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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 24:1

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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.

Ch. Jos 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 the rulers only and the chiefs, this was addressed to the whole nation. Not that the whole nation was present, but that all the tribes sent representatives to the great and solemn gathering.

to Shechem ] The LXX. here has Shiloh, but all other versions and the MSS. read Shechem. No spot could have been more appropriate:

( a) Here Abraham, “the solitary, childless patriarch, who had listened to the voice that spake at Ur of the Chaldees,” received the first recorded promise of the goodly land (Gen 12:6-7), and here he built his first altar to the Lord;

( b) Here Jacob had settled after his long sojourn in Mesopotamia, and purified his household from the remains of idolatry by burying their Teraphim under an oak (Gen 33:18-20; Gen 35:2; Gen 35:4);

( c) Here the bones of Joseph were laid (Jos 24:32; Act 7:16);

( d) Here, from the heights of Ebal and Gerizim, die blessings and curses of the Law had been solemnly enunciated, and the nation had already bound itself by a covenant to Jehovah (Jos 8:30-35).

and they presented themselves before God ] We saw in Jos 8:31 that the Hebrew Leader raised an altar on Mount Ebal “of whole stones,” where sacrifices were offered before the building of the Tabernacle. Shechem was thus truly a “sanctuary of the Lord” (Jos 24:26), and those now assembled there were gathered “before God;” comp. Job 1:6; Job 2:1, or, as it is in the Hebrew, with the article, “the God,” the only true and living Elohim. “How grand a gathering it was! There stood the victor in a hundred battles, now ‘old and stricken in age;’ for it was already ‘a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies.’ Before him was gathered all Israel, ‘their elders, their heads, their judges, and their officers,’ and he opened that mouth from which such words of might, and trust, and prayer had issued in the days of their troubles, and he spake to them what all felt to be his last counsels and commandments.” Bishop Wilberforce’s Heroes of Hebrew History, p. 132.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Shechem, situated between those mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, which had already been the scene of a solemn rehearsal of the covenant soon after the first entry of the people into the promised land Jos 8:30-35, was a fitting scene for the solemn renewal on the part of the people of that covenant with God which had been on His part so signally and so fully kept. The spot itself suggested the allusions to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, etc., in Joshuas address; and its associations could not but give special force and moving effect to his appeals. This address was not made to the rulers only but to the whole nation, not of course to the tribes assembled in mass, but to their representatives.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Jos 24:1-33

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem.

Joshuas last farewell

I. Gods threefold mercies.

1. Israels enlargement (verses 2-4).

2. Israels exodus (verses 5-7).

3. Israels entrance into Canaan (verses 8-12).

II. Joshuas threefold appeal.

1. He exhorts them to fear and serve this great and this good God.

2. To manifest in yet clearer light that the service of God is a reasonable service, and to show the utter folly of idolatry, Joshua, in the gravest irony, upholds the alternative for the adoption of the people, and mocks the apostasy, the latent germs of which he knew too well ware in the hearts of the great assembly before him.

3. Then, having, both with tender love and with withering scorn, set forth the two alternatives, he declares his own resolute decision in words which should be the motto for every ruler, and for every householder. This is the true order of the growth of piety. First, individual consecration; then follows family control; and then the third stage in the gradation–namely, public influence–will not be lacking.

III. Israels threefold covenant.

IV. A threefold affidavit to Israels covenant.

1. The first is the memory of the transaction in the minds of the people themselves.

2. Joshua himself, moreover, puts the whole matter into writing, even as we have it here before us in this last chapter.

3. But there is another testimony that shall witness against Israel if they apostatise–a great stone, which he places beneath the oak in Shechem, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

V. A threefold seal to gods promises. The Book closes with the mention of three burials. In the peaceful graves of three of Gods saints we seem to see three seals to the truth of Gods Word. These holy men once served Him among strange nations, but now their bones are laid within the borders of the promised land. (G. W. Butler, M. A.)

Joshuas last appeal

It was at Shechem that Joshuas last meeting with the people took place. There was much to recommend that place. It lay a few miles to the north-west of Shiloh, and was not only distinguished as Abrahams first resting-place in the country, and the scene of the earliest of the promises given in it to him; but likewise as the place where, between Mount Ebal and Gerizim, the blessings and curses of the law had been read out soon after Joshua entered the land, and the solemn assent of the people given to them. And whereas it is said (verse 26) that the great stone set up as a witness was by the sanctuary of the Lord, this stone may have been placed at Shiloh after the meeting, because there it would be more fully in the observation of the people as they came up to the annual festivals (1Sa 1:7; 1Sa 1:9).

1. In the record of Joshuas speech contained in the twenty-fourth chapter, he begins by rehearsing the history of the nation. He has an excellent reason for beginning with the revered name of Abraham, because Abraham had been conspicuous for that very grace, loyalty to Jehovah, which he is bent on impressing on them. We mark in this rehearsal the well-known features of the national history, as they were always represented; thy frank recognition of the supernatural, with no indication of myth or legend, with nothing of the mist or glamour in which the legend is commonly enveloped. And, seeing that God hath done all this for them, the inference was that He was entitled to their heartiest loyalty and obedience. Never was a good man more in earnest, or more thoroughly persuaded that all that made for a nations welfare was involved in the course which he pressed upon them.

(1) Jehovah;

(2) the Chaldaean gods worshipped by their ancestors;

(3) the gods of the Egyptians; and

(4) the gods of the Amorites among whom they dwelt.

Make your choice between these, said Joshua, if you are dissatisfied With Jehovah. But could there be any reasonable choice between these gods and Jehovah? It is often useful, when we hesitate as to a course, to set down the various reasons for and against–it may be the reasons of our judgment against the reasons of our feelings; for often this course enables us to see how utterly the one outweighs the other. May it not be useful for us to do as Joshua urged Israel to do?

3. But Joshua is fully prepared to add example to precept. Whatever you do in this matter, my mind is made up, my course is clear–as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah. He was happy in being able to associate his house with himself as sharing his convictions and his purpose. He owed this, in all likelihood, to his own firm and intrepid attitude throughout his life. His house saw how consistently and constantly he recognised the supreme claims of Jehovah. Not less clearly did they see how constantly he experienced the blessedness of his choice.

4. Convinced by his arguments, moved by his eloquence, and carried along by the magnetism of his example, the people respond with enthusiasm. But Joshua knew something of their fickle temper. He may have called to mind the extraordinary enthusiasm of their fathers when the tabernacle was in preparation; the singular readiness with which they had contributed their most valued treasures, and the grievous change they underwent after the return of the spies. Even an enthusiastic burst like this is not to be trusted. He must go deeper; he must try to induce them to think more earnestly of the matter, and not trust to the feeling of the moment.

5. Hence he draws a somewhat dark picture of Jehovahs character, lie dwells on those attributes which are least agreeable to the natural man–His holiness, His jealousy, and His inexorable opposition to sin. Ye cannot serve the Lord, said Joshua; take care how you undertake what is beyond your strength. Perhaps he wished to impress on them the need of Divine strength for so difficult a duty. Certainly he did not change their purpose, but only drew from them a more resolute expression.

7. And now comes the closing and the clinching transaction of this meeting at Shechem. Joshua enters into a formal covenant with the people. When Joshua got the people bound by a transaction of this sort, he seemed to obtain a new guarantee for their fidelity; a new barrier was erected against their lapsing into idolatry. And yet it was but a temporary barrier against a flood which seemed ever to be gathering strength unseen, and preparing for another fierce discharge of its disastrous waters.

8. At the least, this meeting secured for Joshua a peaceful sunset, and enabled him to sing his Nunc dimittis. The evil which he dreaded most was not at work as the current of life ebbed away from him; it was his great privilege to look round him and see his people faithful to their God. It does not appear that Joshua had any very comprehensive or far-reaching aims with reference to the moral training and development of the people. His idea of religion seems to have been a very simple loyalty to Jehovah, in opposition to the perversions of idolatry. For his absolute and supreme loyalty to his Lord he is entitled to our highest reverence, This loyalty is a rare virtue, in the sublime proportions in which it appeared in him. The very rareness, the eccentricity of the character, secures a respectful homage. And yet who can deny that it is the true representation of what every man should be who says, I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth? (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)

Dying charges

The world long remembers Jonathan Edwardss dying charge to his family: Trust in God, and you have nothing to fear; or the English Samuel Johnsons exhortation to his physician, Doctor, believe a dying man: nothing but salvation by Christ can comfort you when you come to lie here; or a departing President, like Jackson, saying, Religion is a great reality: the Bible is true. These and a thousand other instances testify that a thoughtful man going the way of all the earth is pretty certain to have his thoughts fixed on the place to which he is going and the preparation he and those around him may need for that journey. (W. E. Knox, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XXIV

Joshua gathers all the tribes together at Shechem, 1;

and gives them a history of God’s gracious dealings with

Abraham, 2, 3;

Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, 4;

Moses and Aaron, and their fathers in Egypt, 5, 6.

His judgments on the Egyptians, 7.

On the Amorites, 8.

Their deliverance from Balak and Balaam, 9, 10.

Their conquests in the promised land, and their establishment

in the possession of it, 11-13.

Exhorts them to abolish idolatry, and informs them of his and

his family’s resolution to serve Jehovah, 14, 15.

The people solemnly promise to serve the Lord alone, and mention

his merciful dealings towards them, 16-18.

Joshua shows them the holiness of God, and the danger of

apostasy, 19, 20.

The people again promise obedience, 21.

Joshua calls them to witness against themselves, that they had

promised to worship God alone, and exhorts them to put away

the strange gods, 22, 23.

They promise obedience, 24.

Joshua makes a covenant with the people, writes it in a book,

sets up a stone as a memorial of it, and dismisses the people,

25-28.

Joshua’s death, 29,

and burial, 30.

The people continue faithful during that generation, 31.

They bury the bones of Joseph in Shechem, 32.

Eleazar the high priest dies also, 33.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXIV

Verse 1. Joshua gathered all the tribes] This must have been a different assembly from that mentioned in the preceding chapter, though probably held not long after the former.

To Shechem] As it is immediately added that they presented themselves before God, this must mean the tabernacle; but at this time the tabernacle was not at Shechem but at Shiloh. The Septuagint appear to have been struck with this difficulty, and therefore read . Shiloh, both here and in Jos 24:25, though the Aldine and Complutensian editions have , Shechem, in both places. Many suppose that this is the original reading, and that Shechem has crept into the text instead of Shiloh. Perhaps there is more of imaginary than real difficulty in the text. As Joshua was now old and incapable of travelling, he certainly had a right to assemble the representatives of the tribes wherever he found most convenient, and to bring the ark of the covenant to the place of assembling: and this was probably done on this occasion. Shechem is a place famous in the patriarchal history. Here Abraham settled on his first coming into the land of Canaan, Ge 12:6-7; and here the patriarchs were buried, Ac 7:16. And as Shechem lay between Ebal and Gerizim, where Joshua had before made a covenant with the people, Jos 8:30, c., the very circumstance of the place would be undoubtedly friendly to the solemnity of the present occasion. Shuckford supposes that the covenant was made at Shechem, and that the people went to Shiloh to confirm it before the Lord. Mr. Mede thinks the Ephraimites had a proseucha, or temporary oratory or house of prayer, at Shechem, whither the people resorted for Divine worship when they could not get to the tabernacle and that this is what is called before the Lord; but this conjecture seems not at all likely, God having forbidden this kind of worship.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Gathered all the tribes of Israel, to wit, by their representatives, as Jos 23:2. To Shechem; either,

1. To Shiloh, where the ark and tabernacle was; because they are here said to

present themselves before God; and because the stone set up here is said to be set up in or by the sanctuary of the Lord; of both which I shall speak in their proper places. And they say Shiloh is here called Shechem, because it was in the territory of Shechem; but that may be doubted, seeing Shiloh was ten miles distant from Shechem, as St. Jerom affirms. And had he meant Shiloh, why should he not express it in its own and proper name, by which it is called in all other places, rather than by another name no where else given to it? Or rather,

2. To the city of Shechem, a place convenient for the present purpose, not only because it was a Levitical city, and a city of refuge, and a place near to Joshuas city, but especially for the two main ends for which he summoned them thither.

1. For the solemn burial of the bones of Joseph, as is implied here, Jos 24:32, and of the rest of the patriarchs, as is noted Act 7:15,16, for which this place was designed.

2. For the solemn renewing of their covenant with God; which in this place was first made between God and Abraham, Gen 12:6,7, and afterwards was there renewed by the Israelites at their first entrance into the land of Canaan, between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, Jos 8:30, &c., which were very near Shechem, as appears from Jdg 9:6,7; and therefore this place was most proper, both to remind them of their former obligations to God, and to engage them to a further ratification of them.

Before God; either,

1. Before the ark or tabernacle, as that phrase is commonly used; which might be either in Shiloh, where they were fixed; or in Shechem, whither the ark was brought upon this great occasion, as it was sometimes removed upon such occasions, as 1Sa 4:3; 2Sa 15:24. Or,

2. In that public, and venerable, and sacred assembly met together for religious exercises; for in such God is present, Exo 20:24; Psa 82:1; Mat 18:20. Or,

3. As in Gods presence, to hear what Joshua was to speak to them in Gods name, and to receive Gods commands from his mouth. Thus Isaac is said to bless Jacob before the Lord, i.e. in his name and presence, Gen 27:7; and Jephthah is said to utter all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh, i.e. as in Gods presence, calling him in to be witness of them.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. Joshua gathered all the tribes ofIsrael to ShechemAnother and final opportunity of dissuadingthe people against idolatry is here described as taken by the agedleader, whose solicitude on this account arose from his knowledge ofthe extreme readiness of the people to conform to the manners of thesurrounding nations. This address was made to the representatives ofthe people convened at Shechem, and which had already been the sceneof a solemn renewal of the covenant (Jos 8:30;Jos 8:35). The transaction now tobe entered upon being in principle and object the same, it wasdesirable to give it all the solemn impressiveness which might bederived from the memory of the former ceremonial, as well as fromother sacred associations of the place (Gen 12:6;Gen 12:7; Gen 33:18-20;Gen 35:2-4).

they presented themselvesbefore GodIt is generally assumed that the ark of the covenanthad been transferred on this occasion to Shechem; as on extraordinaryemergencies it was for a time removed (Jdg 20:1-18;1Sa 4:3; 2Sa 15:24).But the statement, not necessarily implying this, may be viewed asexpressing only the religious character of the ceremony[HENGSTENBERG].

Jos24:2-13. RELATES GOD’SBENEFITS.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,…. The nine tribes and a half; not all the individuals of them, but the chief among them, their representatives, as afterwards explained, whom he gathered together a second time, being willing, as long as he was among them, to improve his time for their spiritual as well as civil good; to impress their minds with a sense of religion, and to strengthen, enlarge, and enforce the exhortations he had given them to serve the Lord; and Abarbinel thinks he gathered them together again because before they returned him no answer, and therefore he determined now to put such questions to them as would oblige them to give one, as they did, and which issued in making a covenant with them; the place where they assembled was Shechem, which some take to be Shiloh, because of what is said Jos 24:25; that being as they say in the fields of Shechem; which is not likely, since Shiloh, as Jerom says u, was ten miles from Neapolis or Shechem. This place was chosen because nearest to Joshua, who was now old and infirm, and unfit to travel; and the rather because it was the place where the Lord first appeared to Abraham, when he brought him into the land of Canaan, and where he made a promise of giving the land to his seed, and where Abraham built an altar to him, Ge 12:6; where also Jacob pitched his tent when he came from Padanaram, bought a parcel of a field, and erected an altar to the Lord, Ge 33:18; and where Joshua also repeated the law to, and renewed the covenant with the children of Israel, quickly after their coming into the land of Canaan, for Ebal and Gerizim were near to Shechem, Jos 8:30;

and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers: [See comments on Jos 23:2];

and they presented themselves before God; Kimchi and Abarbinel are of opinion that the ark was fetched from the tabernacle at Shiloh, and brought hither on this occasion, which was the symbol of the divine Presence; and therefore the place becoming sacred thereby is called the sanctuary of the Lord, and certain it is that here was the book of the law of Moses, Jos 24:26; which was put on the side of the ark,

De 31:26.

u De loc. Heb. fol. 94. I.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

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. 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 ( for , pointed like a verb , 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).

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Joshua’s Farewell Address to Israel.

B. C. 1427.

1 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 drave 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 labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. 14 Now therefore 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.

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, v. 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, Josh. viii. 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 (v. 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 (v. 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. iv. 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, v. 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 (v. 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 (v. 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, v. 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, v. 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, v. 14. Now therefore, in consideration of all this, (1.) “Fear the Lord, the Lord and his goodness, Hos. iii. 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, Ps. li. 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 (v. 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 (v. 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.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Joshua – Chapter 24

Review of History, vs. 1-13

Chapter 24 seems to be a final gathering of the people of Israel to Joshua in his last days in addition to the gathering in chapter 23. Those said to have been called by Joshua are the same groups as in the earlier call, although here is found “all the tribes of Israel,” whereas in the earlier chapter is found “all Israel,” which certainly may mean the same thing. Chapter 24 mentions specifically that Joshua called them to Shechem the chief city of Ephraim, though Shechem is not mentioned in chapter 23.

In the following twelve verses is found the Lord’s review of His dealing with Israel beginning with the call of Abraham, whose father was Terah. Israel’s lineage from Abraham back lived “on the other side of the flood.”

This had no reference whatever to the deluge of Noah’s day, for Terah and Abraham lived nine and ten generations after the flood. The word translated ‘flood” is rendered “river” in other translations, and certainly refers to the Euphrates River, on the other side of which was Mesopotamia and Ur of the Chaldees.

The Lord took Abraham out of a. pagan, idolatrous environment,, his fathers having been worshippers of idols. There is a very old tradition that Terah himself was an idol-maker. The multiplication of Abraham’s seed may be taken to refer to the propagation thereof from his day down to the day on which Joshua spoke.

There is no reference to Abraham’s sons other than Isaac, but there is reference to Esau, the son of Isaac, as well as to Jacob. When the family of Jacob went into Egypt the Lord was already giving Esau a national home in Mount Seir.

As Joshua continued to review Israel’s blessings from the Lord he came to Moses and Aaron and their mission in bringing Israel out of Egypt. Reference is made to the plagues by which the Lord persuaded Pharaoh to allow them to leave. The scene at the Red sea is next mentioned, when Pharaoh reneged on his promise and sought to recapture the Israelites, only to have his army decimated by the waves of the sea which overwhelmed them.

When in their fear Israel cried out to the Lord He protected them, till they could cross the sea to safety, by coming down in the pillar of cloud and fire to stand between Israel and Egypt. Many still living and listening to Joshua’s speech were children and adolescents at that time and were well able to remember this mighty manifestation of the Lord’s miraculous power.

The account next passes on to the long years of wandering in the wilderness, but does not long dwell on that shameful chapter of Israel’s history. At the end of the wilderness wandering they came into the Amorite country east of Jordan There the two mighty kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, opposed Israel. But the Lord gave them other spectacular and conclusive victories over those kings.

Opposition arose from Balak, the king of Moab, who sent for the soothsayer and false prophet, Baalam, to curse Israel. He wished to take from them land which he claimed the Amorites had taken from him, but the Lord turned the words of Balaam into blessing instead. Read of these things in Numbers, chapters 21-25.

Finally, Joshua comes down to the conquest of Canaan. From Jericho the Lord gave the Israelites successive victories, with the exception of Ai, which Joshua does not mention. Here in verse 12 is mentioned the Lord’s use of hornets to drive out the Amorite kings before Israel.

This possibility had been stated by the Lord, through Moses, in Exo 23:28 and Deu 7:20. Though there is no account of this event, it did occur, according to the words of Joshua at this time.

So now the Israelites found themselves in possession of a land of cities, vineyards, and olive yards for which they did not labor. The Lord had given it to them.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

1. And Joshua gathered all the tribes, etc He now, in my opinion, explains more fully what he before related more briefly. For it would not have been suitable to bring out the people twice to a strange place for the same cause. Therefore by the repetition the course of the narrative is continued. And he now states what he had not formerly observed, that they were all standing before the Lord, an expression which designates the more sacred dignity and solemnity of the meeting. I have accordingly introduced the expletive particle Therefore, to indicate that the narrative which had been begun now proceeds. For there cannot be a doubt that Joshua, in a regular and solemn manner, invoked the name of Jehovah, and, as in his presence, addressed the people, so that each might consider for himself that God was presiding over all the things which were done, and that they were not there engaged in a private business, but confirming a sacred and inviolable compact with God himself. We may add, as is shortly afterwards observed, that there was his sanctuary. Hence it is probable that the ark of the covenant was conveyed thither, not with the view of changing its place, but that in so serious an action they might sist themselves before the earthly tribunal of God. (196) For there was no religious obligation forbidding the ark to be moved, and the situation of Sichem was not far distant.

(196) Latin, “ Terrestre Dei tribunal.” French, “ Le siege judicial que Dieu avoit en terre;” “The judicial seat which God had on earth.” — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

THE CONCLUDING DAYS OF JOSHUA

Joshua 23, 24.

THE life of even the great man must draw to a close. We speak of Joshua as a great man, and with good occasion. The mentions made of him in the Pentateuch, namely, Exo 24:13; Exo 32:17; Exo 33:11; Num 11:28 and Chapter 13, are not elaborate references, and, in fact, they appear as almost minor incidents in the history. And yet, from these we learn that he was the companion and minister of Moses; that he was absent from the camp when Aaron permitted its molten-calf idolatry; that he stood with Caleb in a minority report on the promised land, and in each of these instances the glimpse given into his life indicates its soundness, its essential worth.

The man who can be loyal to his superior can be loyal to the Lord. The man who refuses to participate in idol worship is commonly the man who knows the true God; and the man who does not fear before the face of giants, but believes God with him, he can conquer, he is fit to become the captain of the Lords hosts.

It was no amazement, therefore, when Moses fell that Jehovah spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, and placed him in instant command.

In the twenty-two chapters over which we have passed, he has proven the wisdom of that appointment and revealed afresh that God never makes a mistake in the management of men. It would be easy, by reading the chapters of this Book, to misjudge the character of this commander. There are those who charge him with inhumanity and who would have us believe that his whole conduct in war was that of a blood-thirsty slaughterera being that must have been repugnant to any loving and compassionate God. But such judges overlook two essential facts. First, the customs of Joshuas time; and second, the essential character of war itself.

Abraham Lincoln was the leader of anti-slavery sentiment, when thousands and tens of thousands of his own brethren, many of whom were absolutely of blood kin, were slaughtered. And yet, so far from being inhumane, Abraham Lincoln was the tenderest and most compassionate of men. It is told that he turned back from urgent duties of State that were calling him, to pick up two fledglings that had been flung from their nest by a furious wind, and when chided for this loss of time to the affairs of government, he answered, But I could not have slept tonight had I known the little things were out of their nest, chilled and dying. In fact, it was Abraham Lincolns sympathy with the black man that made it possible for him to endure the slaughter of his white brethren. Such are the paradoxes of life; and consequently, superficial are the judgments of men.

Old age often reveals the true traits of character as neither youth or middle life have done; and if one would know this man to the depths and understand and appreciate both his personal motives and his aspirations for Israel, he will discover it in the last chapters of this Book, and in

THE CLOSING COUNSELS OF THIS MAN

Let us attend, then, to the character and importance of these counsels.

And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age.

And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is He that hath fought for you (Jos 23:2-3).

It is a declaration of dependence upon Divine power. The young man is tempted to trust his own strength, but when age reveals life, it is not difficult to see how often the arm of flesh faileth, and how constantly we are saved, sustained and made victorious by Divine intervention. It was this conviction that led Joshua to encourage Israels leaders with the words,

And the Lord your God, He shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you (Jos 23:5).

It was on this basis that he counseled further, Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left (Jos 23:6). Never a commander more clearly comprehended the danger to his people than did Joshua understand the approaching tests of Israels character. He knew that test to be an essential one, and yet, it would take on dual forms: First, to forget what God had spoken; and second, to consort with idol-worshipers.

Does humanity change in any essential? Is not that the two-fold temptation of the present time? Is it not true that ignorance of Gods Word, or indifference to what God has spoken, combines with the worlds temptation to undo the souls of men? And is it not when we forget the Word that we fellowship with the world and lose God? Is, then, the language of Joshua in the least out of date? Does the fact that it is the counsel of an old man detract from its essential wisdom, and is not what men call the swan-song often the summum bonum of intellectual and moral worth? Is it not constantly true that the younger generation despise the counsels of age and suffer in consequence? And is it not a fact that men and women, who are enduring judgment before the day of judgment has come, are merely reaping whereon they themselves have sown; and by having served other gods and bowed themselves to them, they have lost the Divine favor and fallen on experiences of affliction?

THE INTENSITY OF JOSHUAS APPEAL

Joshua, Chapter 24.

With mere counsel the old man was not content. His days were numbered and he knew it, and his people were unstable and he feared it. So he

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.

And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel (Jos 24:1-2).

Therein is a new note. In the previous chapter, Joshua, using his own memory, rehearsed the history in which Divine guidance had been evident, and pled for an appreciation that would influence conduct. In this chapter he is not dealing in his own words, but in the Lords words. He is reminding them of the call of Abraham and of the promises made to him and his seed, and of the Divine fulfilment through his son, Isaac, and his grandchildren, Esau and Jacob; also of the rise of Moses and Aaron, and the redemption out of Egypt, and of the multiplied manifestations of the Divine hand in Israels affairs, in a history brought down to date.

It takes an old man to mark providential movements; it takes an old man to understand the sequence of events. His observation has been sufficient, in time, to link one thing with another and see the Lord in them all.

His knowledge reaches back to the beginnings of things. He makes note of where and when God enters into human affairs. I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood; thats the beginning for Israel, and multiplied his seed; thats the fulfilment of prophecy. I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt; thats the providential care of Israel in her early and Egyptian experience. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; when did redemption ever take place without God? And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; thats a reminder of the early conquest. And at Jericho I delivered them into your hand; and I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

Now, in all of this, Joshua is the spokesman of Jehovah. When he uses the language of the first person here, he is not employing his own speech, but quoting from speech Divine. But the conclusion of it all represents the profound convictions of the old man. Now therefore 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 (Jos 24:14).

Joshua faced them with a fair challenge. 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 (Jos 24:15).

The effect of this grand old mans words can be readily imagined. In fact, it is not even a matter of imagination; it is a matter of certainty, for the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods (Jos 24:16). And, then they admitted the truth of all that Joshua had said, and rehearsed for themselves the same history over which the old man had passed in review.

But even with that, Joshua was not yet content. He wanted to deepen the impression, and so he 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.

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.

And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.

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 (Jos 24:19-22).

Then he put them to the true test,

Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.

And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey.

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it 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.

So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance (Jos 24:23-27).

This is the end; this is the last time that Israel will ever listen to this mighty manthis monarch among his fellowsthis true prophetthis loyal priest. Let us hope that Israel, then living, never forgot this day, and while we shall find them declining from his words, it is doubtful if they could ever divest their memories of the same.

There are some occasions that make an indelible impression upon all that experience them. You cant be called to the fathers bedside and feel his old trembling hand on your head, and listen to his words about God and righteous living, and the result thereof, and never forget it. Nor can you sit in the church and hear the man who has long been your pastor, who has held a high place in your hearts affections, preach his last sermon, and when he lifts his hand to pronounce the benediction, see his knees bend and his stalwart form slump, and mark the excitement of the audience as they stir to his assistance, and have the doctor rise out of the crowd, and, after carefully hunting for his pulse, say, He is dead, and ever forget that discourse. It will live in you. The very manner of its completion will burn the words into your soul as the hot brand burns letters into the flesh of cattle. We are not surprised, therefore, that it is written,

And Israel 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 (Jos 24:31).

The Book of Joshua concludes with the record of the

DEATH OF JOSHUA

Some one says, Who wrote the Book of Joshua? We do not know. If Joshua had written this Book, could he have put on the record with which it concludes? Certainly not! Then do not those facts: First, that we do not know who wrote the Book, and second, that Joshua could not have concluded it had he written the early part, disprove its claim to inspiration? Not at all!

There may be Books in our Bible whose authorship is unknown, but that only casts a reflection against all other authors in the minds of those who prefer to doubt. That is to say, if we admit that Joshua may not have written the Book of Joshua, but that some other inspired penman gave us the last letter of it, that in no wise raises a question as to the authorship of the Pentateuch; that in no wise raises the question as to the authorship of Job, or the Psalms. The simple annals of Joshuas death and burial, as recorded in these last verses, has in it the very similitude of truth,

And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash (Jos 24:29-30),

There is not a thing in this record that raises any question. If it is a faithful and true record, then it can retain its place in the inspired Book, for inspiration is truth.

And the bones of Joseph, which the Children of Israel brought up out of Egypt buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

And Eleasar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim (Jos 24:32-33).

With these plain statements the Book concludes; and what a Book it has been. Practically every feature of human life has been touched upon, and while war has been the chief theme, the building of a nation that should be loyal to God is evidently the Divine objective that runs through it all.

And now, just to refresh the mind, let us return and review.

In Chapter I we have Joshua made successor to Moses.

In Chapter II we have the history of Rahab and the spies.

In Chapter III we have the passages of Jordan. In Chapter IV we have the memorials erected.

In Chapter V we have the ordinance of circumcision renewed.

In Chapter VI we have the Fall of Jericho.

In Chapter VII we have the sin of Achan.

In Chapter VIII we have the conquest of Ai.

In Chapter IX we have the league with the Gibeonites.

In Chapter X we have Israels victory at Gibeon.

In Chapter XI we have the final conquest of Canaan.

In Chapter XII we have the captured kings.

In Chapters XIII to XXII we have the division of the land.

In Chapter XX we have the cities of refuge, and, in Chapters XXIII and XXIV we have the final counsels and the conclusion of Joshuas life.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

JOSHUAS FINAL ADDRESS: HIS DEATH AND BURIAL

CRITICAL NOTES.

Jos. 24:1. To Shechem] This gathering was apparently held a few weeks or months after that named in the previous chapter. There was great appropriateness in the selection of Shechem. Here the covenant was first given to Abram (Gen. 12:6-7); in the immediate neighbourhood Jacob seems to have renewed it (Gen. 33:19-20), and under an oak at Shechem he had put away the strange gods of his family (Gen. 35:2-4), as Joshua now reminded the Israelites (Jos. 24:23); here, also, the covenant had been renewed after the fall of Ai (chap. Jos. 8:30-35). No place could be more fit than Shechem for Joshuas parting words, in which the covenant was once more solemnly established with the people. All the tribes] The assembly named in chap. 23. was one of the elders only; this was a gathering once more to Ebal of all the men of Israel. They presented themselves before God] It is possible, as some have supposed, that the tabernacle and the ark were brought hither from Shiloh on this occasion; but the phrase before God (lit. before Elohim) does not necessarily imply this; nor does even the phrase before the Lord (lit. before Jehovah) always do so (cf., e.g., Jdg. 11:11), though used sometimes with reference to the tabernacle, as in Jos. 18:6. [Speakers Com.]

Jos. 24:2. On the other side of the flood] Nhr, here used with the article, would be better rendered the river, a term specially applied to the Euphrates, which is indicated. Dean Stanley points out that the words so often occurring in Ezra, beyond the river, and on this side the river, though without the article, refer to the Euphrates. They served other gods] It is not said whether or not Abram joined in this idolatry. Some think these elohim of Terah and Nahor to have been the same as the teraphim of Laban named in Gen. 31:19; Gen. 31:34.

Jos. 24:11. The men of Jericho] The phrase ba lay y rcho is noteworthy. It means, apparently, the owners or burghers of Jericho (cf. Jdg. 9:6; 2Sa. 21:12). [Speakers Com.]

Jos. 24:12. And I sent the hornet before you] This is evidently a figurative expression for terror or fear. The meaning seems to be identical with that in Exo. 23:27 : I will send my fear before thee, a similar reference to hornets following in the succeeding verse in that place. The same association of the hornet and the terror of God is found in Deu. 7:20-21.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jos. 24:1-13

REVIEWING THE PAST

This chapter brings before us another representative assemblyat Shechem this time, and not at Shilohin which Joshua renews the covenant between the people and God, as he had done nearly thirty years before in the same place (chap. Jos. 8:30-35). The former address of Joshua seems to have been delivered in the belief that he was soon to leave this world, and was prompted by his ardent desire for the purity of the people, who would, he knew, be sorely tempted away from God by the idolatrous population among them. This address, however, and the assembly at which it was delivered, were appointed by Divine direction, as we see by the phrase before God, in Jos. 24:1, and by the formula, Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, in Jos. 24:2. The former occasion was, so to speak, a private conference of Joshua with Israel. This occasion was an official conference, in which Joshua acted as the Divine legate.[Crosby.]

In the opening paragraph of this chapter we see the following things:

I. Men called to remember their lowly origin. The forefathers of these Israelites were idolaters (Jos. 24:3). Joshua bade them remember that. He bade them remember it by the word of the Lord. The people had been exterminating idolaters. They had entered into the inheritance of idolaters. Yet, but for the grace of God, these Israelites had been idolaters also. Terah was an idolater, and perhaps Abraham also. In effect, Joshua says to these Israelites, as Isaiah seven centuries later said to their children, Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

1. A great people should remember that they were not always great. Somewhere in the distance backward, things were very lowly with every nation, and with every family.

2. A religious people should remember that they were not always religious. A religious nation should remember it collectively. The men of such a nation should remember it individually. Paul drew a dreadful picture of men who could not inherit the kingdom of God, and then said to the Corinthians, And such were some of you.

3. A great or a religious man should be humble in view of his origin. The bar-sinister on the escutcheon should also be taken into the account. Water will not rise beyond the level of its source. In outward things, men may rise far above their origin; but a wise man will say to his spirit, There are possibilities of weakness and sin in my nature as bad as that worst place Lack there in the past; and let my circumstances rise as they may, my pride shall rise no higher than the poor low level of my own or my fathers shame. What has been may be again.

II. Men told to consider Gods more quiet providences.

1. In raising up the chief of their national predecessors. Israel had been blessed by God with men of power (Jos. 24:4-5). Humanly, they were what they were through their leaders. God had given them an ancestor in Abraham to shew the power of obedience and faith. God had given them a plain man of meditative mood, and had shewn in Isaac that even such a mind, if pious, might occupy a conspicuous place in a nations history. God had given to them Jacob, a man of great industry and power to accumulate wealth; and then, as the getting of the wealth had been associated with Jacobs sin, sweeping all of it away, and leaving the man to die a dependant in Egypt, God had shewn that through an ardent religious faith there may come to posterity a nobler legacy than riches could ever bestow. God had given to them Moses, through whom He had founded civil liberty, and also Aaron, through whom He had established spiritual worship. A man can be nothing without a nation; a nation can be nothing without leaders; leaders can be nothing without God to raise them up and to cause them to be strong. In the battles of Homer and Virgil, it is the leaders who are made to do all the effective fighting. That is a true picture of life in one sense, and in another sense it is very untrue. No nation can come to the greatness of many triumphs where the people do not bear the brunt of the battle; but then, no people ever did strive on to continuous victory, to whom God had not given strong leaders to guide and control their energy. The people are the force; true leaders are its right application. In these gifts of leading men to a nation, we see what have been termed Gods more quiet providences. They, also, are a gift of power. Here we see nothing of force as symbolised in the strong wind, the thunder, and the earthquake; but rather of force as seen in the dew, the air, the light, and the still small voices of nature. In some gifts God displays power; in others He prepares power. Such a preparation and treasuring of power is in Gods gift of real men to form the mind of a nation.

