as no other was for such a purpose as this by the most sacred reminiscences from the times of the patriarchs. He therefore summoned all the tribes of Israel, in their representatives (their elders, etc., as in Jos 23:2), to Shechem, not merely because it was at Shechem, i.e., on Gerizim and Ebal, that the solemn establishment of the law in the land of Canaan, to which the renewal of the covenant, as a repetition of the essential kernel of that solemn ceremony, was now to be appended, had first taken place, but still more because it was here that Abraham received the first promise from God after his migration into Canaan, and built an altar at the time (Gen 12:6-7); and most of all, as Hengstenberg has pointed out (Diss. ii. p. 12), because Jacob settled here on his return from Mesopotamia, and it was here that he purified his house from the strange gods, burying all their idols under the oak (Gen 33:19; Gen 35:2, Gen 35:4). As Jacob selected Shechem for the sanctification of his house, because this place was already consecrated by Abraham as a sanctuary of God, so Joshua chose the same place for the renewal of the covenant, because this act involved a practical renunciation on the part of Israel of all idolatry. Joshua expressly states this in Jos 24:23, and reference is also made to it in the account in Jos 24:26. "The exhortation to be faithful to the Lord, and to purify themselves from all idolatry, could not fail to make a deep impression, in the place where the honoured patriarch had done the very same things to which his descendants were exhorted here. The example preached more loudly in this spot than in any other"( Hengstenberg ). "And they placed themselves before God." From the expression "before God,"it by no means follows that the ark had been brought to Shechem, or, as Knobel supposes, that an altar was erected there, any more than from the statement in Jos 24:26 that it was "by the sanctuary of the Lord." For, in the first place, "before God"( Elohim ) is not to be identified with "before Jehovah,"which is used in Jos 18:6 and Jos 19:51 to denote the presence of the Lord above the ark of the covenant; and secondly, even "before Jehovah"does not always presuppose the presence of the ark of the covenant, as Hengstenberg has clearly shown. "Before God"simply denotes in a general sense the religious character of an act, or shows that the act was undertaken with a distinct reference to the omnipresent God; and in the case before us it may be attributed to the fact that Joshua delivered his exhortation to the people in the name of Jehovah, and commenced his address with the words, "Thus saith Jehovah."

(Note: "It is stated that they all stood before God, in order that the sanctity and religious character of the assembly may be the more distinctly shown. And there can be no doubt that the name of God was solemnly invoked by Joshua, and that he addressed the people as in the sight of God, so that each one might feel for himself that God was presiding over all that was transacted there, and that they were not engaged in any merely private affair, but were entering into a sacred and inviolable compact with God himself."- Calvin .)

Jos 24:2-15

Joshua's address contains an expansion of two thoughts. He first of all recalls to the recollection of the whole nation, whom he is addressing in the persons of its representatives, all the proofs of His mercy which the Lord had given, from the calling of Abraham to that day (Jos 24:2-13); and then because of these divine acts he calls upon the people to renounce all idolatry, and to serve God the Lord alone (Jos 24:14, Jos 24:15). Jehovah is described as the "God of Israel"both at the commencement (Jos 24:2) and also at the close of the whole transaction, in perfect accordance with the substance and object of the address, which is occupied throughout with the goodness conferred by God upon the race of Israel . The first practical proof of the grace of God towards Israel, was the calling of Abraham from his idolatrous associations, and his introduction to the land of Canaan, where the Lord so multiplied his seed, that Esau received the mountains of Seir for his family, whilst Jacob went into Egypt with his sons.

(Note: "He commences with their gratuitous training, by which God had precluded them from the possibility of boasting of any pre-eminence or merit. For God had bound them to himself by a closer bond, because when they were on an equality with others, He drew them to himself to be His own peculiar people, for no other reason than His own good pleasure. Moreover, in order that it may be clearly seen that they have nothing whereof to glory, he leads them back to their earliest origin, and relates how their fathers had dwelt in Chaldaea, worshipping idols in common with the rest, and with nothing to distinguish them from the crowd."- Calvin .)

The ancestors of Israel dwelt "from eternity," i.e., from time immemorial, on the other side of the stream (the Euphrates), viz., in Ur of the Chaldees, and then at Haran in Mesopotamia (Gen 11:28, Gen 11:31), namely Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. Of Terah's three sons (Gen 11:27), Nahor is mentioned as well as Abraham, because Rebekah, and her nieces Leah and Rachel, the tribe-mothers of Israel, were descended from him (Gen 22:23; Gen 29:10, Gen 29:16.). And they (your fathers, Terah and his family) served other gods than Jehovah, who revealed himself to Abraham, and brought him from his father's house to Canaan. Nothing definite can be gathered from the expression "other gods,"with reference to the gods worshipped by Terah and his family; nor is there anything further to be found respecting them throughout the whole of the Old Testament. We simply learn from Gen 31:19, Gen 31:34, that Laban had teraphim , i.e., penates , or household and oracular gods.

(Note: According to one tradition, Abraham was brought up in Sabaeism in his father's house (see Hottinger , Histor. Orient. p. 246, and Philo , in several passages of his works); and according to another, in the Targum Jonathan on Gen 11:23, and in the later Rabbins, Abraham had to suffer persecution on account of his dislike to idolatry, and was obliged to leave his native land in consequence. But these traditions are both of them nothing more than conjectures by the later Rabbins.)

The question also, whether Abraham was an idolater before his call, which has been answered in different ways, cannot be determined with certainty. We may conjecture, however, that he was not deeply sunk in idolatry, though he had not remained entirely free from it in his father's house; and therefore that his call is not to be regarded as a reward for his righteousness before God, but as an act of free unmerited grace.

Jos 24:3-4

After his call, God conducted Abraham through all the land of Canaan (see Gen 12), protecting and shielding him, and multiplied his seed, giving him Isaac, and giving to Isaac Jacob and Esau, the ancestors of two nations. To the latter He gave the mountains of Seir for a possession (Gen 36:6.), that Jacob might receive Canaan for his descendants as a sole possession. But instead of mentioning this, Joshua took for granted that his hearers were well acquainted with the history of the patriarchs, and satisfied himself with mentioning the migration of Jacob and his sons to Egypt, that he might pass at once to the second great practical proof of the mercy of God in the guidance of Israel, the miraculous deliverance of Israel out of the bondage and oppression of Egypt.

Jos 24:5-7

Of this also he merely mentions the leading points, viz., first of all, the sending of Moses and Aaron (Exo 3:10., Jos 4:14.), and then the plagues inflicted upon Egypt. "I smote Egypt," i.e., both land and people. נגף is used in Exo 8:2 and Exo 12:23, Exo 12:27, in connection with the plague of frogs and the slaying of the first-born in Egypt. The words which follow, "according to that which I did among them, and afterward I brought you out," point back to Exo 3:20, and show that the Lord had fulfilled the promise given to Moses at his call. He then refers (Jos 24:6, Jos 24:7) to the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites, as they came out of Egypt, from Pharaoh who pursued them with his army, giving especial prominence to the crying of the Israelites to the Lord in their distress (Exo 14:10), and the relief of that distress by the angel of the Lord (Exo 14:19-20). And lastly, he notices their dwelling in the wilderness "many days," i.e., forty years (Num 14:33).

Jos 24:8-10

The third great act of God for Israel was his giving up the Amorites into the hands of the Israelites, so that they were able to conquer their land (Num 21:21-35), and the frustration of the attack made by Balak king of the Moabites, through the instrumentality of Balaam, when the Lord did not allow him to curse Israel, but compelled him to bless (Num 22-24). Balak "warred against Israel," not with the sword, but with the weapons of the curse, or animo et voluntate ( Vatabl .). "I would not hearken unto Balaam," i.e., would not comply with his wish, but compelled him to submit to my will, and to bless you; " and delivered you out of his (Balak's) hand ,"when he sought to destroy Israel through the medium of Balaam (Num 22:6, Num 22:11).

Jos 24:11-13

The last and greatest benefit which the Lord conferred upon the Israelites, was His leading them by miracles of His omnipotence across the Jordan into Canaan, delivering the Lords (or possessors) of Jericho ,"not "the rulers, i.e., the king and his heroes,"as Knobel maintains (see 2Sa 21:12; 1Sa 23:11-12; and the commentary on Jdg 9:6), "and all the tribes of Canaan into their hand," and sending hornets before them, so that they were able to drive out the Canaanites, particularly the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, though " not with their sword and their bow "(vid., Psa 44:4); i.e., it was not with the weapons at their command that they were able to take the lands of these two kings. On the sending of hornets, as a figure used to represent peculiarly effective terrors, see at Exo 23:28; Deu 7:20. In this way the Lord gave the land to the Israelites, with its towns and its rich productions (vineyards and olive trees), without any trouble on their part of wearisome cultivation or planting, as Moses himself had promised them (Deu 6:10-11).

