Joshua 24:1-25

A Reminder of God's Blessings Joshua 24:1-25

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red Sea.
7 And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11 And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

1.

Why go to Shechem to renew the covenant? Joshua 24:1

Shechem was 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. Joshua therefore summoned all the tribes to Shechem, where Abraham received the first promise from God after his migration into Canaan. Jacob settled here on his return from Mesopotamia. It was here that he purified his house from the strange gods, burying all their idols under the oak (Genesis 33:19; Genesis 35:2; Genesis 35:4). Joshua's exhortation to be faithful to the Lord and to purify themselves from all idolatry could not fail to make a deep impression. In the same place the honored patriarch Jacob had done the very same thing. The action meant more in this spot than in any other.

2.

How did Joshua begin his address? Joshua 24:2

Joshua's address contains an expansion of two thoughts. He first of all recalls all the proofs of God's mercy, from the calling of Abraham to that day (Joshua 24:2-13). Then because of these divine acts, he calls upon the people to renounce all idolatry and to serve God, the Lord alone (Joshua 24:14-15). The Lord is described as the God of Israel both at the commencement and also at the close of the whole transaction, This is in perfect accordance with the substance and object of the address, which is occupied throughout with the goodness conferred by God upon the nation of Israel.

3.

What other gods had Israel's forefathers served? Joshua 24:2 b

Nothing definite can be gathered from the expression other gods, with reference to the gods worshiped by Terah and his family. Nothing further is to be found respecting them through the whole of the Old Testament. We learn from Genesis 31:19; Genesis 31:34, that Laban had teraphim, i.e. penates, or household and oracular gods. Some question also whether Abraham was an idolater before his call. This has been answered in different ways, but it 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. Therefore his call is not to be regarded as a reward for his righteousness before God, but as an act of grace.

4.

What is meant by the phrase, the other side of the flood? Joshua 24:2 c

Evidently Joshua is making reference to the land on the other side of the Euphrates River. This was a line of demarcation and formed a natural boundary line between the territory into which Abraham came when he was called out of Ur of Chaldees. As they were dwelling in Canaan in the days of Joshua, it was natural for him to make reference to the land where the forefathers had lived as land which was on the other side of the flood.

5.

What difference was made in the inheritances of Esau and Jacob? Joshua 24:4

Jacob had bought Esau's birthright for a mess of pottage (Genesis 25:29-34). He then deceived Esau and received Isaac's blessing (Genesis 27). In this way, Jacob became heir of the Promised Land; but Joshua reported how God said He gave Mount Seir to Esau. Mount Seir was south of the Promised Land. The territory extended from the Dead Sea to the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra was the most famous city in this territory.

6.

Had any of the people in Joshua's day seen the crossing of the Red Sea? Joshua 24:7

Joshua, himself, was twenty years of age when they left Egypt. He witnessed the miracle at the Red Sea. All of those who were less than sixty years of age when they arrived in Canaan might have witnessed the crossing. At the time they would have been under twenty years of age, but they should have had a vivid remembrance of that great victory. Only those men who were twenty years of age or older when they left Egypt were under the penalty of death which was pronounced upon the Israelites after they listened to the evil report of the ten spies (Numbers 13). Caleb was also spared and would have been another eye-witness to the crossing of the Red Sea. Those who had not seen the event itself would certainly have been thrilled as they heard their elders talk about it. As Joshua recited God's goodness to Israel, it was natural for him to make reference to this outstanding event.

7.

Who were the Amorites? Joshua 24:8

The Amorites who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan were Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan. Both of these strong kings had been beaten in battle as the Israelites fought under the leadership of Moses. Their territory was divided among the three tribes, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. All of Joshua's contemporaries witnessed these great events.

8.

In what way had God refused to hearken to Balaam? Joshua 24:10

Balaam was a prophet who was concerned more about the hire which he would get for his work than for the
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: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

11.

Were there foreign gods among the Israelites? Joshua 24:14

Joshua was certainly deeply concerned when he urged the Israelites to put away the foreign gods which were among them. When Jacob was on his way back from Haran, he brought his family up to Bethel, and there took the images and idols from among them and buried them. This cleansing of Jacob's family was performed at Shechem; and the idols, the earrings, and every other object of false worship were buried under an oak in Shechem (Genesis 35:4). Although we are not told of their going through a ceremony in the days of Joshua, we presume that there were such objects of worship in Israel at that time and that the people disposed of them when they made the covenant to worship the God of Israel.

12.

What was Joshua's decision? Joshua 24:15

Joshua was crystal clear in his determination to serve the Lord. He put it in a very succinct wayas for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He set his own decision and the decision of his family before the rest of the Israelites in the hope that they would follow his good example and make similar decisions. God had been good to Joshua, and Joshua had no intention of turning his back on God.

13.

What was the decision of the people? Joshua 24:16-18

The people replied that they, too, would serve the Lord. They based this decision on the fact that God had brought them and their fathers out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. They remembered the great signs which had been done in their own times. They were grateful for the preservation of their lives in the long journey which they had taken. They were aware of how it was by God's grace they were delivered out of the hands of their enemies. For these reasons, they cried out that they also would serve the Lord.

14.

Why did Joshua say that the people could not serve God? Joshua 24:19

Joshua rebuked the people by saying they were not able to serve God. He declared that God was a holy God. He further referred to Him as a jealous God. He said that He would not overlook their sins and their transgressions of His will. Joshua knew his people; he knew they were stiff-necked and hardhearted. He knew their love of sin; and for this reason, he was anxious to chide them in the hope that they would be challenged to a more wholehearted devotion.