2. In choosing or rejecting the families which composed their nation. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau. Yet Jacob alone became the father of Israel, and Esau was portioned off with Mount Seir. If Esaus family had blended with that of Jacob, probably Israel would never have had even the measure of religious life which it eventually possessed. At so early a stage in the national history, the more open and reckless character of Esau, with his lack of reverence for the godly traditions of his fathers, could not but have exercised a bad influence. In matters like these we can see but little; we can see but little more than this, God makes of whom He will the nation and the people whom He would call His own.

III. Men asked to reflect on Gods mighty triumphs.

1. In delivering them from bondage. I have brought your fathers out of Egypt. God loves to deliver men from the toil of bondage; from the shame and pain of bondage; from the social wrongs of bondage.

2. In the overthrow of powerful enemies. The Egyptians, by the miracle at the Red Sea (Jos. 24:6-7). The Amorites, by ordinary warfare and the supernatural imposition of fear (Jos. 24:8; Jos. 24:12). Balak and Balaam, by wonderful and various instruments: now a voice, and then a vision; here an angel, there an ass (Jos. 24:9-10). The tribes of the assembled Canaanites, by the overthrow of the walls of Jericho. God had done great things for the people, whereof Joshua would see them glad. God would have us to sing of His triumphs for us, in order that the joy of the Lord may be our strength for yet more triumphs.

IV. Men bidden to contemplate Gods gracious gifts (Jos. 24:13). They had a land for almost no labour, cities without building, and vineyards and oliveyards which others had planted.

1. No man is so poor but he has some of Gods gifts on which his eye may rest every day.

2. The gifts which a man has in sight are the fruit of many other gifts of God which are no longer visible. Our daily bread is with us, but not the rain and the genial influences of light and heat by which God produced the harvest. Raiment is ours, but a thousand good and too often forgotten things lie unseen behind every garment which we wear. It is so with health, with capital, and with the social possessions in a mans household. There is a crown laid up in heaven, but it is because of the cross on Calvary. There is a good hope of eternal life, and that, too, is through grace which was long poured out, ere such hope entered into the heart by which it is cherished.

OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Jos. 24:1.THE ASSEMBLY AT SHECHEM.

Calvin and a few others have thought that this meeting at Shechem was part of the same gathering as that of which we have a record in the preceding chapter. On this the English editor of Calvin remarks: It may be that the two chapters refer only to one meeting; but certainly the impression produced by a simple perusal of them is, that they refer to two distinct meetings, between which some interval of time must have elapsed. It is only by means of laboured criticism, accompanied with a degree of straining, that some expositors have arrived at a different conclusion. But why should it be deemed necessary to employ criticism for such a purpose? There is surely no antecedent improbability that Joshua, after all the turmoils of war were over, should have more than once come forth from his retirement and called the heads of the people, or even the whole body of them, together, to receive his counsels, when he felt that the time of his departure was at hand. Observe, moreover, that each meeting is ushered in by its own appropriate preamble, and has its own special business. In the one, Joshua speaks in his own name, and delivers his own message; in the other, all the tribes are regularly assembled, and are said to have presented themselves before God, because, although Joshua was still to be the speaker, he was no longer to speak in his own name, but with the authority of a divine messenger, and in the very terms which had been put into his mouth. Accordingly, the first words he utters are, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. The message thus formally and solemnly announced in chap. Jos. 24:2, is continued verbatim and without interruption to the end of Jos. 24:13.

Jos. 24:2-3.THE GOD OF ABRAHAM.

In these verses, which speak of Gods dealings with Abraham, three things may be noticed:

I. The memory of the Lord.

1. The Lord remembers who our fathers were. Terah is spoken of as the father of Abraham and Nachor, and Abraham as the father of Israel. God remembers our early training, with all its faults, and with all its advantages.

2. The Lord remembers where our fathers dwelt. From the other side of the flood. He not only knows what our home was but what our country was.

3. The Lord remembers what our fathers worshipped. They served other gods.

II. The grace of the Lord. I took your father Abraham.

1. This was the choice of one possibly an idolater. However that may have been, God chose the child of an idolater, out of whom to raise up to Himself a separated nation and a peculiar people. God loves to give us examples of what His grace can do with men at their worst.

2. The man so graciously chosen was most patiently led. I led him throughout all the land of Canaan.

III. The goodness of the Lord. And multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. Whom God calls, them He also leads; and whom He thus leads about from place to place, He neither forsakes nor forgets. He bestows upon them precious gifts. When He gathers them home to Himself, He perpetuates their name on earth in their children. God shews Himself interested, not only in good men, but in their children; He thinks of them as the descendants of those who lovingly obeyed His call.

Jos. 24:4-7.THE MYSTERIES OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE

I. God not only provides for His people, but prevents by His goodness those who might hinder them. I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it.

II. God not seldom provides for His people by taking from them all which they possess. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. (Cf. pp. 289, 290.)

III. God who provides for His people loss and captivity, provides for them, also, a way back into liberty. I sent Moses also, and Aaron I plagued Egypt I brought your fathers out of Egypt, etc.

IV. The liberty which God provides for His people may be only the liberty of a wilderness, but, even there, His hand effectually sustains them. Ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. He can look even upon our desolate places, and say, The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose (cf. Isa. 41:17-19).

Jos. 24:3-5.THE GODLY MANS SILENCE ABOUT HIMSELF.

Joshua, speaking hero for God, recounts the names of all his great predecessors, but says nothing whatever of his own. The Lord, speaking through His servant, has somewhat to say of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Moses, and of Aaron, but nothing of Joshua. Gods way is not for any man to extol himself.

Jos. 24:7.MANS POOR PRAYER, AND GODS GREAT ANSWER.

I. Ignorant prayers graciously answered. They cried unto the Lord. From the history in Exodus this prayer was evidently little more than the prayer of fear. It was an outcry in extremity (Exo. 14:10). It was the prayer of people who knew little of God.

II. Protection from danger by miraculous hiding. He put darkness between you and the Egyptians. Gods way of defence is sometimes by openly confronting His peoples enemies, and sometimes by concealing His people. Elijah was bidden to hide by the brook Cherith.

III. Relentless enemies suddenly destroyed. He brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Many plagues and warnings had failed to stay the Egyptians in their determination to oppress the Israelites. The unheeded reproofs of God are as so many milestones on the way to destruction, and the last is generally passed even more heedlessly and quickly than the first. God seldom advertises His last reproof as the last. The end comes suddenly (cf. Pro. 29:1). It is a covering of the offender by inrushing waters.

IV. A barren wilderness yielding abundance. Ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. When God saves a man, His purpose is to bless that man. The man may defeat that purpose by his sins, but blessing was intended nevertheless. God hears prayer in order that men may often pray again. God delivers in order to keep. He whom God would keep will find enough for a long season, even in a wilderness.

Jos. 24:9-10.GODS RULE OVER THE SPIRITS OF MEN.

The turning of Balaams tongue to bless Israel, when he intended to curse them, is often mentioned as an instance of the Divine power put forth in Israels favour, as remarkable as any other, because in it God proved His dominion over the powers of darkness and over the spirits of men.[M. Henry.]

Jos. 24:12.THE HORNETS AND THE AMORITES.

The words, I sent hornets before you, and thou didst drive out (the Canaanites and) the two kings of the Amorites, not by thy sword nor by thy how, point out the Divine promise: I will send hornets before thee, that they may drive out before thee the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites (Exo. 23:28; Deu. 7:20), as now fulfilled, and must be explained in agreement with those passages. Tsirh is the hornet, the largest specimen of wasp. The article denotes a species, namely, the hornets, as a peculiar species of animals. Most of the earlier expositors understood these words in their literal signification; and Bochart, whose extensive reading is well known, has cited from Pliny, Justin, and Aelian, various accounts of the ancients, which tell of whole tribes that were driven from their possessions by frogs, mice, wasps, and other small animals. But the arguments by which Rosenmller still defends the literal interpretation of the verse before us are not convincing. The decision of this point does not depend upon the question whether hornets could become a plague sufficiently fearful to compel a whole population to leave their abodes, nor, on the other hand, upon the absence of any account of the Canaanites having been thus expelled by hornets (for we willingly grant that the Old Testament does not contain a record of every single event), but upon the question whether we are at liberty to refer these words to a particular plague with which God afflicted the Canaanites. This must have been the case if we are to take the words literally; for we cannot possibly suppose, as C. a Lapide does, that God always sent hornets before the Israelites on both sides of the Jordan, which so plagued the Amorites and Canaanites, that the Hebrews, who followed, easily slew them with their swords and defeated them with their arrows. So universal a plague would certainly have been recorded in the history of the conquest of Canaan. But to refer the words to one single plague would be opposed to the context, not only in the passage before us, but also in Exo. 23:28, and Deu. 7:20. In these two passages the hornets are described as the means by which God would drive out before Israel, not only one Canaanitish tribe in particular, but all the Canaanites; for the three tribes, the Hivites, Hittites, and Canaanites, stand for the whole. And, according to the verse before us, not merely the seven tribes of Canaan on this side of the Jordan, but the two kings of the Amorites on the other side, were driven out by hornets. A figurative interpretation is therefore evidently necessary, and the only one which is admissible.[Keil.]

NOT WITH THY SWORD, NOR WITH THY BOW. The sword may be mans, but God nerves the arm which wields it. The bow may be in human hands, but God guides the arrow. God is both the courage of the pursuing conqueror, and the terror of the fleeing foe. Thus, the battle is ever the Lords. (Cf. Psa. 44:3.)

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

A Reminder of Gods Blessings Jos. 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.

Why go to Shechem to renew the covenant? Jos. 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 (Gen. 33:19; Gen. 35:2; Gen. 35:4). Joshuas 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.

How did Joshua begin his address? Jos. 24:2

Joshuas address contains an expansion of two thoughts. He first of all recalls all the proofs of Gods mercy, from the calling of Abraham to that day (Jos. 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 (Jos. 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.

What other gods had Israels forefathers served? Jos. 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 Gen. 31:19; Gen. 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 fathers house. Therefore his call is not to be regarded as a reward for his righteousness before God, but as an act of grace.

What is meant by the phrase, the other side of the flood? Jos. 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.

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

Jacob had bought Esaus birthright for a mess of pottage (Gen. 25:29-34). He then deceived Esau and received Isaacs 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.

Had any of the people in Joshuas day seen the crossing of the Red Sea? Jos. 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 Gods goodness to Israel, it was natural for him to make reference to this outstanding event.

Who were the Amorites? Jos. 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 Joshuas contemporaries witnessed these great events.

In what way had God refused to hearken to Balaam? Jos. 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? Jos. 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 Jacobs family was performed at Shechem; and the idols, the earrings, and every other object of false worship were buried under an oak in Shechem (Gen. 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 Joshuas decision? Jos. 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? Jos. 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 Gods 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? Jos. 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.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

XXIV.

(b) JOSHUAS LAST CHARGE TO THE PEOPLE.

(1, 2) Joshua gathered all the tribes . . .At the former address the rulers alone appear to have been present; on this occasion all Israel was gathered. And what is spoken is addressed to the people in the hearing of the rulers. In the speech that now follows Joshua briefly recapitulates the national history; he had not thought this necessary for the rulers. To them he had said, Ye know; but the people embraced many persons of but little thought and education, whom it was necessary to inform and remind and instruct, even as to the leading events of their national history. The simple lesson which Joshuas words are intended to enforce is the duty of serving Jehovah, and serving Him alone. It is the first great lesson of the old covenant. I am Jehovah, thy God; thou shalt have no other gods beside Me. The ark of this covenant had brought them over Jordan into the promised land.

(2) Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood.The flood, i.e., the riverprobably Euphrates, though it may be Jordan, or both. Flood in our English Bible has been used for river in several places: e.g., Job. 22:16, whose foundation was overflown with a flood, i.e., a river; Psa. 66:6, He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood (the river, i.e., Jordan) on foot; Mat. 7:25; Mat. 7:27, The rain descended, and the floods (i.e., the rivers) came.

They served other gods.They, i.e., Terah, Abraham, and Nachor.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

JOSHUA’S FAREWELL ADDRESS AT SHECHEM, Jos 24:1-24.

1. All the tribes By their representatives. See Jos 23:2, note. We have no means of determining the date of this transaction. Some suppose that a considerable period had elapsed after the speech recorded in the last chapter, when Joshua, seeing his life was unexpectedly prolonged, resolved on another farewell to his people of a more solemn and formal character. Others hold that there was but one assembly and but one address, begun, perhaps, at Shiloh, and concluded at Shechem, to which place the assembly adjourned for the renewal of the covenant. The Septuagint version has the assembly at Shiloh; but there are good reasons for regarding the Hebrew as the correct version. At Shechem Abraham built his first altar in Canaan. Gen 12:7. Here Jacob had “sanctified” his family, and exhorted them to “put away the strange gods,” (Gen 35:2-4😉 and Joshua, following the command of Moses, had visited the same sanctuary to inscribe the law on a stone monument, and to exact an oath of allegiance to Jehovah with the impressive sanctions of the blessings and the curses. Jos 8:30-35.

[ Presented themselves before God As the expression before God, or before Jehovah, frequently means before the Ark of the Covenant, many expositors have supposed that the Ark was brought from Shiloh to Shechem at this time. But Hengstenberg and Keil have abundantly shown that the words do not always imply the presence of the Ark. “If before Jehovah could only refer to the ceremonies at the sanctuary, Jehovah would be present only there, shut up in his holy place; an absurd idea, destructive of the divine omnipresence, and one which can never be found in the Holy Scriptures.” Hengstenberg. Rather does the expression mean that the assembly met as in the presence of God, whose holy name Joshua doubtless invoked. All present realized that the eye of Jehovah was upon them.]

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Chapter 24 The Great Covenant Ceremony.

The book closes with an account of a great covenant ceremony at Shechem. The chapter begins with an account of the gathering of the tribes by Joshua. There Joshua again addresses the people, rehearses to them the many great and good things YHWH has done for them, from the time of their ancestor Abraham to that day, and then exhorts them to fear and serve YHWH, and reject idols. Then he lays before them the stark choice as to whether they will serve the true God, or the gods of the Canaanites. When they choose the former, he advises them to abide by their choice, and finalises a covenant with them to that purpose. Then he sends them away and the chapter concludes with an account of the death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar, and of the interment of the bones of Joseph.

Jos 24:1

‘ 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.’

Shechem was the place where Joshua had previously written the words of the covenant on stones (Jos 8:32) and had built an altar in accordance with Exo 20:24-25, establishing a sanctuary there in response to God’s revelation through Moses (Deu 27:5), in a great covenant ceremony. It was also the place where Moses had declared that such a covenant ceremony should take place on entering the land (Deu 27:2-8). It was therefore logical that for this great covenant renewal Joshua should once again gather the people at Shechem on Mount Ebal where they could again see those stones that bore witness to the words of the covenant and were a reminder of their first successful entry into the land. Shechem lay in the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.

As he grew even more certain of approaching death he felt the need to remind his people of that first great and significant event, and to renew what had been done there so that they would remember it once he was gone. So he called the people together once more and then summoned the leaders of the people, but this time it was not only to an address to the nation but to a solemn covenant ceremony. During it he would recount what YHWH had done for his people (Jos 24:2-13). Then he would call on them to make a solemn response as to where their loyalties lay (Jos 24:14-15) which the people immediately did (Jos 24:16-18), after which he would put his challenge the second time (Jos 24:19-20) resulting in a second response, thus confirming the certainty of their promise. Joshua would then vocally accept their response, receiving their third and final confirmation, and write the covenant in a written record, and set up a memorial stone at the sanctuary he had previously established there. Thus was the covenant sealed.

We note that this gathering was not at Shiloh. There Eleazar or Phinehas would have been prominent. But this was a gathering re-enacting the earlier covenant ceremony at Shechem at the beginning (Jos 8:30-35) and it was to the great Servant of YHWH that they all looked. At that ceremony the Shechemites had been incorporated into Israel as worshippers of ‘the Lord of the Covenant’, as partly Habiru, and as being descended in part from the men of Jacob who had settled there to watch over Jacob’s land and had settled the city after its male inhabitants were slaughtered (Genesis 34). (Although Judges 9 reveals that much of their worship was tainted with Canaanite influence and association of ‘the Lord of the Covenant’ with Baal).

“Presented themselves.” The word can mean ‘stationed for a certain purpose’. Compare Exo 2:4; Exo 9:13; Exo 14:13; Exo 19:17; Num 11:16.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jos 24:2 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.

Jos 24:2 “Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time” Word Study on “of the flood” Strong says the Hebrew word “flood” ( ) (H5104) means, “a stream, a river, a flood.” He says it is used figuratively to mean, “prosperity.” He believes the word includes the sea, especially the Nile, Euphrates, etc. The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 120 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as, “ river 98, flood 18, streams 2, Aramnaharaim + 0763 1, river side 1.” The term “flood” that is used in the story of Noah’s flood is the Hebrew word ( ) (H3999), used only 12 times in the Old Testament.

The ASV reads, “beyond the River.” The YLT reads, beyond the River.”

Comments – The phrase “on the other side of the flood in old time” most likely means that in the days of Abraham and Terah, his father, they dwelt on the other side of the Euphrates River. Note:

ASV, “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.”

NAB, “Joshua addressed all the people: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods.”

NIV, “Joshua said to all the people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “ Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.”’“

YLT, “And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Beyond the River have your fathers dwelt of old –Terah father of Abraham and father of Nachor–and they serve other gods;”

Jos 24:2 “and they served other gods” – Comments – We read in The Book of Jubilees that Terah’s place of birth, Ur of the Chaldees, was a very wicked and idolatrous city.

“And ‘Ur, the son of Kesed, built the city of ‘Ara of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father. And they made for themselves molten images, and they worshipped each the idol, the molten image which they had made for themselves, and they began to make graven images and unclean simulacra, and malignant spirits assisted and seduced (them) into committing transgression and uncleanness. And the prince Mastema exerted himself to do all this, and he sent forth other spirits, those which were put under his hand, to do all manner of wrong and sin, and all manner of transgression, to corrupt and destroy, and to shed blood upon the earth.” ( The Book of Jubilees 11.3-6) [29]

[29] The Book of Jubilees, trans. R. H. Charles, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English With Introductions and Critical and Explanatory Notes to the Several Books, vol 2, ed. R. H. Charles, 1-82 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), 29.

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: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Jos 24:15 “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” – Comments – We ourselves must decide to serve God despite what anyone else does to us or even others in the church, despite those who hurt the testimony of Jesus Christ and forsake God for this world.

Jos 24:31 And Israel 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.

Jos 24:31 Comments – Jos 24:31 is found in Jdg 2:7 as almost a word for word repeat.

Jos 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Jos 24:32 Comments – There are other Scriptures that refer to the bones of Joseph (Gen 50:25, Exo 13:19, Jos 24:32, Heb 11:22).

Gen 50:25, “And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.”

Exo 13:19, “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.”

Jos 24:32, “And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.”

Heb 11:22, “By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

A Review of God’s Mercies

v. 1. And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, a gigantic assembly of people in the place which was hallowed by so many memories, ever since the time of Abraham, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, Jos 23:2; and they presented themselves before God, for this last appeal was made in the name of Jehovah.

v. 2. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, as whose representative Joshua was here addressing the people, Your fathers, progenitors, dwelt on the other side of the flood, of the great stream Euphrates, in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor, who lived first in Ur of the Chaldees and then in Haran, Gen 11:28-31; and they, Terah with his family, served other gods, namely, teraphim. Gen 31:19.

v. 3. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, the great river Euphrates, out of these dangerous surroundings, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac, in making true the promise concerning his great progeny.

v. 4. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau, Gen 25:24; and I gave unto Esau Mount Seir to possess it, Gen 36:8; Deu 2:5; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt, Gen 46:1; Gen 46:6. Thus everything was prepared for the second great proof of God’s mercy, the miraculous deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt.

v. 5. I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them, in the matter of the great plagues, Exodus 7-10; and afterward I brought you out, Exodus 12.

v. 6. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, Exo 12:51; and ye came unto the sea, the Red Sea, Exo 14:2; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red Sea, Exo 14:9.

v. 7. And when they cried unto the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, Exo 14:10-20, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them, Exo 14:27; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt, in punishing both the land and the people; and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season, forty years, Jos 5:6. The entire description is a noble, impressive account. The Lord now recalls the third proof of His favor and merciful kindness.

v. 8. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, this one name standing for all the heathen nations, but here designating the two branches of this nation dwelling east of Jordan, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you, the armies of Sihon and of Og, Num 21:21-33; and I gave them into your hand that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

v. 9. Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, he made ready for a campaign against Israel, in case he could get Balaam to curse the invaders, and sent and called Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you, Num 22:5, since he lacked the courage to attack Israel outright;

v. 10. but I would not hearken unto Balaam, Jehovah frustrated the evil intentions of the soothsayer; therefore he blessed you still, in spite of himself; so I delivered you out of his hand. Thus were the plans of Balak overthrown and everything made ready for the fourth proof of God’s favor, the conquest of Canaan proper.

v. 11. And ye went over Jordan, by a miraculous passage, Jos 3:14, and came unto Jericho; and the men of Jericho fought against you, Jos 6:1, and not only they, but also the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, Jos 3:10; and I delivered them into your hand.

v. 12. And I sent the hornet before you, in terrifying the nations of the land, Exo 23:28; Deu 7:20, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, as representatives of the entire heathen host; but not with thy sword nor with thy bow, for it was not Israel’s prowess which had subdued the land.

v. 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 olive-yards which ye planted not do ye eat. Thus Israel, without any merit on its part, through God’s goodness and merciful kindness alone, had received a glorious land, a rich and fertile country, in whose cultivation they were not obliged to labor in the sweat of their brow, but which was given to them in the finest condition, ready to enjoy. We Christians are also obliged to confess, with regard to both the temporal and the spiritual blessings of the Lord, that we are not worthy of the least of all His benefits.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

THE LAST RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT.

Jos 24:1

To Shechem. The LXX. and the Arabic version read Shiloh here, and as the words “they presented themselves (literally, took up their station) before God” follow, this would seem the natural reading. But there is not the slightest MSS. authority for the reading, and it is contrary to all sound principles of criticism to resort to arbitrary emendations of the text. Besides, the LXX. itself reads , in Jos 24:26, and adds, “before the tabernacle of the God of Israel,” words implied, but not expressed in the Hebrew. We are therefore driven to the supposition that this gathering was one yet more solemn than the one described in the previous chapter. The tabernacle was no doubt removed on this great occasion to Shechem. The locality, as Poole reminds us, was well calculated to inspire the Israelites with the deepest feelings. It was the scene of God’s first covenant with Abraham (Gen 12:6, Gen 12:7), and of the formal renewal of the covenant related in Gen 35:2-4 (see note on Gen 35:23, Gen 35:26), and in Jos 8:30-35, when the blessings and the curses were inscribed on Mount Gerizim and Ebal, and the place where Joseph’s bones (Jos 8:32) were laid, possibly at this time, or if not, at the time when the blessings and curses were inscribed. And now, once again, a formal renewal of the covenant was demanded from Israel by their aged chieftain, before his voice should cease to be heard among them any more. Rosenmuller reminds us that Josephus, the Chaldee and Syriac translators, and the Aldine and Complutensian editions of the LXX. itself, have Sichem. Bishop Horsley makes the very reasonable suggestion that Shiloh was not as yet the name of a town, but possibly of the tabernacle itself, or the district in which it had been pitched. And he adds that Mizpeh and Sheehem, not Shiloh, appear to have been the places fixed upon for the gathering of the tribes (see Jdg 10:17; Jdg 11:11; Jdg 20:1 (cf. Jdg 20:27); 1Sa 7:5). See, however, Jdg 21:12, as well as Jos 21:2; Jos 22:12. Some additional probability is given to this view by the fact noticed above, that it is thought necessary to describe the situation of Shiloh in Jdg 21:19, and we may also fail to notice that the words translated “house of God” in Jdg 20:18, Jdg 20:26 in our version, is in reality Bethel, there being no “house of God” properly so called, but only the “tabernacle of the congregation.” The tabernacle in that ease would be moved from place to place within the central district assigned to it, as necessity or convenience dictated. Hengstenberg objects to the idea that the tabernacle was moved to Shechem that it would have led to an idea that God was only present in His Holy Place, to which it is sufficient to reply,

(1) that this does not necessarily follow, and

(2) that such a conception was entertained, though erroneously, by some minds.

The Samaritan woman, for instance, supposed the Jews to believe that in Jerusalem only ought men to worship (Joh 4:20). When Hengstenberg says, however, that the meeting in the last chapter had reference to Israel from a theocratic and religious, and this one from an historical point of view, he is on firmer ground. The former exhortation is ethical, this historical. He goes on to refer to the deeply interesting historical traditions centering round this place, which have been noticed above. The oak in Jdg 20:26, Hengstenberg maintains to be the same tree that is mentioned in Gen 12:6 (where our version has, erroneously, “plain”), and which is referred to both in Gen 35:4 and here as the (i.e, the well known) terebinth in Shechem (see note on Gen 35:26). He has overlooked the fact that the tree in Gen 12:6 is not an but an . He goes on to contend that the terebinth was not merely “by” but “in” the sanctuary of the Lord, which he supposes to be another sanctuary beside the tabernacle, perhaps the sacred enclosure round Abraham’s altar. But he is wrong, as has been shown below, (verse 26), when he says that never signifies near (see Jos 5:1-15 :25). The question is one of much difficulty, and cannot be satisfactorily settled. But we may dismiss without fear, in the light of the narative in Gen 22:1-24; Knobel’s suggestion that an altar was erected here on this occasion. If there were any altar, it must have been the altar in the tabernacle. Other gods. That the family of Nahor were not exactly worshippers of the one true God in the same pure ritual as Abraham, may be gathered from the fact that Laban had teraphim (Gen 31:19, Gen 31:30). But recent researches have thrown some light on the condition of Abraham’s family and ancestors. If Ur Casdim be identified, as recent discoverers have supposed, with Mugeyer, which, though west of Euphrates as a whole, is yet to the eastward of one of its subordinate channels, its ruins give us plentiful information concerning the creed of its inhabitants. We may also find some information about this primeval city in Rawlinson’s ‘Ancient Monarchies,’ 1.15, and in Smith’s ‘Assyrian Discoveries,’ p. 233. The principal building of this city is the temple of the moon god Ur. One of the liturgical hymns to this moon god is in existence, and has been translated into French by M. Lenormant. In it the moon is addressed as Father, earth enlightening god, primeval seer, giver of life, king of kings, and the like. The sun and stars seem also to have been objects of worship, and a highly developed polytheistic system seems to have culminated in the horrible custom of human sacrifices. This was a recognised practice among the early Accadians, a Turanian race which preceded the Semitic in these regions. A fragment of an early Accadian hymn has been preserved, in which the words “his offspring for his life he gave” occur, and it seems that the Semitic people of Ur adopted it from them. A similar view is attributed to Balak in Mic 6:5, Mic 6:6, and was probably derived from documents which have since perished. Hence, no doubt the Moloch, or Molech, worship which was common in the neighbourhood of Palestine, and which the descendants of Abraham on their first entrance thither rejected with such disgust (see also Gen 22:1-24; where Abraham seems to have some difficulties connected with his ancestral creed). Other deities were worshipped in the Ur of the Chaldees. Sumas, the sun god, Nana, the equivalent of Astarte, the daughter of the moon god, Bel and Belat, “his lady.” “In truth,” says Mr. Tomkins, in the work above cited, “polytheism was stamped on the earth in temples and towers, and the warlike and beneficent works of kings. Rimmon was the patron of the all-important irrigation, Sin of brickmaking and building, Nergal of war.” A full account of these deities will be found in Rawlinson’s ‘Ancient Monarchies,’ vol. 1.

Jos 24:2

All the people (see note on Jos 23:2). The Lord God of Israel. Rather, Jehovah, the God of Israel (see Exo 3:13). Until the vision to Moses, the God of Israel had no distinctive name. After that time Jehovah was the recognised name of the God of Israel, as Chemosh of the Moabites, Milcom of the Ammonites, Baal of the Phoenicians. Our translation, “the Lord,” somewhat obscures this. Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood. Rather, of the river. Euphrates is meant, on the other side of which (see, however, note on last verse) lay Ur of the Chaldees. It is worthy of notice that there is no evidence of the growth of a myth in the narrative here. We have a simple abstract of the history given us in the Pentateuch, without the slightest addition, and certainly without the invention of any further miraculous details. All this goes to establish the position that we have here a simple unvarnished history of what occurred. The manufacture of prodigies, as every mythical history, down to the biographies of Dominic and Francis, tells us, is a process that cannot stand still. Each successive narrator deems it to be his duty to embellish his narrative with fresh marvels. Compare this with the historical abridgment before us, and we must at least acknowledge that we are in the presence of phenomena of a very different ruder. Professor Goldziher has argued, in his ‘Mythology among the Hebrews,’ that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob are solar myths, such as we find in immense abundance in Cox’s ‘Aryan Mythology.’ Abraham (father of height)is the nightly sky. Sarah (princess) is the moon. Isaac (he shall laugh) is the smiling sunset or dawn. It would be difficult to find any history which, by an exercise of similar ingenuity, might not be resolved into myths. Napoleon Bonaparte, for instance, might be resolved into the rushing onset of the conqueror who was never defeated. The retreat from Moscow is a solar myth of the most obvious description. The battle of Bull’s Run is clearly so named from the cowardice displayed there by the sons of John Bull. It is remarked by Mr. Tomkins that Ur, the city of the moon god, lends itself most naturally to the fabricator of myths. There is only one objection to the theory, and that is the bricks, still in existence, stamped with the words Urn, which compel us to descend from this delightful cloud land of fancy to the more sober regions of solid and literal fact. In old time. Literally, from everlasting, i.e, from time immemorial, . The Rabbinic tradition has great probability in it, that Abraham was driven out of his native country for refusing to worship idols. It is difficult to understand his call otherwise. No doubt his great and pure soul had learned to abhor the idolatrous and cruel worship of his countrymen. By inward struggles, perhaps by the vague survival of the simpler and truer faith which has been held to underlie every polytheistic system, he had “reached a purer air,” and learned to adore the One True God. His family were led to embrace his doctrines, and they left their native land with him. But Haran, with its star worship, was no resting place for him. So he journeyed on westward, leaving the society of men, and preserving himself from temptation by his nomad life. No wandering Bedouin, as some would have us believe, but a prince, on equal terms with Abimelech and Pharaoh, and capable of overthrowing the mighty conqueror of Elam. Such an example might well be brought to the memory of his descendants, who were now to be sojourners in the land promised to their father. Guided by conscience alone, with every external influence against him, he had worshipped the true God in that land. No better argument could be offered to his descendants, when settled in that same land, and about to be bereft of that valuable support which they had derived from the life and influence of Joshua.

Jos 24:5

And I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them. This verse implies that the Israelites possessed some authentic record which rendered it unnecessary to enter into detail. Add to this the fact that this speech is ascribed to Joshua, and that the historian, as we have seen, had access to authentic sources of information, and we cannot avoid the conclusion that the hypothesis of the existence of the written law of Moses at the time of the death of Joshua has a very high degree of probability. The word rendered “plagued” is literally smote, but usually with the idea of a visitation from God. And afterward I brought you out. The absence of any mention of the plagues here is noteworthy. It cannot be accounted for on the supposition that our author was ignorant of them, for we have ample proof that the Book of Joshua was compiled subsequently to the Pentateuch. This is demonstrated by the quotations, too numerous to specify here, which have been noticed in their place. We can only, therefore, regard the omission made simply for the sake of brevity, and because they were so well known to all, as a sign of that tendency, noticed under verse 1, to abstain from that amplification of marvels common to all mythical histories. Had Joshua desired to indulge a poetic imagination, an admirable opportunity was here afforded him.

Jos 24:6

Unto the Red Sea. There is no unto in the original. Perhaps the meaning here is into the midst of, the abruptness with which it is introduced meaning more than that the Israelites arrived at it. But though without the He locale, it may be no more than the accusative of motion towards a place.

Jos 24:7

And when they cried unto the Lord. This fact is taken, without addition or amplification, from Exo 14:10-12. The original has unto Jehovah, for “unto the Lord.” He put darkness (see Exo 14:19, Exo 14:20). The occurrence, which there is most striking and miraculous, is here briefly related. But the miracle is presupposed, although its precise nature is not stated. You. This identification of the Israel of Joshua’s day with their forefathers is common in this book. A long season. Literally, many days. Here, again, there is no discrepancy between the books of Moses and this epitome of their contents. If both this speech and the Pentateuch were a clumsy patchwork, made up of scraps of this narrative and that, flung together at random, this masterly abstract of the contents of the Pentateuch is little short of a miracle. Whatever may be said of the rest of the narrative, this speech of Joshua’s must have been written subsequently to the appearance of the books of Moses in their present form. But is there any trace of the later Hebrew in this chapter more than any other?

Jos 24:8

And I brought you into the land of the Amorites (see Jos 12:1-6; Num 21:21-35; Deu 2:32-36; Deu 3:1-17).

Jos 24:9

Then Balak, son of Zippor. We have here the chronological order, as well as the exact historical detail, of the events carefully preserved. Warred against Israel. The nature of the war is indicated by the rest of the narrative, and this tallies completely with that given in the Book of Numbers. Balak would have fought if he dared, but as he feared to employ temporal weapons he essayed to try spiritual ones in their stead. But even these were turned against him. The curse of God’s prophet was miraculously turned into a blessing.

Jos 24:10

But I would not. The Hebrew shows that this is not simply the conditional form of the verb, but that it means I willed not. It was God’s “determinate purpose” that Israel should not be accursed. Blessed yon still. Rather, perhaps, blessed you emphatically. And I delivered you out of his hand. Both here and in the narrative in Numbers 22-30, it is implied that Balaam’s curse had power if he were permitted by God to pronounce it. Wicked as be was, he was regarded as a prophet of the Lord. There is not the slightest shadow of difference between the view of Balaam presented to us in this short paragraph and that in which he appears to us in the more expanded narrative of Moses.

Jos 24:11

And ye went over Jordan. This epitome of Joshua’s deals with his own narrative just as it does with that of Moses. The miraculous portions of the history are passed over, or lightly touched, but there is not the slightest discrepancy between the speech and the history, and the miraculous element is presupposed throughout the former. The men of Jericho. Literally, the lords or possessors of Jericho. The seven Canaanitish tribes that follow are not identical with, but supplementary to, the lords of Jericho. Fought against you. The word is the same as that translated “warred” in verse 9. The people of Jericho did not fight actively. They confined themselves to defensive operations. But these, of course, constitute war.