Jos 24:14-15

These overwhelming manifestations of grace on the part of the Lord laid Israel under obligations to serve the Lord with gratitude and sincerity. " Now therefore fear the Lord ( יראוּ for יראוּ , pointed like a verb ה ל , as in 1Sa 12:24; Psa 34:10), and serve Him in sincerity and in truth ,"i.e., without hypocrisy, or the show of piety, in simplicity and truth of heart (vid., Jdg 9:16, Jdg 9:19). " Put away the gods ( Elohim = the strange gods in Jos 24:23) which your fathers served on the other side of the Euphrates and in Egypt ."This appeal does not presuppose any gross idolatry on the part of the existing generation, which would have been at variance with the rest of the book, in which Israel is represented as only serving Jehovah during the lifetime of Joshua. If the people had been in possession of idols, they would have given them up to Joshua to be destroyed, as they promised to comply with his demand (Jos 24:16.). But even if the Israelites were not addicted to gross idolatry in the worship of idols, they were not altogether free from idolatry either in Egypt or in the desert. As their fathers were possessed of teraphim in Mesopotamia (see at Jos 24:2), so the Israelites had not kept themselves entirely free from heathen and idolatrous ways, more especially the demon-worship of Egypt (comp. Lev 17:7 with Eze 20:7., Jos 23:3, Jos 23:8, and Amo 5:26); and even in the time of Joshua their worship of Jehovah may have been corrupted by idolatrous elements. This admixture of the pure and genuine worship of Jehovah with idolatrous or heathen elements, which is condemned in Lev 17:7 as the worship of Seirim , and by Ezekiel ( l. c. ) as the idolatrous worship of the people in Egypt, had its roots in the corruption of the natural heart, through which it is at all times led to make to itself idols of mammon, worldly lusts, and other impure thoughts and desires, to which it cleaves, without being able to tear itself entirely away from them. This more refined idolatry might degenerate in the case of many persons into the grosser worship of idols, so that Joshua had ample ground for admonishing the people to put away the strange gods, and serve the Lord.

Jos 24:15

But as the true worship of the living God must have its roots in the heart, and spring from the heart, and therefore cannot be forced by prohibitions and commands, Joshua concluded by calling upon the representatives of the nation, in case they were not inclined ("if it seem evil unto you") to serve Jehovah, to choose now this day the gods whom they would serve, whether the gods of their fathers in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land they were now dwelling, though he and his house would serve the Lord. There is no necessity to adduce any special proofs that this appeal was not intended to release them from the obligation to serve Jehovah, but rather contained the strongest admonition to remain faithful to the Lord.

Jos 24:16-18

The people responded to this appeal by declaring, with an expression of horror at idolatry, their hearty resolution to serve the Lord, who was their God, and had shown them such great mercies. The words, "that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage," call to mind the words appended to the first commandment (Exo 20:2; Deu 5:6), which they hereby promise to observe. With the clause which follows, "who did those great signs in our sight," etc., they declare their assent to all that Joshua had called to their mind in Jos 24:3-13. "We also"(Jos 24:18), as well as thou and thy house (Jos 24:15).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:19-20

But in order to place most vividly before the minds of the people to what it was that they bound themselves by this declaration, that they might not inconsiderately vow what they would not afterwards observe, Joshua adds, "Ye cannot serve Jehovah," sc., in the state of mind in which ye are at present, or "by your own resolution only, and without the assistance of divine grace, without solid and serious conversion from all idols, and without true repentance and faith"( J. H. Michaelis ). For Jehovah is "a holy God," etc. Elohim , used to denote the Supreme Being (see at Gen 2:4), is construed with the predicate in the plural. On the holiness of God, see the exposition of Exo 19:6. On the expression "a jealous God," see Exo 20:5; and on לפשׁע נשׂא , Exo 23:21. The only other place in which the form קנּוא is used for קנּא is Nah 1:2. " If ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, He will turn (i.e., assume a different attitude towards you) and do you hurt, after He has done you good ,"i.e., He will not spare you, in spite of the blessings which He has conferred upon you. חרע is used to denote the judgments threatened in the law against transgressors.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:21

The people adhered to their resolution. לא , minime , as in Jos 5:14, i.e., we will not serve other gods, but Jehovah.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:22-23

Upon this repeated declaration Joshua says to them, "ye are witnesses against yourselves," i.e., ye will condemn yourselves by this your own testimony if ye should now forsake the Lord, "for ye yourselves have chosen you Jehovah to serve Him;"whereupon they answer עדים , "witnesses are we against ourselves," signifying thereby, "we profess and ratify once more all that we have said"( Rosenmüller ). Joshua then repeated his demand that they should put away the strange gods from within them, and incline their hearts (entirely) to Jehovah the God of Israel. בּקבּכם אשׁר הנּכר אלהי might mean the foreign gods which are in the midst of you, i.e., among you, and imply the existence of idols, and the grosser forms of idolatrous worship in the nation; but בּקרב also signifies "within,"or "in the heart,"in which case the words refer to idols of the heart. That the latter is the sense in which the words are to be understood is evident from the fact, that although the people expressed their willingness to renounce all idolatry, they did not bring any idols to Joshua to be destroyed, as was done in other similar cases, viz., Gen 35:4, and 1Sa 7:4. Even if the people had carried idols about with them in the desert, as the prophet Amos stated to his contemporaries (Amo 5:26; cf. Act 7:43), the grosser forms of idolatry had disappeared from Israel with the dying out of the generation that was condemned at Kadesh. The new generation, which had been received afresh into covenant with the Lord by the circumcision at Gilgal, and had set up this covenant at Ebal, and was now assembled around Joshua, the dying servant of God, to renew the covenant once more, had no idols of wood, stone, or metal, but only the "figments of false gods,"as Calvin calls them, the idols of the heart, which it was to put away, that it might give its heart entirely to the Lord, who is not content with divided affections, but requires the whole heart (Deu 6:5-6).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:24-25

On the repeated and decided declaration of the people, "the Lord our God will we serve, and to His voice will we hearken," Joshua completed the covenant with them that day. This conclusion of a covenant was really a solemn renewal of the covenant made at Sinai, like that which took place under Moses in the steppes of Moab (Deu 29:1). "And set them a statute and right at Shechem," sc., through the renewal of the covenant. These words recall Exo 15:25, where the guidance of Israel to bitter water, and the sweetening of that water by the means which the Lord pointed out to Moses, are described as setting a statute and right for Israel, and then explained by the promise, that if they would hearken to the voice of Jehovah, He would keep them from all the diseases of Egypt. And in accordance with this, by the renewal of the covenant at Shechem, there were set for Israel, a חק , i.e., a statute , which bound the people to a renewed and conscientious maintenance of the covenant, and a משׁפּט , or right , by virtue of which they might expect on this condition the fulfilment of all the covenant mercies of the Lord.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:26-27

All these things ( האלּה הדּברים are not merely the words spoken on both sides, but the whole ceremony of renewing the covenant) Joshua wrote in the law-book of God, i.e., he wrote them in a document which he placed in the law-book of Moses, and then set up a large stone, as a permanent memorial of what had taken place, on the spot where the meeting had been held, "under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah." As בּמקדּשׁ neither means "at the sanctuary,"nor near the sanctuary, nor "in the place where the sanctuary was set up;' the "sanctuary of Jehovah"cannot signify "the ark of the covenant, which had been brought from the tabernacle to Shechem, for the ceremony of renewing the covenant."Still less can we understand it as signifying the tabernacle itself, since this was not removed from place to place for particular sacred ceremonies; nor can it mean an altar, in which an oak could not possibly be said to stand; nor some other illegal sanctuary of Jehovah, since there were none in Israel at that time. The sanctuary of Jehovah under the oak at Shechem was nothing else than the holy place under the oak, where Abraham had formerly built an altar and worshipped the Lord, and where Jacob had purified his house from the strange gods, which he buried under this oak, or rather terebinth tree (Gen 12:6-7; Gen 35:2, Gen 35:4). This is the explanation adopted by Masius , J. D. Michaelis , and Hengstenberg (Diss. ii. p. 12). In Jos 24:27 Joshua explains to the people the meaning of the stone which he had set up. The stone would be a witness against the people if they should deny their God. As a memorial of what had taken place, the stone had heard all the words which the Lord had addressed to Israel, and could bear witness against the people, that they might not deny their God. "Deny your God," viz., in feeling, word, or deed.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:28

Joshua then dismissed the people, each one to his inheritance. He had done all that was in his power to establish the people in fidelity to the Lord.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 24:29-33

Death and Burial of Joshua and Eleazar. - With the renewal of the covenant Joshua had ended his vocation. He did not formally lay down his office, because there was no immediate successor who had been appointed by God. The ordinary rulers of the congregation were enough, when once they were settled in Canaan, viz., the elders as heads and judges of the nation, together with the high priest, who represented the nation in its relation to God, and could obtain for it the revelation of the will of God through the right of the Urim and Thummim. In order therefore to bring the history of Joshua and his times to a close, nothing further remained than to give an account of his death, with a short reference to the fruit of his labours, and to add certain other notices for which no suitable place had hitherto presented itself.

Jos 24:29-30

Soon after these events (vv. 1-28) Joshua died, at the age of 110, like his ancestor Joseph (Gen 50:26), and was buried in his hereditary possessions at Timnath-serah, upon the mountains of Ephraim, to the north of Mount Gaash. Timnath-serah is still in existence see at Jos 19:50). Mount Gaash , however, has not been discovered.

