Joshua 24:1-15. The Second Parting Address 1. _And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel_ that they might listen to his last charge, and be bound by his parting words to an everlasting covenant of faithfulness to the God who had done such great things for them. The former charge had been made to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord God of Israel_ The title is significant. It recurs in Joshua 24:23. Joshua recalls to the minds of the people the mercies of God as displayed in five great events: (i) The Call of Abraham; (ii) The Deliverance from Egypt; (iii) The Defeat of the Amorites on the east of the Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I took_ Joshua says nothing more of the life of Abraham than that Jehovah caused him to wander through the Land of Canaan, and finally gave him a son Isaac. _and gave him Isaac_ Which means "_Laughter_" as one "born out of due time," when Hope might have ceased to hope, and all fulfilment of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I gave unto Isaac Jacob_ After he too and Rebekah had been childless upwards of nineteen years. _Jacob_ = _he that holds by the heel_, or _supplanter_(Genesis 25:26). _Esau_ = _hairy, rough_; whose robust frame and rough aspect were the type of a wild and daring nature. _mount Seir_ = "_rough... [ Continue Reading ]
_I sent Moses also and Aaron_ Comp. Exodus 3:10. This is the second proof of the Divine favour, _the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt_. The chief incidents of this great event are succinctly alluded to; (1) the mission of Moses and Aaron; (2) the infliction of the plagues upon Egypt; (3) the destr... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I brought your fathers_ Comp. Exodus 12:37-42; Exodus 12:51. _and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers_ Astonished that they had not made good their flight into Asia, and deeming them entangled in the land and shut in by the wilderness, the Egyptian monarch directed all his forces, his hor... [ Continue Reading ]
_when they cried unto the Lord_ The Israelites were encamped on the western shore of the Red Sea, when suddenly a cry of alarm ran through the vast multitude. Over the ridges of the desert hills were seen the well-known horses, the terrible chariots of the Egyptian host; "Pharaoh pursued after the c... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I brought you_ The _third_proof of God's favour is here indicated; (_a) the victory of the nation over the Amorites_, and (_b) the frustrating of Balaam's purposed curse_. _the land of the Amorites_ For the meaning of this name see above, ch. Joshua 3:10. Tempted by the rich pasture lands east... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then Balak the son of Zippor_ He is also mentioned in Judges 11:25; Micah 6:5; Revelation 2:14. The Israelites were at this time encamped in the plains of Shittim, "the _meadow of the Acacias_." _and warred against Israel_ In conjunction with the Midianites (Numbers 22:1 _ss_). _sent and called Ba... [ Continue Reading ]
_I would not hearken unto Balaam_ See Deuteronomy 23:5. Twice, across the whole length of the Assyrian desert, the messengers of Balak, with the Oriental bribes of divination in their hands, were sent to conjure forth the prophet from his distant home. Three times the altars were built and the victi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And ye went over Jordan_ The fourth proof of the Divine favour: (_a) the Passage of the Jordan_, and (_b) capture of Jericho_; and the fifth (_c) the victory over the Canaanites_. _the men of Jericho_ i. e. the citizens of Jericho. Comp. Judges 9:2-3, "the _men_of Shechem;" Judges 20:5, "the _men_... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I sent the hornet before you_ "Misique ante vos _crabrones_" Vulg.: "And I sent before зou hors fleeзis," Wyclif, or "flies with venemouse tongis." In Exodus 23:28, we find it predicted "And I will send _hornets_before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from... [ Continue Reading ]
_cities which ye built not_ All this happened as Jehovah had promised, Deuteronomy 6:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now therefore fear the Lord_ Comp. Job 28:28, "Behold, _the fear_of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding;" Psalms 2:11, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling;" Proverbs 1:7, "_The fear of the Lord_is the beginning of knowledge." _in sincerity and in tru... [ Continue Reading ]
_choose you this day_ Like Elijah afterwards on Carmel (1 Kings 18:21), the Hebrew leader challenges the people with the utmost freedom to decide once for all that day whom they would serve. He gives them their choice between the old worship of Penates or household gods practised by their fathers, a... [ Continue Reading ]
Reply of the People to Joshua's Address 16. _And the people answered and said_ Struck by the solemn earnestness of the address of their leader, the entire people, with one voice, responded to his call by loud and hearty declarations of their determined faithfulness to their covenant with Jehovah.... [ Continue Reading ]