Jos 24:12

The hornet. Commentators are divided as to whether this statement is to be taken literally or figuratively. The mention of hornets in the prophecies in Exo 23:28, Deu 7:20 is not conclusive. In the former passage the hornet seems to be connected with the fear that was to be felt at their advance. The latter passage is not conclusive on either side. The probability issince we have no mention of hornets in the historythat what is meant is that kind of unreasonable and panic fear which seems, to persons too far off to discern the assailants, to be displayed by persons attacked by these apparently insignificant insects. The image is a lively and natural one, and it well expresses the dismay which, as we read, seized the inhabitants of the land when their foes, formidable rather from Divine protection then from their number or warlike equipments, had crossed the Jordan (see Jos 2:9-11; Jos 5:1; Jos 6:1). Where the figure came from is not far to seek. Joshua was quoting the prophecies of Moses mentioned above. The two kings of the Amorites. Sihon and Og, who were driven out, beside the tribes on the other side Jordan who have just been mentioned.

Jos 24:13

Labour. The word here used is expressive of the fatigue of labour, and is more equivalent to our word toil. The whole passage is suggested by Deu 6:10.

Jos 24:14

Sincerity and truth. These words, rendered by the LXX. , are not the precise equivalent of those so translated in other passages in the Bible, nor is St. Paul, in 1Co 5:8, quoting this passage. The word translated sincerity is rather to be rendered perfection, or perfectness. The Hebrew word signifying truth is derived from the idea of stability, as that which can stand the rude shocks of inquiry.

Jos 24:15

Or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. There is a reductio ad absurdum here. “Had ye served those gods ye would never have been here, nor would the Amorites have been driven out before you.” The reference to the gods of their fathers seems to be intended to suggest the idea of an era long since lost in the past, and thrown into the background by the splendid deliverances and wonders which Jehovah had wrought among them. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Or, Jehovah. Here speaks the sturdy old warrior, who had led them to victory in many a battle. He invites them, as Elijah did on another even more memorable occasion, to make their choice between the false worship and the true, between the present and the future, between the indulgence of their lusts and the approval of their conscience. But as for himself, his choice is already made. No desire to stand well with the children of Israel obscures the clearness of his vision. No temptations of this lower world pervert his sense of truth. The experience of a life spent in His service has convinced him that Jehovah is the true God. And from that conviction he does not intend to swerve. In days when faith is weak and compromise has become general, when the sense of duty is slight or the definitions of duty vague, it is well that the spirit of Joshua should be displayed among the leaders in Israel, and that there should be those who will take their stand boldly upon the declaration,” But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Jos 24:16

And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord. There could be no doubt of the sincerity of the people at that .moment. The only doubt is that afterwards expressed by Joshua, whether the feeling were likely to be permanent. The best test of sincerity is not always the open hostility of foes, for this very often braces up the energies to combat, while at the same time it makes the path of duty clear. Still less is it the hour of triumph over our foes, for then there is no temptation to rebel. The real test of our faithfulness to God is in most cases 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. Thus the Israelites who, amid many murmurings and backslidings, kept faithful to the guidance of Moses in the wilderness, and who followed with unwavering fidelity the banner of Joshua in Palestine, succumbed fatally to the temptations of a life of peace and quietness after his death. So too often does the young Christian, who sets out on his heavenward path with earnest desires and high aspirations, who resists successfully the temptations of youth to unbelief or open immorality, fall a victim to the more insidious snares of compromise with a corrupt society, and instead of maintaining a perpetual warfare with the world, rejecting its principles and despising its precepts, sinks down into a life of ignoble ease and self indulgence, in the place of a life of devotion to the service of God. He does not east off God’s service, he does not reject Him openly, but mixes up insensibly with His worship the worship of idols which He hates. Such persons halt between two opinions, they strive to serve two masters, and the end, like that of Israel, is open apostasy and ruin. For “God forbid” see Jos 22:29.

Jos 24:17

For the Lord our God. Rather, for Jehovah our God (see note on Jos 24:2). The Israelites, we may observe, were no sceptics, nor ever became such. Their sin was not open rebellion, but the attempt to engraft upon God’s service conduct incompatible with it, which led in practice to the same resulta final antagonism to God. But they believed in Jehovah; they had no doubt of the miracles He had worked, nor of the fact that His protecting hand had delivered them from all their perils, and had achieved for them all their victories. Nor do we find, amid all their sins, that they ever committed themselves to a formal denial of His existence and authority. To this, in the worst times, the prophets appeal, and though Israelitish obstinacy contested their conclusions, it never disputed their premises. Did those great signs. Here the people, in their answer, imply the circumstances which Joshua had omitted. This remark presupposes the miraculous passage of the Red Sea and the Jordan, and the other great miracles recorded in the books of Moses and Joshua. And among all the people through whom we passed. The Hebrew is stronger, “through the midst of whom.” As the destruction of the Amorites is mentioned afterwards, this must refer to the safe passage of the Israelites, not only among the wandering bands of Ishmaelites in the wilderness, but along the borders of king Arad the Canaanite, of Edom, and of Moab (Num 20:25). This close, yet incidental, agreement on the part of the writers of two separate books serves to establish the trustworthiness of the writers.

Jos 24:18

Therefore will we also serve the Lord. There is an ambiguity in our version which does not exist in the Hebrew. There is no “therefore,” which only serves to obscure the sense, and which is borrowed from the Vulgate. The LXX; which has , gives the true sense. After the enumeration of the great things God Jehovah has done for them, the Israelites break off, and, referring to the declaration of Joshua in verse 15, “but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah,” reply, “we too will serve Jehovah, for He is our God.”

Jos 24:19

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord. Calvin thinks that Joshua said this to rouse the sluggish heart of the people to some sense of their duty. But this is quite contrary to the fact, for the heart of the people, as we have seen (Jos 22:1-34), was not sluggish. As little can we accept the explanation of Michaelis, who paraphrases, “Ye will not be able, from merely human resolutions, to serve God.” Joshua was stating nothing but a plain fact, which his own higher conception of the law had taught him, that the law was too “holy, just, and good” for it to be possible that Israel should keep it. He had forebodings of coming failure, when he looked on one side at the law with its stern morality and rigorous provisions, and the undisciplined, untamed people that he saw around him. True and faithful to the last, he set before them the law in all its majesty and fulness, the nature of its requirements, and the unsuspected dangers that lay in their weak and wayward hearts. No doubt he had a dim presentiment of the truth, to teach which, to St. Paul, required a miracle and three years’ wrestling in Arabia, that by the deeds of the law “shall no flesh be justified in God’s sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). As yet the Spirit of God had barely begun to unveil the figure of the Deliverer who was to declare at once God’s righteousness and His forgiveness. Yet none the less did Joshua do his duty, and strove to brace up the Israelites to theirs, not by disguising the nature of the undertaking to which they were pledging themselves, but by causing them to be penetrated with a sense of its awfulness and of the solemn responsibilities which it entailed. St. Augustine thinks that Joshua detected in the Israelites already the signs of that self righteousness which St. Paul (Rom 10:3) blames, and that he wished to make them conscious of it. But this is hardly borne out by the narrative. He is a holy God. The pluralis excellentiae is used here in the case of the adjective as well as the substantive. This is to enhance the idea of the holiness which is an essential attribute of God. He is a Jealous God. The meaning is that God will not permit others to share the affections or rights which are His due alone. The word, which, as its root, “to be red,” shows, was first applied to human affections, is yet transferred to God, since we can but approximate to His attributes by ideas derived from human relations. Not that God stoops to the meanness and unreasonableness of human jealousy. His vindication of His rights is no other than reasonable in Him. “His glory” He not only “will not,” but cannot “give to another.” And therefore, as a jealous man does, yet without his infirmity, God refuses to allow another to share in what is due to Himself alone. The word, as well as the existence of the Mosaic covenant, has no doubt led the prophets to use, as they do on innumerable occasions, the figure of a husband and wife (Jer 2:2; Eze 23:25 : Hos 2:2, Hos 2:13, Hos 2:16 (margin), 19, 20) in describing the relations of God to His Church, and approximate to His attitude towards His people by the illustration of an injured husband towards a faithless wife (see also Exo 34:14; Deu 6:15). He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins (see Exo 23:21). There were many words used for “forgive” in Scripture: and (see Pearson’s learned note in his ‘Treatise on the Creed,’ Art. 10). The one here used signifies to remove or to bear the burden of guilt, corresponding to the word in the New Testament. The word here translated” transgressions” is not the same as in Jos 7:15, and the cognate word to the one rendered “transgressed” in Jos 7:11, is here rendered “sins.” It signifies a “breach of covenant,” while the word translated” sins” is the equivalent of the Greek .

Jos 24:20

Then he will turn. There is no contradiction between this passage and Jas 1:17, any more than our expression, the sun is in the east or in the west, conflicts with science. St. James is speaking of God as He is in Himself, sublime in His unchangeableness and bountiful purposes towards mankind. Joshua and the prophets, speaking by way of accommodation to our imperfect modes of expression, speak of Him as He is in relation to us. In reality it is not He but we who change. He has no more altered His position than the sun, which, as we say, rises in the east and sets in the west. But as He is in eternal opposition to all that is false or evil, we, when we turn aside from what is good and true, must of necessity exchange His favour for His displeasure. Do you hurt. Literally, do evil to you. After that he hath done you good. This implies what has been before stated, that it is not God who is inconsistent but man, not God who has changed His mind, but man who has changed his.

Jos 24:22

Ye are witnesses against yourselves. Joshua has not disguised from them the difficulty of the task they have undertaken. Like a true guide and father, he has placed the case fully and fairly before them, and they have made their choice. He reminds them that their own words so deliberately uttered will be forever witnesses against them, should they afterwards refuse to keep an engagement into which they entered with their eyes open. They do not in any way shrink from the responsibility, and by accepting the situation as it is placed before them, render it impossible henceforth to plead ignorance or surprise as an excuse for their disobedience. And it is well to observe, as has been remarked above, that such an excuse never was pleaded afterwards, that the obligation, though evaded, was never disavowed.

Jos 24:23

Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you. Keil and Delitzsch notice that the words translated “among you” have also the meaning, “within you,” and argue that Joshua is speaking of inward tendencies to idolatry. But this is very improbable. For

(1) the word is the same as we find translated in verse 17, “through whom.” And

(2) the internal scrutiny which the law demanded was hardly so well understood at this early period as by diligent study it afterwards became.

The plain provisions of the law demanded obedience. Comparatively little heed was given at first to inward feelings and tendencies. There can be little doubt that the meaning is precisely the same as in Gen 35:2, and that though the Israelites dare not openly worship strange gods, yet that teraphim and other images were, if not worshipped, yet preserved among them in such a way as to be likely to lead them into temptation. The history of Micah in Jdg 17:5 is a proof of this, and it must be remembered that this history is out of its proper place. The zealous Phinehas (Jdg 20:28) was then still alive, and the worship at Micah’s house had evidently been carried on for some time previous to the disgraceful outrage at Gibeah. The putting away the strange gods was to be the outward and visible sign, the inclining of the heart the inward and spiritual grace wrought within them by the mercy of God. For it is not denied that God desired their affections, and that those affections could scarcely be given while their heart went secretly after idols. It may be further remarked in support of this view that the Israelites are not exhorted to turn their heart from the false gods, but to put them away. It is a plain, positive precept, not a guide for the inner consciousness. On the other hand, the command to incline the heart to the Lord rests upon the simple ground of common gratitude. St. Augustine thinks that if any false gods were secretly in Israel at this time, they would have been met by a severer punishment than that accorded to Achan. Masius”pace divini viri”proceeds to argue that murders, thefts, and adulteries were worse sins than those of Achan, that it were not reasonable to suppose that Israel was free from such sins, and they were not punished like Achan’s. He forgets to urge

(1) that the condition of the children of Israel was very different in Achan’s time to that of the death of Joshua, and

(2) that Achan’s was a special act of disobedience to a very special enactment, considerations which would have materially strengthened his argument.

Jos 24:24

And the people said unto Joshua. The triple repetition of the promise adds to the solemnity of the occasion and the binding force of the engagement.

Jos 24:25

So Joshua made a covenant. Literally, cut a covenant, a phrase common to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues, and derived from the custom of sacrifice, in which the victims were cut in pieces and offered to the deity invoked in ratification of the engagement. The word used for covenant, berith, is derived from another word having the same meaning. This appears more probable than the suggestion of some, that the berith is derived from the practice of ratifying an agreement by a social meal. And set them a statute and ordinance. Or, appointed them a statute and a judgment. The word translated “statute” is derived from the same root as our word hack, signifying to cut, and hence to engrave in indelible characters. The practice of engraving inscriptions, proclamations, and the like, on tablets was extremely common in the East. We have instances of it in the two tables of the law, and in the copy of the law engraven in stones on Mount Ebal. The Moabite stone is another instance. And the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian monarchs seem to have written much of their history in this way (see note on Jos 8:32). The word rendered “ordinance” is far more frequently rendered “judgment” in our version, and seems to have the original signification of a thing set upright, as a pillar on a secure foundation. In Shechem (see note on verse 1).

Jos 24:26

And Joshua wrote these words. Or, these things, since the word (see note on Jos 22:24; Jos 23:15) has often this signification. Joshua no doubt recorded, not the whole history of his campaigns and the rest of the contents of what is now called the Book of Joshua, but the public ratification of the Mosaic covenant which had now been made. This he added to his copy of the book of the law, as a memorial to later times. The covenant had been ratified with solemn ceremonies at its first promulgation (Exo 24:3-8). At the end of Moses’ ministry he once more reaffirmed its provisions, reminding them of the curses pronounced on all who should disobey its provisions, and adding, as an additional memorial of the occasion, the sublime song contained in Deu 32:1-52. (see Deu 21:19, Deu 21:22). Joshua was present on this occasion, and the dying lawgiver charged him to undertake the conquest of the premised land, and to maintain the observance of the law among the people of God. Hitherto, however, God’s promise had not been fulfilled. It seems only natural that when Israel had obtained peaceful possession of the land sworn unto their fathers, and before they were left to His unseen guidance, they should once more be publicly reminded of the conditions on which they enjoyed the inheritance. It may be remarked that, although Joshua’s addendum to the book of the law has not come down to us, yet that it covers the principle of such additions, and explains how, at the death of Moses, a brief account of his death and burial should be appended by authority to the volume containing the law itself. The last chapter of Deuteronomy is, in fact, the official seal set upon the authenticity of the narrative, as the words added here were the official record of the law of Moses, having been adopted as the code of jurisprudence in the land. And took a great stone (see notes on Jos 4:2, Jos 4:9). An oak. Perhaps the terebinth. So the LXX. (see note on verse 1). The tree, no doubt, under which Jacob had hid the teraphim of his household. This was clearly one of the reasons for which the place was chosen. By the sanctuary. Keil denies that ever means near. It is difficult to understand how he can do this with so many passages against him (see Jos 5:13; 1Sa 29:1; Eze 10:15). He wishes to avoid the idea of the sanctuary being at Shechem.

Jos 24:27

A witness (see note on Jos 22:27). For it hath heard. Joshua speaks by a poetical figure of the stone, as though it had intelligence. The stone was taken from the very place where they stood, and within earshot of the words which had been spoken. Thus it became a more forcible memorial of what had occurred than if it had been brought from far. Ye deny your God. To deny is to say that He is not. The Hebrew implies “to deny concerning Him,” to contest the truth of what has been revealed of His essence, and to disparage or deny the great things He had done for His people. The whole scene must have been a striking one. The aged warrior, full of years and honours, venerable from his piety and courage and implicit obedience, addresses in the measured, perhaps tremulous, accents of age the representatives of the whole people he has led so long and so well. Around him are the ancient memories of his race. Here Abraham pitched his tent in his wanderings through Canaan. Here was the first altar built to the worship of the one true God of the land. Here Jacob had buried the teraphim, and solemnly engaged his household in the worship of the true God. Here was the second foothold the children of Abraham obtained in the promised land (see verse 32), a foretaste of their future inheritance. The bare heights of Ebal soared above them on one side, the softer outlines of Gerizim rose above them on the other; and on their sides, the plaster fresh and the letters distinct and clear, were to be seen the blessings and the curses foretold of those who kept and those who broke the law. In the midst, Shechem, in a situation, as we have seen, of rare beauty, bore witness to the fulfilment of God’s promise that the land of their inheritance should be “a good land,” a “land flowing with milk and honey.” No other place could combine so many solemn memories; none could more adequately remind them of the fulness of blessing God had in store for those who would obey His word; none could be fitter to impress upon them the duty of worshipping God, and Him alone.

HOMILETICS

Jos 24:1-28

The possession of the inheritance and its responsibilities.

The difference between this address to the children of Israel and the former is that, in the former, Joshua’s object was to warn them of the danger of evil doing, whereas in this he designed to lead them, now they were in full possession of the land, to make a formal renewal of the covenant. For this purpose he briefly surveys the history of Israel from the call of Abraham down to the occasion on which he addressed them. Up to that time the covenant had been given them as one which it would be their duty to fulfil when the time arrived. Now, he reminds them, the time had arrived. And just as the Church calls upon those who were dedicated to God in infancy to solemnly affirm, when they are old enough, their obligation to fulfil the engagement that was then contracted for them, so Joshua, now Israel was in a position to carry out fully the terms of the covenant, chooses a place as well as a time most fitting for the ceremony, and obtains from them a full recognition of the duties to which they were bound. In this address there is no appeal to their feelings. It is no question of personal influence to guide them into the right path. They are now simply asked to affirm or deny the position in which, whether they affirm or deny it, they really stand before God.

I. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PAST AND PRESENT CONDITION OF GOD‘S PEOPLE. “Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time and served other gods.” So St. Peter tells us, “Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1Pe 2:25. Cf. 1Pe 1:14, 1Pe 1:18; 1Pe 2:10; 1Pe 4:3). So St. Paul tells us (Eph 2:1-3, Eph 2:11, Eph 2:12; Tit 3:3, etc). When we entered into covenant with God we crossed the flood, and were placed in the promised land, though not yet to possess the fulness of our inheritance. But if each one of us for himself has to cross the flood and put himself in covenant with Christ, it is because our Head has Himself trodden the same path. Born in “the likeness of sinful flesh,” as the representative of sinners not yet fully reconciled to tits Father, “made sin,” not for Himself, but for us, He dwelt “on the other side” of the river of death; but that stream once crossed, He ascended into heaven, there to win blessings which we should inherit after Him. We must ever, while rejoicing in the privileges we now enjoy, remember how they were won, and what we once were, “children of wrath even as others,” but now, being “made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life.”

II. THE COVENANT MUST BE RENEWED BY EACH FOR HIMSELF. The promises of God are general, to all mankind. But they are also special, to each individual. They must be applied personally by each man to his own soul, by faith. For this reason the Church of God has always required a profession of faith from each person when they entered into covenant with God at baptism. But this formal profession is practically inoperative, unless each man makes a personal profession of faith, in his own heart, on which he means to act, as soon as he is conscious of his own individual responsibility to God. Thus Israel, when the time had come for the fulfilment of the covenant by reason of his possession of his inheritance, was called upon to avow his readiness so to do. And thus he was the type of all Christians, who cannot appropriate to themselves the blessings of the covenant until they have acknowledged the obligation on their part to fulfil its conditions.

III. WE DID NOT GAIN THE BLESSINGS FOR OURSELVES (see verse 15). The Israelites were continually reminded that the good things they enjoyed were not of their own procuring (see Deu 6:10; Deu 9:5). And so the Christian is reminded that he owes all to God. The Christian covenant is one of mercy, not of works. Any merits the Christian possesses are not his own, but the gift of God. “What hast thou, that thou hast not received?” If the gift of salvation through Christ, it was not thine by merit, but by God’s free gift. If thou hast any bodily or intellectual gifts, they came down “from the Father of lights.” If thou possessest any moral or spiritual qualities worthy of praise, they have been the work of God’s Spirit within thee. Boast not, then, of anything thou art. Be not highminded, but fear. Take heed to use the gifts that have been given you to God’s glow, and to be ever thankful to Him for His mercy, to whom you owe all you have and all you are.

IV. THE COVENANT IS A HARD ONE TO OBEY. The law of Moses was singularly strict and searching. It bound men to a close and minute scrutiny of their lives, and forced them to remember every hour the obligations they lay under. Nor is the Christian covenant one whit less searching. Nay, it is far more so, for it embraces not merely every act and word, but even the “thoughts and intents of the heart.” God still punishes those who, even in the least point, offend against His law, and thus forsake Him and serve strange gods. It is still true that we “cannot” in our own strength “serve the Lord.” But it is also true that He will forgive us our shortcomings through Jesus Christ, and that He will furnish us with the strength we lack to fulfil the precepts of the wide reaching law which He has set us.

HOMILIES BY S.R. ALDRIDGE

Jos 24:1

Public worship.

“And they presented themselves before God.” Eminent servants of God were remarkable for their solicitude respecting the course of events likely to follow their decease. “When I am gone let heaven and earth come together” is a sentiment with which a good man can have no sympathy. Note the instructions given by Moses (Deu 31:1-30), David (1Ki 2:1-46), Paul (2Ti 4:1-8), and Peter (2Pe 1:12-15). As Jesus Christ looked to the future (John 14-17.; Act 1:3), so did His type Joshua. He was determined that the people should be bound to the service of the true God, if solemn meetings and declarations could bring it about. Nothing should be wanting on his part, at any rate. The gathering of the Israelites may remind us of the purposes for which we assemble every Lord’s day. We come

I. TO MAKE SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF OURSELVES BEFORE GOD. Always in the presence of the Almighty, yet do we on such occasions “draw nigh” to Him. The world, with its cares and temptations, is for a season excluded. We leave it to hold more immediate intercourse with our heavenly Father. We approach to pay the homage that is His due from us. Surely those who plead that they can worship in the woods and fields as well as in God’s house, in solitude as in society, forget that the honour of Jehovah demands regular, public, united recognition. We have to consider His glory, not only our individual satisfaction. “I will give Thee thanks in the great congregation.” It is our privilege also to proffer our requests, to implore the blessings essential to our welfare.

II. TO LISTEN TO THE WORD OF GOD. We have the “lively oracles,” the revelation of God to man. It behoves us to give reverent attention thereto. In business or at home other matters may distract our attention; here we can give ourselves wholly to the “still small voice.” It may instruct, inspire, rebuke, and comfort. The utterance of God’s messenger claims a hearing as the message from God to our souls. “Thus saith the Lord” (verse 2). The speaker may

(1) recall the past to our remembrance. Joshua reviewed God’s dealings with His people, speaking of their call (verse 2), deliverance from bondage (verse 5), guidance (verse 7), succour in battle (verses 9-11), and possession of a goodly land (verse 13). Such a narrative is fruitful in suggestions; provocative of gratitude, self abasement, and trust.

(2) State clearly the present position. Acquainted with God and the rival heathen deities, it was for the Israelites to make deliberate choice of the banner under which they would henceforth enrol themselves. In God’s house Christians are taught to regard themselves as “strangers and pilgrims,” as “seeking a better country,” as those who are “on the Lord’s side.” If they will they may turn back and desert the Master whom hitherto they have followed. There must be “great searchings of heart.”

(3) Briefly sketch the future. Religion does not confine itself to the narrow region of present circumstances; it looks far ahead, desires no man to take a leap in the dark, but rather to weigh calmly the respective issues dependent upon the actions of today. None who have experienced the tendency of earthly occupations to absorb, to engross the interest, will deny the advantage accruing from the quiet contemplations of the sanctuary, where it is possible to calculate correctly afar from the bustle of the city, where on wings of the spirit we rise to an altitude that dwarfs the loftiest objects of worldly ambition, and brings heaven and its glories nearer to our view.

III. TO RECONSECRATE OURSELVES TO GOD‘S SERVICE. We remain the same persons and yet are continually changing. Like the particles of the body, so our opinions, affections, etc; are in unceasing flux. To dedicate ourselves afresh is no vain employment. It brightens the inscription, “holiness unto the Lord,” which time tends to efface. Are not some idols still in our dwellings? some evil propensities indulged, which an exhortation may lead us to check? To keep the feast we cast out the old leaven. Man is the better for coming into contact with a holy Being. The contrast reveals his imperfections and quickens his good desires.

CONCLUSION. If inclined to say with the men of Beth-shemesh, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?” (1Sa 7:1-17 :20) let us think of Christ, who has entered as our Forerunner into the Holiest of all. In His name we may venture boldly to the throne of grace. Some dislike the services of the sanctuary because they speak of the need of cleansing in order to appear before the Almighty. Men would prefer to put aside gloomy thoughts and to stifle the consciousness that all is not right within. But does not prudence counsel us to make our peace with God now, to “seek Him while He may be found,” clothed in the attribute of mercy, instead of waiting for the dread day when we must all appear before the judgment seat, when it will be useless to implore rocks and mountains to hide us from the presence of Him that sits upon the throne? Behold Him now not as a Judge desirous to condemn, but as a Father who hath devised means whereby His banished ones may be recalled, who waits for the return of the prodigalyea, will discern Him afar off, and hasten to meet him in love.A.

Jos 24:14, Jos 24:15

A rightful choice urged.

The most solemn engagement we can make is to bind ourselves to be the servants of Jehovah. Such a bond not even death dissolves, it is entered into for eternity. There are periods, however, when it becomes us to ponder the meaning of the covenant, and to renew our protestations of fidelity. To consider the exhortation of Joshua here recorded will benefit alike the young convert and the aged believer, and may lead to a decision those “halting between two opinions.”

I. AN APPEAL FOR HEARTY RE–DEDICATION TO THE SERVICE OF GOD.

(1) Its necessity arises from the proneness of man to settle down upon his lees, neglecting the watchfulness observed on his first profession of religion. Enthusiasm cools; men sleep and tares are sown among the wheat; the Christian athlete rests content with the laurels already gained; the warrior, having defeated the enemy, allows him time to gather his forces for another battle. The temple was beautifully cleansed, but inattention has allowed it to grow filthy, and it needs a thorough renovation.

(2) Its leading motive is gratitude for Divine goodness in the past. How skilfully Joshua, in the name of Jehovah, enumerates the chief national events wherein His mercy had been conspicuous. Brethren, review the past! Your mercies have been numberless, like the drops of the river flowing by your side. If you can tell the stars, then may you catalogue the blessings you have received. The retrospect teaches the character of your God, and may inspire you with hope for the future. Reverence the Almighty, and your highest expectations will not be disappointed but far surpassed.

(3) Its method prescribes severance from idolatry and a sincere determination to follow the Lord fully. Self examination will reveal many sins still cherished in the heart, like the gods which Israel had allowed to remain in the camp. It were well for us, like David, to go in and sit before the Lord (2Sa 7:18). In the presence of Him who has leaded us with benefits temporal and spiritual, our vision will be clarified, and we shall be filled with an earnest desire to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” All avowals of a change of heart are to be distrusted which are unaccompanied by evident renunciation of evil habits. The outward act not only affords an index of the inward feeling, but also materially contributes to its strength.

II. AN ALTERNATIVE PRESENTED. Notwithstanding all that had been done for the Israelites, some of them might deem it “evil,” unpleasant, irksome, laborious to serve the Lord. Hence the option of forsaking Him, and bowing before the gods whom their fancy should select. The alternative suggests that, in the opinion of the speaker,

(1) some kind of service is inevitable. Without acknowledging some superior powers, the Israelites could not remain. Absolutely free and independent man cannot be, though his idol may assume any form or character. In every breast there is some predominating principle or passion, be it piety, morality, intellectualism, aestheticism, or love of selfish pleasure.

(2) The freedom of the will is seen in the power of choice. Choose man must; but he can choose what seems best to him. God has a right to demand our homage; but He is content to let us decide for ourselves the equity of His claims. He appeals to the judgment and the conscience. He makes His people “willing in the day of His power,” not by enchaining their wills and constraining obedience, but by appropriate motives and inducements, leading them to consider it their glory to lay themselves at His feet “Who then is willing to consecrate this service this day unto the Lord?” (1Ch 29:5). Freedom of choice is too frequently a beautiful and dangerous gift, which, like a sword in the hands of a child, injures its possessor. Yet we are unable to divest ourselves of the responsibility that attaches to free agency. Some plan of life is ruling us, even if it be a resolve to live aimlessly. We may deliberately weigh our decision, bringing to bear upon our comparison of conflicting claims all the strength of our moral nature and power of discernment, or we may refuse to face the points at issue, and let our judgment go by default, imagining that we shall thus escape the onus of a formal determination; but in the latter case, no less than in the former, we have made our choice, and are serving some master, though we recognise it not. The alternative indicates

(3) that neutrality and compromise are each impossible. If God be not the object of adoration, then any occupant of the throne must be considered as God’s enemy. Multitudes think that if they are not found openly opposing religion there is naught to be complained of in their attitude and conduct. Herein they are terribly at fault. “He that is not with Me is against Me.” Those who advance not to the help of the Lord are treated as His foes (cf. Jdg 21:8 and 1Sa 11:7). Nor will God accept a divided allegiance. Dagon must fall from his pedestal when the ark of God’s presence enters the chamber of the heart. How could the Israelites be true at once to Jehovah and to idols? “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Religion modifies the character of every action, transforming it into an offering laid upon the altar to the glory of God. All that we have and are we send to the Royal Mint, and receive it back, stamped with the Sovereign’s image, and fashioned according to His desire.

III. A FIXED RESOLVE. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua set a noble example, which powerfully affected his followers. The expressed determination of a pastor, a teacher, a parent may produce widespread beneficial results upon those under their charge. Joshua showed himself fit to lead men. He did not wait to see what the majority of the people would approve before he committed himself to a particular course of action; but boldly stated his intention to cleave with full purpose of heart unto the Lord. The Ephraimites, slow to come to the rescue in the hour of danger, but swift to claim a place of honour when a victory has been won (Jdg 12:1, Jdg 12:2), have found many imitators in every age. Men who wait to see in which direction the current of popular feeling is setting ere they risk their reputation or their safety by taking a decided step. We may dislike isolation, but are not alone if the Father is with us. Joshua’s resolve was never regretted. What man has ever been sorry that he became a follower of Christ? Even backsliders confess that they were never happier than when they attended to the commandments of the Lord. True religion furnishes its votaries with self-evidential proofs of its Divine authority in the peace of mind and satisfaction of conscience which they experience. To enjoy the favour of God is felt to be worth more than any earthly friendship or worldly gain.

CONCLUSION. This theme is suitable for the beginning of a year, when untrodden paths invite you to choose a method of travel. Or perhaps some crisis is occurring in your life, when you are entering upon a fresh sphere of employment. Use it as a time to commence a period of devotion to God’s service. Young people, decide which is the more honourable, to serve God or the world. Do not spend the finest of your days in a manner which will hereafter pierce you with remorse.A.

HOMILIES BY E. DE PRESSENSE

Jos 24:1-22

The Renewal of the Covenant

Joshua gathers all the tribes together to Shechem, and calls for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God. “And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen you the Lord to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day.” There are few more beautiful incidents in the Old Testament than this renewal of the covenant between God and His people, at the moment of their entering into possession of the promised land, and on the eve of the death of Joshua. It seems to us an admirable model of the covenant which ought to be constantly renewed between successive generations of the people of God in all ages, and the Father in heaven.

(1) Let us observe, first, that the piety of the fathers does not suffice for the sons, and that while it is a great blessing to have pious parents, and gives the children a strong vantage ground for the spiritual warfare, it does not do away with the necessity that they should for themselves ratify the holy resolves of their progenitors. God made a covenant with Abraham, but, nevertheless, both Isaac and Jacob renewed that holy covenant for themselves. And it needed, as we see, to be ratified again by their descendants when at length they entered into possession of the promised land. So is it with ourselves. Though we had in our veins the blood of the most glorious saints, their holiness would not make us the less culpable if we did not yield our own selves a living sacrifice unto God. What avails it to be children of Abraham according to the flesh, since God is able of the stones to raise up children unto Abraham? (Mat 3:7) These principles find a special application in the gospel economy, in which everything is made to depend upon the birth. Not only should the covenant with God be concluded by each new generation of Christians, but it needs to be ratified by every individual for himself apart.

(2) “They presented themselves before God,” it is said, on this solemn day. It is before Him and in His sight that the great pledge is to be taken which marks our entrance into His covenant of grace. We have not to do with His representatives, the ministers of His Church, nor even with the Church itself, but with Him. Let us rise above all that is human, and let us come into the very presence of God when we yield ourselves to Him and to Iris service.

(3) In this solemn meeting between Israel and Israel’s God, to renew their covenant, it is God who leads the way by recalling to His people the glorious manifestations of His love in choosing them, delivering them from the bondage of Egypt, bringing them through the desert, and making them victorious over the nations of Canaan. All is of His mercy; His free grace is the basis of reconciliation. It is the offended one who makes the first advance. “He first loved us,” says St. John (1Jn 4:18).

(4) Preventing grace does not nullify human freedom. God proposes, invites, beseeches, and in His very entreaty there is a virtue which enables us to respond to Him. But we must respond, we must decide for ourselves, it must be our free act. The question is put in the most categorical form to the people of Israel: “If it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve” (verse 15). “The people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.” “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” (verse 22). This decisive dialogue ought to pass between every individual soul and God. Its form may differ, but in substance it is always the same. “Lovest thou Me?” says Christ to Peter, on the shores of the Lake of Tiberias. “Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee” (Joh 21:15). It is the interchange of this question and answer which seals the covenant between the soul and Christ. Woe to those who forsake the good way after having once chosen it! “If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment” (Heb 10:26, Heb 10:27).E. DE P.

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY

Jos 24:1-13

Review of Providence.

I. IT IS WELL TO REVIEW THE PAST.

(1) The life which is wholly occupied with the present is necessarily superficial. Recollection and anticipation broaden and deepen life. They are essential to the consciousness of personal identity. Memory retains possession of the past and thus enriches life. The past is not wholly gone; it lives in memory; it lives in its effects; it will be called up for judgment.

(2) A review of the past should make us

(a) grateful for the goofiness of God,

(b) humble in the consciousness of our own failings,

(c) wise from the lessons of experience, and

(d) diligent to redeem the time which yet remains.

II. NO REVIEW OF THE PAST IS COMPLETE WHICH DOES NOT RECOGNISE THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. The chief value of biblical history is in the fact that it clearly indicates the action of God in human affairs.

(1) The highest historical study is that which searches for “God in history.” To do this is to trace events to their first cause, to see the connecting ideas of unity which bind all things together, and to follow out the course of all changing movements towards their destined end.

(2) We may see indications of the active presence of God in history and in private life by noting

(a) material and spiritual good things enjoyed;

(b) providential deliverances in trouble;

(c) solemn acts of judgment;

(d) good thoughts and deeds which all have their origin in God, the source of all good, and

(e) the general onward and upward movement of mankind.

(3) Let us practically apply the duty of noting God’s action in human affairs to national history, church history, and private experience.

III. A RIGHT REVIEW OF GOD‘S ACTION IN THE PAST WILL SHOW THAT THIS IS CHARACTERISED BY GOODNESS AND MERCY. We single out striking calamities for difficulties to the doctrine of Providence. We should remember that these are striking just because they are exceptional. We are often tempted to fix upon the troubles and neglect the mercies of the past. A fair review of the whole will show that the blessings infinitely outnumber the distresses.