Jos 24:31-33

Joshua's labours had not remained without effect. During his own lifetime, and that of the elders who outlived him, and who had seen all that the Lord did for Israel, all Israel served the Lord. "The elders"are the rulers and leaders of the nation. The account of the burial of Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought with them from Egypt to Canaan (Exo 13:19), is placed after the account of Joshua's death, because it could not have been introduced before without interrupting the connected account of the labours of Joshua; and it would not do to pass it over without notice altogether, not only because the fact of their bringing the bones with them had been mentioned in the book of Exodus, but also because the Israelites thereby fulfilled the promise given by their fathers to Joseph when he died. The burial of Joseph in the piece of field which Jacob had purchased at Shechem (vid., Gen 33:19) had no doubt taken place immediately after the division of the land, when Joseph's descendants received Shechem and the field there for an inheritance. This piece of field, however, they chose for a burial-place for Joseph's bones, not only because Jacob had purchased it, but in all probability chiefly because Jacob had sanctified it for his descendants by building an altar there (Gen 33:20). The death and burial of Eleazar, who stood by Joshua's side in the guidance of the nation, are mentioned last of all (Jos 24:33). When Eleazar died, whether shortly before or shortly after Joshua, cannot be determined. He was buried at Gibeah of Phinehas, the place which was given to him upon the mountains of Ephraim, i.e., as his inheritance. Gibeath Phinehas , i.e., hill of Phinehas, is apparently a proper name, like Gibeah of Saul (1Sa 15:34, etc.). The situation, however, is uncertain. According to Eusebius ( Onom. s. v. Γαβαάς ), it was upon the mountains of Ephraim, in the tribe of Benjamin, and was at that time a place named Gabatha , the name also given to it by Josephus (Ant. v. 1, 29), about twelve Roman miles from Eleutheropolis. This statement is certainly founded upon an error, at least so far as the number twelve is concerned. It is a much more probable supposition, that it is the Levitical town Geba of Benjamin, on the north-east of Ramah (Jos 18:24), and the name Gibeah of Phinehas might be explained on the ground that this place had become the hereditary property of Phinehas, which would be perfectly reconcilable with its selection as one of the priests' cities. As the priests, for example, were not the sole possessors of the towns ceded to them in the possessions of the different tribes, the Israelites might have presented Phinehas with that portion of the city which was not occupied by the priests, and also with the field, as a reward for the services he had rendered to the congregation (Num 25:7.), just as Caleb and Joshua had been specially considered; in which case Phinehas might dwell in his own hereditary possessions in a priests' city. The situation, "upon the mountains of Ephraim,"is not at variance with this view, as these mountains extended, according to Jdg 4:5, etc., far into the territory of Benjamin (see at Jos 11:21). The majority of commentators, down to Knobel , have thought the place intended to be a Gibeah in the tribe of Ephraim, namely the present Jeeb or Jibia , by the Wady Jib, on the north of Guphna, towards Neapolis (Sichem: see Rob. Pal. iii. p. 80), though there is nothing whatever to favour this except the name.

With the death of Eleazar the high priest, the contemporary of Joshua, the times of Joshua came to a close, so that the account of Eleazar's death formed a very fitting termination to the book. In some MSS and editions of the Septuagint, there is an additional clause relating to the high priest Phinehas and the apostasy of the Israelites after Joshua's death; but this is merely taken from Jdg 2:6, Jdg 2:11. and Jos 3:7, Jos 3:12., and arbitrarily appended to the book of Joshua.

Constable: Jos 22:1--24:33

III. JOSHUA'S LAST ACTS AND DEATH chs. 22--24

"Each of the final three chapters describes a single event. At first glance, these events seem to be a random collection of leftovers: a dispute between the tribes about an altar, a farewell address, and another covenant ceremony. However, upon closer examination it becomes apparent that they all focus on a single matter, the proper worship of Israel's God--how to offer it and what will happen if Israel does not do so."¹⁹⁶

Constable: Jos 24:1-28

C. Israel's second renewal of the covenant 24:1-28

"Joshua did not merely settle for a series of public admonitions in order to guide Israel after his death. The twenty-fourth chapter describes a formal covenant renewal enacted at the site of Shechem for the purpose of getting a binding commitment on the part of the people of Israel to the written Word of God."²⁰⁸

The structure of this covenant renewal speech is similar to the typical Hittite suzerainty treaty. It includes a preamble (vv. 1-2a), historical prologue (vv. 2b-13), stipulations for the vassals with the consequences of disobedience (vv. 14-24), and the writing of the agreement (vv. 25-28).

"Joshua 24 completes the book by giving the theological definition of the people of God. Here we suddenly find highly loaded theological language, defining God and the God-man relationship. This makes the chapter one of the most important chapters in the OT for biblical theologians."²⁰⁹

Constable: Jos 24:2-13

2. Historical prologue 24:2-13

Joshua introduced what follows as the words of Yahweh, Israel's God (v. 2).

Then he reviewed God's great acts on behalf of His people going back to the call of Abraham in Mesopotamia.

The "River" (v. 2) is the Euphrates. Abraham's family members were idolaters in Mesopotamia. We can safely assume that Abraham was too. God's call of Abraham was pure grace. There was nothing in Abraham that resulted in God choosing him for special blessing. Joshua probably mentioned Nahor because Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel descended from him. Two of the nations that had come out of Abraham were Israel and Edom (v. 4).

The Exodus was a second great proof of God's grace to Israel (vv. 5-7). The provision of Moses and Aaron as well as the sending of the plagues were special gifts then. Israel's deliverance from Egypt and her preservation in the wilderness were also highlights of God's faithfulness during this period of Israel's history.

God's third great act for Israel was the Israelites' victory over the Amorites east of the Jordan (vv. 8-10). God also frustrated Moab's hostility by turning Balaam's oracles into blessings.

The fourth divine provision was the crossing of the Jordan River and the consequent victory over the Canaanites (vv. 11-13). God routed Israel's enemies for her by using various hornet-like terrors (v. 12; cf. Exod. 23:28; Deut. 7:20).

In this section of verses (vv. 2-13) God said 17 times "I" did such and such for you. The emphasis is clearly on God's great acts for Israel.

Constable: Jos 24:14-24

3. Covenant stipulations 24:14-24

On the basis of God's great acts for them (v. 14) Joshua appealed to the Israelites to commit themselves to Him anew. Though Israel was not guilty of idolatry at this stage in her history as she was later, this sin existed in the nation to some degree (cf. Lev. 17:7).

Joshua's offer to choose the God or gods they would serve (v. 15) was not, of course, an encouragement to consider the idols as an equally acceptable option. It was simply an oratorical device (i.e., polarization) to help the Israelites distinguish their choices and to make the right alternative more obvious. As a true leader Joshua announced his commitment and in so doing encouraged the people to follow his example.

"So we find throughout the entire book of Joshua an emphasis on choice--choice that makes a tremendous difference in history, for individuals, for groups, for future generations."²¹³

The people responded by committing themselves to Yahweh (vv. 16-18). They would join Joshua in serving the Lord. Joshua did not want the people to make a superficial decision, however.

"The great need of most Christians is to learn that in themselves they simply cannot be the people God wants them to be."²¹⁴

Therefore Joshua reminded them of the difficulties involved in following the Lord (vv. 19-20). They would "not be able to serve the Lord" (v. 19) in their own strength simply by determining to do so (cf. Exod. 19:8). They had to remember that their God was holy and jealous (i.e., allowing no rival god in His peoples' affections). He would "not forgive your transgressions or your sins" (v. 19).

"When does God not spare (forgive)? (1) When transgression and sin is wilfully committed, and when (2) forgiveness would, as He foresees, lead to no amendment."²¹⁵

The people confirmed their earlier decision (v. 21), and Joshua reminded them that they were witnesses against themselves in the renewal of this covenant (v. 22). They would condemn themselves by their own testimony if they forsook the Lord.

Joshua then repeated his command to put away all idols, physical and mental, and to turn their hearts to follow Yahweh exclusively (v. 23). Again the Israelites committed themselves to follow the Lord faithfully (v. 24).

Constable: Jos 24:25-28

4. Provisions for the preservation of the covenant 24:25-28

The covenant that Joshua made with the people on this day was not a new one but a renewal of the Mosaic Covenant made for the first time at Mt. Sinai (v. 25). The Israelites renewed this covenant from time to time after God first gave it (cf. 8:30-35). The "statute" Joshua made was the written commitment of the people to obey the law (v. 26). The "ordinance" (right) was the record of the blessings Israel would enjoy as the fruits of her obedience.

The "book of the law of God" (v. 26) was the document in which Joshua wrote the record of this renewal of the covenant. He evidently placed it with the record of the covenant itself. The "large stone" (v. 26) he erected became a permanent memorial of the renewal of the covenant undertaken this day (cf. Gen. 28:18; Deut. 27:2). Joshua set the stone up under the oak that was the same tree as, or one that represented, the oak under which Abraham had built his altar and worshipped Yahweh. Jacob had buried his idols under an oak tree in Shechem, perhaps the same one (Gen. 12:7; 35:2-4). "The sanctuary" (v. 26) was this holy place, not the tabernacle that was then at Shiloh.