_for the Lord our God, he it is_ The people ground their promises of fidelity for the future on the dealings of God with them in the past, (i) their deliverance from Egypt; (ii) the great signs wrought in that land; (iii) their preservation in the wilderness; (iv) the expulsion of the Amorites.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye cannot serve the Lord_ Joshua checks their hasty impulsiveness and confident protestation of fidelity, by reminding them of the difficulty involved in serving Jehovah aright; and he specially would have them dwell on (i) His holiness, and (ii) His jealousy. His words remind us of our Lord's warn... [ Continue Reading ]
_then he will turn_ He will turn round; He will alter His attitude towards you. "Convertet se et affliget vos atque subvertet," Vulgate. "The Lord schal turne hym silf, and schal turment зou," Wyclif. Comp. Joshua 23:15; Isaiah 63:10. _after that he hath done you good_ i.e. without any regard to th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nay; but we will_ The people repeat their protestations of fidelity to Jehovah, and vow to serve Him with sincerity.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye are witnesses against yourselves_ Clearly and unmistakeably the people had declared that they had chosen the service of Jehovah. By so doing, in the event of their falling away, they would condemn themselves by their own evidence, and would be obliged to admit that Jehovah had a right to punish... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now therefore put away]_"Now thanne, he said, do зe awey alien goddis fro the middil of зou," Wyclif. He again reverts to their secret practice of idolatry. Comp. Genesis 35:2; 1 Samuel 7:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the people said_ For the third time (comp. Joshua 24:16; Joshua 24:21) the representatives of the nation avow that they will serve Jehovah and hearken only to His voice.... [ Continue Reading ]
Solemn Renewal of the Covenant 25. _So Joshua made a covenant_ "Percussit ergo Josue in die illo fœdus," Vulgate. "Thanne Josue smoot a boond of pees," Wyclif. A covenant had been concluded by God on Sinai with Israel (Exodus 19:20) and solemnly ratified with (_a_) burnt-offerings and peace-offeri... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Joshua wrote_ As Moses at Sinai wrote all the words that Jehovah had spoken in a book, probably a papyrus-roll (Exodus 24:4), so Joshua now inscribed "minutes" of the transactions connected with this renewal of the covenant at Shechem. _in the book of the law of God_ This protocol he placed in... [ Continue Reading ]
_this stone shall be a witness_ So in Genesis 31:48; Genesis 31:52, Laban says to Jacob, "This heap _is a witness_between me and thee this day;" and in Deuteronomy 31:19; Deuteronomy 31:21; Deuteronomy 31:26, Moses says, "Write ye this song for you … that _this song may be a witness_for me against t... [ Continue Reading ]
_let the people depart_ On the breaking up of this august assembly every man returned to the lot of his inheritance in the newly acquired and goodly Land of Promise. For the section to Joshua 24:31 comp. Judges 2:6-10. "Nothing can be conceived more impressive or more sublime than the circumstances... [ Continue Reading ]
Death of Joshua and Eleazar 29. _And it came to pass_ With the close of Joshua's parting address comes the close also of his own life. The historian proceeds to bring the book to a conclusion, and tells us of (i) the death of Joshua; (ii) the conduct of the people after his death; (iii) the burial... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah_ For the probable site of this spot, see above, Joshua 19:50. A photograph brought out by the "Palestine Exploration Committee" gives a representation of the tomb of Joshua. "It is certainly the most striking monument in the coun... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Israel served the Lord_ The remarks here made as to the conduct of the nation after the death of Joshua are quite in keeping with the design of the book. They afford "evidence of the fruit, which resulted from Joshua's faithful activity for the Lord in Israel." "As on the dark sky when some fla... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the bones of Joseph_ For the careful instructions of this patriarch respecting his remains, see Genesis 50:24-25; and for their careful removal from Egypt by Moses, see Exodus 13:19. _brought up out of Egypt_ The body of the patriarch was embalmed, and placed in an Egyptian coffin. The sacred... [ Continue Reading ]
_Eleazar the son of Aaron_ It seems probable that Eleazar had died during the lifetime of Joshua. He was the third son of Aaron, by Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab. After the death of Nadab and Abihu without children (Leviticus 10:1-2; Numbers 3:4), Eleazar was appointed chief over the principal Lev... [ Continue Reading ]