(1) Such a review should stimulate gratitude. It is most ungrateful to be receiving innumerable blessings every day of our lives and rarely to recognise the Hand from which they come, while we complain that others are not added, or murmur if any cease.

(2) Such a review should increase our confidence and hope. God is changeless. As He has been He will be. “Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.” Threatening clouds have burst in beneficent showers. Deliverance has come when all seemed hopeless. Let us believe that the same will be in the future, and press forward to dark and uncertain days with more assurance of faith.

IV. THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN HISTORY WILL BE CHIEFLY SEEN IN THE PROMOTION OF THE HIGHEST HUMAN PROGRESS. History in the main is the story of the progress of mankind. This was the case with Joshua’s review of Jewish history. It showed progress from idolatry to the worship of the true God, from slavery to liberty, from poverty to a great possession, from homeless wandering to a happy, peaceful, settled life. Thus God is always leading us upwards from darkness to light, from bondage to liberty, from ignorance, superstition, sin, and misery to the golden age of the future (Rom 8:19-23).W.F.A.

Jos 24:14

The call to God’s service.

I. THE CALL.

(1) It is a direct appeal. Religion is practical, and preaching must be practical. We must not be satisfied with the exposition of truth. We must aim at persuasion such as shall affect the conduct of men. For this purpose there is room for direct exhortation. Men are ready to admit the truth of propositions which lie outside the sphere of their own experience. The difficult matter is to translate these into principles of conduct and to apply them to individual lives. The Bible is sent for this ultimate purpose. As a message from God the Word of God is not merely a revelation of truth; it is supremely a call from the Father to His children. God is now calling directly to us by the undying voice of Scripture, by providence, by His Spirit in our consciences (Rev 22:17).

(2) The call is based on a review of past experience. After this review Joshua says, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord,” etc. God’s goodness to us in the past is a great motive to incline us to serve Him

(a) because it lays us under a great obligation to Him (1Co 6:20), and

(b) because it reveals His character as that of a Master worthy of devotion and delightful to serve.

(3) The call is urged with the last words of dying man. Joshua is old and about to die. At such a time an address would naturally be characterised by supreme earnestness. What is then urged would be felt by the speaker to be of first importance. Mere conventionalism, objects of passing political expediency, trifles and crotchets sink out of view. The dying message of the old leader must concern the highest welfare of the people. With all the force of these circumstances Joshua selects the need to fear and serve God for His one urgent exhortation. Surely this fact should lead us all to put it before ourselves as a question of first importance, taking precedence of all considerations of worldly pleasure and interest.

II. THE OBJECT OF THE CALL.

(1) The end to be aimed at is to “fear and serve the Lord.” The fear characterises the spirit of internal devotion, the service covers the obedience of active work. The fear precedes the service; because we cannot rightly serve God with our hands till we are devoted to Him in our hearts. The fear of God here required is not the abject terror which the slave feels for the tyrant, but reverence, awe, worship, the dread of displeasing, and the humble submission of our souls. This must be found in all true devotion. Yet it is most prominent in the stern Hebrew faith (Psa 2:11). For the Christian, love is the leading motive, though this love must be an awed and reverent affection. After the fear, then, must follow the service; for God will not be satisfied with passive veneration, He requires active obedience.

(2) The essential characteristic of the fear and service here noted is sincerity. There is always danger of worship becoming unconsciously formal even when it is not knowingly hypocritical; because pure worship involves the highest effort of spirituality, great abstraction from sense, and a purity of thought which is very foreign to the habits of sinful beings (2Ti 3:5). Yet God abhors unreal devotion (Isa 29:13), and can only be worshipped at all when He is served spiritually (Joh 4:24).

(3) The necessary condition of this fear and service is a departure from all things inconsistent with it. The people must give up all lingering habits of idolatry. We must repent and forsake our old sins. We cannot retain devotion to the world and to sin whilst we devote ourselves to God. No man can serve two masters. Therefore choose.W.F.A.

HOMILIES BY E. DE PRESSENSE

Jos 24:1-22

The Renewal of the Covenant

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY

Jos 24:1-13

Review of Providence.

I. IT IS WELL TO REVIEW THE PAST.

(2) A review of the past should make us

(a) grateful for the goofiness of God,

(b) humble in the consciousness of our own failings,

(c) wise from the lessons of experience, and

(d) diligent to redeem the time which yet remains.

(2) We may see indications of the active presence of God in history and in private life by noting

(a) material and spiritual good things enjoyed;

(b) providential deliverances in trouble;

(c) solemn acts of judgment;

(d) good thoughts and deeds which all have their origin in God, the source of all good, and

(e) the general onward and upward movement of mankind.

(3) Let us practically apply the duty of noting God’s action in human affairs to national history, church history, and private experience.

Jos 24:14

The call to God’s service.

I. THE CALL.

(a) because it lays us under a great obligation to Him (1Co 6:20), and

(b) because it reveals His character as that of a Master worthy of devotion and delightful to serve.

II. THE OBJECT OF THE CALL.

HOMILIES BY R. GLOVER

Jos 24:2, Jos 24:3

Abraham the heathen.

“Your fathers served other gods,” is an incidental statement of the utmost value. It throws a light on Abraham’s antecedents in which we do not always see them, and enhances the significance of his abandonment of home and country, and his clear faith in a living God, in a degree which nothing else does. Observe first of all

I. THE FACT THAT ABRAHAM WAS ORIGINALLY A HEATHEN. He was not merely born and bred an idolater, as we might have gathered from the story of Bachel’s teraphim, but was a pagan in exactly the same condition of belief as many in India or in China are today. Some, in later times especially, and indeed in all times, worshipped the true God, but employed an idol to assist their imagination of Him; that is, they simply sought ritualistic and sensuous aids to religious thought and feeling. But Abraham began life far lower down in the religious scale. His fathers served other gods; the deified powers of nature representing little more than the forces and tendencies of life. Primitive tradition had lost any brightness it ever had. The religious sentiment had lost that reverence and habit of attention which soon begins to perceive God and to feel that the God constantly appealing to it is one and the same. The worship of several deities is always a mark of a superstitious ingredient blending with faith. Terah’s family were in this condition. They were not only idolaters but polytheistswithout Bible or sacrament, promise, or law. Abraham was precisely in the same sort of spiritual circumstances, and had been taught the same sort of religious ideas, and trained in the same superstitions, as are found in all pagan lands today. Yet with advantages so slight, he became the spiritual father of the religious nation of antiquitytype of all saintliness, of everything bright in faith and unquestioning in obedience. There is some reason to suppose that a god of vengeance was one of those deities most reverently regarded by his people; and yet he finds and worships a God of love! He, like all of us, had Christ, the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He, unlike most of us, followed the Christ light within him. Following the Divine light, it grew ever clearer, and his vision became stronger to perceive and his heart to follow it. Amongst a multitude of silent deities, One spoke to him through his conscience, with more and more of frequency, and, in the devotee in which He was obeyed, with more and more of clearness, both in the comforts He whispered and the commands He enjoined, till gradually he felt there was but one great God, who governed all, and should receive the homage of all; who was the friendly refuge as well as the omnipotent Creator of men. Gradually his life began to revolve around this unseen Centre, and the outward aspect and inward purpose of his life stood out in palpable difference from that of his fellows. Doubtless he preached his deep conviction, gathered about him some kindred spirits; perhaps had to endure persecution; till at last he got a strong impression borne in upon his conscience that his path of duty and of spiritual wisdom was to leave his native land and seek a new home for what was a new faith amongst men. His coming to Ur of the Chaldees, and then to Canaan, may be compared with the expedition of the Pilgrim fathers. Like them he sought “freedom to worship God,” and like them founded a great nation in doing so. In any view of his character, his decision, his devotion, the clearness of his faith, the promptness of his obedience, are marvellous. But they become much more so when we mark the fact that Joshua here brings out, that Abraham began his career in heathen darknessthat the father of the faithful began life as a mere pagan. Observe

II. SOME LESSONS OF THIS FACT. For evidently it has many. We can only suggest them.

(1) A little grace and a little light go a long way when well used. How little had Abraham to begin with! But, using what he had, it grew more, and was enough to do more for him than light a thousand times as clear does for some of us today. A man who has light upon his next step of duty has really an “abundance of revelation.” Do not go in for being omniscient, postponing all obedience until you get light on all truth. Use your little light well whatever it is, and so you will get more.

(2) Obedience is the mode of self enlightenment. “If any man will do God’s will, he shall know God’s doctrine.” So says Christ. Doing duty is the way of discovering truth. Since the creation of the world there has been no other. Take this.

(3) All the sacraments are means of grace, not conditions of salvation. The Church has always been tempted to exaggerate the helpful into the essential, until it says, “Extra ecclesiam, nulia salus.” Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans, arguing with those who held the sacrament of circumcision essential to salvation, quotes Abraham as reaching all his spirituality and acceptance with God, “not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision,” i.e, not by sacraments, but without them altogether. Sacraments are aids. The mercy that gave them to be such will, in the absence of them through error or inadvertence, use some other way of enriching and enlightening the obedient heart.

(4) However sunk in superstition the heathen may be, they are capable of religion. The difference between the Christian and the heathen in the matter of spiritual advantages is not a difference between having all and having nothing, but between having more and having less. They have the Christian inward lightmovings of God’s spirit, lessons of God’s providence. God speaks to them, and “wakes their ear in the morning.” They lack the testimony of God’s saints, their examples, the revelation of God’s highest law, a clear light on immortality; above all, the light which comes from the life and death of the Son of God”the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” This fuller light would multiply vastly the number of the devout amongst them, and give a higher character to their devotion. But they may be saved, as we are taught explicitly both by Peter and by Paul, by a Saviour they feel and follow, though they do not know the story of His love.

(5) The heathen being thus capable of religion, and our higher advantages being influential to produce it, we ought to extend to them the full light of the Saviour’s glory. Our neglect of Christian missions grows from our despair of heathen men. We ought to think of the millions in heathen darkness as Abraham’s brethren, and capable of appreciating and responding to all that is true and gracious. If we rightly reverence them, we should not eat our morsel of the bread of life alone, but should share it with them. Let us seek to extend the knowledge of the gospel of Christ, and we shall yet behold many an Abraham rising up in heathen lands.G.

Jos 24:14, Jos 24:15

The great appeal.

From the trembling lips of one within a step of death comes the appeal which through all the centuries since has pierced and moved and won the hearts of men. Often urged, it is not always represented accurately. Elijah may address a more degenerate generation with a challenge to serve God or to serve Baal, insisting on this as if the chances of either alternative being adopted were even. Joshua does not say, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serveGod or another,” but bids them serve God, urging His claims. In the event of their being unwilling to yield to these claims, he urges with some irony, that shows the keenness of moral energy still in Him, that in that case they should choose amongst the deities whose feebleness they had witnessed the one least helpless. There are several things here worthy of notice. Observe, first, an assumption underlying this appeal, viz.:

I. SOME PLAN OF LIFE SHOULD BE SOBERLY THOUGHT OUT AND FOLLOWED WITH DECISION. Our “miscellaneous impulses” always prove a poor guide. There can be neither progress, peace, strength, nor usefulness if life is desultory. We cannot employ anything to good advantage, much less life, unless we know its nature, what it is made for, what can be done with it, its resources and its proper ends. The first question of the ‘Shorter Catechism,’ “What is the chief end of man?” stands as the first question of the catechism of life. Until we form some aim and keep to it, tomorrow will be always moving in a different direction from today, will lose what today has won. An aim permits life to be cumulative, always gathering richer force, fuller joysalways completing and rounding off its conquests. Joshua here assumes that a plan of life is essential to the proper pursuit of it, and on this assumption his appeal is based. Take note of this, for a planless is a powerless life. Observe

II. HE CLAIMS THEIR LIFE FOR GOD. “Now, therefore, serve Him.” He does not timorously present any alternative. There is no reasonable alternative to this. One plan, and only one, of life should be entertained by a serious nature. The only wise and only rational plan of life is the service of God. A multitude of reasons concur to commend it.

(1) Conscience requires it, as the only right course. Serving God, every law will be kept, every duty done, every claim met, every wrong avoided. Conscience points like a compass needle to the throne of God, and its every suggestion is in one form or other a suggestion to do His bidding. It is a solemn fact that the holiest and the deepest instinct of our nature bids us serve God.

(2) Gratitude requires it. God had delivered them, led them, helped them, enriched them; given them liberty, victory, home. In addition to these national blessings, He had to each individual given life, faculty, joys, home loves, duties that dignified, comforts that gladdened life. The instinct of gratitude is to ask, What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits? We have still larger benefitsa Saviour, a home above. Gratitude should constrain us to serve God.

(3) Wisdom should constrain us to serve Him. Serve selfand server and served are both ruined. Serve Godand God is pleased, and we are safe. Service of God developes all our higher faculties; is the only state in which we are safe; is the course in which we are useful. Growth, safety, usefulness, what can compare with them? Pitiable is the state of those who do not serve. They do not live in any proper sense of the word. Therefore Joshua urges on them to serve their redeeming God. And the grounds which suited them 4,000 years ago are all intensely valid today. Consider this claim, and if disposed to dispute it, consider next

II. THE CHALLENGE HE GIVES TO THOSE UNWILLING TO SERVE GOD. “If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye whom ye will serve; the gods whom your fathers served, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell.” Thus he presents them with the discredited deities around them, and bids them choose. Will they choose the gods that Abraham forsookforsook because power. less to help, degrading in their influence? by forsaking whom he found all his grandeur, all his blessedness, all his reward? or will they take the gods of the Amorites whose powerlessness to protect their servants had been just witnessed, who betrayed those who trusted in them? With what force does the mere form in which he urges his challenge deter men from it! Would that all who reject the Saviour would realise what they are about! If it seems not good to you to serve Christ, whom will ye serve? The gods your fathers left? The gods whose powerlessness to bless men is manifest around you? Such a goddess as Pleasure, which fools think the best to worship, which fritters away all strength of soul, destroys conscience, and heart, and intellect, and body alikewould you choose that? or Money, coyest of all deities? whom he that seeketh rarely findeth, and he that findeth never finds so rich as he had hoped? who seems to be a god that can give everything, but it is found to be unable to give any one of the things most desired by us? Or Power, the deity sought by the ambitious, who never permits any one to say, “He is mine” in anything like the degree he had hoped, and even when possessed is found to be insipid as the insignificance from which men fled? Is it Indulgence? the deity that degrades men? or Self will, the deity that destroys them? Choose which. There ought to be no trifling. We must serve some God. Who is to be the source of all you hope for if you put away the Saviour of Calvary? To use the experience of others is the part of a wise man; to buy experience dearly for yourself is the part of a foolish man. There is none amongst all the deities that clamour for your service which the wise and the good have not forsaken, or the foolish and the worldly have not repented of cleaving to. Betake not yourself to such, but serve the Lord.G.

HOMILIES BY J. WAITE

Jos 24:14-16

The grand choice.

Joshua’s words derive added force from the historic associations of the place in which he uttered them. Shechem was not only scene of great natural beauty, but one around which lingered memories peculiarly in harmony with the circumstances of the time. Here Abraham first pitched his tent and raised an altar, consecrating that spot to the living Goda witness against the heathen abominations of the Canaanites who dwelt in the laud. Here, probably under the same oak, Jacob buried the “strange gods”the teraphim and the amulets that some of his family had brought from Padanaramin token of his resolute renunciation of these sinful idolatries. What more fitting place could be found for a solemn appeal like this to the tribes to remain true to the God of their fathers? Besides which, Joshua’s venerable age, the blameless integrity of his character, and the renown of his exploits as their leader, gave such weight to his appeal that they would well deserve the threatened penalties if they failed to profit by it. Certain important principles of religious life are illustrated in this appeal

I. THE SERVICE OF GOD IS A MATTER OF FREE PERSONAL CHOICE, “Choose you this day,” de. The simple alternative they were called on to decide was, either the service of the Lord Jehovah, or the service of the false gods of Egypt and of the Amorites. No middle course was open to them. There could be no compromise. It must be one thing or the otherlet them choose. And substantially the same alternative is before every man in every age. There is something to which he pays supreme homage, and it is either to the great invisible King, the only living and true God, or else to the idols, more or less base, of his own self will or of the vain world around him.

(1) It is the glory of our nature that we can make such a choice. God has so constituted us that this self determining power is one of our most essential prerogatives. And in His dealings with us he always respects the nature He has given. He never violates the law of its freedom. That were to destroy it. No man is compelled to serve Him, nor yet forbidden by any imperious necessity of his being or life to do so. Human nature knows nothing either of necessary evil or irresistible grace.

(2) This freedom of choice gives worth to every religious act. There would be no moral worth in anything we do without it. The basis of all personal responsibility, it is also the condition of all moral goodness and acceptable service. God would have nothing at our hands that is not voluntarily rendered. If we would serve Him at all, His service must be our free unfettered choice.

II. IT IS A CHOICE DETERMINED BY RATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. “If it seem evil,” etc. Joshua sets the alternative with perfect fairness before them that they may weigh the conflicting claims and judge accordingly. If these gods of the heathen are really nobler, better, more worthy of their gratitude and trust than the Lord Jehovah, then by all means let them follow them! But if the Lord be indeed God, if they owe to Him all that gives sanctity to their national character, and glory to their national history, then let them put these “strange gods” utterly and forever from them, and cleave to Him with an undivided heart. It is a deliberate judgment between contrary and wholly irreconcilable paths to which they are called. Religion is our “reasonable service” (Rom 7:1). It is no blind act of self surrender. It involves the consent of all our powersthe mind embracing divinely discovered truth, the heart yielding to gracious heavenly influence, the conscience recognising a supreme obligation, the will bowing to that higher will which is “holy and just and good.” No man is called to declare for God without sufficient reason.

III. IT IS A CHOICE WHICH CERTAIN CRITICAL OCCASIONS MAKE TO BE SPECIALLY IMPERATIVE. “Choose you this day,” etc. “This day” above all other daysbecause the motives to it are stronger today than ever; because the matter is one that it is neither right nor safe to defer to another day. While self consecration to the service of God is a perpetual obligation, there are seasons of life in which it is peculiarly urgent, when many voices combine with unwonted emphasis to say, “now is the accepted time,” etc.

(1) Youth,

(2) times of adversity,

(3) times of special religious privilege or awakening,

(4) times when new social relations are being formed, and new paths of life are opening.

IV. IT IS A CHOICE ENCOURAGED BY NOBLE PERSONAL EXAMPLES. “As for me and my house,” etc. Here is an example

(1) of manly resolution,

(2) of the strength that can dare to stand alone,

(3) of family piety directed by paternal authority and influence.

Such an example has an inspiring effect above that of mere persuasive words. It quickens and strengthens every germ of better thought and feeling in the breasts of men. There is no stronger incentive to religious life than the observation of the exemplary forms it assumes in others (1Co 4:15, 1Co 4:16; Php 3:17).

V. IT IS A CHOICE THAT MUST LEAD TO APPROPRIATE PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. “Now therefore put away,” etc. (verse 23). The honesty of their purpose, the reality of their decision, could be shown in no other way. They only have living faith in God who are “careful to maintain good works” (Tit 3:8; Jas 2:18).W.

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY

Jos 24:15

Choice and decision.

After exhorting the people to fear and serve the Lord, Joshua calls to them to consider the alternative of rejecting Him, and to make a decisive choice. It is well to be brought to a practical decision in full view of all the issues which face us. These may be clearly seen. Truth does not shun the light. Christianity can well bear comparison with all other systems of worship and modes of life.

I. THE CALL TO CHOOSE.

(1) We are free to choose. Joshua is the leader of the people, yet he does not command submission to God, and forcibly compel it. He exhorts, but he leaves the choice open. God has left our wills free to choose or to reject Him. This liberty is essential to voluntary servicethe only service which is true and spiritual. God would not value forced devotion. The worth of devotion depends on its free willingness. Yet the freedom God accords is not release from obligation, but only exemption from compulsion. Is is still our duty to serve God.

(2) We cannot serve God without voluntarily choosing Him for our Master. This is a consequence of our liberty. We shall never come to be truly Christian by accident, or by the unconscious influence of a Christian atmosphere. Religion depends on a decisive action of the will. This need not be so sudden and pronounced as to take the dramatic form it assumes in the narrative before us, and in some cases of sudden conversion. But the fact must be proved by a consequent decisive course of life.

(3) Indecision is a fatal error. We may not choose the evil, yet we practically abandon ourselves to it while we refrain from choosing the good. In ordinary life indecision is a sure cause of failure; so it is in religion. Though we may doubt many points of doctrine, if only we know enough for choice we must not hesitate in the region of practice.

(4) There is no reason for delay. Joshua called for immediate decision. This is most safe, most easy, and secures the longest life of service (Heb 3:7).

II. THE ALTERNATIVES OF CHOICE.

(1) Joshua anticipated the position of those to whom it might “seem evil to serve the Lord.” This might arise

(a) from misunderstanding the character of God’s service,

(b) from fear of the inevitable sacrifices and toils which it involves, or

(c) from lingering affection for the evil things which must be abandoned on entering upon it.

(2) Joshua challenged the people to choose whom they would serve if they rejected the Lord. It is well not only to defend the truth, but to show the difficulties which must be faced if this is rejected. We should look at our prospect all round. It is not fair to object to the difficulties of Christianity until we have weighed well the consequence of any other course of life. We must have some God. Israel must chooseif not for Jehovah, then for the gods of their fathers or the gods of their neighbours. There is irony in Joshua’s way of setting out the alternatives. Either the people must go back to the past, deliverance from which they are now rejoicing at, or they must accept the worship of those gods whom they have defied and defeated in the overthrow of their enemies. If we have not God we must follow the world, Satanour evil past, or the worst foes of our present welfare.

III. THE EXAMPLE OF DECISION FOR GOD. Joshua chooses independently of the popular choice. He is not swayed by the opinion of the multitude. Rather he would guide it by example. It is weak to refuse to choose till we see how the world will choose. Truth and right are not affected by numbers. Every man must make the great choice for himself.

(1) Joshua first chose for himself. We must be decided before we can influence others aright. Yet let us beware lest in saving others we ourselves become castaways (1Co 9:27).

(2) Joshua also chose for his house. We should seek to bring strangers to the right way, but our first duty is with our own household. It is a good sign when a man is able to speak for the decision of his house.W.F.A.

Jos 24:19

The difficulties of God’s service.

I. THERE ARE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. All are freely invited to serve God; all may find ready access to God; there is no need for delay, all may come at once and without waiting to be worthy of Him; after coming through Christ, the yoke is easy and the burden light. Yet there are difficulties. Sin and self and the world must be sacrificed; God cannot be served with a divided heart, hence complete devotion must be attained; the service itself involves spiritual endeavours and tasks and battles, before which the strongest fail. It is impossible to serve God in our own strength. We can only serve Him aright because what is impossible with men is possible with God; i.e, we can only serve Him in His strength and through the inspiration of His Spirit.

II. THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SERVICE OF GOD ARISE FROM THE DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN OUR CHARACTER AND HIS. God does not willingly make His service hard; it would not be hard if we were not sinful. It is difficult while we have evil habits and affections lingering about us, and it is impossible so long as we cling to these voluntarily.

(1) God is holy, therefore He cannot accept service which is tainted with cherished sin (we must distinguish between cherished sin which makes acceptable service impossible, and resisted sin which hinders, but does not utterly prevent, such service).

(2) God is jealous, therefore He will not accept divided service. Israel must choose either the service of the Lord or the worship of the heathen gods. Both cannot be embraced. We must choose. So long as we give one-half of our heart to the world or to sin God will not accept the other half.

(3) God is, in some respects, unforgiving. He forgives the worst sins of the worst men on repentance; but whilst the least sin is cherished God cannot forgive it. No time will soften His resentment. Hence if we come to His service with evil knowingly in our hearts, He cannot overlook it and accept us.

III. IT IS WELL TO CONSIDER THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. Israel was too ready hastily to accept God’s service without considering all that it involved. If difficulties exist they must be faced. It is best to count the cost before making choice (Luk 14:28). Those representations of the gospel which are confined to invitations and promises, and ignore the call to repentance and to sacrifice for Christ, are false and unjust. Christ would have the new disciple face the cross (Luk 14:27). Such considerations should not deter us from the choice of God’s service. They should make us

(1) careful to compare both sides of the question till we see how immensely the obligations and advantages of religion outweigh the difficulties,

(2) humble and free from boasting and presumption, and

(3) wholly dependent on the help of Christ to make us worthy of His service, to give us strength to serve, and to make our service acceptable (Php 4:18).W.F.A.

Jos 24:21-25

The covenant.

I. THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT. It was to bind the people to their promise to renounce the old life of sin and idolatry, and to enter upon and remain in the true service of God. Nations are proud of protecting treaties, constitutional pledges, charters of liberty, etc. No nation ever took a more important covenant than this. The chief question for all of us is whether we will live for the world or for God. The gospel brings to us a new covenant. The promises are greater, the terms are more light. Yet we must choose and resolve and yield ourselves in submission to it if we would enjoy the advantages its offers. This covenant has two sides. God pledges His blessings, but we must pledge our devotion. His is the infinitely greater part. Yet if we fail in ours God’s promises of blessing no longer apply.

II. THE OBJECTS OF THE COVENANT,

(1) It was to preserve the memory of the pledge. Men make resolutions in moments of exaltation which they are apt to forget when the feelings which gave rise to them have subsided. Yet it is just then that they are most necessary. They are not needed when they are freely made, because the impulse to resolve would carry out the action without the resolution. Their real value is for those seasons of trial and service when the lack of a strong spontaneous impulse makes it necessary to fall back on some fixed principle.

(2) It was to secure the execution of the pledge. It is easy to promise. The difficulty lies in the performance. God is only mocked with the devotion of the sanctuary which is not followed by the service of the daily life. Hence we need to preserve and carry the high impulses of worship into the work of the world. Many men live two lives, and the life of the Sunday has no bearing on that of the week day. We should use all means to bring religion into life.

III. THE FORM OF THE COVENANT.

(1) There was an appeal to memory. The people were to be witnesses against themselves. We should treasure in the memory and often call to mind the thoughts of our seasons of spiritual elevation.

(2) There was a written record. Writing remains unchanged with the varying moods of men. It may he well to write our higher thoughts and deeper resolves for our own subsequent private meditation. The New Testament is a written covenant.

(3) There was a memorial stone. This would be always visible. So the covenant would be often called to mind. We often need to have our memories refreshed and our thoughts called back to the great practical truths of Christianity. Hence the utility of preaching not only new ideas, but truths that all of us know, and yet that all need to be reminded of, and to have often brought before us for practical application. The stone would not lose its value as it became old and familiar. Truth does not grow feeble with age, nor is it the less important because it is the more familiar.W.F.A.

HOMILIES BY S.R. ALDRIDGE

Jos 24:19-21

A strict master.

Great as was Joshua’s anxiety that the Israelites should renew their covenant with the Almighty, he would not secure this end by concealing the rigorous nature of the service it involved. Instead of accepting immediately the people’s ready response (verse 18) to his appeal, he proceeded to speak of Jehovah in stern, almost chilling, language. True religion is honest, does not gloss over the requirements which will be insisted on, nor seek to entrap men by fair, smooth promises of an easy rule. Jesus Christ spoke of the necessity of taking up the cross, of leaving home and friends, of enduring hatred, persecution, and trouble, so that none could afterwards complain of being deceived about the requirements and difficulties of discipleship. Men who undertake an enterprise with eyes open are the more likely to persevere; they have already afforded a proof that they are not to be daunted by the prospect of labour and hardship.

I. THE CHARACTER OF GOD, AND THE KIND OF SERVICE HENCE EXPECTED.

1. He is holy, and consequently demands abstinence from sin. There is in Him entire rectitude of attribute, both in essence and in exercise. The seraphim cry, “Holy is the Lord of Hosts.” His vesture is spotless, and He expects His servants to attend Him in uniform unstained (see Le Jos 19:2). Also note the incidents of Moses at the burning bush, Nadab and Abihu consumed for offering unhallowed fire, and the men of Beth-shemesh constrained to exclaim, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?” The sinlessness of Jesus proclaims Him Divine, and sometimes evokes the petition, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and condemns every act that is inconsistent with the relations in which we stand to Himself, to our fellow creatures, and the material world.

2. He is jealous, and therefore exacts whole-hearted allegiance. Annexed to the second commandment was a statement of Jehovah’s jealousy, which could not permit His glory to be paid to graven images. When the tables of the law were renewed it was expressly affirmed, “The Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” The word means, glowing with heat, hence the Almighty is compared to a “consuming fire” that subdues every work of man. Idolatry was the sin to which Israel was prone, and every prostration at the shrine of an idol was a derogation from the honour due to God, and excited His indignation. He is not content with an inferior share of affection, He must be loved and served with all our strength. “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.” The true disciple is ready to forsake all and follow Christ. The will of the Lord is for him law, his only inquiry being, “Lord, what writ Thou have me to do?”

3. He is immutable, and requires unvarying fidelity. “If ye forsake the Lord, then He will do you hurt after that He hath done you good.” He rewards every man according to his doings, and visits transgression with punishment. The Israelites were fickle, moved like water by every passing breeze. God is not the son of man that He should repent. He cannot be false to His nature, and look with pleasure on offenders. Past obedience is no answer to the charge of present guilt. Each day brings its own need of sanctification. It is not possible, in God’s service, to work so hard one week as to enable us to spend the next in idleness, nor can we accumulate a store of good works to cover deficiencies in a time of sin. “It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”

II. THE PEOPLE‘S DETERMINATION TO SERVE THIS EXACTING GOD.

1. Indicates a feeling that only such a Master is worthy of men’s service. Conscience testified that worship should not be offered to other than a perfect Being, and that such a Being could rightly claim these high prerogatives. The rock on which the vessel of mythology has been wrecked is the evil character assigned to its deities, proving them the offspring of human imagination in a debased state. The remembrance of the past, and hopes and fears respecting the future incited the Israelites to continue in their position as the Lord’s peculiar people. And have not we experienced that to be the happiest day when we have thought most of God, and most frequently lifted our hearts in prayer to Him for guidance and succour? If called to renounce ease or sinful practices, have we not been amply repaid in the consciousness that we have acted rightly, and are walking in the light of God’s countenance? To set upon the throne of our hearts one who would be content with meagre devotion and occasional conformity to righteousness might please for a while, but could not durably satisfy our moral aspirations.

2. Intimates a belief that God chiefly regards the sincere endeavours of His servants to please Him. The Israelites could point to Joshua’s own demand in verse 14″serve Him in sincerity and in truth.” What is really displeasing to the Most High is wilful violation of His commandments, or hypocritical pretences of loyalty when the heart is estranged. These He visits with severest condemnation. Jehovah declared Himself in the same commandment both a “jealous” God, and one “showing mercy.” And though the disciples of Christ had often exhibited a spirit of worldlinesss, of impatience and unbelief, yet their Master looking on His little company at the Last Supper could even after their unseemly dispute concerning precedence, recognise what was good in them and say, “Ye are they who have continued with Me in My temptations.” He who knows all our works (Rev 3:8), appreciates the humblest effort to keep His commandments.

3. Suggests an assurance that imperfections of service can be atoned for by confession, sacrifice, and intercession. Joshua’s assertion was quite true. Neither the Israelites nor any other nation could serve the Lord perfectly. Limitations of knowledge and frailties of temper produce at least temporary deviations from the path of obedience. But the people no doubt remembered the provision made in the law for sins of ignorance, the trespass offerings, the day of atonement “to cleanse them that they might be clean from all their sins before the Lord.” Nor were they unmindful of the prayers which had been heard on their behalf When Moses pleaded for them, and the gracious forgiveness that had often followed their national repentance. And what was dimly foreshadowed in the Levitical economy now blazes brightly for our instruction and comfort under the Christian dispensation. Jesus Christ hath by one offering perfected them that are sanctified. His perpetual priesthood is a guarantee for the final salvation of those who come unto God by Him. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” “Ye are complete in Him.”

4. Leads us to anticipate a period of perfect service. However the goodness of God may pardon our faults and, beholding us in Christ, take note of the direction rather than of the success of our attempts, it is impossible for us to rest content with our present experience. The spirit cries out for entire emancipation from the thraldom of sin, and longs for the redemption of the body. When shall we be conformed to the image of Christ, and enjoy to the full what now we know only by brief moments of rapture and sudden hasty glimpses? This question is answered by the promise of a manifestation of the sons of God,” when, in unswerving obedience to His Father’s will, they shall realise truest liberty. You who so delight in Christian work as to wish you could spend all your time and energy therein, look to the years to come! “They serve Him day and night in His temple.” “His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face.”A.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Ver. 1. And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel Calmet thinks, that the discourse in the former chapter is to be considered only as the exordium or introduction to the present: which is nearly the opinion of Calvin. But the two discourses seem very distinct in the text, and we see no reason for putting them together.

To Shechem Some copies of the LXX, particularly the Roman edition, and Alexandrian manuscript, read here, and in ver. 25 to Shiloh. What renders this reading very probable is, that we find the Israelites assembled before God; that is, before the ark, which certainly resided in the tabernacle; and that, undoubtedly, was at Shiloh. Of this opinion likewise are Grotius, Junius, Wells, and others. In answer to which it is to be considered, 1. That, according to Eusebius and St. Jerome, there were not less than ten or twelve miles distance between these two places. 2. Other copies of the LXX, as well as the Hebrew, Chaldee, and other eastern versions, read Shechem, and not Shiloh; and to these we may add Josephus, Hist. Jud. lib. 5: cap. 1. See Dr. Wall. 3. It is easy to account for this convocation of the assembly at Shechem. For, not to mention that this city was the capital of the tribe of Ephraim, and in the neighbourhood of Timnath-serah, where Joshua resided, who, on account of his great age, might very possibly be unable to go to Shiloh; it is probable, that he thought it proper to renew the divine covenant in the place where Abraham had first settled, and had erected an altar on his entering into the land of Canaan (Gen 13:6-7.); where the patriarchs were interred, Act 7:16.; and where Joshua himself had first entered into covenant with the Israelites, chap. Jos 8:30, &c.; for Ebal and Gerizzim were very near Shechem. See Le Clerc and Calmet. We will presently consider the objection brought by some, that the assembly in question was held before God; observing here, that an able critic thinks, that the several opinions respecting the matter may be reconciled, by supposing the congregation to have met in the fields of Shechem, and that thence the people went in companies to Shiloh, as it were to confirm before God what they had promised to Joshua, who had received the assembly at Timnath-serah, his place of residence, situate between Shechem and Shiloh. See Shuckford’s Connection, vol. 3: p. 427.