The stone had not literally heard all that had taken place that day (v. 27), but it would remain in the same place from then on as a silent witness to the proceedings. Joshua here rhetorically ascribed human characteristics to the stone (i.e., personification) to reinforce the seriousness of the commitment the Israelites had made to Yahweh. He then dismissed the nation (v. 28).

This ceremony was very important to the Israelites because in it the whole nation reaffirmed its commitment to Yahweh as her God and to His covenant as her law. Israel prepared to begin another phase of her national existence without a God-appointed leader such as Moses and Joshua had been. It was important that she remember the faithfulness of her God and rededicate herself to exclusive allegiance to Him. Each tribe was to proceed now to exterminate the Canaanites in its area trusting in Yahweh and obeying His covenant. God would raise up local leaders (judges) as He saw the need for these to provide special leadership in difficult situations. Committed as the Israelites were to their God at this time there was no reason they should fail to possess and experience all that God had promised them in the years ahead.

Constable: Jos 24:29-33

D. The death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar 24:29-33

These final verses record the end of Joshua's life and ministry that terminated an important and successful era in Israel's history. Israel's success continued as long as the elders who had served Israel contemporaneously with Joshua lived (v. 31).

Joshua died shortly after the renewal of the covenant just described (vv. 1-28). He was 110 years old (v. 29), the same age as Joseph when he died (Gen. 50:26). Joshua evidently died about 1366 B.C.²¹⁶ God greatly used Joshua as He had used Joseph in delivering His people. God recorded no moral blemish on the lives of either of these two remarkable men in Scripture.

"Perhaps the outstanding characteristic of the man Joshua was his unqualified courage. . . . The real success of Joshua, however, probably lies in the fact that he was a Spirit-filled man (Num. 27:18; cf. Deut. 34:9)."²¹⁷

"Joshua's epitaph was not written on a marble gravestone. It was written in the lives of the leaders he influenced and the people he led. They served Yahweh. Here is the theological climax to the theme introduced in 22:5 and repeated like a chorus in 23:7, 16; 24:14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24. Ironically, the minister of Moses brought the people to obey Yahweh, while Moses saw only the perpetual murmuring and rebellion of the people (cf. Deut 31:27). Even Moses had to die outside the Land of Promise."²¹⁸

Evidently the writer included the record of the burial of Joseph's bones here (v. 32) because the Book of Joshua is a remarkable testimony to the faithfulness of God. Joseph had counted on God's faithfulness in bringing the Israelites into the land and had asked that when that took place his descendants would lay his bones to rest there. The event may have taken place earlier when Joseph's descendants received Shechem as their inheritance. This burial fulfilled the promise Joseph's heirs had made to him before he died that they would bury him in Canaan (Gen. 50:25). God now rewarded his faith.

Eleazar's death and burial were also significant because, as Israel's high priest and co-leader with Joshua during this period of history, Eleazar was a very important person. As Israel's high priest he was more important than the brief references to his ministry might suggest.

"Three burials--it seems a strange way to end the Book of Joshua! But these three peaceful graves testify to the faithfulness of God, for Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar once lived in a foreign nation where they were the recipients of God's promise to take His people back to Canaan. Now all three were at rest within the borders of the Promised Land. God kept His word to Joshua, Joseph, Eleazar--and to all Israel. And by this we are encouraged to count on the unfailing faithfulness of God."²¹⁹

Thus the times of Joshua came to a close. This period of Israel's history was its greatest so far. The people had followed the Lord more faithfully than their fathers, though not completely faithfully. Consequently they experienced God's blessing more greatly than the previous generation and many generations that followed theirs did.

"After Joshua, the history of Israel goes downhill [until David]. Joshua 24 thus marks the high point of Israel's history, the full realization of her identity as people of God."²²⁰

Guzik: Jos 24:1-33

Joshua 24 - The Covenant Renewed

A. Joshua recounts God's great works on Israel's behalf.

1. (1) Joshua speaks to the nation again, through its leaders.

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

a. This may or may not be part of the same farewell described in Joshua 23. No specific place of gathering is mentioned in Joshua 23, so it could have been part of this same meeting at Shechem.

2. (2-13) Speaking prophetically, Joshua recounts the history of God's faithfulness to Israel.

And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out. Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. So they cried out to the LORD; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you; also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.'"

a. This is prophecy, because Joshua begins by saying Thus says the Lord GOD of Israel. Yet, there is nothing predictive in this opening passage. Prophecy is not necessarily a prediction of the future. It can simply be a uniquely direct and spontaneous word from God.

i. We often want to "over-supernaturalize" the work of God. The gift of prophecy can operate in a powerful, yet natural way.

b. Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River: Before God challenges Israel, He reminds them of His faithfulness. A brief history lesson is given, which declares this.

c. Notice what is missing from God's review of Israel's history: Their failures are strangely forgotten. Later, God said their sin I will remember no more (Jeremiah 31:34). Here, He seems to have "forgotten" Israel's past sin.

i. However, we are told were they all started - as idol worshippers, including Abraham. Jewish legends claim Abraham worshipped the true God from his youth, and have interesting stories about Abraham smashing all the idols in his father's idol shop, but we have no Biblical reason to believe they are true.

B. Choosing to covenant with the LORD.

1. (14) The challenge: serve God exclusively.

Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!

a. Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth: This was not a blind leap of faith. They saw God's works and experienced His blessings, so it made sense for them to exclusively serve a God who had done so much for them.

b. Serve the LORD! Yet, for us, this is the difficult part - staying faithful to God after we have received much blessing from Him; the ease that can come with blessing can be a subtle enemy of serving God in sincerity and truth.

i. "The best test of sincerity is not always the open hostility of foes, for this often braces up the energies of combat, while at the same time it makes the path of duty clear. Still less is it at the hour of triumph over our foes, then there is no temptation to rebel. The real test of our faithfulness to God is in most cases is our power to continue steadfastly in one course of conduct when the excitement of conflict is removed, and the enemies with which we have to contend are the insidious allurements of ease or custom amid the common place duties of life." (Redpath)

2. (15) Choose God or choose your alternative.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

a. Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: Joshua commands them to choose whom you will serve, not if you will serve. We will all serve someone - either the devil (intentionally or not), or the LORD. We really are not left the option of not serving anyone.

b. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD: Joshua, as a wise man, sees the situation sensibly - he makes the intelligent choice to say as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

i. Joshua also understood that he, as the priest of his family, was charged with the responsibility to see that his whole house served the LORD. He had the job of representing his whole house before God.

c. But as for me and my house indicates that Joshua was determined on this course no matter what anyone else thought. His relationship with God was not based on any man, but on the LORD alone, and he would serve God no matter what anyone else did.

d. Inherent in Joshua's declaration is that he would serve the LORD alone. He would not serve the LORD and someone or something else. There was one God in his life, and that God was the LORD.

3. (16-18) The nation gives a great response; they also will serve the LORD.

So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God."

a. For the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt: Significantly, their declaration is based on God's past dealings with them. How could they not serve such a great God?

b. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God: This is essentially the same attitude reflected by Jesus' disciples in John 6:66-69: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. If serving God sometimes seems hard, think of the alternatives.

4. (19-21) Joshua cautions against a lightly made commitment.

But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good." And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD!"

a. You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God: Joshua is not trying to discourage their faith, but trying to discourage a light commitment to following the LORD. They need to be reminded that they are serving God under a covenant that promised they would be cursed for disobedience.

i. Jesus expressed the same kind of warning that following Him took total commitment in Luke 14:25-33. It isn't that Jesus doesn't want followers, but He does not want lightly made and easily broken commitments.

b. No, but we will serve the LORD! This was the response Joshua wanted: a commitment, but made with full understanding of the consequences.

5. (22-28) A covenant renewed.

So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!" "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel." And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!" So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God." So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

a. You are witnesses . . . this stone shall be a witness: Joshua required that the covenant be confirmed by the testimony of two witnesses, the people and the stone. Therefore, this was a binding covenant before God (Deuteronomy 19:15).

b. We should not fall short in our own need to re-establish our own covenant with the LORD. Rededication to God can be a wonderful and powerful thing.

C. The death of Joshua and Eleazar.

1. (29-31) A beautiful epitaph for Joshua.

Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel.

a. Being one hundred and ten years old: Joshua dies at a ripe old age, and is buried in the land of his own inheritance.

b. Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua: This was the greatest legacy of Joshua. His godly influence was effectively communicated to and through the whole nation.

2. (32) The burial of Joseph's bones.

The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

a. The bones of Joseph: This may seem like an inconsequential point, but it fulfills Genesis 50:25. God likes to tie up lose ends. This is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:22 as an example of Joseph's faith.

3. (33) The death and burial of Eleazar.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

a. And Eleazar the son of Aaron died: Eleazar's death meant that another link with the wilderness generation had passed. Now Phinehas was High Priest.

b. As the generations pass, they are each challenged to conquer the land of blessing and promise that God has for them - and we will do it, as they pay close heed to our Joshua, to Jesus Christ.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Jos 24:26

JOSHUA 24:26 —Was the sanctuary originally at Shechem or at Shiloh?

PROBLEM: According to Joshua 24:25-26 (cf. v. 1 ), the sanctuary was at Shechem. But earlier ( 1 Sam. 3:21 ; 4:3 ), it was said to be in Shiloh.

SOLUTION: The term “sanctuary” ( miqdash ) here simply means “holy place” or “sacred spot.” It need not refer to the “tabernacle” ( mishkan ) where the ark of the covenant rested, but simply to a sacred location, such as one consecrated by Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:6-7 ) and Jacob ( Gen. 33:19-20 ; 35:2-3 ). The tabernacle was at Shiloh, as Joshua himself acknowledged earlier in this same book ( Josh. 18:1 ).   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Joshua (Book Introduction)

JOSHUA. The title of this book is derived from the pious and valiant leader whose achievements it relates and who is commonly supposed to have been its author. The objections to this idea are founded chiefly on the clause, "unto this day," which occurs several times (Jos 4:9; Jos 6:25; Jos 8:28). But this, at least in the case of Rahab, is no valid reason for rejecting the idea of his authorship; for assuming what is most probable, that this book was composed toward the close of Joshua's long career, or compiled from written documents left by him, Rahab might have been still alive. A more simple and satisfactory way of accounting for the frequent insertion of the clause, "unto this day," is the opinion that it was a comment introduced by Ezra, when revising the sacred canon; and this difficulty being removed, the direct proofs of the book having been produced by a witness of the transactions related in it, the strong and vivid descriptions of the passing scenes, and the use of the words "we" and "us," (Jos 5:1-6), viewed in connection with the fact, that, after his farewell address to the people, Joshua "wrote these words in the book of the law of God" [Jos 24:26] --all afford strong presumptive proof that the entire book was the work of that eminent individual. Its inspiration and canonical authority are fully established by the repeated testimonies of other Scripture writers (compare Jos 6:26 with 1Ki 16:34; compare Jos 10:13 with Hab 3:11; Jos 3:14 with Act 7:45; Jos 6:17-23 with Heb 11:30; Jos. 2:1-24 with Jam 2:25; Psa 44:2; Psa 68:12-14; Psa 78:54-55). As a narrative of God's faithfulness in giving the Israelites possession of the promised land, this history is most valuable, and bears the same character as a sequel to the Pentateuch, that the Acts of the Apostles do to the Gospels.

JFB: Joshua (Outline)

• THE LORD APPOINTS JOSHUA TO SUCCEED MOSES. (Jos. 1:1-18)
• RAHAB RECEIVES AND CONCEALS THE TWO SPIES. (Jos 2:1-7)
• THE COVENANT BETWEEN HER AND THEM. (Jos 2:8-21)
• JOSHUA COMES TO JORDAN. (Jos 3:1-6)
• THE LORD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos 3:7-8)
• JOSHUA ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE. (Jos 3:9-13)
• THE WATERS OF JORDAN ARE DIVIDED. (Jos 3:14-17)
• TWELVE STONES TAKEN FOR A MEMORIAL OUT OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:1-8)
• TWELVE STONES SET UP IN THE MIDST OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:9)
• THE PEOPLE PASS OVER. (Jos 4:10-13)
• GOD MAGNIFIES JOSHUA. (Jos 4:14-24)
• THE CANAANITES AFRAID. (Jos 5:1)
• CIRCUMCISION IS RENEWED. (Jos 5:2-12)
• AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSHUA. (Jos 5:13-15)
• JERICHO SHUT UP. (Jos 6:1-7)
• THE CITY COMPASSED SIX DAYS. (Jos 6:8-19)
• THE WALLS FALL DOWN. (Jos 6:20-21)
• RAHAB IS SAVED. (Jos 6:22-25)
• THE REBUILDER OF JERICHO CURSED. (Jos 6:26-27)
• ACHAN'S TRESPASS. (Jos 7:1)
• THE ISRAELITES SMITTEN AT AI. (Jos. 7:2-26)
• GOD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos. 8:1-28)
• THE KING HANGED. (Jos 8:29)
• JOSHUA BUILDS AN ALTAR. (Jos 8:30-31)
• THE KINGS COMBINE AGAINST ISRAEL. (Jos. 9:1-27)
• FIVE KINGS WAR AGAINST GIBEON. (Jos 10:1-5)
• JOSHUA RESCUES IT. (Jos 10:6-9)
• GOD FIGHTS AGAINST THEM WITH HAILSTONES. (Jos 10:10-11)
• THE SUN AND MOON STAND STILL AT THE WORD OF JOSHUA. (Jos 10:12-15)
• DIVERS KINGS OVERCOME AT THE WATERS OF MEROM. (Jos 11:1-9)
• THE TWO KINGS WHOSE COUNTRIES MOSES TOOK AND DISPOSED OF. (Jos 12:1-6)
• THE ONE AND THIRTY KINGS ON THE WEST SIDE OF JORDAN, WHICH JOSHUA SMOTE. (Jos. 12:7-24)
• BOUNDS OF THE LAND NOT YET CONQUERED. (Jos. 13:1-33)
• THE NINE TRIBES AND A HALF TO HAVE THEIR INHERITANCE BY LOT. (Jos 14:1-5)
• CALEB BY PRIVILEGE REQUESTS AND OBTAINS HEBRON. (Jos 14:6-15)
• BORDERS OF THE LOT OF JUDAH. (Jos 15:1-12)
• CALEB'S PORTION AND CONQUEST. (Jos 15:13-15)
• OTHNIEL, FOR HIS VALOR, HAS ACHSAH TO WIFE. (Jos 15:16-20)
• THE GENERAL BORDERS OF THE SONS OF JOSEPH. (Jos 16:1-4)
• THE BORDERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF EPHRAIM. (Jos 16:5-9)
• LOT OF MANASSEH. (Jos 17:1-6)
• THIS COAST. (Jos 17:7-11)
• CANAANITES NOT DRIVEN OUT. (Jos 17:12-13)
• THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH ASK FOR ANOTHER LOT. (Jos 17:14-18)
• THE TABERNACLE SET UP AT SHILOH. (Jos 18:1)
• THE REMAINDER OF THE LAND DESCRIBED. (Jos 18:2-9)
• DIVIDED BY LOT. (Jos 18:10)
• THE LOT OF SIMEON. (Jos 19:1-9)
• OF ZEBULUN. (Jos 19:10-16)
• OF ISSACHAR. (Jos 19:17-23)
• OF ASHER. (Jos 19:24-31)
• OF NAPHTALI. (Jos 19:32-39)
• OF DAN. (Jos 19:40-48)
• THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GIVE AN INHERITANCE TO JOSHUA. (Jos 19:49-51)
• THE LORD COMMANDS THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:1-6)
• THE ISRAELITES APPOINT BY NAME THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:7-9)
• EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN BY LOT OUT OF THE OTHER TRIBES UNTO THE LEVITES. (Jos 21:1-8)
• GOD GAVE THEM REST. (Jos 21:43-45)
• JOSHUA DISMISSES THE TWO TRIBES AND A HALF, WITH A BLESSING. (Jos 22:1-9)
• THEY BUILD THE ALTAR OF TESTIMONY ON THEIR JOURNEY. (Jos 22:10)
• THE DEPUTIES SATISFIED. (Jos 22:30-34)
• JOSHUA'S EXHORTATION BEFORE HIS DEATH. (Jos 23:1-2)
• BY FORMER BENEFITS. (Jos 23:3)
• BY PROMISES. (Jos 23:5-11)
• BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)
• JOSHUA ASSEMBLING THE TRIBES. (Jos 24:1)
• RELATES GOD'S BENEFITS. (Jos 24:2-13)
• HIS AGE AND DEATH. (Jos 24:29-30)

TSK: Joshua (Book Introduction)

The Book of Joshua is one of the most important documents in the Old Testament. The rapid conquest of the Promised Land, and the actual settlement of the Israelites in it, afford a striking accomplishment of the Divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs; and at the same time bear the most unequivocal and ample testimony to the authenticity of this sacred book. Several of the transactions related in it are confirmed in a very extraordinary manner, by the traditions current among heathen nations, and preserved by ancient profane historians of undoubted character. Thus there are monuments still in existence, which prove that the Carthaginians were a colony of Syrians who escaped from Joshua; as also that the inhabitants of Leptis, in Africa, came originally from the Sidonians, who abandoned their country on account of the calamities with which it was overwhelmed. Procopius relates that the Phoenicians fled before the Hebrews into Africa, and spread themselves abroad as far as the pillars of Hercules; and adds, " In Numidia, where now stands the city Tigisis (Tangiers), they have erected two columns, on which, in Phoenician characters, is the following inscription: " We are the Phoenicians who fled from the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son of Naue" (Nun).

TSK: Joshua 24 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Jos 24:1, Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem; Jos 24:2, A brief history of God’s benefits, from Terah; Jos 24:14, He renews the covenant between them and God; Jos 24:26, A stone the witness of the covenant; Jos 24:29, Joshua’s age, death, and burial; Jos 24:32, Joseph’s bones are buried; Jos 24:33, Eleazar dies.