They presented themselves before God That is to say, before his tabernacle. “But,” say some, “this tabernacle was at Shiloh.” It rested there, it is true; but we apprehend, that upon this grand solemnity it was removed from Shiloh to Shechem; and the kings and leaders of Israel certainly had a right to have the ark removed from its usual station to any other place upon extraordinary occasions. See 1Sa 4:3-4. 2Sa 15:24., and Bertram de Repub. Jud 1:25; Jud 1:15 p. 249. This was such an occasion: The whole nation had been convened at Shechem to renew the divine covenant; Joshua, one hundred and twenty years of age, was come up from Timnath-serah to that city, his strength not allowing him a longer journey: and was not this sufficient to authorise the sending for the ark, that the people might thus assemble before the Lord? We must not, however, pass over the opinion of the learned Mede, who thinks that the Ephraimites had built at Shechem a proseucha, a kind of oratory or chapel, whither the people resorted to divine worship when they could not go so far as the tabernacle; and that it was before this house of prayer that the assembly was held. But for more respecting this ingenious conjecture, see on ver. 26.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

2. Joshuas Parting with the People. His Death and that of Eleazar

Joshua 23, 24

a. The First Parting Address

Joshua 23

. Promise that Jehovah will still fight for his people, and help them to the complete possession of the land

Jos 23:1-11

1And it came to pass, a long time [many days]1 after that the Lord [Jehovah] had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed

2old and stricken in age. And2 Joshua called for3 [omit: for] all Israel, and [omit: and] for their elders, and for their heads, and for their officers [overseers], and said unto them, I am old and [omit: and] stricken in age [far gone in years]: 3And ye have seen all that the Lord [Jehovah] your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord [Jehovah] your God is he that hath fought 4for you. Behold [See], I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance [as a possession] for your tribes; from [the] Jordan, with [and] all the nations that I have cut off, even unto [and] the great sea westward 5[toward the going down of the sun]. And the Lord [Jehovah] your God, he shall expel them from before you,4 and drive them from out of your sight;4 and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord [Jehovah] your God hath promised [spoken] unto you. 6Be ye therefore very courageous [And be ye, or, ye shall be, very strong] to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or [and] to the left; 7That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among [with] you; neither make mention of the name5 of their gods, nor cause to swear by them [it], neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: 8But cleave unto the Lord [Jehovah] your God, as ye have 9done unto this day. For [And] the Lord [Jehovah] hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for [and] you, no man hath been able to stand [hath stood] before you unto this day. 10One man of you shall chase [chaseth] a thousand: for the Lord [Jehovah] your God, he it is that fighteth for 11you, as he hath promised [spoken] unto you. Take [And take] good heed therefore [omit: therefore] unto yourselves [your souls], that ye love the Lord [Jehovah] your God.

. Warning against Apostasy from God

Jos 23:12-16

12Else [For] if ye do in any wise go back [return], and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even [omit: even] these that remain among [with] you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you [and come among them, and they among you]:6 13Know for a certainty that the Lord [Jehovah] your God will no more drive out any of [omit: any of] these nations from before you: but [and] they shall be snares [a snare] and traps [a trap] unto you, and scourges [a scourge] in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land [ground ] which the Lord [Jehovah] your God hath given you.

14And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth; and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing [word] hath failed of all the good things [words] which the Lord [Jehovah] your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and [omit: and] not one thing [word] hath failed 15thereof. Therefore [And] it shall come to pass, that as all good things are [every good word is] come upon you, which the Lord [Jehovah] your God promised [spoke to] you; so shall the Lord [Jehovah] bring upon you all evil things [every evil word], until he have destroyed you from off this good land [ground] which the Lord 16[Jehovah] your God hath given you. When ye have transgressed [transgress] the covenant of the Lord [Jehovah] your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served [go and serve] other gods, and bowed [bow] yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord [Jehovah] be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

b. The Second Parting Address. Renewal of the Covenant. Conclusion

a. The Second Parting Address

Jos 24:1-15

. 1And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for [omit: for7] the elders of Israel, and for their heads and for their judges, and for their officers [overseers]; and they presented themselves before God. 2And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah] God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [river] in old time, even [omit: even] Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods. 3And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood [river], and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

4And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess 5it; but [and] Jacob and his children [sons] went down into Egypt. I sent [And I sent] Moses also [omit: also] and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6And 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. 7And when they cried unto the Lord [Jehovah], he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen [saw] what I have done [did] in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season [many days]. 8And I brought you into the land of the Amorites [Amorite], which [who] dwelt on the other side [of the] Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess [or, and ye possessed] their land; and I destroyed 9them from before you. Then [And] Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred [fought8] against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: 10But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore [and] he blessed you still:9 so [and] I delivered you out of his hand. 11And ye went over [the] Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites,10 and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered [gave] them into your hand. 12And I sent the hornet before you, which [and it] drave them out from before you, even the [omit: even the] two kings of the Amorites: but [omit: but] not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 13And I have given you a land for [or, in] which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the14[omit: the] vineyards and olive-yards [trees] which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore [And now] fear the Lord [Jehovah], and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood15[river], and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord [Jehovah]. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord [Jehovah], choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood [river] or the gods of the Amorites [Amorite] in whose land ye dwell: but as for me [and I] and my house, we [omit: we] will serve the Lord [Jehovah].

. The Renewal of the Covenant

Jos 24:16-28

16And the people answered and said, God forbid [Far be it from us] that we should forsake the Lord [Jehovah], to serve other gods; 17For the Lord [Jehovah] our God, he it is that brought us up, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from [out of] the house of bondage [lit. of bondmen], and which [who] did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people [peoples] through whom we passed: 18And the Lord [Jehovah] drave out from before us all the people [peoples], even [and] the Amorites [Amorite] which [who] dwelt in the land: therefore [omit: therefore] will we also [we also will] serve the Lord [Jehovah]; for he is our God.

19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord [Jehovah]: for he is an holy God: he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions, nor20[and] your sins. If [when] ye forsake the Lord [Jehovah], and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord [Jehovah].

22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord [Jehovah], to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.23Now therefore [And now], said he, put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord [Jehovah] God of Israel. 24And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord [Jehovah] our God will we serve, and [to] his voice will we obey [hearken].

25So [And so] Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an [the] oak that was by [in] the sanctuary of the Lord [Jehovah]. 27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness [for witness ] unto [against Jos 24:22] us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord [Jehovah] which he spake [hath spoken] unto [with] us: it shall be therefore [, and shall be] a witness unto 28[against] you, lest ye deny your God. So [And] Joshua let the people depart, every man [one] unto his inheritance [possession].

. Death of Joshua and Eleazar. The Bones of Joseph

Jos 24:29-33

29And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord [Jehovah] died, being an hundred and ten years old. 30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance [possession] in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of [of mount] Gaash. 31And Israel served the Lord [Jehovah] all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over-lived [lit. prolonged days after] Joshua, and which [who] had known [knew] all the works of the Lord [Jehovah] that he had done for Israel.

32And the bones of Joseph, which the children [sons] of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground [portion of the field] which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver [kesita]; and it became the inheritance of [they were for a possession to] the children [sons] of Joseph.

33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to [in Gibeah of] Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

These two closing chapters of the book are intimately related, containing the two farewell addresses of Joshua to the people, an account of the renewal of the covenant in connection with the latter of those addresses, and the report of the death of Joshua and Eleazar. They give information also concerning the last transactions of Joshua, and the closing circumstances of his life so full of activity, and so significant with reference to the establishment of the religious character of the people of Israel.
Particularly to be considered here, from the first, is the relation between the two farewell addresses in respect to differences and agreement of their subject-matter; and manifestly, the first presents to the Israelites what Jehovah mil do for them to bring them into full possession of the land, while the second in powerful words calls to mind in detail what Jehovah, since the time of the patriarchs, has already done for them. Admonitions to fidelity towards Jehovah, warnings against backsliding from him, are found in both addresses (Jos 23:6-8; Jos 23:11-13; Jos 23:15-16; Jos 24:14-15), and are repeated, at the renewal of the covenant, in a lively dialogue between Joshua and the people (Jos 24:19-20; Jos 24:27).

a. Ch. 23. The First Farewell Discourse. This, after the introduction, Jos 23:1-2, falls into two sections, Jos 23:3-16. . In the first section Joshua announces that Jehovah will continue to fight for his people, and help them to the entire possession of their land; . in the second he warns them vehemently against apostasy from him, lest, instead of help, the judgment of God, consisting in their expulsion from Canaan, shall come upon them.

Jos 23:1-2. Introduction, recalling Jos 13:1, as well as Jos 21:42. Where Joshua held this discourse, is not said; perhaps at his residence in Timnath-serah (Jos 19:50), perhaps, and this is more probable, at Shiloh. He first begins by reminding them that he is become old, but that they have seen all that Jehovah has done to all these nations before them, for he has fought for them. Of his own merits toward Israel the modest hero boasts not a word. He only remarks (Jos 23:4) that he has divided by lot for them the remaining nations also, from the Jordan, and all the nations which I have cut off, and the great sea toward the going down of the sun. The sense is, In the country lying between the Jordan on the east and the great sea on the west, have I distributed to you by lot as well the still remaining peoples, therefore to be driven out (comp. Jos 17:15), as those already destroyed (comp. Jos 11:12), that you may possess their land.

Jos 23:5. These nations, viz., the , will Jehovah himself expel, thrust out (, comp. Deu 6:19; Deu 9:14, likewise used of the expulsion of the Canaanites) before them, and drive them off (), and they (the Israelites) shall possess the land (Jos 1:15) as Jehovah has spoken (Jos 13:6; Exo 23:23 ff.). That will Jehovah do, as is afterward repeated in Jos 23:10. But they must, as Joshua admonishes, Jos 23:8, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, etc., comp. Jos 1:7.

Jos 23:7-8. Especially they are warned against all intercourse with those nations, and above all, against participation in their idolatry. On , to mention any one by his name, i.e., to make him the object of a call and proclamation, comp. Isa 48:1; Psa 20:8; , Isa 12:4; Isa 41:25 (Knobel). Keil appositely remarks further, that, to mention the names of the gods (Exo 23:13), to swear by them, to serve them (by offerings), and to bow down to them (call upon them in prayer), are the four expressions of divine worship, see Deu 6:13; Deu 10:20.

Jos 23:9. A fresh reminiscence of Gods help, who has driven out before them great and strong nations, cf. Jos 23:3. And youno man hath stood before you unto this day. Meaning: and you were so powerful through his assistance that you conquered everything before you, comp. Jos 21:44.

Jos 23:10. To be understood neither with the LXX., who render by , of the past, nor with the Vulg., which translates persequetur, of the future, but rather of the present; one man of you chaseth a thousand, for Jehovah your God, he it is who fighteth for you ashe hath spoken to you. So De Wette rightly translates, for it must be the actual present state of the people, and their actual present relation to Jehovah, in which the sure guarantee of their future complete extirpation of the Canaanites will consist. Deu 32:30; Num 26:8, should be compared.

Jos 23:11. A repeated admonition to love Jehovah their God. There follows , in Jos 23:12-16, the warning against apostasy from God, which is closely connected by with the last words of the admonition.

Jos 23:12-13. For if ye do in any wise turn back (), and cleaveto the remnant of these nations, these that remain with you, and make marriages with them (contrary to the prohibition, Exo 34:16; , from , prop. to cut off, then = , to determine, make fast; to betroth, as in old Lat. festa for bridegroom [] or the father of the bride [], Exo 18:1 ff.; Jdg 19:4 ff. Hithpael: to intermarry, to contract affinities by marriage, and that either by taking anothers daughter, or giving him ones own, with as here (Deu 7:3; 1Sa 18:22-23; 1Sa 18:26-27; Ezr 9:14. Gesen.), and ye come among them and they among you, know for a certainty ( ) that Jehovah your God will no more drive out these nations from before you, and they will be for you a trap (, in the same tragic sense as in Psa 69:23 and Isa 8:15, where also is connected with , as likewise in the N. T., Luk 21:35, ), and a snare and a scourge (, commonly , e.g.,Pro 26:3; 1Ki 12:11) in your sides, and thorns (, Num 33:55, from , in the signif. to be interwoven, entangled) in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good ground () which Jehovah your God hath given you. The declaration of Joshua is much more severe than that of Moses, Num 33:55, which speaks only of (thorns), parallel to . But here Joshua threatens that the Canaanites shall be to them a trap and snare for their feet; a scourgein their sides; thornsin their eyes, so that they shall be endangered by them and plagued on every side of the body, as it were. Keil: Joshua multiplies the figures to picture the inconvenience and distress which will arise from their intercourse with the Canaanites, because, knowing the fickleness of the people, and the pride of the human heart, he foresaw that the falling away from God, which Moses had in his day predicted, will only too soon take place; as indeed it did, according to Jdg 2:3 ff., in the next generation. The words , repeat the threat of Moses, Deu 11:17; comp. Joshua 28:21 ff.

Jos 23:14. Joshua, as in Jos 23:3, calls to mind his approaching end: I am going the way of all the earth,i.e., on the way to death, which a man goes and returns not, into the land of darkness and the shadow of death (Job 10:21; 1Ki 2:2). This way all the earth, the whole world must take. The lesson which he connects with these words teaches them to perceive that, as was said Jos 21:45, God has fulfilled to them all his promises, in which Joshua thinks particularly of the conquest of Canaan.

Jos 23:15-16. Reiterated warning against backsliding (comp. Jos 23:13). As God has fulfilled the good words concerning them, so will Jehovah bring () upon them also every evil word (Lev 26:14-33; Deu 28:15-68; Deu 29:14-28; Deu 30:1; Deu 30:15; comp. Jos 8:34-35), until he destroys them (, as Deut. 7:34; 28:48, Keil). Nay, if they transgress the covenant of Jehovah, to serve other gods and worship them, then his anger will burn against them, and they will quickly () perish out of the good land, which he has given them. The second part of Jos 23:16 occurs word for word in Deu 11:17, the first in part.

b. Ch. 24. The Second Farewell. Renewal of the Covenant. Conclusion. a. Jos 24:1-15. The discourse, the general character of which has been described, falls, after the exordium, into two divisions; Jos 24:2-13 a recapitulation of what God, since the time of the patriarchs, has done for his people; Jos 24:14-16, a demand to abstain entirely from idolatry, and to cleave to Jehovah, whom Joshua, at all events, and his family, will serve.

Jos 24:1. The assembly gathered not in Shiloh but in Shechem, where the solemn transaction related Jos 8:30-35, had taken place. On this account particularly, to recall that transaction, were the people summoned thither. A second reason is found by Hengstenberg (Beitrge, iii. p. 14 ff.) and Keil, in the fact that Jacob had dwelt here after his return from Mesopotamia, here purified his house of strange gods and buried their images under the oak at Shechem (Gen 33:19; Gen 35:2; Gen 35:4). An opinion intrinsically probable, but neither in the context of our chapter nor elsewhere in the book is it mentioned. The , as Jos 1:10; Jos 3:2; Jos 8:33; Jos 23:2.

And they presented themselves before God [ , as in Job 1:6; Job 2:1, ]. Joshua had, Jos 8:31, raised an altar on Mount Ebal, on which at that time, before the building of the tabernacle, sacrifices were offered. Of offerings there is no mention here.

Jos 24:2. God of Israel; significant, so Jos 24:23. In this verse, as in Jos 24:3-4, Joshua, in the name of Jehovah, holds up to the people what He has done for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the first proof of his divine grace. The fathers dwelt of old () beyond the stream, i.e., the Euphrates, namely, in Ur in Chaldea, and then in Haran (Gen 11:28; Gen 11:31).

Terah (, LXX.: , from , in Chald. to delay, comp. also Num 33:27) the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, and served other gods. And I took your father Abraham. Isaac. The gods which Terah reverenced were, as appears from Gen 31:19; Gen 31:34, Teraphim, Penates (see Winer, Realw. s. v. Theraphim, [Smiths Dict. of Bible, art. Teraphim.] It is worthy of notice that it is not said distinctly of Abraham that he served other gods, on which account we agree with Knobel, who says: Whether, according to our author, Abraham also was originally an idolater, is rather to be denied than affirmed, comp. Gen 31:53. Dangerous even for him certainly were the idolatrous surroundings, wherefore God took him () and caused him to wander through Canaan. According to a tradition preserved in the Targum Jonathan (Keil, Com. b. Jos. 169, Anm. 1), and which recurs in the latter Rabbins, Abraham had to suffer persecution on account of his aversion to idolatry, and to forsake his native country; while an Arabic story (Hottinger, Hist. or. 50 ap. Winer, Realw. s. v. Abraham) makes him wander as far as Mecca, and there lay the first foundation of the Caaba. According to this, therefore, it must be assumed that he was a Saban.

Of Abrahams life nothing further is mentioned, Jos 24:3, than that Jehovah caused him to wander through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac.

Jos 24:4. To Isaac gave Jehovah Jacob, and Esau, who received Mount Seir (Gen 26:6 ff.) for a possession. Jacob alone was to have Canaan for himself and his posterity, of which, however, nothing further is here said. Rather, there is added only the remark, which leads to Jos 24:5, that Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt, as is told Gen 46:1 ff.

Jos 24:5-7. The second proof of the Divine favor: Israels deliverance out of Egypt, the chief incidents of which are succinctly enumerated, namely, (1) the sending of Moses and Aaron and the infliction of the plagues upon Egypt (Exo 3:4); (2) the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea (Exodus 14 ).

Jos 24:5-6. The words in Jos 24:5, according to that which I did in the midst of them ( ), occasion some difficulty. The LXX., without doubt, read , for they translate the whole verse, freely it is true: , , . The Vulgate also, following them, offers no sure standing ground when it renders: Et percussi gyptum multis signis atque portentis eduxique vos. Knobel, appealing to the translation of the LXX., would read instead of ; but even , gives not a bad sense, if we paraphrase the very curtly spoken sentence thus: As you, according to all that which I did in the midst of them, sc. the Egyptians, perfectly well know. Bunsen: So as you know that I did among them. We retain , therefore, because it is the more difficult reading.

Red sea, see on Jos 2:10.

Jos 24:7. A poetical, noble description. The Israelites cried to Jehovah. Then he placed darkness (, LXX.: , from , to go down [of the sun], to become dark, . . In Jer 2:21, we meet again with the compound , as a designation of the wilderness, i.e., the pillar of cloud (Exo 13:1 ff; Exo 14:19 ff.) between them and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon the latter and covered them. But the eyes of the Israelites saw what Jehovah did to the Egyptians. The change between the third and the first person is to be noticed. While we find the first person in Jos 24:5-6, Jehovah is spoken of at the beginning of Jos 24:7 in the third person, and then proceeds in the first. Ye dwelt in the wilderness many days. Transition to Jos 24:8, comp. Jos 24:5 b.

Jos 24:8-10. The third proof of Gods favor Victory over the Amorites (Num 21:23), and turning away of Balaams purposed curse from Israel (Num 22:22-24).

Jos 24:8. They fought with you, namely, under the command of their kings, Sihon, who was slain at Jahaz (Num 21:23), and Og, who was slain at Edrei (Num 21:33).

Jos 24:9. When it is said of Balak that he, the king of the Moabites, warred against Israel, we learn from the following words, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to come and curse you, how this is meant by the author. Balak contended not with arms against the Israelites, but would have them cursed by the false prophet Balaam, the (Jos 13:22), in which the terrified king at least staked his gold (Num 22:7), although it did not win. He lacked the courage for warfare with arms.

Jos 24:11. The fourth proof of Gods favor: The passage of the Jordan, capture of Jericho, victory over the Canaanites. The are not, as Knobel supposes, appealing to Jos 6:2, the king and his heroes, since the author in this case would have chosen the same expression; but, according to the example of 2Sa 21:12; 1Sa 23:11; Jdg 9:6, the citizens of Jericho.

Jos 24:12-13. Summary conclusion of the first division of Joshuas speech, in which he again emphasizes the fact, that it was God who inspired the Canaanites, particularly Sihon and Og, with terror, and who has given the Israelites a rich and well cultivated land.

Jos 24:12. And I sent the hornet () before you. (So had it been promised by God, Exo 23:28; Deu 7:20, and now also fulfilled, comp. Wis 12:8). is not to be understood literally, nor of plagues generally, but with Knobel and Keil, and most of the recent authorities, in such figurative sense as to be compared with Deu 2:25; Jos 2:11, where it is stated that Jehovah began, on the day of the victory over Sihon, to spread among all peoples, fear and terror, trembling and quaking and anguish, on account of Israel. The swarm of hornets is a terror and consternation to those against whom it turns, to fall upon them; before it they cannot stand but hurry away in distress. Like this is the consternation which, after their first great battle, preceded the Hebrews, and, like a heaven-sent spiritual plague, fell upon the peoples so that they fainted before Israel. Elsewhere the bees appear as an image of terrible foes (Deu 1:44; Psa 118:12; Knobel, on Exo 23:28). It ought also to be considered that in Exo 23:27, the next preceding verse, terror is spoken of ( ). The same conclusion follows if we compare Deu 7:20 with Jos 24:19, Jos 24:21 (end), Jos 24:23-24.

Not by thy sword and not by thy bow. The same thought as in Psa 44:4.

Jos 24:13. Thus Israel has, through Gods goodness, without merit on his part, received a glorious land, a land which he has not worked with the sweat of his brow ( ), i.e., made productive, cities which he has not built, vineyards and olive-trees which he has not planted, but of which he shall eat. The LXX. render by , the Vulgate, by oliveta = olive plantations, olive-yards, as Luther and De Wette translate; rightly, no doubt, for the sense. If the Hebrew language had a special word for this, as it had in for vineyard, it would certainly have made use of it here. This all happened as Jehovah had promised, Deu 6:10.

Jos 24:14-16. A demand to forsake idolatry entirely, and cleave to Jehovah alone, whom Joshua at least with his house will serve.

Jos 24:14. And now fear Jehovah(cf. Psa 2:11; Psa 5:8; especially Pro 1:7; Job 28:28) and serve him ( , LXX.; , comp. Rom 1:25) in sincerity and in truth ( , cf. Jdg 9:16; Jdg 9:19, and on , in the N. T. , 1Co 5:8; 2Co 1:12; 2Co 2:17), and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt (comp. Lev 17:7; Amo 5:26; as well as Eze 20:7 ff; Eze 23:3; Eze 23:8), and serve Jehovah.

Jos 24:15. Finally, Joshua challenges the people to decide with the utmost freedom: if it seem evil in your eyes, if it please you not (LXX.: ), he calls to them, to serve Jehovah, then choose you (for yourselves, ) this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. He gives them the choice, therefore, between the old worship of the Penates practiced by their fathers and the Baal-worship of the inhabitants of the land, if they will not serve Jehovah. The latter will he for his part and his family do, in any case, for he adds: but I and my house will serve Jehovah.

. Jos 24:16-28. The Renewal of the Covenant. Struck by the words of Joshua the whole people with one consent reply, that they will not forsake Jehovah: We also will serve Jehovah, for he is our God (Jos 24:16-18). Being reminded further by Joshua how hard this is, since Jehovah is a holy and a jealous God (Jos 24:19-20), the people persist in their former declaration (Jos 24:21) whereupon the choice of Jehovah is, solemnly made (Jos 24:22-24), and the covenant renewed (Jos 24:25). All these things Joshua writes in the law-book of God (Jos 24:26), raises a monument of stone as a witness of what has taken place (Jos 24:27), and then dismisses the people (Jos 24:28) each to his possession.

Jos 24:16-18. The Peoples Reply to Joshuas Speech. Jos 24:16. The idea of forsaking Jehovah and serving other gods, is rejected with expressions of the deepest aversion ( ) to idolatry, comp. Jos 22:29.

Jos 24:17. The reason: Jehovah was their God, he who had brought them up (, for which, in Exo 20:2, we have ) out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage ( , as Exo 20:2), and had done these great signs, i.e., the wonders mentioned by Joshua (Jos 24:8-12) before their eyes, and had kept them in all the way wherein they went, etc.

Jos 24:18. Among the deeds of Jehovah they retail especially the expulsion of the original inhabitants of the land, and then add, in allusion to Joshuas last word, we also will serve Jehovah, for he is our God.

Jos 24:19-20. Joshua still calls the people to notice how difficult it was to serve Jehovah, by showing that he was a holy God ( as 1Sa 17:26; , where also the adject. is in the plural; in respect to the sense, comp. Exo 19:6; Lev 21:6-8; 1Pe 2:9, as well as the numerous passages in Isaiah, where God is designated as the , e.g., Isa 5:19; Isa 5:24; Isa 12:6; 30:11, 12; 41:14, 43, etc.), a jealous God ( ; Exo 20:5, ; Nah 1:2, , as here), who will not forgive transgressions () and sins, , spoken of the forgiveness of sins, is commonly construed with acc. rei; less frequently with rei, besides this passage in Exo 23:21; Psa 25:18, with slight modification of meaningto award forgiveness to sin (Keil).

Jos 24:20. This jealousy of the holy God will show itself in this, that if they should forsake him and serve strange gods ( , as Gen 35:4, while in Jos 24:16, as in Jos 23:16, we found ) he will turn () and do them harm and consume (, finish, abolish) them, after that he has done them good, i.e., without any regard to the fact that he had done them good.

Jos 24:21. The people adhere to their resolution to serve Jehovah. On , minime, comp. Jos 5:14.

Jos 24:22. Joshua calls them now to witness against themselves, that they have chosen Jehovah as their God, to serve him, i.e., they will, if they ever fall away, be obliged to admit that they once chose Jehovah, and that he now has a right also to punish them for their unfaithfulness. To this, too, they assent, replying, as with one mouth: witnesses (are we).

Jos 24:23. Still another exhortation of Joshua, resting on that assent, to put away the strange gods (as Jos 24:20, ) which were in the midst of them, and incline their heart to Jehovah, the God of Israel (as Jos 24:2). Keil, following the example of R. Levi ben Gerson, Augustine, and Calvin, takes , figuratively = in your hearts, because the people, with all their willing ness to renounce idolatry, yet deliver to Joshua no images to be destroyed, as was done in the similar cases, Gen 35:4; 1Sa 7:4. He thinks further, that although the people, as Amos represents to his generation (Amo 5:26, comp. (Act 7:43), carried about with them idols in the wilderness, yet with the dying out of the generation condemned at Kadesh, gross idolatry would have disappeared from Israel. We may grant that so long as Joshua lived, Israel publicly served the true God, but hold it very probable that, as he might full well know, many a one in secret worshipped the idols which he now demanded that they should put away, using the same word () which Jacob had used before, and Samuel used after him. As regards the actual removal of the images, this may have followed, although we are not so informed. Finally, here certainly is used precisely as much in the proper sense as in Gen 35:2, , and 1Sa 7:8, .

Jos 24:24. For the third time (Jos 24:16; Jos 24:21) the people aver that they will serve Jehovah and hearken to his voice.

Jos 24:25. Upon this, Joshua made a covenant with them that day, i.e., he renewed the covenant concluded on Sinai by God with Israel (Exo 19:20), in like manner as Moses had done (Deu 28:62) in the field of Moab. When it is said further concerning Joshua, that he set them a statute and an ordinance (or judgment) in Israel, these words are in allusion to Exo 15:25, where, in connection with the change (not by this, Keil) of the bitter water into sweet, God himself established for Israel a statute and right. Here, it was precisely through the renewal of the covenant that statute and right for the people were established and determined,what in matters of religion should be with Israel law and right (Knobel).

Jos 24:26-28. After this had been done, Joshua wrote these things, (prop. words, ), i.e., all which had happened there at Shechem, the whole transaction between him and the people, in the book of the law of God. He wrote a documenta protocol, so to speakconcerning the matter, and introduced it into the book of the law. At the same time he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak which was in the sanctuary of Jehovah ( ). The sanctuary is not the tabernacle (Exo 25:8; Lev 12:4; Lev 19:30; Lev 20:3; Lev 21:12; Num 3:38; Num 19:20 ap. Knobel), since this, according to Jos 18:1, stood in Shiloh, but a consecrated space, a sacred spot; and this place, indeed, within whose limits stood the oak, where the great stone was set up by Joshua (cf. Gen 28:18; Jos 4:20-22; 1Sa 7:12), had been hallowed by the altar which Abraham and Jacob had formerly built there (Gen 12:7; Gen 33:20). We may add with Knobel, that according to Jos 8:30, Joshua himself had built an altar on Mount Ebal, therefore in close proximity to Shechem, which, like Gilgal (Jos 4:20 ff; Jos 15:7), became a holy place.

Jos 24:27. Joshua finally explains the significance of the stone, which is to be a witness against the people in case they deny God, since it has heard all the words of Jehovah (Jos 24:2). In a vivid imagination the stone is regarded as a person, so to speak, which has seen and heard every thing, comp. Jos 22:34.

Jos 24:28 relates the dismissal of the people. Every one returns to his possession.

Jos 24:29-33. Death of Joshua and of Eleazar. Jos 24:29-30. It is probable that immediately thereafter Joshua died, one hundred and ten years old, at the same age precisely as that which Joseph reached, Gen 1:26. He was buried at Timnath-serah (Jos 19:50). The mountain of Gaash, mentioned here as well as in Jdg 2:9; 2Sa 23:30; 1Ch 11:32, cannot be identified. Its name, from to push, thrust, signifies, according to Gesenius, perhaps the same as fore-thrust, forespring.

Jos 24:31. So long as Joshua and the elders, who with him had led the people, lived, and those who had known (), i.e. experienced, all the works ( of Jehovah, which he had done for Israel, Israel served Jehovah, as is likewise related Jdg 2:11 ff.

Jos 24:32 contains an additional statement concerning the bones of Joseph, which suited the conclusion here, especially as the discourse in vers, 128 had been concerning Shechem, where they were buried, in the piece of ground which Jacob had once bought for one hundred kesita (Gen 23:19) of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem We learn from Exo 13:19, that the Israelites had, in conformity with a last wish of Joseph, recorded Gen 1:25, brought these bones out of Egypt, and this circumstance is mentioned by our author in the beginning of this verse.

Jos 24:33. After Joshua, died Eleazar also, the son of Aaron. How long afterward we cannot determine. They buried him at Gibeah-phinehas, the city of his son, which had been given to the latter on Mount Ephraim. Since it is expressly said that this Gibeah-phinehas lay on mount Ephraim, we agree with Robinson, von Raumer (p. 155), and Knobel, who regarded it as being the present Geeb in Maundrell, p. 87, or Jibia in Rob. iii. 80, 81, or Chirbet Jibia in Ritter, Erdk. 16. p. 559 f., the , villa Geba of Euseb. and Jerome. It stood five miles, i.e., two hours, north of Guphna, toward Neapolis or Shechem. Keil, however, thinks of the Levitical city Geba (Jos 18:24), to which view the position on Mount Ephraim need not, in his opinion, be an objection, because this mountain, according to Jdg 4:5 and other passages, reached far into the territory of Benjamin (?).

The Hebrew original of our book closes with this notice of the death of Eleazar. The LXX. have added a supplement, combining Jdg 2:6; Jdg 2:11; Jdg 3:7; Jdg 3:12 ff., which, however, is nowhere found in the MSS. and editions of Joshua. We give it according to the Polyglott Bible of Stier and Theile: , . . . , .

THEOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL

1. Joshuas noble character, his deep insight into Gods leadings of his people, his accurate knowledge of the inconstancy of the human heart, his beautiful treatment of religious occasions, all appear in his last two addresses at parting with the people. As far as possible he keeps his own personal merit in the background. It is God who has fought for Israel (Jos 23:3) and will still further fight for him (Jos 23:10), the God of Israel (Jos 24:2; Jos 24:23), who from ancient times (Jos 24:2) to the present day has wonderfully manifested himself to his people, shown them much favor, and finally given them a beautiful dwelling-place (Jos 24:13). Of himself he says repeatedly that he is old and must go the way of all the earth (Jos 23:2; Jos 23:14), therefore a mortal man subject to the lot of all earthly existence, a man who, having fulfilled his task and distributed the land to the people (Jos 23:4), must now retire from the theatre of his activity, but who, as long as he lives, will with his family serve Jehovah (Jos 24:15). How nobly, on the other hand, he sketches in large features, particularly in the second discourse, the works of God; Abrahams call (Jos 24:2 ff.), the mission of Moses and Israels deliverance out of Egypt (Jos 24:5 ff.), the conquest of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, the turning away of the curse of Balaam, the capture of Jericho, the conquest of the land (Jos 24:8 ff.). Since he knew, however, the human heart in its fickleness, and in particular understood accurately the want of stedfastness on the part of Israel, he repeatedly admonishes them to fidelity towards God (Jos 23:6-7; Jos 23:11; Jos 24:14-15), warns them likewise, and in part with words of sharp severity, against all apostasy (Jos 23:12-16; Jos 24:14; Jos 24:20), and puts them a third time to the test whether they will really serve Jehovah (Jos 24:15; Jos 24:19-20; Jos 24:22). In this, however, appears at the same time Joshuas excellent understanding of the treatment of religious concerns, for he will employ no constraint, but leaves entirely to their own choice the decision whether Israel will serve Jehovah or the strange gods of whom they had knowledge (Jos 24:15; Jos 24:19-20). But then, after the people have decided for Jehovah, although Joshua has very emphatically pointed out that He is a holy and a jealous God (Jos 24:19), who will not forgive transgressions and sins, he demands of them also so much the more pointedly that they shall put away all strange gods.

2. In respect to this putting away of strange gods, we take the liberty of adding Gerlachs remark on Jos 24:23, which still more definitely supports our explanation of the passage. It is remarkable, he says, that, after Achans trespass in the matter of things devoted, and after the Israelites had not long before been ready to avenge so signally the supposed crime of their transjordanic brethren in erecting a rival altar, idolatry could still have been secretly practiced among them. In this, however, we must fairly consider how hard it was for the thought of the one, almighty, omnipresent God to find lodgment in the mind of the heathen-spirited people, how, with this faith they stood alone among the nations of the whole contemporary world, how they, therefore, were continually overcome anew and taken captive by the spirit of the world and of the age, and incessantly turned away to other helpers from the divinely appointed means of grace which seemed not to satisfy their carnal desires; how, in particular, they still afterwards worshipped partly the true God under images, partly the divining house-gods (teraphim) in secret; and how the judgment of God might indeed seize upon and hold up one example (Achan, ch. vii.), without, therefore, at a later period, in like manner, extirpating the sin. That in the wilderness the people in secret worshipped idols Amos declares (Amos 5:25; comp. Act 7:43), that there were household gods even in Davids house, is shown by 1Sa 19:13; 1Sa 19:16. No apostasy from the true God followed from that, but a partial and ever renewed corruption of his service through superstition. Analogous examples are found in Grimms Mythology, from the history of our German people.

3. Similar representations of the benefits of God to his people may be read in many passages of the Psalms, partly abridged, partly in more full accounts. Thus Psa 44:1-4; Psa 68:8 ff; Psalms 78; Psa 80:9 ff; Psa 81:11; Psa 99:6-7; Psalms 90; Psalms 106; Psa 135:8 ff; Psa 136:10-11; Psa 136:19. Touching the deliverance from Egypt the tenderly winning representation of Hosea (Jos 11:1 ff. [and of Jeremiah, Jos 2:1 ff.]) may be compared.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Joshuas first farewell discourse considered in the two sections above given, for comfort and admonition (Jos 23:1-15).As the Lord once brought Israel into rest, so will He also bring us to rest, for there remaineth a rest for the people of God (Jos 23:1).Joshua, in his humility and modesty, set before us as a pattern, that we should in all things give God alone the honor, while we know and feel ourselves to be weak and dying men.The Lord has fought also for you. (1) The Lord has fought; (2) the Lord has fought for you (Jos 23:3; sermon for victory).Depart neither to the right hand nor to the left from the commands of God; a text suitable for confirmation addresses.God gives victory only when the combatants most diligently keep their souls and love him.Bad men will be, as the heathen were for the Israelites, a trap and a snare and a scourge in the sides, and thorns in the eyes for those who live in intercourse with them.