Poole: Joshua (Book Introduction)

BOOK OF JOSHUA

THE ARGUMENT

IT is not material to know who was the penman of this book, whether Joshua, as seems most probable from Jos 24:26 , or some other holy prophet. It is sufficient that this book was a part of the Holy Scriptures, or oracles of God, committed to and carefully kept by the Jews, and by them faithfully delivered to us, as appears by the concurring testimony of Christ and his apostles, who owned and approved of the same Holy Scriptures which the church of the Jews did. But this is certain, that divers passages in this book were put into it after Joshua’ s death, as Jos 10:13 , compared with 2Sa 1:18 Jos 19:47 , compared with Jud 18:1 ; and Jos 24:29,30 . And such like insertions have been observed in the five books of Moses.

Poole: Joshua 24 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 24

Joshua assemble all the tribes at Shechem, Jos 24:1 . A brief history of God’ s benefits from Terah: he exhorts them faithfully to serve the true God, Jos 24:2-13 . Reneweth a covenant between them and God; promising for himself and his house; the people four several times promising for themselves, Jos 24:11-25 . He writes this in the book of the law, and sets up a stone for a witness, Jos 24:26-28 . His age, death, and burial, Jos 24:29-31 . The burying of Joseph’ s bones, Jos 24:32 . The death and burial of Eleazar, Jos 24:33 .

MHCC: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Here is the history of Israel's passing into the land of Canaan, conquering and dividing it, under the command of Joshua, and their history until his death. The power and truth of God in fulfilling his promises to Israel, and in executing his justly threatened vengeance on the Canaanites, are wonderfully displayed. This should teach us to regard the tremendous curses denounced in the word of God against impenitent sinners, and to seek refuge in Christ Jesus.

MHCC: Joshua 24 (Chapter Introduction)

(Jos 24:1-14) God's benefits to their fathers.

(Jos 24:15-28) Joshua renews the covenant between the people and God.

(Jos 24:29-33) Joshua's death, Joseph's bones buried, The state of Israel.

Matthew Henry: Joshua (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Joshua

I. We have now before us the history of the Jewish nation in this book and those that follow it to the end of the book of Esther. These books, to he end of the books of the Kings, the Jewish writers call the first book of the prophets, to bring them within the distribution of the books of the Old Testament, into the Law, the Prophets, and the Chetubim, or Hagiographa, Luk 24:44. The rest they make part of the Hagiographa. For, though history is their subject, it is justly supposed that prophets were their penmen. To those books that are purely and properly prophetical the name of the prophet is prefixed, because the credibility of the prophecies depended much upon the character of the prophets; but these historical books, it is probable, were collections of the authentic records of the nation, which some of the prophets (and the Jewish church was for many ages more or less continually blessed with such) were divinely directed and helped to put together for the service of the church to the end of the world; as their other officers, so their historiographers, had their authority from heaven. - It should seem that though the substance of the several histories was written when the events were fresh in memory, and written under a divine direction, yet, under the same direction, they were put into the form in which we now have them by some other hand, long afterwards, probably all by the same hand, or about the same time. The grounds of the conjecture are, 1. Because former writings are so often referred to, as the Book of Jasher (Jos 10:13, and 2Sa 1:18), the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah, and the books of Gad, Nathan, and Iddo. 2. Because the days when the things were done are spoken of sometimes as days long since passed; as 1Sa 9:9, He that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer. And, 3. Because we so often read of things remaining unto this day; as stones (Jos 4:9; Jos 7:26; Jos 8:29; Jos 10:27; 1Sa 6:18), names of places (Jos 5:9; Jos 7:26; Jdg 1:26; Jdg 15:19; Jdg 18:12; 2Ki 14:7), rights and possessions (Jdg 1:21; 1Sa 27:6), customs and usages (1Sa 5:5; 2Ki 17:41), which clauses have been since added to the history by the inspired collectors for the confirmation and illustration of it to those of their own age. And, if one may offer a mere conjecture, it is not unlikely that the historical books, to the end of the Kings, were put together by Jeremiah the prophet, a little before the captivity; for it is said of Ziklag (1Sa 27:6) that it pertains to the kings of Judah (which style began after Solomon and ended in the captivity) unto this day. And it is still more probable that those which follow were put together by Ezra the scribe, some time after the captivity. However, though we are in the dark concerning their authors, we are in no doubt concerning their authority; they were a part of the oracles of God, which were committed to the Jews, and were so received and referred to by our Saviour and the apostles.

In the five books of Moses we had a very full account of the rise, advance, and constitution, of the Old Testament church, the family out of which it was raised, the promise, that great charter by which it was incorporated, the miracles by which it was built up, and the laws and ordinances by which it was to be governed, from which one would conceive and expectation of its character and state very different from what we find in this history. A nation that had statutes and judgments so righteous, one would think, should have been very holy; and a nation what had promises so rich should have been very happy. But, alas! a great part of the history is a melancholy representation of their sins and miseries; for the law made nothing perfect, but this was to be done by the bringing in of the better hope. And yet, if we compare the history of the Christian church with its constitution, we shall find the same cause for wonder, so many have been its errors and corruptions; for neither does the gospel make any thing perfect in this world, but leaves us still in expectation of a better hope in the future state.

II. We have next before us the book of Joshua, so called, perhaps, not because it was written by him, for that is uncertain. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that Phinehas wrote it. Bishop Patrick is clear that Joshua wrote it himself. However that be, it is written concerning him, and, if any other wrote it, it was collected out of his journals or memoirs. It contains the history of Israel under the command and government of Joshua, how he presided as general of their armies, 1. In their entrance into Canaan, ch. 1-5. 2. In their conquest of Canaan, ch. 6-12. 3. In the distribution of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, ch. 22-24. In all which he was a great example of wisdom, courage, fidelity, and piety, to all that are in places of public trust. But this is not all the use that is to be made of this history. We may see in it, 1. Much of God and his providence - his power in the kingdom of nature, his justice in punishing the Canaanites when the measure of their iniquity was full, his faithfulness to his covenant with the patriarchs, and his kindness to his people Israel, notwithstanding their provocations. We may see him as the Lord of Hosts determining the issues of war, and as the director of the lot, determining the bounds of men's habitations. 2. Much of Christ and his grace. Though Joshua is not expressly mentioned in the New Testament as a type of Christ, yet all agree that he was a very eminent one. He bore our Saviour's name, as did also another type of him, Joshua the high priest, Zec 6:11, Zec 6:12. The Septuagint, giving the name of Joshua a Greek termination, call him all along Iesous Jesus, and so he is called Act 7:45, and Heb 4:8. Justin Martyr, one of the first writers of the Christian church ( Dialog. cum Tryph. p. mihi 300), makes that promise in Exo 23:20, My angel shall bring thee into the place I have prepared, to point at Joshua; and these words, My name is in him, to refer to this, that his names should be the same with that of the Messiah. It signifies, He shall save. Joshua saves God's people from the Canaanites; our Lord Jesus saves them from their sins. Christ, as Joshua, is the captain of our salvation, a leader and commander of the people, to tread Satan under their feet, to put them in possession of the heavenly Canaan, and to give them rest, which (it is said, Heb 4:8) Joshua did not.

Matthew Henry: Joshua 24 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter concludes the life and reign of Joshua, in which we have, I. The great care and pains he took to confirm the people of Israel in the true faith and worship of God, that they might, after his death, persevere therein. In order to this he called another general assembly of the heads of the congregation of Israel (Jos 24:1) and dealt with them. 1. By way of narrative, recounting the great things God had done for them and their fathers (Jos 24:2-13). 2. By way of charge to them, in consideration thereof, to serve God (Jos 24:14). 3. By way of treaty with them, wherein he aims to bring them, (1.) To make religion their deliberate choice; and they did so, with reasons for their choice (Jos 24:15-18). (2.) To make it their determinate choice, and to resolve to adhere to it (Jos 24:19-24). 4. By way of covenant upon that treaty (Jos 24:25-28). II. The conclusion of this history, with, 1. The death and burial of Joshua (Jos 24:29, Jos 24:30) and Eleazar (Jos 24:33), and the mention of the burial of Joseph's bones upon that occasion (Jos 24:32). 2. A general account of the state of Israel at that time (Jos 24:31).

Constable: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The name of this book in Hebrew, Greek, and English comes from the principle character in it rather than from the writer. Joshua may or may not have been the writer of this book.

The title is appropriate because "Joshua" means, "Yahweh saves." Joshua is the Hebrew name that translates into Aramaic as Jesus. What Jesus is to God's people in a larger sense Joshua was to the Israelites in a smaller sense. Joshua brought God's people into the realization of many of God's plans and purposes for them. This book is a record of God's deliverance of the Israelites into what He had promised them.

In the English Bible, Joshua is one of the historical books (Genesis through Esther). In the Hebrew Bible, it is in the second of the three main divisions of the Old Testament, namely, the Prophets. The Law and the Writings are the first and third divisions. Joshua is the first book in the first half of the Prophets, the Former Prophets. The Former Prophets section contains four books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) as does the second division, the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve [minor prophets]). The fact that the Hebrews included mainly historical books such as Joshua in the Prophets section reveals a basic attitude of God's people. They viewed what God revealed here not primarily as a historical record as much as an authoritative record of selected historical events designed to teach important spiritual lessons. We should recognize Joshua, therefore, not simply as a record of history but as a selective history intended to reveal God's will. In the Prophets section of the Old Testament, God revealed Himself through historical events as well as through the oracles of individual prophets.

"The Book of Joshua, like all other books of the Bible, is primarily a book of theology. Through it God has revealed himself and continues to do so."¹

Date and Writer

The Book of Joshua evidently came into being several years after the events recorded in the book took place. A number of statements point to a time of composition beyond the conquest and perhaps beyond the lifetime of Joshua. For example, the phrase "to this day" (4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; 8:28, 29; 9:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10) refers to a time considerably after the events referred to happened. How much later is hard to say. These references point to a time of composition many years later than the actual occurrence of the events recorded.²

However the writer claims to have crossed the Jordan River when Israel entered the land (5:1 [marginal reading], 6). Therefore he must have written the book not too long after the conquest. This conclusion finds support in the general impression the reader receives that an eyewitness of the events recorded wrote the book. An editor may or may not have added the account of Joshua's death (24:29-33) to the book later (cf. Deut. 34:10-12). This depends on whether the writer wrote it before or after Joshua died.

According to Jewish tradition Joshua himself wrote the book.³ Many modern conservative Old Testament scholars believe that he did.⁴ However other good, conservative scholars believe the writer was not Joshua but a contemporary of his, possibly one of the elders of Israel.⁵ Many more scholars are unsure.⁶ I prefer the traditional view that Joshua wrote the book because I find the arguments of those who believe the writer could not have been Joshua unconvincing.

Scope

As I have explained previously, the date of the Exodus was about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).⁷ Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34). Thus Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land about 1406 B.C. The Book of Joshua therefore begins with events in or very close to the year 1406 B.C.

Josephus said the conquest of the land took five years.⁸ However when Caleb received his town of Hebron he said God had promised that he would enter Canaan 45 years earlier (14:10; cf. Num. 14:24). Since God gave that promise 38 years before Israel crossed the Jordan the conquest seems to have taken closer to seven years (ca. 1406-1399 B.C.). The record of this conquest occupies the first half of the Book of Joshua.

When Caleb said these words he was 85 years old (14:10). Joshua appears to have been about the same age as Caleb, perhaps a little younger. Joshua died when he was 110 (24:29). Assuming Joshua was 75 when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the amount of time the Book of Joshua spans may be about 35 years.⁹

The first half of the book (chs. 1-12) covers about seven years. Most of this material, specifically, chapters 1-9, deals with events that probably happened in less than one full year.

Message¹⁰

Joshua reveals that God hates sin because He loves people. (This is the message statement.) Of course He also hates sin because it offends His holiness. However in Joshua I believe the emphasis is on God's concern for the Israelites more than the vindication of His holiness.

The writer of this book portrayed Yahweh as a God of war. This side of God's character has created problems for many people. How could God be loving and yet deal so severely with the Canaanites? In view of Jesus Christ's commands to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44) and be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9) how can we justify God's dealings with the Canaanites that this book records?

The righteous side of God's character is, of course, a consistent emphasis throughout Scripture. In the Pentateuch God dealt severely with all those who oppressed the patriarchs and their descendents (cf. Exod. 15:3). In the historical books we find the same thing. The psalmist referred to Yahweh as "mighty in battle" against the forces opposed to His will (e.g., Ps. 24:8; 45:3). The prophets, especially Jeremiah, warned that God will judge sin. In the Gospels we hear and see the wrath of God manifested in Jesus' words and works against the Pharisees for their sins. In the Book of Revelation, especially chapters 6-19, John pictured the wrath of God being poured out in judgment on the whole world. In Joshua, too, we see God commanding and leading the Israelites in violent mortal conflict with sinners.

The reason God wages war against sin and sinners is that He loves people and wants to save them from destruction by sin and its consequences (cf. Rom. 6:23). If God is not a God of war, then He cannot be a God of love.

We can see God's hatred of sin in His dealings with the Canaanites and in His dealings with the Israelites in Joshua.

In the Pentateuch we discovered many statements and warnings about the Canaanites. Their wickedness was great even in Abraham's day. The Sodomites were Canaanites (Gen. 19), but the measure of their iniquity was not yet full (Gen. 15:16; cf. Lev. 18:24-28). The Ras Shamra Tablets have shed much light on Canaanite religion and culture. Archaeologists discovered these written records in northwest Syria at the site of an ancient city, Ugarit. They date from the fourteenth century B.C., the time of the conquest by Joshua.

The Canaanites wrote them in the Ugaritic language in cuneiform script. These records reveal that Canaanite culture was extremely immoral and inhumane. The Canaanites practiced prostitution of both sexes, many kinds of sexual perversion, and human sacrifice widely. They were religious practices.

As Israel anticipated entering the land occupied by these people it was a case of destroy or be destroyed. In commanding the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites God was performing surgery to remove a cancer from human society. He was not murdering an innocent primitive people as the liberal critics of the Bible used to say. God had been extremely patient with the Canaanite tribes. They had had hundreds of years to repent after the witness of Melchizedek, Abraham, and many other God-fearing people who had lived among them. Because they did not repent, God used Israel as a broom to sweep away their filth and purify the land. He did not drive the Canaanites out simply to make room for Israel. He did so also to remove this cancerous society and its malignant influence. Israel exercised considerable restraint in dealing with the Canaanites compared with the way some other ancient Near Eastern countries dealt with people they defeated. The Assyrians, for example, were very brutal.

God also manifested His hatred of sin in His dealings with the Israelites. We have seen this already in the Pentateuch as God disciplined His chosen people when they sinned. In Joshua, when Israel lusted after the things of Canaan He dealt with her severely. Achan's sin (ch. 7) affected the whole nation. God judged Achan as He did to teach the Israelites a strong lesson concerning how serious sin is. God's dealings with His own people were even more severe than His dealings with the Canaanites.

In short, Joshua reveals that God wages war against sin wherever He finds it. He patiently waits for people to repent, but if they do not judge sin themselves, He will judge it (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Cor. 11:31). God deals more severely with His own people than with others because privilege heightens responsibility.

Not only does Joshua reveal that God wages war against sin, but it also teaches us how He does it.

God uses the forces of nature to wage war against sin. He restrained the waters of a river, shook the walls of a city, sent hail from heaven, and lengthened the hours in a day to accomplish His purposes. God rarely works in as direct ways to judge sin today. This should not lead us to conclude that He never did or never will. He will again shake the heavens and the earth to bring down His wrath on sinners (cf. Rev. 6-19). We have the privilege of living in the day of His grace when God is being patient with sinners (2 Pet. 3:9-10). Nevertheless that day will end, and He will bring judgment on our world as He did on the world of the Canaanites.

God also uses people who are loyal to Him to wage war against sin. The people God used in Joshua were men and women of faith (Heb. 11:30). God's methods are unpredictable and often seem strange to His servants. They frequently appear foolish to us. Therefore God asks that we simply trust and obey Him. Faith in Joshua means refraining from what God forbids (e.g., at Ai) as well as doing all that God directs (e.g., at Jericho). Joshua is one of the clearest illustrations in the Bible that consistent trust in and obedience to the Word of God results in overcoming, victorious, powerful, successful living. Joshua clarifies three characteristics of faith.

1. Faith involves accepting God's standard of holiness. We tend to undervalue the need for personal and corporate holiness in our day because God is not judging sin immediately as He did in Joshua's day. This is the day of His patience. Nevertheless Joshua teaches that without holiness there can be no spiritual power or consistent victory in our experience (cf. 1:8; 24:19-25).

2. Faith also means abandonment to God's will. God has revealed in His Word how His people can experience all He wants them to have. Because God's ways are not the ways we would choose from our finite carnal viewpoint we have trouble trusting God and committing ourselves wholeheartedly to His will. The Israelites succeeded at Jericho as they did because they committed themselves completely to engaging in that battle as God had commanded. They did so even though it must have looked like suicide to obey.

3. Faith also involves achievement in God's might. It is God who wins the victories. Without God His people can do nothing productive (John 15:5). However with Him all things are possible (Matt. 19:26; Phil. 4:13). The Israelites learned this when they failed at Ai. Success does not really come as a result of our action as we obey God. It comes as a result of God's action working through instruments that He finds usable.

In summary, Joshua reveals that God hates sin. He is at war with it because it offends Him but also because it destroys the people He has created to have fellowship with Himself. God uses the forces of nature and people who are loyal to Him to root out sin and bring deliverance to His people. However the people He uses must accept His standard of holiness for themselves. They must abandon themselves to His way of doing things. They must also acknowledge that victories are the result of His might, not their own.