Jos 23:14, a very beautiful text for a farewell sermon for a preacher who is obliged to lay down his office from advanced age, also for a funeral discourse when a father, for instance, to whose family God has shown much kindness, is deceased.

Jos 23:15-16. Suitable for a sermon on a day of fasting and prayer. (1) Think to-day of all the good which you have received, according to what God has spoken to you; but (2) be warned against the transgression of his covenant, lest his judgment come upon you.

Joshuas last congress at Shechem. (1) His discourse (Jos 24:1-15); (2) the answer of the people (Jos 24:16-18); (3) the final decision and renewal of the covenant (Jos 24:19-25).Joshuas second farewell discourse treated by itself, and that as a review of the history of Israel from the days of the patriarchs to his own, in its most important incidents as above stated (Jos 24:1-15).Of the terror of God upon nations doomed to destruction (Jos 24:12).Not by thy sword nor by thy bow!Gods surpassing benefits proved by what He bestowed upon Israel.Earnest exhortation to give up all the idolatry still remaining among them.In matters of religious conviction the decision must be altogether free; all constraint is to be condemned. That Joshua teaches once for all.I and my house will serve the Lord!A text of inexhaustible richness for weddings; yet rightly employed only when the individual dispositions correspond,a thing which in occasional services should never be wanting. That Frederick William IV., king of Prussia, at the opening of the United Diet in 1847, declared this word of Joshua to be his own maxim, is well known.Such deep horror of all idolatry becomes us also, as it once became Israel. Only our aversion must be more permanent than it was with that people.We also will serve Jehovah, for He is our God.God a holy, and a jealous God.How the thought that God is holy, pure from all evil, and jealous, zealously intent on his proper glory, should restrain us from all evil, and especially from all idolatry.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.When we forsake the Lord He forsakes us also, and turns away from us although He may have done us ever so much good.

Jos 24:22 also may be employed as a text for discourses at confirmation [and at all receptions into the church], in which it is to be impressed upon the candidates that their yes will testify against them if they prove unfaithful to the Lord.In what must the true and sincere conversion (repentance) of an entire people consist? (1) In their putting away their strange, often very secretly worshipped gods; (2) in the inclination of their hearts to the Lord God of Israel.The God of Israel (Jos 24:2; Jos 24:23).The repeated profession of the people that they will serve the Lord, regarded (1) in reference to its import, (2) to the responsibility which the people thus took upon them.It is easily said: I will serve the Lord and obey his voice; but actually to keep the promise when the world allures to its altars, is quite another thing.Israels resolution to serve the Lord was wholly voluntary. So should it be also with us. There should be no compulsion.Men may well hearken to Gods voice, for (1) it always warns against the evil, (2) always admonishes to the good.O! how peaceful is it in the heart when we really serve the Lord our God in sincerity, and hear nothing in preference to his friendly voice, that we may joyfully obey it.The renewal of the covenant at Shechem; to be treated in such a way that (1) Joshua, (2) the people, (3) the matter of the covenant (law and rights of God), (4) the place where it was accomplishedkeeping in view the historical recollections so richly associated with Shechem, (5) the memorial of the covenant, shall all receive due attention.Joshuas death, the end of a faithful servant of the Lord who had proved himself such (1) already in Moses time (Numbers 13; Num 27:15-23); (2) in the conquest and partition of the land, in which (a) his trust in God, (b) his bravery, (c) his unselfishness (Jos 17:14-18; Jos 19:49-50) are to be signalized; (3) even to the end (comp. Jos 23:1-11; Jos 24:1-15).

Jos 24:29-30. How beneficially the good example of a pious and true leader may influence a whole people, illustrated by the case of Joshua, Eleazar, Phinehas, and the other elders of Israel.The burial of Josephs bones, an act of grateful respect, and the conscientious fulfillment of a dying wish.Eleazars death the end of a priest after Gods heart (Exo 6:23; Exo 6:25; Exo 28:1; Lev 8:24; Num 3:32; Num 20:26; Num 27:18 ff; Num 34:17; Jos 14:1).

Starke: Peace and rest is also a favor from God, therefore we may well pray: Graciously grant us peace, etc., and, From war and bloodshed preserve us, merciful Lord God, etc. Although God alone, in all things which happen, deserves the honor, and He it is also who is and remains the one who effects all good, yet we must not leave anything wanting in our own fidelity.A Christian must not walk in his own way, but order all his conduct by Gods word.Soul lost, all lost! Therefore watch, make haste and save thy soul!God demands not merely an outward but an inward obedience to his law.By our might nothing is done, by Gods might everything.To serve the true God is the highest propriety and our duty; O that all might recognize it as such and serve God from the heart!The service which one renders to God must be unconstrained.

Cramer: Faith is an assured confidence and excludes doubt (Heb 11:1; Jam 1:6) even where one cannot see (Joh 20:29).The promises of the law are conditioned on obedience (Deu 28:1).There is, however, none other who could fight for us, etc., Psa 53:6; Psa 79:10 (Jos 23:10).With the froward God is froward.Death knows no difference in person, age, sex, condition, or country.By repeating and meditating on the great deeds of God we should strengthen ourselves in faith, and press on towards obedience to his commands (Psa 44:2; Psa 85:2; Psa 105:5; Psa 106:6).

Osiander: Whoever desires to live in accordance with the prescribed word of God, so as to add nothing thereto and take nothing therefrom, he is on the right road and walks most safely.It is not enough to have made a good beginning, but he who perseveres to the end shall be saved, Mat 24:13.To God must we ascribe the victory, and not to our own might and strength.The church of God is never without hypocrites and apostates.God can put up with no mixed religion; with him it is all mine or let it alone altogether, Mat 4:10.

Bibl. Tub.: The precious covenant which we have made with God we should have constantly before our eyes.

[Matt. Henry; on Jos 23:1-2 : When we see death hastening toward us, that should quicken us to do the work of life with all our might.On Jos 24:1 : 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.Ibid. Jos 23:15 : 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 endeavors to the utmost sphere of our activity; if we cannot reform the land, let us put away iniquity far from our own tabernacle.Those that lead and rule in other things, should be first in the service of God, and go before in the best things.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.Ibid. Joshua 23:2933: This book which began with triumphs here ends with funerals, by which all the glory of man is stained.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!]

Footnotes:

[1][Jos 23:1. , prop. after, or following, many days. This is taken by our version rather as modifying the following clause, at the end of many days after, etc., than as parallel to it (De Wette, Fay), and meaning the same thing: after many days, after Jehovah had given, etc. The latter is preferable.Tr.]

[2][Jos 23:2. should introduce the apodosis to Jos 1:1, and the translation be (Jos 1:1), and it came to pass after that Jehovah. and Joshua was old, far gone in years (Jos 1:2), that Joshua called all Israel, etc.Tr.]

[3][Jos 23:2. Lit. called to, but the to is superfluous in consistency with the usage generally; so that for should be omitted throughout this verse.Tr.]

[4][Jos 23:5. Our version rightly, although perhaps too strongly marks the variety in and , which De Wette and Fay neglect.Tr.]

[5][Jos 23:7. . To indicate exactly the construction of the prep. with both verbs, is scarcely possible in English. We have to adopt some such substitute as, and not make mention of, and not cause to swear by the name of their gods.Tr.]

[6][Jos 23:12. The idea is that of general intercourse. The verb come is used for brevitys sake, instead of saying fully: and you go among them and they come among you.Tr.]

[7][Jos 24:1. Omit for throughout this Terse as Jos 23:2.Tr.]

[8][Jos 24:9. although capable of meaning to war, wage war, is, with one exception, translated throughout our book, to fight.Tr.]

[9][Jos 24:10. The emphatic force of the infin. abs. here might be variously expressed: he kept blessing you; he must fain bless you; he did nothing but bless you. Equivalent is the intent of he blessed you still.

[10][Jos 24:11. These names are all singular in the Hebrew throughout the verse, and are best so read in English.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

We are now arrived to the end of Joshua’s history. This chapter contains the finishing of his sermon, and the finishing of his life together. He dies, as he had lived, in the act of praising God, and most earnestly and affectionately entreating the Israelites to the love and obedience of the Lord. The chapter closes also with an account of the death of Eleazar, and of the removal of Joseph’s bones.

Jos 24:1

Whether this be a continuation of the same sermon, as in the preceding chapter, or whether it be another discourse, is not certain. As the former declared that he was that day going the way of all the earth, it should seem to have been intended as his farewell discourse. But it is possible that this might have been delivered at another time. However this point is not so interesting to determine. The subject of this and the former is one and the same. Both were preached to proclaim God’s glory; and this is the leading point which runs through both. It was in Shechem, not in Shiloh, Joshua delivered his farewell sermon; for this was nearer his home. And this is the more remarkable, because this was the memorable spot where the visions of God began with Abraham. Gen 12:6-7 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

The Eternal Choice

Jos 24:15

Joshua here calls Israel to decide between Jehovah’s service and the service of other gods, such as their fathers served in Mesopotamia, or such as the neighbouring Amorites served. They were no longer to give a half-hearted service, but to choose whom they would serve wholly. The call did not imply neutrality, or that they were not bound to serve Jehovah; but it was meant to arouse the indifferent, and those who thought they could combine Jehovah’s service with that of other gods. A similar call comes to men in the Gospel.

I. God’s Call to Us. God demands real and actual service; not the intention, profession, or appearance, but the thing itself. He is entitled to service as our Creator, Benefactor, Redeemer. In a sense we are all servants. There is no escape from service. We serve that to which our whole heart is given. God’s call is to serve Him.

II. The Choice. It is for ourselves to choose whether our service shall be the holy and blessed one of Jehovah or that of other gods. That we may choose is implied in the call to choose; while it is true that man cannot choose God’s service without being made willing by God’s grace. God expects us to choose; offers help to our choosing; counts us responsible for our choice. In point of fact we must choose, and do actually choose, one service or another. No neutrality is possible, and God will not have a constrained service.

III. The Urgency of the Call. The call is imperative for ‘today’. The decision is to be immediate; not certainly rash and reckless, without due calculation of the cost, yet certainly prompt on a sufficient view of what the service involves. God’s urgency is gracious; He knows the danger of delay and the evil of indecision, and how men let slip, through carelessness and procrastination, their most precious opportunities.

( a ) We may choose now. There is no need to postpone the decision from ignorance of the objects of choice, from their number, from their distance, or from the difficulty of the act of choosing. The information for guiding the choice is ample and varied, and yet capable of being condensed into simple and exhaustive terms. The objects of choice are practically two, Jehovah or other gods; two services that cannot be mistaken for each other, and that cannot be combined. There is no embarrassing multiplicity or distracting similarity.

( b ) We shall find the choice more difficult the longer it is delayed. Delay in doing a thing that is felt to be disagreeable always increases the repugnance, enfeebles the resolution, paralyses the will. Some things need to be done at once if they are to be done at all. Sinful habits, making the choice of God’s service seem painful, grow in power. Delayed repentance is difficult repentance.

( c ) The time for choosing is limited. We cannot reckon on a longer or another time than this day. Divine patience even has its limits. The day of grace is not running on for ever, and indecision may provoke its abrupt termination.

Therefore choose this day. Indecision is contemptible and dangerous. You are as unsafe in indecision as if you had decided boldly not to serve the Lord.

References. XXIV. 15. Spurgeon. Sermons, vol. xxi. No. 1229. A. H. Bradford, Sermons, vol. xliv. 1903, p. 104. A. Murray, The Children for Christ, p. 124. Henry Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii. pp. 423, 439, 466. XXIV. 19. J. Ker, Sermons, p. 66. XXIV. 19-28. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Deuteronomy, Joshua, etc., p. 183. XXIV. 26. W. M. Punshon, The Covenant of Joshua, p. 913; see also Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament, p. 59.

Listening Stones

Jos 24:27

And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone if not great in size, yet in its purpose and symbolism ‘and set it up there under an oak’ well matched ‘that was by the sanctuary of the Lord’; the sanctuary is an oak, and the oak is a sanctuary. ‘And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us’ or a witness against us, it may be both ‘for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He spake unto us.’ Curious, exciting, incredible, certain. ‘It shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God,’ lest you shake off the memory of your own prayers, lest you break your own covenants, ye men of bad faith, for your history is against you. We want to apply this, not only on the Divine side, but on the human side. Sometimes poetry is the only reality. How often have we quoted the word, that fiction is the greater fact. The kingdom of heaven is represented in parables, and the parables mean that we do not half-understand yet what the kingdom of God is.

I. Christ had a good deal to say about stones. Said He once to people who were boasting of themselves and boasting of their ancestry, ‘God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham’. Jesus once said to the devil, to the black face of the universe when that face tempted the Christ to make bread out of stones, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone’ there is no bread of your kind in eternity. God made man come up from eternity, and you could live, if God so willed it, on a word, a syllable, a tone. On another occasion the people said, ‘Hearest Thou not this crying and tumult? can this be permitted?’ He said, If these little children and young folks were to hold their peace, the very stones would cry out, they are listening, and they will not permit too much neglect of Christ. The prayerless house may one day rush down, because the stones will stand no longer in protection of atheism so blank and horrible.

II. Our very footprints may preach. Some poor forlorn and shipwrecked brother coming and seeing them on the wet sand, they may preach to him a gospel of hope and renewed courage and spiritual blessing. We cannot tell what we are doing, no man can follow the range of his own influence. When did any farmer ever foresee a harvest that would be worth the sickle? ‘There will be no corn this year: such and such was the condition of affairs in March, such and such were the conditions climatic in April, that there will be no harvest this year: there is no prospect of our having any need to wield the scythe or the sickle; there is a poor lookout this year.’ The stones heard it, and the soil registered it, and lo, August was aflame with the gifts of God. The stars were listening to what we said, good or bad. They are a long way off, they are quite near at hand. Why, the sun is within whisper-reach, if we knew things really as they are: and all the stars coming out, trooping forth, to bear witness for us or against us to God. And when we begin to say, ‘If we had heard the Gospel we would have believed it,’ the stones will say, You did hear it, you know you heard it The stones are full of the words that God spake in your hearing. The stone caught it, the sermon you forgot it treasures in its stony heart.

III. There were other listeners. Your little child heard when you thought it was not listening. When is a child not listening? The little child there, four to five years of age, heard that oath you spoke under your breath, and that oath may follow the dear little pilgrim all the days of its life; it may not be able to explain why, but the oath that fell from your livid lips struck that little creature, and ever after it will hear something, and memory may help the little one to remember what was spoken that day when you thought nobody heard you curse your wife, or husband, or fortune, or life.

IV. God hears, God listens, Christ hears, Christ hears everything, nothing can escape the attention of the Divine Hearer; the whole Trinity is a listening Trinity! And the stones listen, and the things we call inferior animals have wonderful uses. Let us take care! The stone heard the words of the Lord, and the stone also heard our replies. Be no longer fools and wasters of time, but heed the living God, and let no opportunity pass.

Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. v. p. 262.

References. XXIV. 27. Henry Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. v. p. 63. Phillips Brooks, The Mystery of Iniquity, p. 260. XXIV. 29. H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, God’s Heroes, p. 61.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

After Rest

Joshua 20-24

THE twentieth chapter deals with the Cities of Refuge. A very beautiful expression is that “City of Refuge.” Very suggestive, too. But there is a great black shadow in the middle of it: for why should men want refuge? The term is noble in itself, but what is it in its suggestion? Surely it means that there is a pursuing storm. We have heard travellers say that by making haste they will just be in time to escape the impending tempest; so they quicken their steps, and when they gain the threshold of the sanctuary they were aiming at, they breathe a sigh of relief and thankfulness. The sanctuary is doubly dear to them. Home is always sweet, or ought to be; but how sweeter than the honeycomb when it is reached under circumstances which try the spirit, exasperate the sensibilities, and weigh heavily on the soul! In this case there is a pursuing storm, but not of weather a social storm. The man who is running has killed a man, and the one who is following him is “the avenger of blood.” Who will be first in the city? God will help the first runner, if it be but by one step he will be in before the pursuer can lay hold of him. There is a wondrous ministry of helpfulness operating in the world. We are helped in a thousand ways, not always in the one way in which we want to be helped, but in some other way; yet the help always comes. Was the refuge then for the murderer? No; there was no refuge for the murderer. But is it not said that the man who is fleeing to the city of refuge has killed some person? Yes, it is so said; but a definition is given which clears up all the moral side of the mystery:

“The slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither” ( Jos 20:3 ).

“And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.” ( Jos 20:7-9 )

Now Joshua proceeds with his valedictory speech. Here and there he records a sentence which belongs to all time. The twenty-first chapter has little or nothing to say except to the people to whom it specially related; but in summing up the twenty-first chapter Joshua says,

“There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel” ( Jos 21:45 ).

A noble testimony this, too, borne by the old man. It is not youth that anticipates, it is age that reviews. Old men never become infidels. We say sometimes that seldom is an old man converted to Christianity. How far that may be true we cannot tell; but did ever an old pilgrim who had once seen heaven opened, turn round and say, in his wrinkled old age, that he was going to the city of Negation, or to the wilderness of Atheism? Old men ought to be heard upon these subjects; they have lived a lifetime; they have fought upon a thousand battlefields; they know all the darkness of the night, all the sharpness of winter, all the heat of summer, and they have a right to be heard upon his question; and their testimony on the side of the Bible is united, distinct, emphatic, and unanswerable.

Another point is found in chapter Jos 22:5 :

“But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ( Jos 20:5 )

“Return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession…. But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law” ( Jos 22:4-5 ).

It would seem as if some interviews in life could not be satisfactorily closed but with the language of benediction. An ordinary word would be wholly out of place. There is a fitness of things in human communication as in all other affairs and concerns of life. It is fitting, too, that the benediction should be spoken by the old man. Joshua was “old and stricken in years,” and he concluded the audience fitly by blessing the children of Israel:

“So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went unto their tents” ( Jos 22:6 ).

Now the children of Israel go to their tents: They are to be at peace. Ceasing war they are to be students of war. We shall hear no more of controversy; every man having received the blessing is a good man, and there is an end of a tumult which at one time threatened never to cease. So we should imagine, but our imagining is wrong:

“Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them. And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses” ( Jos 22:7-9 ).

“And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel” ( Jos 22:13-14 ).

“Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: but that it may be a witness” ( Jos 22:26-27 ).

This being settled, a very tender scene occurs. Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, calls for the children of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and talks to them historically and grandly. He called the people themselves to witness what God had done for them:

“And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you” ( Jos 23:3 ).

Not only so, but he uses a very searching expression:

“And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” ( Jos 23:14 ).

“Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;… But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day” ( Jos 23:6-8 ).

What is the call of these verses? It is a call to moral courage. The people were soldiers; when they saw that an altar had been reared to heaven which they did not like, and which they misunderstood, instantly they sped from their tents and challenged the builders to battle. That is the rudest courage; there is nothing in it. Many men can fight who cannot suffer; many are brave in activity who are cowards in waiting. Joshua calls the people now to thought, study, quiet and consistent and continuous obedience namely, “Cleave unto the Lord.” Without this, growth would be impossible. Men cannot grow in the midst of continual or unbroken excitement. We grow when we are at rest; we grow not a little when we are in the shade; we advance when the burden is crushing us, and we are not uttering one complaining word because of its fatal weight. When the history of the land is written as it ought to be written, many a battle which now fills pages and chapters will be dismissed with a contemptuous sentence; and sufferings at home, quiet endurances, Christian manifestations of patience, will be magnified as indicative of the real dauntlessness, the heavenly bravery, the lasting courage. Let every man examine himself herein. To say “No” to a tempting offer is to win a battle: to receive a blow from an enemy and not return it, is to reach the point of coronation in Christ’s great kingdom; to hear a rough speech and make a gentle reply is to evince what is meant by growing in grace. So the history rolls on, from battle to battle, from mistake to mistake, from point to point, until at last the moral displaces the material, questions of the soul put into their right place questions of rank; and moral courage simple, loving, unquestioning obedience is set at the head of all the virtues; and the quiet, meek, submissive, patient soul is crowned and throned, and stablished amid the hierarchy of heaven. We cannot dazzle the world by our greatness, but we can please God by our goodness; we cannot harness the winds and make them bear our names far and wide, but we can so live, so suffer, so speak, as to constrain the enemy to say, Verily, this man is a prophet; verily, this man has been with Jesus and learned of him; verily, there is in this supposed weakness a wonderful and enduring strength.

We cannot but be struck by the equality of the divine way as it is marked by the venerable leader. The fifteenth verse is very expressive upon this point:

“Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you” ( Jos 23:15 ).

“When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you” ( Jos 23:16 ).

Joshua having gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and delivered unto them his final speech. Again we are thrown upon the grand truth that men must bring all their history into one view at certain periods, that thereby they may renew their covenant and revive their best hope. The work of the Lord is not of yesterday; it goes back through all the generations; and he is the wise scribe, well instructed in holy things, who brings into one view all the course of the divine education of the world. This is what Joshua did in brief in the twenty-fourth chapter. Having given the historical outline, the old man began to exhort the people, saying:

“Now, therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth” ( Jos 24:14 ).

” but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” ( Jos 24:15 ).

“God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods’ ( Jos 24:16 ).

Then they review and repeat the solemn history and say that all Joshua has said is true in fact. Then Joshua says unto the people “What you have now said amounts to little more than mere words; you forget that God is a holy God and a jealous God, and you are speaking from impulse rather than from settled conviction.” Then the people reply that Joshua himself is mistaken, and they have really made up their minds once for all to serve the Lord. So be it, then, said Joshua “Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him.” The people answered That is even so; “We are witnesses.” Then said Joshua, There is one final word to be spoken. If you have made up your minds to this course, you must put away the strange gods which are among you; no taint of idolatry must remain behind; not the very smallest image must be taken with you one day longer or one inch further; the expurgation must be immediate, complete, and final. The people answered unanimously: “The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.” It was indeed a solemn day; a day of covenant, a day of memorial, a day which condensed into its throbbing hours generations of history and strong and ardent pulsings of devotion and prophetic service. A covenant was made, and a statute and an ordinance were set in Shechem. To make, if possible, the matter inviolably permanent, “Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord” ( Jos 24:26 ). Then a very solemn scene occurs:

“And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it 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” ( Jos 24:27 ).

Then the assembly broke up. It broke up never to meet again under the same wise and valiant leadership. All pathetic occasions should be treasured in the memory; the last interview, the last sermon, the last prayer, the last fond lingering look; all these things may be frivolously treated as sentimental, but he who treats them so is a fool in his heart: whatever can subdue the spirit, chasten the sensibilities, and enlarge the charity of the soul should be encouraged as a ministry from God. Now Joshua dies, at the age of one hundred and ten. He was buried in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

“And Israel 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” ( Jos 24:31 ).

Now the history is done. The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, were buried in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. Then men died quickly:

“And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim” ( Jos 24:33 ).

Death, death, death! The great man dies, and yet the work goes on. The minister ceases, but the ministry proceeds. The individual sermon closes, but the everlasting gospel never ceases its sweet and redeeming proclamations. Book after book is finished, but literature itself is hardly begun. Amidst all mutation there remains one everlasting quantity: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” All the new generations acknowledge it. They come up in great pride and strength, as if they themselves were to outlive God, and behold in a few years their pith is exhausted, their hope dies, and they know themselves to be no better than their fathers. When we are touched by the death of those whom we have known best, and wonder how light can ever shine again upon the circle in which we move, we should give the mind free scope to range over all the noble and marvellous history of the world, so shall we see that how great soever have been the men who have led us, the world could do without them; God knew how to supply their places, and amidst all change and fear and dismay the purpose of Heaven went steadily forward in all the grandeur of its strength and all the tenderness of its beneficence.

In coming thus far in our Bible studies let us pause a moment to consider how many illustrious men with whom we have companied have passed away. Truly the dead are quickly becoming the majority. Adam died, but, though his years were many, how few are the deeds which are recorded of him! He stands in history as the very Gate of Death. “By one man came death.” We feel as if we might say “But for thee, O Adam, all men would now have been alive; no grave would ever have been dug; no farewell would ever have been breathed.” That is an overwhelming reflection. Consider the possibility of Adam himself now entertaining it, or following it out in all its infinite melancholy! Think of him saying “By my sin I ruined God’s fair earth; to me ascribe all iniquity, all shame, all heartbreak; by my presumption and disobedience I did it all: I slew the Son of God; but for me there would have been no Bethlehem, no Gethsemane, no Calvary, no Cross: lay the blame at the right door, O ages of time, ye burdened and groaning centuries, curse my name in all your woe.” On such thoughts we may not dwell, for the mind reels in moral amazement, and the heart cannot quench the passion of scepticism. Enough is known to make us solemn. Count the graves until arithmetic gives up the reckoning in despair. Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, all gone! Just as we had come to know them in the breaking of bread they vanished out of our sight. It was as if rocks had been uprooted, or as if planets had ceased to shine: nay more, for we have not only lost strength and majesty, we have lost guidance, stimulus, friendship, and the subtle ministry of eloquent example. Can history repeat such men? Does our story now lie all down-hill, from steep to steep until we reach the valley of commonplace or the plain of mediocrity? Jesus Christ has taught us how to regard great men, saying “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Here we have at once recognition of greatness and hope of greater history. What if we may know more than Adam, see farther than Enoch, embark in greater adventures than Abram, offer greater sacrifices than the priests, and see a deeper law than was ever revealed to Moses? In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom, yea riches unsearchable, promises exceeding great and precious. My soul, bestir thyself, go out in the early morning, remain in the field until the stars come out, for every hour brings its own spoil, every moment its own vision. O my Lord, Father in heaven, Blessed One, made known to me in the Cross of salvation, inspire me, lift me up, and make me gladly accept thy yoke and do all thy bidding; give me the aspiration that is untainted by vanity, and the consecration that is undefiled by selfishness, then shall I be willing to be baptised for the dead, and to stand steadfastly where princes and veterans have fallen by the hand of Time.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXIII

BRIEF REVIEW; RETURN OF WARRIORS OF THE TWO AND A HALF TRIBES

Joshua 22-24

We commence this discussion at Jos 22 , and there are several things that I wish to discuss in this section. First Theme: Brief review Joshua 13-21, enough to make it clear what part of the territory was yet unoccupied, as well as one or two other little things.

Second Theme: The return of the warriors of the two and a half tribes whose territory lay east of the Jordan.

Third Theme: Joshua’s first address.

Fourth Theme: Joshua’s final address, Jos 24:1-28 .

Fifth Theme: The renewal of the covenant and its witness.

Sixth Theme: Completing the records, as was done in the Pentateuch by Moses.

Seventh Theme: The death and burial of Joshua, the burial of the bones of Joseph and the death and burial of Eleazar. That part of Jos 24 , just as a part of Deuteronomy as a connecting link, was inserted by the later historians, and you will see that not only here but it reopens in the next book. Now those are the several themes that I shall discuss. In the preceding section on the division of the land, Joshua 13-21 inclusive, you will notice that on account of Joshua’s age the Almighty instructed him to divide the land on the west side of the Jordan as it had been divided on the east side of the Jordan, and yet the record states that much land yet remained to be possessed.

Now, in the part of the territory where they had not been fully subjugated, their enemies were the Geshuri, very different from the Geshurites that we shall learn about directly. They occupied the Arabian desert from the river of Egypt where it went into the Mediterranean Sea clear on up almost to Kadesh-barnea, until it touched the Philistine country. Now, that tribe of the Canaanites west of the Jordan inhabiting that territory, while it had been divided, had not been brought into complete subjugation. Their territory came up to the narrow strip on the Mediterranean Sea, the five towns of the Philistines that were not completely occupied, then going further up by the Mediterranean Sea were the Phoenicians, the chief towns of which were Tyre and Sidon, and they were not completely conquered. So that what remained to be conquered on the west were the Phoenicians and the Philistines.

Now, when it comes to the northern border, a strip of country commencing in the mountains of Lebanon and including the entrance into Hamath, a stretch clear across into the mountains of Gilead, where was the half tribe of Manasseh, that strip had not been completely subjugated. So that on three sides, the Geshuri on the south; on the west, the Philistines and Phoenicians; on the north, the strip including a number of small kingdoms, particularly the kingdom of Maachi, and one other that the half tribe of Manasseh had not overcome were not subjugated. Now, without going into an elaborate detail, I determined to give you an idea of the country, so that you could see that on the three borders, south, west, and stretching clear across the north, there was unpossessed territory.

The next thing to explain in that section is that the section closes in Jos 21:43-45 , by stating that every promise that God had made to them had been literally fulfilled and that they had been put in possession of the land and that no enemy was able to stand before them and that they had rest. The point is, to reconcile that with those facts that I have just stated, that on the north, on the west and on the south are portions of territory that have not been occupied. How, then, is the conclusion of that section true? You will find by carefully noting Exo 23:29-30 , and Deu 7:22 , that God had forewarned them that he would not put them in possession of all this territory in one year. It would have been a destruction of the population before any other population could move in and keep the land from going to waste, therefore, in making the promise to put them in possession that promise was modified. “I will not drive out the enemy the first year, lest the land should go to waste, but I will drive them out little by little, year after year.” That explains the apparent discrepancy between the two statements.

The next thought that I wish to bring out is that in the beginning God had appointed Joshua to make the general conquest of the land where it required all Israel to be held together in one army, the main battles to be fought and the enemy to be defeated, so that they would not take the open field. Then Joshua’s part must end, and the details of driving out the remnants of the people devolved upon each tribe, which God clearly foretold, as you will see in Num 33:55 , and Joshua restates it in Jos 23:11-13 . God designedly left a portion of the inhabitants for each tribe, in its tribal capacity, to grapple with and assured them that if they were sluggish in completing that, then he would preserve these remnants alive to be a thorn in their flesh; as a test of their character. So that they understood that these remnants would rise in punishment, as you will see illustrated when you come to the book of Judges. So all of the statements have been taken together and scripture compared with scripture. Some of the greatest sermons that have ever been published are on those remnants of nations, God permitting them to remain to try the tribes. Generally the sermons preached on that make this scriptural application, viz.: that after regeneration there remain remnants of the fleshly nature to be overcome by sanctification, and if a man does not cultivate sanctification these remnants will rise up and conquer him and bring him into temporary captivity at least. It is a fine spiritual application.

The second theme is the return of the warriors of the two and a half tribes whose territory lay east of the Jordan. That proves that the conquest of Joshua was over, and the army broken up. Joshua assembled these tribes and passed on them the highest commendations that a general ever gave to soldiers. He said that they had not failed in any particular in doing what Moses required and what they had promised. There was not a blot on their record. Following that commendation, which is as superb as anything I know of in literature, he then exhorts them that on their return to their old home they be as faithful in the future as they had been in the past. Then he gives them a benediction and a blessing is pronounced on them, and in that benediction he says, “You go home; you go with great spoils and many riches, your part of the conquest which has taken place.” And so they are dismissed, and this is the first item of the return of the tribes. The next thought is that when these armies got to the river Jordan they erected on the mountains near the Jordan a very great and very conspicuous altar, an altar to be seen, as your text says. You can even see it now, at least the site of it and the ruins of it, and you see it a long way off.

Now, when the nine and a half tribes heard of the erection of that altar, they misconstrued its intent and came rushing together to make war on the two and a half tribes. But before they declared war, somebody had sense enough to suggest the sending of an ambassador to find out about this, and so they selected a high priest and a deputation from the nine and a half tribes, and they went over and interviewed the two and a half tribes, and interviewed them very sternly. They thought that the altar was the altar for burnt offerings and that it was intended to be a line of separation between the two and a half tribes and the nine and a half tribes, and that the two and a half tribes would worship idols there and not the true God; that it meant revolt from the central place of worship and the high priest makes an accusation.

The two and a half tribes turn them down very easily. They say, “Brethren, this is not an altar of burnt offerings. This is an altar of witness and the meaning is that, as long as that hill stands and that altar stands, it is a pledge that the tribes east of the Jordan are bound up with the tribes west of the Jordan in unity of worship, and the unity of the tribes is to be preserved.” I imagine that that deputation looked foolish. Just before you go to war on people, read David Crockett, who said: “Be sure you are right, and then go ahead.” Stop long enough to be sure you have heard the right of it. If we consider the truth of a thing, it will from much dissension free us. So I think that the two and a half tribes came out way ahead of that high priest as well as upon the fidelity of their service. The two and a half tribes made the name of that altar “Ed.” That means witness, not burnt offerings, “witness,” like Jacob’s Mizpah, the meaning of which is the same thing: “The Lord witness between me and thee.” Somehow I was always charmed with that incident, viz.: the going home of those tribes and their fidelity to the unity of Israel and the true worship of God.

Now we come to the third theme. It is presented in Jos 23 . Joshua calls the people together, it doesn’t say where, but presumably at Shiloh, and delivers them an address bearing upon this point, viz.: The duty that devolved upon them in their several tribal capacities to conquer the remnants: “Now while I was your general, I represented the whole nation; I commanded the army of the whole nation. You will bear witness that God stood by me; that he gave us victory every time; that no nation was able to stand before us. Now that public general part is ended, and your particular part remains to be done.” It is in that connection that he tells us that if they are sluggish about driving out these remnants, God would retain them and preserve them as thorns in their sides In that connection he reminds them of the reason that God commanded the extirpation of the Canaanites, viz.: they were idolaters, they were outrageous sinners. Now says Joshua, “If you do as they did, God will do to you as he did to them. If you turn away from the true God and you lapse into the idolatrous ways of these nations, and that can be brought about by your intermarriage and your treaties with them, if you do that, he will sponge you off the map as he sponged them off the map for a like offense, and you will go into captivity.” Now, you can see that presumably it was at Shiloh, and the purpose of this assembly is quite distinct from the purpose of the one next to be considered.

So now we come to Jos 24 , the last part. Now he commands all Israel to come together again and the place this time is Shechem, not Shiloh. Why should it be Shechem? Considering the objects that he had in view in calling them together, why was Shechem the appropriate place?

First, Shechem was the place where Abraham halted when he got to this land, and he built an altar and received from God the promises of the land; it was to be given to him and his children. When God sent him out, he went, not knowing whither he went, but here at Shechem God outlines to him that this very territory is to belong to him and his children. That was the first altar and the first promise considering the possession of the land.

The second thing is that when Jacob returned from Mesopotamia, he stopped at Shechem and built an altar and there was a renewal of the promises to him, and he there freed his family from idolatry. You remember that one of his wives carried away the teraphim of Laban and Jacob made his wife bury these things under an old tree.

Right there Jacob bought a particular section of land, setting a price, and that land he was to deed to Joseph, and the descendants of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and right at that place, as we learn later in this book, the bones of Joseph were buried. In the last chapter of Genesis Joseph tells them that he will die and he says, “Take my bones,” and Moses took the bones of Joseph with him and we learn here that the bones of Joseph were buried -there, and so we learn from Stephen’s speech in Acts. There you have three reasons. Let us see if we cannot find another. When Joshua first brought the people over into the Promised Land after they had been circumcised and he kept the feast of the Passover, it was to this place that he brought them with Mount Ebal on one side and Mount Gerizirn on the other. He renewed the covenant there and there he built an altar of stone, and on the stones recorded the Pentateuch as a witness. Then we learn next from Ebal and Gerizirn were enunciated in turn a curse and a blessing of the covenant, and yet further we learn that there this copy of the covenant, prepared by Joshua, was set up so that the Pentateuch stood there and the altar of the renewal of the covenant stood there and the echoes of the blessings and curses, and the bones of Joseph were there, and the altar of Abraham was there, and the altar of Jacob was there. “So it was intensely appropriate that in his farewell address he should gather them where they had renewed the covenant on their first entrance into the Promised Land.

Now we come to the final address as it reviews their history. He reminded them that beyond the flood, that is, the Euphrates River (that is the meaning of Euphrates, the flood), in Ur of the Chaldees, their ancestor was Terah, an idolater, and that from that idolatrous country God called their immediate ancestor, Abraham, and brought him to this place and made him that promise. He then shows their history under Moses when God leads them out of Egypt and establishes with them his covenant at Mount Sinai, their wandering in the wilderness and that God conquered for them the tribes east of the Jordan, and God conquered for them the tribes west of the Jordan.

Now, upon these historical facts he makes an exhortation that is very thrilling. He shows if ever a nation in the world was under obligations to keep the covenant given at Sinai and renewed at Ebal and Gerizirn, that this people was under obligations to do it. And he urges them to be faithful, in all things, to their God and their religion. Having finished his exhortation, the people reply, and they say that they will do what he tells them to do. Then he said that they need not think, and you and I need not think, that it is an easy thing to live right in the sight of a jealous God. If you make a vow to do anything, you had better thoughtfully consider it. He having then cautioned them, they renewed their promise. Then he said, “Now we will renew the covenant itself.” While the book doesn’t give the details of how the covenant was renewed, they renewed it just as before. There they built an altar; there were certain burnt offerings, certain sanctification and setting apart. Then there was the taking upon themselves the vows of the covenant. Now that having been done, Joshua makes that altar witness of the covenant. Then he completes the records just as Moses finished up the records of the Pentateuch and put them in the ark to be preserved. Joshua completes the record of this time and takes the Pentateuch out of the ark and slips his record inside of the holy ark of the covenant of God, and all the history in connection with it as a witness.

Then follows an account, doubtless by Phinehas, the high priest. As Joshua had finished the last part of Deuteronomy, so here a record is made of Joshua’s death and his burial. There is a singular thing in the Alexandrian version of the Septuagint, which says that the knives with which the people had been circumcised were buried with Joshua. It may have been, I don’t know. Then follows the death of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, and that closes up the book. Now, this is a very brief discussion but it is sufficient, and in our next discussion we will take the period of the Judges, bearing in mind that a considerable part of the book of Judges overlaps the book of Joshua; that several things occurred before he died and before his final address was delivered.

QUESTIONS

1. Why was the land now divided?

2. What land yet in the hands of the enemy?

3. How was God’s promise literally fulfilled?

4. What was Joshua’s part in the conquest of the land?

5. What each tribe’s part after the general conquest?

6. If they proved sluggish in this then what?

7. What commendation pronounced upon them by Joshua?

8. What exhortation to them?

9. The benediction on them?

10. The altar on the Jordan:

(1) Describe it.

(2) How construed by the nine and one-half tribes, and why?

(3) What steps did they take?

(4) What the response?

(5) What the effect on the nine and one-half tribes?

(6) What name did they give the altar and what its meaning?

(7) What the value of embassy before war?

III. Joshua’s First Address about the Completion of the Conquest

11. Where assembled?

12. What duty does he point out to them?

13. What the penalty for their failure?

14. Where?

15. Why there? (Give seven reasons.)

16. Give brief analysis of this address of Joshua, and their reply.

17. Give an account of the renewal of the covenant.

18. What the witness?

19. Tell how Joshua completed the records.

20. Who wrote the account of Joshua’s death and burial?

21. The fulfilment of what prophecy made by Joseph recorded here?

22. What other death recorded here?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Jos 24:1 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.

Ver. 1. And Joshua gathered all the tribes to Shechem. ] The chief city of Ephraim, near to old Joshua, who called this parliament thither, and not far from mount Gerizim and mount Ebal, where the people had lately renewed their covenant, which they were now to do again; and the identity of the place might be some advantage: whence it is that they that give rules of direction concerning prayer, do advise us, amongst other helps, to accustom ourselves to the same place.

And they presented themselves before God, ] i.e., Before the ark brought hither for the purpose.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 24:1-13

1Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7But when they cried out to the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. 9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. 11You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. 12Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow. 13I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

Jos 24:1 Shechem This was a sacred site for the patriarchs (cf. Gen 12:6-7; Gen 33:18-20; Gen 35:2-4). Also it is mentioned later in Deuteronomy 27 and Jos 8:30-35. See NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1213-1216 or ABD, vol. 5, pp. 1174-1186. Shiloh became the dominate sacred site in the period of the Judges because of the presence of the tabernacle.

There are several terms that describe leaders within Israel (cf. Jos 23:2). Their exact meaning is often speculation:

1. Elders, Jos 8:33; Jos 23:2; Jos 24:1 – BDB 278

2. Heads, Jos 23:2; Jos 24:1 – BDB 910

3. Judges, Jos 8:33; Jos 23:2; Jos 24:1 – BDB 1047

4. Officers, Jos 8:33; Jos 23:2; Jos 24:1 – BDB 1009

Jos 24:2 Joshua said to all the people He obviously spoke through the officers and the elders of Jos 24:2 because the number of people would be too great for him to speak to them all at once.

Thus says the LORD the God of Israel This is the covenant title for deity. Notice the number of I’s in Jos 24:1-13. Joshua is speaking directly for YHWH (cf. Jos 24:3-4 (twice), 5 (four), 6, 7, 8 (three), 10 (twice); Jos 1:1; Jos 1:12-13)!

ancient times ‘Olam must be interpreted in light of its context. It is often translated forever or eternal, but this context shows its fluidity (semantic field). See Special Topic: Forever (‘Olam) at Jos 4:7.

the River This refers to the Euphrates.

they served other gods Ur and Haran were both centers of the worship of the Moon goddess. Terah’s name (wandering, BDB 1076) itself may reflect this worship. Abraham was obviously involved to some extent. God chose him in grace, not because of his theology or unusual merit. The rabbis say he was persecuted by his neighbors because he was against idolatry. The hero in this text (and all other texts) is YHWH, not the human beings. The choice of Abraham was an act of pure grace and redemptive purpose (cf. Gen 3:15; Act 2:23; Act 3:18; Act 4:28; Luk 22:22).

Jos 24:3-4 The VERB gave (BDB 678, KB 733, Qal IMPERFECT) occurs three times in these verses, emphasizing YHWH’s power, control, and eternal purposes.

Jos 24:4 Mount Seir This refers to the land south of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba, usually associated with Edom. YHWH gave this land to the descendants of Ishmael (cf. Gen 16:7-14; Gen 17:18; Gen 17:20).

Jos 24:5 Read Gen 15:12-21. This was purposeful action on YHWH’s part.

Jos 24:6 chariots See Special Topic: Chariots .

Jos 24:7 darkness This cloud represented YHWH’s presence, to one, darkness (Egyptians), to the other, light (Israelis, cf. Exo 14:19-20). This same word (BDB 66) is used of the ninth plague on Egypt (i.e., darkness, cf. Exo 10:22).

Jos 24:8 the land of the Amorites This refers to the land east of the Jordan River, which became the territory of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (cf. Num 21:21 ff).

Jos 24:9 Balah . . . Balaam This false prophet’s attempt to curse Israel (cf. Numbers 22) is alluded to several times (cf. Deu 23:4-5; Jos 13:22; here; Neh 13:2; Mic 6:5).

fought against Israel The UBS Translators Handbook on Joshua makes the good point that fought against Israel seems to contradict Num 22:6; Num 22:11; Deu 2:9; Jdg 11:25. Therefore, some commentators have suggested

1. prepared to fight

2. stood up against

3. opposed

4. stood in your way

The VERB (BDB 535, KB 1086, Niphal IMPERFECT) seems to always mean fight (e.g., Jos 9:2; Jos 10:25; Jos 10:29; Jos 10:31; Jos 19:47; Jdg 1:5; Jdg 9:17; Jdg 11:8; Jdg 11:25).

Jos 24:10 The term translated bless is the Piel IMPERFECT and the Piel INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE of the same root (BDB 138, KB 159), which is a way to express intensification.

Jos 24:11 Amorite This term may mean highlanders. It was a collective term for all the tribes of Canaan. See Special Topic: Pre-Israelite Inhabitants of Palestine .

Canaanite This term may mean lowlanders. It was a collective term for all the tribes of Canaan.

See Special Topic: Pre-Israelite Inhabitants of Palestine .

Jos 24:12 hornet This is possibly a metaphor of divine activity causing fear because, although it is mentioned several times (cf. Exo 23:28; Deu 7:20), it is never listed as actually happening. The metaphor is also used in Deu 1:44.

Jos 24:13 The Promised Land was an undeserved grace gift from YHWH for the purpose of establishing a people who would reflect His character and love to the nations. See Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan .

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

God. Hebrew ha-Elohim, the God. App-4. Compare Jos 22:34.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four, Joshua is continuing this final charge to the children of Israel. Picture now this old man he was. He was faithful to the Lord. He has done a good job, but now he is bent over with age. He has been weakened. His voice is probably shaky and trembling.

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, [Right in the heart of the land there between mount Ebal, and Gerezim.] and he called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, the officers; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old times, even Terah, the father of Abraham, the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac, Jacob and Esau: I gave to Esau the area of mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with their chariots and horsemen unto the Red Sea. 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 you dwelt in the wilderness a long season. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt here on the other side of Jordan; [And I fought with you] and they fought with you: [rather] and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, arose and he warred against Israel, and he called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand ( Jos 24:1-10 ).

Now you’ll notice that this has gone into the first person. So actually Joshua at this point is prophesying to the leaders of Israel and God is now speaking through Joshua a word of prophecy to these people. Having gone into the first person here, as God declares, “I destroyed them”, and “I delivered you out of his hand.”

And I sent the hornet before you, and drove out the Amorites; but not with your sword, nor with your bow. And I have given you a land for which you did not labour, cities which you did not build, that you might dwell in them; vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant and yet you eat of them. Now therefore fear [or reverence] the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. Now if it seems 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 you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ( Jos 24:12-15 ).

So Joshua stands before these people, declares to them the marvelous works of God, and then he challenges them to choose this day, whom you’re going to serve, recognizing that God has given man the power and capacity of choice. Each man chooses, not if you will serve or not, but who you will serve. For every man is serving somebody. Every man is governed by some passion, some guiding principle, some philosophy, which has become his god. He reminds them that in ancient times before the flood, people were worshiping gods. The Amorites in whose land they were now dwelling had their own gods. There are many different gods that a man can worship, many governing principles by which his life can be directed. A man can live after his own flesh that can become his god. A man can live obsessed by the desire for success, and that can become his god. A man can live obsessed with the desire of wealth, that becomes his god. But you must choose which god you are going to serve, the true and the living God, or the gods that the people worshiped and served who lived before the flood.

Even Terah the father of Abraham worshiped other gods. The Amorites worshiped other gods, “Choose whom you will serve,” then declaring, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Though he’s old and stricken in years, still he rules his house. It’s marvelous when the husband, the father, can speak for his house. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The people responded and said to Joshua, “Oh, we also will serve the Lord,”

and Joshua said, You can’t serve the Lord ( Jos 24:19 ).

They said, “We will,” he said, “You can’t,” for he said, God is a jealous God and when you start turning away from Him, turning your backs upon Him; He won’t take that lightly but He will bring his judgments among you.

For if you forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he has done good. And the people said to Joshua, No; we will serve the Lord. And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen to serve the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. He said, All right then put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, Jehovah our God we will serve and his voice we will obey. And Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance there in Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: and it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, and every man went to his own inheritance. Now it came to pass at this time, that Joshua, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him actually there in mount Ephraim in this city that was given to him for his inheritance. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel ( Jos 24:16-31 ).

Now it is interesting how that as you go back in history, that God had done marvelous works among people. Those that have seen that work of God remain committed and true, but rarely does a work continue into a second generation.

We look at the church and there have been marvelous spiritual revivals in the history of the church. Usually new denominations have been born out of spiritual revivals. But it is tragic that rarely does a work of God continue through a second generation. Those that have seen the work of God continue to relay that which God has done. But you get into a new generation, and there comes modifications, there comes organization, there comes structure. The seeking to more or less codify that which God has done.

Rarely does the work of God go on into another generation, which makes me glad that I’m living in this last generation. I don’t have to worry about this thing going on. We’re going up, we’re not going on. But that would be my chief concern if I didn’t believe that the rapture was so close. It’s beautiful what God has done for us. I’m thrilled with what God has done for us, but my chief concern would be that after we have gone, we have been able to see this glorious work of God, that others would come in and they’d analyze it and get the thing all structured. They’d be able to tell you all of the reasons why it was such a success. They’d get the whole thing organized, developed, and the whole thing went down the tubes like everything else has done in the past, as far as denominations and all. Thank God that we won’t have to see that day.

But it’s been true through the history. Those that have been privileged to see that work of God usually remain true. It’s the next generation, somehow there is a failure to adequately communicate to the next generation the marvelous things of God. In trying to analyze the failure, I think that perhaps when God blesses us, the blessings are usually multi-faceted. It’s a blessing in almost every area, spiritual blessings, material blessings, physical blessings. But we went through a lot of struggles, a lot of testing of faith, a lot of deprivations, a lot of hardships. We went without so many times. Now that we are blessed, we don’t want our children to have, to experience the same hardships that we experienced. We don’t want them to have to live by faith, as we had to live by faith, to have to just trust in God for the next meal. Thus, we seek to keep our children from a lot of the same hardships that we endured.

And I think in that, we are keeping them from learning a lot of important lessons of trust, and faith, and being able to see the miraculous work of God in response to that faith, and believing, and trusting in Him. Thus they don’t have the same privileges of knowing the miracle working power of God that we experienced, because we were going through the periods of deprivation and hardship. Thus God doesn’t become as real to them as He was to us because they haven’t had to trust Him for that meal, to believe Him for a set of tires.

Now here at the end of Joshua there’s a very interesting notation, and why this would come here at the end of Joshua, I am sure I don’t know. Chuck Misler could probably give you some suggestions.

And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob had bought from Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph ( Jos 24:32 ).

Now the children of Joseph did inhabit this Ephraim, tribe of Ephraim, it did inhabit this particular area of the land, Shechem, and that area through there, so they were the sons of Joseph. But why at this point in the text it would refer to the burial of Joseph’s bones, I don’t know. We did read where the children of Israel made their exodus out of Egypt, that they brought the bones of Joseph with them. But the recording of the burial of the bones is left here for the end of Joshua.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given to him also there in mount Ephraim ( Jos 24:33 ).

So the old guard is passing away and the new guard is coming in. And as we move into Judges we’ll begin to see how soon they moved away from God, how soon they went into apostasy. I think that prosperity is probably one of the most difficult things to handle.

My father used to have a little motto on his desk. “God please never prosper me above my capacity to maintain my love for You.” He recognized that there was a weakness in his own life. He knew what money could do to him. He knew what it did to his family. Thus it was his constant prayer, “God never bless me beyond my capacity to maintain my love for you.” I think that was a rather wise prayer. So many people have been blessed beyond the capacity of maintaining that deep devotion for God. Their love begins to wane as the love of the world, and the things of the world begins to occupy their lives.

Next week we’ll move on in the book of Judges. Shall we stand? There is one charge that we skipped over in chapter twenty-two that Joshua gave to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, as they were returning back, and it’s found in verse five.

He said, “Love the Lord your God, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, cleave unto Him, and serve Him with all your heart and soul.” I think that’s a tremendous exhortation. “Love the Lord your God, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, stick to Him, cleave unto Him, and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Thus may you be blessed of God this week, as you walk with Him, as you serve Him, as you cleave unto Him. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Here we have the record of the final address of Joshua. In it he first concisely and comprehensively traced the Hebrews’ history from the call of Abraham and did so in the form of the speech of Jehovah to them. In the brief compass of eleven verses the pronoun “I” as referring to Jehovah occurs no less than seventeen times. The whole movement emphasized the truth that everything of greatness in the history of the people was the result of divine action.

Then he appealed to them with a touch of fine irony. If they would not serve God, he called them to choose whom they would serve, asking them whether they would go back to the gods of their fathers beyond the river or turn to the gods of the Amorites in whose land they were now dwelling. Thus, by presenting the alternatives to loyalty to Jehovah he made patent the foolhardiness of disloyalty. He ended with the declaration of personal decision. “As for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.”

Then we have a dramatic description of what followed. The people declared their choice of God as against any other gods. From an intimate knowledge of them Joshua declared that in spite of their declared choice they were not able to serve God. It was a strange outburst and one wonders whether the tone was of scorn or of intense pity. The subsequent history of the people shows that the words were prophetic. Again the people affirmed their determination to serve the Lord and Joshua called them to put away all strange gods. Everything ended with the making of a covenant and the erection of a memorial.

The Book closes with an account of the death of Joshua and the death of Eleazer. It is significant that in the midst of the darkness of death there was something almost weird and yet full of the suggestion of hope. The bones of Joseph were buried in the land.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

the Lesson of Israels History

Jos 24:1-15

The previous chapter contains Joshuas own last words of warning to Israel; here he is Gods mouthpiece: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel.

There is, first, the recapitulation of past mercy. From time to time we should definitely recall, for our childrens sake, the divine interpositions in our national and domestic life.

It is interesting in the opening words to learn that Abraham was called out of an idolatrous family. This was the pit whence he had been digged, Isa 51:1. He was a Gentile before he became a Jew; and was familiar with all the seductions of a lower religious type before he definitely stood for the only true God. It took long to eradicate this evil strain from Israel. During their sojourn in Egypt they had yielded to the fascinations of idolatry, Jos 24:14. Joshua at least had made his choice! What a blessed thing for a family, when the parents make the avowal of Jos 24:15. Why not from henceforth?

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Following this, Joshua now an aged man, gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem to give them his last charge. He reminded them how God had called Abraham from Mesopotamia and set him apart, that through him all nations of the world might be blessed. It is evident from chapter 24, verse 2 that Abraham himself had been brought up in idolatry and belonged to an idolatrous family at the time that God revealed Himself to him. Joshua said,

Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [that is, of the river Euphrates], even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

Abraham was not called out from the nations because he was inherently different from other people, but God in His sovereignty chose him from an idolatrous family and revealed Himself to him. They were His children. They knew how wonderfully the Lord had fulfilled His word to their fathers, and now they were responsible to yield implicit obedience to His word. Joshua recited briefly an account of Gods dealings with them under Moses in Egypt and in the wilderness, and then reminded them of recent events after they entered into the land. Everything Jehovah had promised was fulfilled. He had given them the land for which they had not labored and cities which they did not build. In these they dwelt securely with the vineyards and the olive yards which they had not planted but of which they ate. They were responsible, therefore, to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which their fathers had served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt and to serve the Lord alone (verse 14).

This is very illuminating and shows us that even in Egypt idolatry had a hold on some in Israel, even as we know was true in the wilderness, and now that they were settled in the land there were still idols to be brought out into the light and destroyed. So long as anything is given the place in our hearts that belongs to God Himself, there can never be the fullness of blessing that He would have us enjoy.

Joshuas own steadfast purpose is emphasized in verse 15. After calling upon Israel to choose at once whom they would serve, whether Baal or Jehovah, he declares,

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

For the doughty old warrior who had seen so much of the mighty acts of the one true and living God there could be no thought of any other god. Nor would he allow for one moment that those subject to his headship in the family relation should take any other course. Jehovah was his God and the God of his household. His was an unflinching and unquestioning loyalty to the Holy One of Israel whom he had served for so long.

Responding to Joshuas words, we are told in verses 16 to 18:

And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; 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: 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; for He is our God.

All this sounded very good and no doubt at the moment those who made such protestations of loyalty to Joshua meant every word they uttered. But time was to prove how untrustworthy the human heart is. Joshua realized it and warned the people accordingly, as we read in verses 19 and 20:

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. 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.

However, the people replied, Nay, but we will serve the Lord. And God called Joshua to witness against them that they had thus confirmed their devotion to Him. Again the command came (verse 23):

Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.

The people protested their full intention to be obedient. So we are told,

Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it 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.

After such solemn adjuration the people departed to their homes.

The death of Joshua followed shortly after and he was buried in the borders of his inheritance in Timnath-serah.

In verse 31 we learn that Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders which overlived Joshua and which had known all the works of the Lord that He had done for Israel. The history that follows in later books tells us how terribly the people failed to carry out their part of the covenant which the fathers had made.

One thing remains to be noticed ere we close our present study of this book. We read in verse 32:

And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Before Joseph died, by faith he gave commandment concerning his bones, exhorting his brethren not to allow his embalmed body to remain in the land of Egypt, but to carry it with them to Canaan and bury it there. So when Moses led the people out of Egypt, we are told he took the bones of Joseph with him. All through the forty years in the wilderness when they were bearing about in the body the dying of Joseph, the memorial of death, the death of the one who had been used of God for their deliverance, who might be described as their saviour, was with them. Now that all had been fulfilled and they were settled in the land, they buried the bones of Joseph in the parcel of ground which he himself had indicated.

May we not learn from this the importance of always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifested in us until that day when, the wilderness journey ended, we shall enter into our final rest in the Paradise of God above.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Jos 24:15

These were the brave and faithful words of a brave and faithful man-words that were brave as regards men, words that were brave as regards God. Joshua, the great leader of the army and the people of Israel, having won for them secure possession of the Promised Land, just before his approaching end, gathers the people together to tell them what is the only true condition on which they can continue to hold this land. He tells them that national prosperity and national safety depend upon national religion, and then, knowing the feeble nature of the people he is addressing, he tells the assembled multitude that they may make their choice, rejecting the worship of the Lord if it seemed to them evil to serve Him, but that as for him and for his, the choice was made, and made unalterably.

I. These words not only express a great and high purpose, but they express a great and an infinitely precious idea and fact: they express for us the idea of family religion, as distinct on the one hand from personal religion and on the other from national religion. They reveal to us the family as what in truth it is and what God designed it should be-the home and citadel of religious faith in the heart of the nation.

II. God has His great work for individuals to do. He places a Moses upon the mount to bring down the law. He sends a Paul out to preach the Gospel. He sends an Augustine to defend it, a Luther to reform it, and a Wesley to revive it. But mightier than all this, deeper than all this, though more hidden than this, is the task God confides to every religious and believing household upon earth. It is the task of taking the seed that these great sowers of the word have sown and cherishing it beneath the tender, and gracious, and mighty influence of home. Such is God’s will and God’s purpose for the preservation of His faith. The family is its safe hiding-place, its true nursery, that none can invade or desecrate.

Bishop Magee, Sermon Preached in Peterborough Cathedral, July 1st, 1880.

References: Jos 24:15.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxi., No. 1229; J. Kennedy, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 289; W. Anderson, Ibid., vol. xiv., p. 309; H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii., pp. 423, 439, 456; J. Vaughan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xviii., p. 219; E. Irving, Collected Writings, vol. iii., pp. 217, 231; Bishop Walsham How, Twenty-four Practical Sermons, p. 250; Sunday Magazine, 1877, p. 88; R. Heber, Parish Sermons, pp. 435, 448; G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines of Sermons, p. 124; Parker, vol. v., p. 288; J. C. Hare, Sermons in Herstmonceux Church, p. 369; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. viii., p. 354.

Jos 24:19

We find here that Joshua offers a repulse to men who wish to avow themselves on the side of God. There is every ground for believing that he was under Divine direction, and as there was no evidence that the people were insincere in their promise, there must be some reason for the manner in which they are met.

I. This procedure on the part of God is not unusual. A number of instances might easily be found in the Bible of obstacles thrown in the way of men who offer themselves to the service of God. There are many terrible threatenings, many dreadful judgments against sin and sinners, which have in them all the language of the text. Many profess Christianity with far more irreverence than others keep aloof from it. There are thoughtful and self-distrustful natures which have long and deep shrinking because their eye has seen the purity of God and the poverty of self. Within certain limits the feeling is true and most becoming. It is God repeating in a humble heart the words of Joshua, “Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is an holy God.”

II. Having sought to show that this procedure on the part of God is not so unusual, we may now attempt to find some reasons for it. (1) It sifts the true from the false seeker. We refer here not to arriving at the profession of Christianity, but at the principle of it in the heart. The Gospel comes into the world to be a touchstone of human nature, to be Ithuriel’s spear among men. No one will be able to complain of any real wrong from these obstacles. The false seeker is not injured, because he never sincerely sought at all. The true seeker is not injured, for never was such a one disappointed. When the flickering phosphorescence glimmers out, the spark, although as faint as in the smoking flax, lives on and rises to a flame. (2) It leads the true seeker to examine himself more thoroughly. It is very good for a man, when he is in danger of too hasty acquiescence, that he should be compelled to examine himself both about his view of God’s character in the pardon of sin, and what this requires of him in the way of self-surrender to God. (3) It binds a man to his profession by a stronger sense of consistency. God will beguile none of us into His service by false pretences. He tells us the nature of the work, what His own character gives Him a right to expect of us; then, if we still go forward, He can say, “Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen the Lord, to serve Him.” (4) It educates us to a higher growth and greater capacity for happiness. If we are to rise to anything great in the spiritual life, it must be, not by soft, indulgent nurture, but by endurance of hardship and pressing on against repulse. The delay which Christians have in gaining a sense of acceptance with God arises often from making the sense of acceptance the main object of pursuit. But there is something higher: to serve God whether we have the sense of acceptance or no-to have this as the one great purpose of life and end of our being,-“Nay, but we will serve the Lord.”

J. Ker, Sermons, p. 56.

References: Jos 24:19.-Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, p. 48; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. x., p. 274. Jos 24:24.-G. Woolnough, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 307. Jos 24:25.-W. Morley Punshon, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xix., p. 56; Old Testament Outlines, p. 59. Jos 24:26, Jos 24:27.-J. Foster, Lectures, vol. ii., p. 396; H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. v., p. 63; J. Van Oosterzee, Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 408; Parker, vol. v., p. 289. Jos 24:19-29.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 399. Jos 24:29, Jos 24:30.-J. R. Macduff, Sunsets on the Hebrew Mountains, p. 36. Jos 24:32.-J. Kennedy, Sunday Magazine, 1876, p. 810; Expositor; 3rd series, vol. ii., p. 299.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

The Second Address

CHAPTER 24:1-28

1. The gathering at Shechem (Jos 24:1)

2. Historic retrospect and exhortations (Jos 24:2-15)

3. The answer given by Israel (Jos 24:16-18)

4. Joshuas answer (Jos 24:19-20)

5. The promise made (Jos 24:21)

6. Joshuas appeal and the repeated promise (Jos 24:22-24)

7. The covenant made and Joshuas final word (Jos 24:25-28)

In Joshuas second and last address to the people at Shechem we have first a historic retrospect. It must not be overlooked, that the words of Joshua are not his own, but the words given to him by the Lord. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, is the manner in which he begins. The retrospect is a marvel in terse statements and rehearsal of the entire history of Israel, beginning with the call of Abraham. Its object is to remind the assembled congregation once more of the mercies and faithfulness of Jehovah. How soon they may be forgotten! Yet upon remembering what we are by nature and what the Lord in His infinite grace has done for us, depends a true walk with God. The Spirit of God, through Joshua, shows that Abraham was called away from idolatry and traces all Jehovah did for him and his seed. Notice the different acts of the Lord. I took your father Abraham–I led him–I multiplied his seed–I gave him Isaac–I gave–I sent Moses–I plagued Egypt–I brought you out–I brought you into the land. All the promises made in Exodus and Deuteronomy concerning the possession and conquest of the land had been fulfilled. Read Exo 23:28 and Deu 7:20 and compare with verse 12. He gave them a land for which they did not labor.

The covenant is then renewed. Beautiful are Joshuas words, As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. He had served Him all his life and on the eve of his departure, he renews his vow. With such an enthusiastic, consecrated and successful leader, the people could only answer in the affirmative. They renewed their previous promise to serve the Lord. The answer they gave is an echo of Joshuas words. They repeat what Jehovah had so graciously done unto them. Joshuas answer to the enthusiastic reply of the people was Ye cannot serve the LORD. He well knew by the light of the Spirit of God that this people, so stiffnecked in the past, would soon depart from this resolution and follow other gods. Besides this, Joshua knew the final words of Moses, the great prophecies concerning the apostasy of the nation, their deep fall into idolatries and their coming dispersion among the Gentiles. With the Word of God before him, he could not believe that the future of the people, whom Jehovah had brought out and brought in, would be a future of obedience and blessing. He is not deceived by the enthusiasm which had taken hold of the assembled congregation. We also have in the New Testament the predictions and the warnings concerning the course of the professing church on earth during the present age. We do well to heed these. If not we shall be deceived in expecting that which is nowhere promised for this age.

The predictions of the Churchs course have so little ambiguity that it is marvelous that the smooth preaching of peace, and the comforting assurance of progressive blessing, could ever gain credence with those who boast in an open Bible, But the Bible can be but little open as long as mans pride and self seeking hang their imaginative veil before it; and the Church, believing herself heir to Israels promises, has largely refused to accept the lessons of Israels career, which she has so closely followed. Thank God, we are near the end of the strange history of almost two millennia; and for us the end is the coming of the Lord (F.W. Grant).

The covenant was thus renewed and a great stone set up as a witness. How long did it last? Our next book gives the answer: And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baalim (Jdg 2:11). And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth (verse 13).

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

Joshua: This must have been a different assembly from that mentioned in the preceding chapter, though probably held not long after the former.

Shechem: As it is immediately added, that “they presented themselves before God,” which is supposed to mean at the tabernacle; some are of opinion that Joshua caused it to be conveyed from Shiloh to Shechem on this occasion, to give the greater solemnity to his last meeting with the people. The Vatican and Alexandrian copies of the Septuagint, however, read , both here and in Jos 24:25, which many suppose to have been the original reading. Dr. Shuckford supposes that the covenant was made at Shechem, and that the people went to Shiloh to confirm it. But the most probable opinion seems to be that of Dr. Kennicott, that when all the tribes were assembled as Shechem, Joshua called the chiefs to him on that mount, which had before been consecrated by the law, and by the altar which he had erected. Gen 12:6, Gen 33:18, Gen 33:19, Gen 35:4, Jdg 9:1-3, 1Ki 12:1

called: Jos 23:2, Exo 18:25, Exo 18:26

presented: 1Sa 10:19, Act 10:33

Reciprocal: Gen 48:21 – God Gen 49:24 – the shepherd Exo 5:6 – officers Num 13:8 – Oshea Deu 31:14 – presented Jos 8:33 – all Israel Jos 17:7 – Shechem 1Ki 8:1 – assembled 1Ch 23:2 – he gathered 1Ch 28:1 – assembled 2Ch 10:1 – Shechem Psa 60:6 – Shechem Psa 108:7 – Shechem

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Joshua’s Farewell Words

Jos 24:1-18

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

Before Joshua died he reviewed the history of Israel and in so doing he brought out the four great patriarchs who were so prominently aligned to Israel’s call and life.

1. There is the remembrance of Abraham. The Bible has, in the New Testament, many backward glances at the life and words of Abraham. The Jews delighted in saying, “We have Abraham to our father.”

Abraham was a great and worthy follower of Christ. Christ said of Abraham, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad.” He was known as ‘The Friend of God.”

When Abraham was old and well stricken in years he sent his aged servant of Damascus to seek a bride for his son, Isaac, with the same faith in God that he had manifested when, in his youth, he left his home to go out into a way that he knew not. He said to his servant, “The Lord God of Heaven, which took me from my father’s house, * * and that swear unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; He shall send His angel before thee.”

Thus it was that Abraham believed God. He lived, looking for a City whose Builder and Maker is God. He reckoned himself as but a stranger and a pilgrim among men. Before he died he gave all that he had unto Isaac, because Isaac was a child of promise, and an heir to all that God had promised to Abraham.

It is good to keep before us therefore such an one as Abraham, the servant of the Lord, who became known centuries afterward by the Church as an exemplar of faith.

2. There is the remembrance of Isaac. Isaac may not have reached the zenith of his father’s faith or faithfulness, however, he was a servant of Jehovah and died as he had lived, faithful to the promises of God. Therefore it is written, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.”

Isaac was blessed with much riches because he followed God, and obeyed Him, dwelling where God told him to dwell.

When the time came for Isaac to die Jacob came unto him in the plain of Mamre (the place of fatness), where both Abraham and Isaac had sojourned, and there Isaac died full of years and was buried by Esau and Jacob.

3. There is the remembrance of Jacob. What a marvelous life was Jacob’s. He was, for a while, a “supplanter,” and a maker of contracts, yet withal, he lived and died as a true worshiper of God. Joseph was his greatly beloved son, because Joseph was so true to Jacob’s Lord, and walked by faith.

When Jacob came to die at a good old age, he called his twelve sons around him, and, in blessing them, he spoke words which will live through all ages as exemplars of a great faith, and large vision.

4. There is the remembrance of Moses. We would like to speak of Joseph and of his seed. We must, however, hasten to Moses, as the great deliverer of Jacob’s twelve sons, and of the race which bore the name “Israel,” after God had changed Jacob’s name on that memorable night when God strove with him, and conquered him.

Moses was one of God’s great men. The Bible gives an epitome of his life: “By faith Moses * * refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures, of sin for a season.” God honored Moses’ faith, and Moses led the Children of Israel out of their land of captivity. Through forty years of wilderness journeyings he proved himself faithful to God and the people. When at last he gave his final message, he demonstrated an unwavering trust, and gave a faithful testimony.

I. A MESSAGE ON SEPARATION (Jos 24:6)

1. We are called out of the world. In Jos 24:2-5 Joshua had made mention of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. Now he begins to emphasize God’s call of separation. Here are God’s words (Jos 24:6): “I brought your fathers out of Egypt.”

Egypt, in the Word of God, stands for the world. We have just suggested how Moses left Egypt. Here is the way Heb 11:1-40 reads: “By faith he. (Moses) forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.” Egypt was the place where Moses could have enjoyed the pleasures of sin, where he could have been made rich with worldly treasures, Moses, however, esteemed the reproach of Christ as greater than Egypt’s riches, and affliction with the people of God as greater than Egypt’s pleasures.

The reason for it all was that Moses looked beyond the pleasures of this world, and saw Him who was invisible.

2. We are not of the world. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob gave us real examples in separation. We read of Abraham that he dwelt in “a strange country, * * with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.” He confessed himself a tent dweller because he looked for a City whose Builder and Maker is God. He was in the world, but he was not of it. We, too, are not of this world, although we are in it.

We should set our affections on the things above, not on the things beneath. Our citizenship is in Heaven, and our treasures should be there. We are other-worldly.