Constable: Joshua (Outline)

Outline

I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12

A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-2

1. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-9

2. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-18

3. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2

B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:12

1. Passage through the Jordan chs. 3-4

2. Circumcision and celebration of the Passover 5:1-12

C. Possession of the land 5:13-12:24

1. The conquest of Jericho 5:13-6:27

2. Defeat at Ai ch. 7

3. Victory at Ai 8:1-29

4. Renewal of the covenant 8:30-35

5. The treaty with the Gibeonites ch. 9

6. Victory over the Amorite alliance at Gibeon 10:1-27

7. Other conquests in southern Canaan 10:28-43

8. Conquests in northern Canaan 11:1-15

9. Summary of Joshua's conquests 11:16-12:24

II. The division of the land chs. 13-21

A. The land yet to be possessed 13:1-7

B. The land east of the Jordan 13:8-33

C. The land west of the Jordan chs. 14-19

1. The rationale for the allotments 14:1-5

2. Caleb's inheritance 14:6-15

3. Judah's inheritance ch. 15

4. Joseph's inheritance chs. 16-17

5. Survey of the remaining land 18:1-10

6. The inheritance of the remaining tribes 18:11-19:51

D. The special cities 20:1-21:42

1. The cities of refuge ch. 20

2. The cities of the Levites 21:1-42

E. The faithfulness of God 21:43-45

III. Joshua's final acts and death chs. 22-24

A. The return of the two and one-half tribes to their inheritances ch. 22

B. Joshua's farewell address to the Israelites ch. 23

1. A reminder of past blessings 23:1-13

2. A warning of possible future cursing 23:14-16

C. Israel's second renewal of the covenant 24:1-28

1. Preamble 24:1

2. Historical prologue 24:2-13

3. Covenant stipulations 24:14-24

4. Provisions for the preservation of the covenant 24:25-28

D. The death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar 24:29-33

Constable: Joshua

Joshua

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

THE BOOK OF JOSUE.

This book is called Josue , because it contains the history of what passed under him, and, according to the common opinion, was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus; for Josue and Jesus, in the Hebrew, are the same name, and have the same signification, viz., A Saviour. And it was not without a mystery, that he who was to bring the people into the land of promise, should have his name changed from Osee (for so he was called before, Numbers xiii. 17,) to Josue , or Jesus , to give us to understand, the Moses, by his law, could only bring the people within sight of the promised inheritance, but that our Saviour, Jesus , was to bring us into it. (Challoner) --- The Hebrews who had been so rebellious under Moses, behaved with remarkable fidelity and respect towards his successor; who, by these means, more forcibly represented the Christian Church, (Du Hamel) which will be ever obedient to her divine head and observe his directions. Josue had been trained up a long time under the hand of Moses, and God had given him the commission to govern his people, in so public a manner, that no one offered to claim that high and arduous office. In effect, the whole conduct of Josue before and after his exaltation, shewed him to be most deserving of command. (Haydock) --- Josue, says the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 1,) was successor of Moses among the prophets , or, according to the Greek, "in prophecies." Many explain this of the obligation incumbent on him, to continue the sacred history (Calmet) and revelations where Moses had left off. The last chapter of this book informs us that he did so. Perhaps some additions, by way of farther explication, have been made by subsequent inspired writers, though most of the passages which are adduced to prove this assertion, seem to be of little force. Respecting the death of Josue, we may make the same observations as on that of Moses. It may have been written by the author of the Book of Judges. Theodoret seems to have thought that the work before us, was compiled out of the public registers, which are quoted chap. x. under the name of the book of the Lord . See Numbers xxi. 14. The Samaritans have a book or chronicle of Josue, which relates in 39 or 47 chapters, many facts of scriptural history, (Haydock) down to the reign of Adrian, intermingled with a variety of fables. It seems to be of modern date. Hottinger undertook to publish it in Latin, but was prevented by death. (Calmet) --- The true history of Josue sets before us the passage of the Jordan, the conquest of Chanaan, and the distribution of the country. After the pious general had performed all that could be expected from him, after he had twice ratified the covenant between God and his people, and exhorted the latter, with his last breath, to observe an inviolable fidelity to the only Lord, he departed this life in peace, in the 110th year of his age, and was buried at Thamnath Sare, which he had built for the place of his abode. (Haydock) --- As the five books of Moses contain the law, intermixed with history, so this first of the historical books exhibits a variety of useful precepts and predictions. The prophetical and sapiential books must be considered in the same light. (Worthington) --- They all tend to promote true wisdom and the salvation of men, provided they be perused in the same spirit with which they were written. (Haydock)

Gill: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA

The Jews distinguish the prophets into former and latter; the first of the former prophets is Joshua, or Sepher Joshua, the book of Joshua, as it is commonly called in the Hebrew copies; the Syriac inscription is,

"the book of Joshua, the son of Nun, the disciple of Moses:''

in the Arabic version it is reckoned a book of the judges, which adds,

"the first among the judges of the children of Israel was Joshua, the son of Nun, the twenty eighth from Adam, who reigned over Israel after the Prophet Moses.''

This book bears the name of Joshua, either because it is concerning him, his actions and exploits in the land of Canaan, or because it was written by him, or both; though some ascribe it to Ezra, and others to Isaiah; but it must have been written before the times of Ahab, as appears from 1Ki 16:34; and even before the times of David, as is clear from Jos 15:63, compared with 2Sa 5:6; for though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Israel, from whence some have concluded, that the writer must have lived after the times of Rehoboam, in whose days the kingdom was divided; yet we find the distinction of Israel and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Asaph, Psa 76:1; It is most likely that this book was written by Joshua himself, as the Jews in their Talmud ^a assert; and, indeed, who more fit for it than himself? and if written or put together by another, it is most probable that it was taken out of his diary, annals, or memoirs; and though there are some things recorded in it, which were done after his death, these might be inserted under a divine direction and influence by Eleazar, or Phinehas, or Samuel, to each of whom some ascribe the writing of this book, just as Joshua is supposed to add some verses concerning Moses at the end of the Pentateuch: however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine inspiration and authenticity of it by us Christians, since some histories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to, in Heb 11:30; and the promise made to Joshua is quoted, and applied to every believer, Heb 13:5; and the Apostle James refers to the case of Rahab, her character and conduct in it, Jam 2:25. The subject matter of this book is Joshua's taking upon him the government of the children of Israel, after the death of Moses, by a divine commission, exhortation, and encouragement given him to engage in war with the Canaanites; his conquests of them, the division of the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, and their settlement in it. It is of great use not only to give us the geography of the land of Canaan, and the history of the church of God, from the death of Moses to the times of the judges; but shows the exact fulfilment of prophecy, and the faithfulness of God to his promises in giving the land of Canaan to Israel, according to those made to their fathers, and the justice of God in punishing the Canaanites for their abominable sins, as had been foretold; and the wonderful care, of God, and his love to the people of Israel in preserving and protecting them, and in settling them in such a good land, notwithstanding all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief, in the wilderness; and may serve to lead us to Christ, whose type Joshua was in the whole affair here related: his name has the signification of the salvation of the Lord in and he is by the Greek writers, and so in the New Testament, called Jesus, a Saviour, Act 7:45, Heb 4:8; and as they agree in their name, so they do in their state, condition, and character; Joshua was a servant of Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became subject to it, both moral and ceremonial; and also in their office, Joshua was the governor of Israel, and the commander of their forces, for which he was well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is King of saints, the Leader and Commander of the people, who has fought their battles for them, being abundantly qualified, having the spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, and of the fear of the Lord, resting on him. Joshua was a type of Christ in various actions of his; in leading the people through the river Jordan, an emblem either of baptism, or of afflictions, or of death itself, in which Christ is with his people, and carries them through; in saving Rahab and her family, so Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners; in receiving the Gibeonites, who submitted to him, as Christ does all that come to him; in his conquest of the several kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all the spiritual enemies of his people, sin, Satan, and the world; in bringing and settling the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, their rest, and dividing it to them by lot, which Moses might not do; so Christ only brings souls into the true rest, into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter; in whom they obtain the inheritance of the heavenly glory by lot, and by whom only they enjoy salvation and eternal life, and not by the works of the law. This book contains an history of Joshua, of his government, his acts and deeds, from the death of Moses to his own; how long that was is not certain; the Jewish chronologers ^b observe, that the time of his principality we find not in the text; though they ^c say he succeeded Moses when he was eighty two years of age, and governed Israel twenty eight years; Eupolemus ^d, an Heathen writer, says thirty years. Christian writers commonly make his reign to be twenty seven years ^e; but an Arabic writer ^f stretches it further to thirty one years; he says, he took the government of the people in the seventy ninth year of his age, and reigned thirty one; but it seems more probable that he was ninety three years of age when Moses died, who lived to be an hundred ten, so that only seventeen years intervened between the death of the one and of the other; seven years Joshua was in subduing the land, and ten years more were taken up in dividing it to the people, and settling them in it, and in the government of them; after which Eleazar might rule ten years more, whose death is mentioned in it; so indeed the book may be reckoned an history of twenty seven years, though Joshua lived only seventeen of them. The Chronicle, to which the Samaritans give the name of the book of Joshua, is a spurious work; an epitome of which Hottinger ^g has compiled, and translated out of the Arabic exemplar into Latin.

Gill: Joshua 24 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 24

This chapter gives us an account of another summons of the tribes of Israel by Joshua, who obeyed it, and presented themselves before the Lord at Shechem, Jos 24:1; when Joshua in the name of the Lord rehearsed to them the many great and good things the Lord had done for them, from the time of their ancestor Abraham to that day, Jos 24:2; and then exhorted them to fear and serve the Lord, and reject idols, Jos 24:14; and put them upon making their choice, whether they would serve the true God, or the gods of the Canaanites; and they choosing the former, he advised them to abide by their choice, Jos 24:15; and made a covenant with them to that purpose, and then dismissed them, Jos 24:25; and the chapter is concluded with an account of the death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar, and of the interment of the bones of Joseph, Jos 24:29.