3. The world hateth us. If we were of the world, the world would love its own; but because we are not of the world but are called out of the world, therefore, the world hateth us. The word “church,” ecclesia, means “called out.” Alas, alas, when we find a church mixing and mingling with the world!

II. WHY THE WORLD SEEKS TO HOLD A GRASP ON SAINTS (Jos 24:6)

1. It would keep us from our rightful inheritances. The Children of Israel had come up to the Red Sea, and then the Egyptians pursued after them with chariots and horsemen. Joshua is reminding them of these things that they might realize that Satan, if possible, would now keep them from inheriting all of the land.

This is true today. It is written: “The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ * * should shine unto them” and convert them.

The believer’s blessings are described in the Epistle to the Ephesians as being in the Heavenly places. At the close of that Epistle we are plainly reminded that we have a conflict in the Heavenlies against Satan and against his hordes. Satan will rob us of every blessing which is ours in Christ, if we will allow him so to do.

2. It would spoil our spiritual testimony. Had the Children of Israel refused to follow Joshua into the land, then they had lost their testimony to the power and glory of the Christ whom they served.

We need, as Christians, to remember that we are giving testimony not only to men, but before principalities and powers. When, in the early history of Joshua’s leadership, the Children of Israel were defeated at Ai, Joshua cried out unto the Lord, “What wilt Thou do unto Thy great Name?” We wonder if the Christians of today have not spoiled their testimony by their frequent defeat before the powers of darkness. For God’s sake we must press through to victory.

3. It would rob us of our fellowship with God. Here is a picture, darker in its consequences than the other. To be kept from our rightful inheritance, is sad; to lose our spiritual testimony is sadder; but to be robbed of our walk with God, is the worst of all. Whenever saints refuse to go through with their Lord, they lose His smile and forfeit His fellowship. If, however, “we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.”

III. JOURNEYING FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN (Jos 24:7-8)

1. A victorious deliverance. When the Children of Israel, in crossing the Red Sea, saw Pharaoh With his chariots and horsemen in pursuit, they were filled with fear. Then they cried unto the Lord, and the Lord put darkness between them and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon the enemy, and covered them. Thus they were delivered with a mighty deliverance.

We can remember the time when we were delivered. The powers of darkness sought to carry us into eternal night, but we cried unto the Lord and He heard our voice. It was a happy day, when Christ’s victory on the Cross became our victory, and the principalities and powers which sought to slay us were overwhelmed. Christ’s triumph became ours.

2. A wilderness testing. There is a tremendous statement in Jos 24:7, “Ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.” That season was a period of testing. Oftentimes their feet had well nigh slipped. More than once they lusted after evil things; they tempted God; they murmured; and they were overthrown in the wilderness.

How many times during the period of our testings do we fall, and often fail! We are buffeted, cast down, and all but overthrown. Beloved, let us fear lest we fall after the same manner of unbelief. If the Children of Israel lost their Canaan, we also may lose our Millennial rest. It is one thing to be saved and to inherit eternal life-this is all by grace: it is another thing to be more than conquerors, and to inherit the Kingdom.

3. A glorious possession. At last the Children of Israel went into the land and God gave the nations into their hands. Beloved, it will be a glorious day when we too enter into those things which God hath promised to the faithful who overcome in His Name.

IV. THE STORY OF BALAK AND BALAAM (Jos 24:9-10)

1. A tented people. The Lord through Joshua goes on to remind the Children of Israel concerning Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, who arose and warred against Israel, and who sent and called for Balaam to come and curse them.

When we think of Balak and Balaam we remember Balaam’s words: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!” Thus, Israel was a tented people. They were wanderers, journeying through earth’s wilderness. Are we not the same?

2. A troubled king. When Balak saw Israel he was troubled. He warred against Israel, but to no avail. He sought to have Balaam curse Israel, but God took hold of Balaam’s lips and caused him to bless instead of curse.

Whenever the people of this world fight against God they find themselves overcome. The kings of the earth may gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed, but He who sitteth in the Heavens will laugh at them.

3. A bungling prophet. Balaam sinned, first of all, in accepting Balak’s invitation to come down to curse the people of God.

Balaam sinned the second time when he rejected the warning, of God, as an anger withstood him in the way, and went on to fulfill Balak’s request.

Balaam sinned the third time in that he cared more for honor and riches than he cared to please the Lord. It was Balak’s pledges of advancement that appealed to the prophet Balaam sinned the fourth time when, hindered by God in his effort to curse Israel, he advised Balak to marry and intermarry with the Israelites until God Himself would curse them. God pity the present-day Balaams.

V. A SOLEMN BESEECHING (Jos 24:14)

1. “By the mercies of God.” After God had rehearsed before Israel His mercies in their behalf, Joshua said: “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth.” Our minds go to the 12th chapter of Romans where it is written: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

The appeal in Rom 12:1-21 is the same as the appeal in Jos 24:14.

2. “Be not conformed to this world.” The second thing we find in Jos 24:14 is this statement: “And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt.” The second thing in Rom 12:1-21 is: “And be not conformed to this world.” In both cases the appeal is the same. There is first the call to consecration by “the mercies of God.” There follows the appeal to nonconformity to the world.

If we are going to serve the Lord in all sincerity, we must refuse to listen to the voice of men, for no man can serve two masters.

3. “Be ye transformed” unto God. The third thing in our verse is: “And serve ye the Lord.” The third thing in Rom 12:1-21 is: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” When we have brought our all to Christ on the one hand, and separated ourselves from the world in nonconformity on the other hand, then we are ready to enter into the service of our Master.

The 6th chapter of Romans calls upon us to yield not our members as the instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but to yield them as the instruments of righteousness unto God.

VI. A NECESSARY CHOICE (Jos 24:15)

1. “No man can serve two masters.” Jos 24:15 is one of the greatest decision verses, in the Bible. It reads: “If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve.” With them it was either service to the gods of the Amorites, or else it was a service unto the Lord.

Jesus Christ taught plainly that no man can serve two masters, for, either he will love the one and hate the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Christ also said: “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” There can be no middle-of-the-roaders in the camps of Jehovah.

2. “How long halt ye between two opinions?” Our mind now goes to another matter: the Prophet Elijah’s call to the Children of Israel in a later day. Elijah said unto all the people: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.”

If we cannot serve two masters, we need immediately to make up our opinion as to which one we will serve. The day in which we live proffers no change. We must make our decision. If the God of our fathers is the True God, let us quickly put upon ourselves the priestly robes, and acclaim ourselves His servants. If the devil is the true god, let us follow him.

3. “To day if ye will hear His voice.” God calls for not only a decision, but for an immediate decision. It is today, and not tomorrow when we are told to make our choice. Joshua used these very words, in Jos 24:15, when he said: “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”

Make your decision without delay. We trust that your choice will be a true-hearted, full-fledged service to God.

VII. A CONSECRATION HOUR (Jos 24:18)

1. The Lord is God. Here is a willing acknowledgment. The people said: “Therefore will we also serve the Lord; for He is our God.” Do we need further proof that our Lord is God? Perhaps one reason that many professors in the churches of today are so lax in serving God is because they are so weak in their assertion that the Lord is God. The spirit of the age is a spirit which seeks to humanize Christ and to Deify man.

The Lord Jesus is being robbed of His Deity on every hand. Thus the world needs a renewed vision of the Son of God. He is either very God of very God and all that He claimed as God, or else He is the greatest imposter who ever walked among men. For our part, we acclaim Him God.

2. The Lord drave out all the people. Our verse not only acknowledges the Lord as God, but it also acknowledges Him as a God who loves and cares. Our key verse says: “The Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land.”

Are we not willing to acknowledge that our God is also our Conqueror? Has He not gone before us to Calvary, and met the enemy? Has He not saved us by His power? Has He not watched over us, and cared for us by the way? In all of this we have another reason for acknowledging Him, and serving Him.

3. The Lord brought us out, and up. Here is a glorious conception which is set forth in Jos 24:17, “The Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt.” Thank God that He did not only bring us out, but He brought us up. He not only saved us out of Egypt, but He led us into His rest.

Abraham came out of Ur of the Chaldees, he also came into the land which God gave him. No matter from what God saved us, and from what He calls us; He always leads us into something better, something higher, and something holier.

AN ILLUSTRATION

George Muller has given us a beautiful resume of his own dealings with God, that will fit in well, as we study Joshua’s farewell words.

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Psa 55:22).

“It is not only permission, but positive command that He gives us to cast the burden upon Him. Oh, let us do it, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, * * Day by day I do it. This morning again, sixty matters in connection with the church of which I am pastor, I brought before the Lord, and thus it is day by day, and year by year; ten years, twenty years, thirty years, forty years. And now, my beloved brothers and sisters, come with your burdens, the burdens of your business, your profession, your trials and difficulties, and you will find help. Many persons suppose that it is only about money that I trust the Lord in prayer. I do bring this money question before the Lord, but it is only one out of many things I speak to God about, and I find He helps. Often I have perplexity in finding persons of ability and fitness for the various posts I have to have supplied. Sometimes weeks and months pass, and day by day, day by day, I bring the matter before the Lord, and invariably He helps. It is so about the conversion of persons; prayer, sooner or later, is turned into praise. After a while God helps. It is so about the needs of our work in sending out tracts and books, and missionary efforts. After a while God helps. We’re never left, we’re never confounded.”

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

Joshua briefly related the history of God’s people all the way back to the time when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates. Terah, Abraham’s father, and his son Nahor worshipped false gods. God directed Abraham’s path to Canaan and gave him Isaac. Jacob and Esau were the two sons born to him. Esau was given the area around Mount Seir and Jacob went into Egypt along with his children. God sent Moses and Aaron to deliver his people from Egypt and used plagues to cause their release. He destroyed Pharaoh’s chariots in the sea and was with Israel in the wilderness. He kept them safe in the wilderness and gave them the land of promise. They did not win the land by their own power but with the hand of God. They reaped the harvest of crops they did not sow ( Jos 24:1-13 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Jos 24:1. Joshua gathered It is likely that Joshua, living longer than he expected when he delivered the foregoing discourse to the Israelites, called the people together once more, that he might give them still further advice before he died; as Moses addressed them in several pathetic speeches before his departure from them. Or perhaps it was Joshuas custom to assemble them frequently, in order that he might remind them of their duty, and enforce it upon them. All the tribes of Israel Namely, their representatives, or, as it follows, their elders, their heads, their judges, and officers. To Shechem To the city of Shechem, a place convenient for the purpose, not only because it was a Levitical city, and a city of refuge, and a place near Joshuas city, but especially for the two main ends for which he summoned them thither. 1st, For the solemn burial of the bones of Joseph, and probably of some others of the patriarchs, for which this place was designed. 2d, For the solemn renewing of their covenant with God; which in this place was first made between God and Abraham, (Gen 12:6-7,) and afterward renewed by the Israelites at their first entrance into the land of Canaan, between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, (chap. Jos 8:30, &c.,) which were very near Shechem: and therefore this place was most proper, both to remind them of their former obligations to God, and to engage them to a further ratification of them. Before God As in Gods presence, to hear what Joshua was to speak to them in Gods name, and to receive Gods commands from his mouth. He had taken a solemn farewell before: but as God renewed his strength, he desired to improve it for their good. We must never think our work for God done till our life be done.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jos 24:1. Shechem. Some think this was the Sychar where our Saviour talked with the woman. Joh 4:5. This place became far famed on account of the renewal of the covenant before Joshuas death. He had built an altar here more than twenty years before. This town lies about eight miles from Samaria, and is now called Naplosa.

Jos 24:2. Terahserved other gods. Sabianism maintained that the world was eternal, and inculcated the worship of the planets as gods. The planets were also represented by metals, the sun by gold, the moon by silver, &c. Household gods followed next. It is not doubted but Abraham, for a time, worshipped in the same manner as his fathers. Sabianism had overspread the world; but after God called him he became, as the Jews call him, the pillar of the world.

Jos 24:14. In Egypt, where they served Osiris, Apis, and Isis, as described, Exo 32:4.

Jos 24:27. This stonehath heard. The prosopopia is one of the noblest figures of rhetoric. Give ear, oh heavens; and hear, oh earth. Deu 32:1. Isa 1:2. Joshua did all in his power to impress the nation, for he knew the human heart.

Jos 24:29. A hundred and ten years old. God now evidently began to shorten the life of man. The animal life wears out and hastes to decay, which should prompt us to look for a better world and bury our tears with Josephs bones, in hope of the resurrection of the dead.

Jos 24:33. His son. The Septuagint superadds, And the children of Israel took the ark, and carried it about with them; and Phinehas was highpriest till he died, and they buried him in his own hill. The children of Israel went to their own homes; and they fell away to the worship of Astarte and Ashtaroth; and the Lord delivered them into the hands of Eglon king of Moab; and he had dominion over them for eighteen years.This hill was given to the priest, it is thought, as his wifes portion. We have deeply to lament the death of Joshua, and of Eleazer, for with their death we find an almost total decay of religion.

REFLECTIONS.

Joshua having now, like Joseph, attained the age of one hundred and ten years; having seen the Jordan divide, Jericho fall, and the sun and moon stay their course at his command; and having conquered and divided the country, he was desirous once more to see the face of the elders and magistrates before he died. He wished to recite the mercies of the Lord, and to give them a solemn charge, though he had exhorted them to the same effect but awhile ago. What a proof of his piety; what an argument that he was about to expire with a soul filled with grateful recollections of Gods works, and full of immortal hope.

He recited the history of the Hebrew family on a full scale, because it was the history of their glory, and of the last importance to all succeeding generations. He required of them a sincerity in the divine service correspondent to the fidelity with which God had fulfilled all his promises, and to the riches of grace which had constituted them a nation. If his arguments are conclusive, what must be the love, the gratitude and obedience, we owe to Jesus Christ? Surely if we trace our own history, and attempt to estimate the mercies of the Lord displayed to us in our pilgrimage, we shall enter into all the sentiments of this blessed prince and patriarch in Israel?

Joshua, after displaying the history of providence and grace, which had made of a wandering family the greatest and happiest of nations, puts the grand question; the question for which he had convened them before the Lord. Choose ye this day whom you will serve. What a contrast he makes between the gods of the heathen, who could do nothing for their votaries, and JEHOVAH who had done all these great and glorious things for them, and for their fathers. Hence we learn, that religion is a reasonable service, and that mankind endowed everywhere under the gospel with the covenant of grace, or initial salvation, are called to choose life that they may live: for life and death, a blessing and a curse, are set before them. God who has condescended to explain and justify his ways to man, demands in return a freewill offering of his heart and life. May the Lord then lay hold of the hand of the lingering sinner, and lead him out of Sodom, that he may escape for his life.

We also see that personal and family godliness is the best way of perpetuating religion in its purity to posterity. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord: let all heads of houses follow so divine a pattern. Let them read the holy scriptures, let them talk of the divine precepts in the ears of their children; and then falling down to prayer, let them deprecate the evil of sin, and implore the blessings of the covenant. Then the children so brought up will dread a prayerless house, as the paths of death; and being fully acquainted with the ways of the Lord, they will be armed with the weapons of truth against all the beguiling maxims of the world.

The elders and officers, deeply impressed with all they had just heard from the venerable prince, answered with a protestation against all the false gods, and with a most solemn avowal of the Lord for their God. It is good for a nation to assemble in all places of devotion, and for princes, nobles and magistrates to set the example, in renewing the christian covenant with God. Such should be all our days of fasting and prayer, all our days of thanksgiving, all sacrament occasions; and indeed, every time we bow the knee should be in some respect a renewal of covenant with heaven. By solemn acts of this kind, religion acquires a fresh influence over our hearts, over our children, and over our country.

Joshua wrote all the words of this covenant in a book, and rolled a huge stone under an oak, that all worshippers might read and see the testimonials of their covenants. These in case of apostasy were designed to testify against them. Hence we should learn solemnity and fidelity in all our transactions with God; for he ever lives the witness of his word, and the God of vengeance against all his foes.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

JOSHUA’S SUMMARY OF ISRAEL’S HISTORY

(vs.1-13)

For the second time, as Joshua neared the end of his life, he called Israel together, primarily the elders, heads, judges and officers (v.1), but including “all the people” (v.2). He then faithfully summarized Israel’s history, from her fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob until the then present time. There is a striking similarity between this and the first part of Stephen’s address in Act 7:1-60.

Abraham had dwelt with his father Terah on the east of the Euphrates River, where they were idol worshipers (v.2). This was a humbling reminder for Israel, that they originated from one who had followed false gods. But grace can make a wonderful difference, as it did with Abraham, so that after leaving his native land he was led by God in traversing the land of Canaan, where the Lord also greatly blessed him, multiplying his descendants, though only his one son Isaac is mentioned by name, for Israel was to come from Isaac.

Jacob and Esau were born to Isaac. Esau was born first, but Jacob was God’s choice to father a nation separate from all other nations. But while Esau possessed the land of Seir, Jacob and his family went down to Egypt (v.4).

Nothing is said of Moses’ birth in Egypt nor of his honor in Pharaoh’s court, but rather of God’s sending Moses and Aaron to be the means of Israel’s deliverance. Briefly too God’s plagues on Egypt are mentioned, for it was these that eventually moved Pharaoh to release Israel (v.5). But it was God who brought them out, and God who had directed them to the Red Sea, which Israel would not have naturally chosen. The waters of death were rolled back for Israel to pass on dry ground, and the pursuing Egyptians found darkness while Israel was in the light (v.7).

Then the Lord answered the cries of Israel and the sea came back to its strength, covering all the Egyptians. Such reminders from Joshua ought to have stirred Israel to realize afresh how dependent they were upon the power and grace of God on their behalf. Their wanderings in the wilderness are only mentioned as being “a long time,” for these were testings that had to do with their own weakness and failure, not with the sovereign grace and power of God.

But after this God brought them to the land of the Amorites to the east of Jordan, where again the power of God was manifest in Israel’s defeating this nation and possessing their land (v.8).

At that time Balak king of Moab enlisted Balaam, a false prophet, with the object of cursing Israel and rendering them powerless before the Moabite army (v.9). But God intervened and Balaam’s cursing turned to blessing for Israel, so that they were delivered from Moab (v.10). To be reminded thus that God was for Israel ought to have been a great incentive to them to cling all the more steadfastly to the Lord.

Then the Lord brought Israel over Jordan, where they defeated Jericho, then the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites (v.11). All of these victories were manifestly not because of the superior power of Israel, but the Lord “sent the hornet before you” (v.12). This is figurative of the fact of God’s so dealing with the enemies that they were frightened as though attacked by hornets and thus rendered helpless to fight. Two kings of the Amorites are specifically mentioned as defeated without the help of Israel’s sword or bow. Thus God had given Israel a land for which they did not labor and cities they had not built, and vineyards and olive groves they had not planted.

EXHORTATIONS BASED ON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

(vs.14-24)

Having received such blessing from God, it was only right that Israel should wholeheartedly serve the Lord in sincerity and in truth, putting away all those idols that Abraham had served long before (v.14), but had given up when he came to Canaan. It is notorious that people will often return to idols that were popular many years before just as today many people in western nations are returning to idolatrous mysticism that had been given no place when Christianity had a strong voice in these nations.

Joshua calls upon Israel to be decisive as to whom they would serve. Did they think it evil (that is, harmful) to serve the Lord? If so, then let them choose now between the idolatry that Abraham had refused or the idolatry of the Amorites (v.15). Joshua is firmly decisive as to himself and his house, as he says, “we will serve the Lord.” He had evidently discerned already a tendency of departure on the part of the people.

The people respond that they will not forsake the Lord to serve other gods (v 16), and speak appreciatively of the things of which Joshua reminded them, God’s delivering them from the bondage of Egypt, manifesting His presence by great signs, preserving them through the wilderness and driving out their enemies, to enable them to inherit the land. Therefore they affirm they will serve the Lord, “for He is our God” (v.18).

However, Joshua answered them, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God” (v.19). Joshua knew that Israel was really only expressing their confidence in the flesh, as Peter did when the Lord told him he would deny Him (Mat 26:31-35). It is impossible for the energy of the flesh to please God (Rom 8:8). On the basis of Israel’s claim of righteousness, God would not forgive their transgressions nor their sins (v.19). Thank God He does forgive where there is the honest self-judgment of repentance. but if they were to forsake the Lord and serve other gods, there was no self-judgment in this, and after all God’s goodness to them they would experience just the opposite in being consumed by harmful inflictions (v.20). Such is the righteous government of God in discipline.

The people still protest they will serve the Lord (v.21), 50 Joshua tells them they are witnesses against themselves, for in time to come, when they forsook the Lord, the witness of their own words would be against them. They fully agree that they are witnesses, for they did not suspect the treachery of their own hearts, but trusted their own strength (v 22).

However, in verse 23 Joshua tells them to put away the foreign gods that were among them. He knew that idolatry was already present. How could they say they would serve the Lord when they were already entertaining idols? But even today there are professing Christians who speak plainly against unholy practices, yet involve themselves with others who indulge in such practices. They seem unable to realize the inconsistency of such things. But Israel insists they will serve and obey the Lord God of Israel (v.24).

A RENEWED COVENANT

(vs.25-28)

Just as God had made a covenant with Israel on the basis of law in Exo 19:1-25; Exo 20:1-26, while knowing full well that Israel would not keep that covenant, so Joshua now makes a covenant with the people, though knowing they would not keep it (v.25). The covenant did not really encourage them to obey, but it would be a testimony against them when they disobeyed. It is not really a new covenant that Joshua makes, but a renewal of the covenant of law, which Israel had already broken, and instead of confessing their guilt, were now making a futile promise of doing better

Joshua wrote the words of the covenant in the book of the law of God, for the covenant only confirmed Israel’s responsibility to keep that law (vs.26-27). Then he set up a large stone as a memorial of this covenant and as a standing witness to Israel’ S promise. We may well wonder if they totally disregarded this stone in their after history. These were the last recorded words of Joshua to Israel, and the setting up of the stone his last recorded act.

TWO DEATHS AND THREE BURIALS

(vs.29-33)

The time has come for Joshua’s death at the age of 110 years, and he was buried within the borders of his own inheritance. His spiritual energy had effect on the elders who outlived him, so that Israel continued to serve the Lord during their lives. They had first hand knowledge of the great works of the Lord on behalf of Israel, but failed to so impress their children as to preserve them from departure.

Verse 32 also tells of the burial of Joseph’s bones at Shechem in the plot of ground Jacob had bought (Gen 33:19). The sons of Joseph had inherited this land. Likely this burial took place before the death of Joshua.

Eleazar had been a faithful priest in the establishing of Israel in the land, a type of Christ in resurrection, but he too passes off the scene, so that the Book of Judges introduces an era much different than that of Joshua. In the main Joshua has been a book of victory, though not without setbacks. Judges deals mainly with Israel’s failure, not without grace shining through.

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

24:1 And Joshua gathered all the {a} 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 {b} God.

(a) That is, the nine tribes and the half.

(b) Before the ark which was brought to Shechem, when they went to bury Joseph’s bones.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

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." [Note: Davis and Whitcomb, pp. 87-88.]

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

"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." [Note: Butler, p. 278.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. Preamble 24:1

Shechem was a strategic location for this important ceremony. Joshua called on the Israelites to renew formally their commitment to the Mosaic Covenant at the site that was very motivating to them to do so.

"If you were to put Plymouth Rock and Yorktown and Lexington and Independence Hall together, you would not have what Shechem is to Israel." [Note: Clarence Macartney, The Greatest Texts of the Bible, pp. 74-75.]

At Shechem, God had first appeared to Abraham when he had entered the land and promised to give him the land of Canaan. In response to that promise Abraham built his first altar to Yahweh in the land there (Gen 12:7). Jacob buried his idols at Shechem after returning to the Promised Land from Paddan-aram. He made this his home and built an altar to Yahweh there (Gen 33:18-20), and later God moved him to Bethel (Gen 35:1-4) where he built another altar.

"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." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, pp. 226-27.]

At Shechem the same generation of Israelites that Joshua now addressed had pledged itself to the Mosaic Covenant shortly after it had entered the land (Jos 8:30-35). They had also built an altar there.

"For the Christian, regular presentation before God in worship is an essential feature of a life of faith (Heb 10:25)." [Note: Hess, p. 300.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

CHAPTER XXXII.

JOSHUA’S LAST APPEAL.

Jos 24:1-33.

IT was at Shechem that Joshua’s last meeting with the people took place. The Septuagint makes it Shiloh in one verse (Jos 24:1), but Shechem in another (Jos 24:25); but there is no sufficient reason for rejecting the common reading. Joshua might feel that a meeting which was not connected with the ordinary business of the sanctuary, but which was more for a personal purpose, a solemn leave-taking on his part from the people, might be held better at Shechem. There was much to recommend that place. It lay a few miles to the northwest of Shiloh, and was not only distinguished (as we have already said) as Abraham’s first resting-place in the country, and the scene of the earliest of the promises given in it to him; but likewise as the place where, between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, the blessings and curses of the law had been read out soon after Joshua entered the land, and the solemn assent of the people given to them. And whereas it is said (Jos 24:26) that the great stone set up as a witness was “by the sanctuary of the Lord,” this stone may have been placed at Shiloh after the meeting, because there it would be more fully in the observation of the people as they came up to the annual festivals (see 1Sa 1:7; 1Sa 1:9). Shechem was therefore the scene of Joshua’s farewell address. Possibly it was delivered close to the well of Jacob and the tomb of Joseph; at the very place where, many centuries later, the New Testament Joshua sat wearied with His journey, and unfolded the riches of Divine grace to the woman of Samaria.

1. In the record of Joshua’s speech contained in the twenty-fourth chapter, he begins by rehearsing the history of the nation. He has an excellent reason for beginning with the revered name of Abraham, because Abraham had been conspicuous for that very grace, loyalty to Jehovah, which he is bent on impressing on them. Abraham had made a solemn choice in religion. He had deliberately broken with one kind of worship, and accepted another. His fathers had been idolaters, and he had been brought up an idolater. But Abraham renounced idolatry for ever. He did this at a great sacrifice, and what Joshua entreated of the people was, that they would be as thorough and as firm as he was in their repudiation of idolatry. The rehearsal of the history is given in the words of God to remind them that the whole history of Israel had been planned and ordered by Him. He had been among them from first to last; He had been with them through all the lives of the patriarchs; it was He that had delivered them from Egypt by Moses and Aaron, that had buried the Egyptians under the waters of the sea, that had driven the Amorites out of the eastern provinces, had turned the curse of Balaam into a blessing, had dispossessed the seven nations, and had settled the Israelites in their pleasant and peaceful abodes.

We mark in this rehearsal the well-known features of the national history, as they were always represented; the frank recognition of the supernatural, with no indication of myth or legend, with nothing of the mist or glamour in which the legend is commonly enveloped. And, seeing that God had done all this for them, the inference was that He was entitled to their heartiest loyalty and obedience. “Now therefore 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.” It seems strange that at that very time the people needed to be called to put away other gods. But this only shows how destitute of foundation the common impression is, that from and after the departure from Egypt the whole host of Israel were inclined to the law as it had been given by Moses. There was still a great amount of idolatry among them, and a strong tendency towards it. They were not a wholly reformed or converted people. This Joshua knew right well; he knew that there was a suppressed fire among them liable to burst into a conflagration; hence his aggressive attitude, and his effort to foster an aggressive spirit in them; he must bind them over by every consideration to renounce wholly all recognition of other gods, and to make Jehovah the one only object of their worship. Never was a good man more in earnest, or more thoroughly persuaded that all that made for a nation’s welfare was involved in the course which he pressed upon them.

2. But Joshua did not urge this merely on the strength of his own conviction. He must enlist their reason on his side; and for this cause he now called on them deliberately to weigh the claims of other gods and the advantages of other modes of worship, and choose that which must be pronounced the best. There were four claimants to be considered: (1) Jehovah; (2) the Chaldaean gods worshipped by their ancestors; (3) the gods of the Egyptians; and (4) the gods of the Amorites among whom they dwelt. Make your choice between these, said Joshua, if you are dissatisfied with Jehovah. But could there be any reasonable choice between these gods and Jehovah? It is often useful, when we hesitate as to a course, to set down the various reasons for and against, – it may be the reasons of our judgment against the reasons of our feelings; for often this course enables us to see how utterly the one outweighs the other. May it not be useful for us to do as Joshua urged Israel to do?

If we set down the reasons for making God, God in Christ, the supreme object of our worship, against those in favour of the world, how infinitely will the one scale outweigh the other! In the choice of a master, it is reasonable for a servant to consider which has the greatest claim upon him; which is intrinsically the most worthy to be served; which will bring him the greatest advantages; which will give him most inward satisfaction and peace; which will exercise the best influence on his character, and which comes recommended most by old servants whose testimony ought to weigh with him. If these are the grounds of a reasonable choice in the case of a servant engaging with a master, how much more in reference to the Master of our spirits! Nothing can be plainer than that the Israelites in Joshua’s time had every conceivable reason for choosing their fathers’ God as the supreme object of their worship, and that any other course would have been alike the guiltiest and the silliest that could have been taken. Are the reasons a whit less powerful why every one of us should devote heart and life and mind and soul to the service of Him who gave Himself for us, and has loved us with an everlasting love?

3. But Joshua is fully prepared to add example to precept. Whatever you do in this matter, my mind is made up, my course is clear – “as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.” He reminds us of a general exhorting his troops to mount the deadly breach and dash into the enemy’s citadel. Strong and urgent are his appeals; but stronger and more telling is his act when, facing the danger right in front, he rushes on, determined that, whatever others may do, he will not flinch from his duty. It is the old Joshua back again, the Joshua that alone with Caleb stood faithful amid the treachery of the spies, that has been loyal to God all his life, and now in the decrepitude of old age is still prepared to stand alone rather than dishonour the living God. ”As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” He was happy in being able to associate his. house with himself as sharing his convictions and his purpose. He owed this, in all likelihood, to his own firm and intrepid attitude throughout his life. His house saw how consistently and constantly he recognised the supreme claims of Jehovah. Not less clearly did they see how constantly he experienced the blessedness of his choice.

4. Convinced by his arguments, moved by his eloquence, and carried along by the magnetism of his example, the people respond with enthusiasm, deprecate the very thought of forsaking Jehovah to serve other gods, and recognise most cordially the claims he has placed them under, by delivering them from Egypt, preserving them in the wilderness, and driving out the Amorites from their land. After this an ordinary leader would have felt quite at ease, and would have thanked God that his appeal had met with such a response, and that such demonstration had been given of the loyalty of the people. But Joshua knew something of their fickle temper. He may have called to mind the extraordinary enthusiasm of their fathers when the tabernacle was in preparation; the singular readiness with which they had contributed their most valued treasures, and the grievous change they underwent after the return of the spies. Even an enthusiastic burst like this is not to be trusted. He must go deeper; he must try to induce them to think more earnestly of the matter, and not trust to the feeling of the moment.

5. Hence he draws a somewhat dark picture of Jehovah’s character. He dwells on those attributes which are least agreeable to the natural man, His holiness, His jealousy, and His inexorable opposition to sin. When he says, “He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins,” he cannot mean that God is not a God of forgiveness. He cannot wish to contradict the first part of that gracious memorial which God gave to Moses: ”The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” His object is to emphasize the clause, “and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Evidently he means that the sin of idolatry is one that God cannot pass over, cannot fail to punish, until, probably through terrible judgments, the authors of it are brought to contrition, and humble themselves in the dust before him. “Ye cannot serve the Lord,” said Joshua; “take care how you undertake what is beyond your strength!” Perhaps he wished to impress on them the need of Divine strength for so difficult a duty. Certainly he did not change their purpose, but only drew from them a more resolute expression. ”Nay; but we will serve the Lord, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen the Lord to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses.”

6. And now Joshua comes to a point which had doubtless been in his mind all the time, but which he had been waiting for a favourable opportunity to bring forward. He had pledged the people to an absolute and unreserved service of God, and now he demands a practical proof of their sincerity. He knows quite well that they have “strange gods” among them. Teraphim, images, or ornaments having a reference to the pagan gods, he knows that they possess. And he does not speak as if this were a rare thing, confined to a very few. He speaks as if it were a common practice, generally prevalent. Again we see how far from the mark we are when we think of the whole nation as cordially following the religion of Moses, in the sense of renouncing all other gods. Minor forms of idolatry, minor recognitions of the gods of the Chaldaeans and the Egyptians and the Amorites, were prevalent even yet. Probably Joshua called to mind the scene that had occurred at that very place hundreds of years before, when Jacob, rebuked by God, and obliged to remove from Shechem, called on his household: ”Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments. . . . And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in the land, and all the ear-rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.” Alas! that, centuries later, it was necessary for Joshua in the same place to issue the same order, – Put away the gods which are among you, and serve ye the Lord. What a weed sin is, and how it is for ever reappearing! And reappearing among ourselves too, in a different variety, but essentially the same. For what honest and earnest heart does not feel that there are idols and images among ourselves that interfere with God’s claims and God’s glory as much as the teraphim and the ear-rings of the Israelites did? The images of the Israelites were little images, and it was probably at by-times and in retirement that they made use of them; and so, it may not be on the leading occasions or in the outstanding work of our lives that we are wont to dishonour God. But who that knows himself but must think with humiliation of the numberless occasions on which he indulges little whims or inclinations without thinking of the will of God; the many little acts of his daily life on which conscience is not brought to bear; the disengaged state of his mind from that supreme controlling influence which would bear on it if God were constantly recognised as his Master? And who does not find that, despite his endeavour from time to time to be more conscientious, the old habit, like a weed whose roots have only been cut over, is ever showing itself alive?

7. And now comes the closing and clinching transaction of this meeting at Shechem. Joshua enters into a formal covenant with the people; he records their words in the book of the law of the Lord; he takes a great stone and sets it up under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord; and he constitutes the stone a witness, as if it had heard all that had been spoken by the Lord to them and by them to the Lord. The covenant was a transaction invested with special solemnity among all Eastern peoples, and especially among the Israelites. Many instances had occurred in their history, of covenants with God, and of other covenants, like that of Abraham with Abimelech, or that of Jacob with Laban. The wanton violation of a covenant was held an act of gross impiety, deserving the reprobation alike of God and man. When Joshua got the people bound by a transaction of this sort, he seemed to obtain a new guarantee for their fidelity; a new barrier was erected against their lapsing into idolatry. It was natural for him to expect that some good would come of it, and no doubt it contributed to the happy result; “for Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders which over lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that He had done for Israel.” And yet it was but a temporary barrier against a flood which seemed ever to be gathering strength unseen, and preparing for another fierce discharge of its disastrous waters.

At the least, this meeting secured for Joshua a peaceful sunset, and enabled him to sing his “Nunc dimittis.” The evil which he dreaded most was not at work as the current of life ebbed away from him; it was his great privilege to look round him and see his people faithful to their God. It does not appear that Joshua had any very comprehensive or far-reaching aims with reference to the moral training and development of the people. His idea of religion seems to have been, a very simple loyalty to Jehovah, in opposition to the perversions of idolatry. It is not even very plain whether or not he was much impressed by the capacity of true religion to pervade all the relations and engagements of men, and brighten and purify the whole life. We are too prone to ascribe all the virtues to the good men of the Old Testament, forgetting that of many virtues there was only a progressive development, and that it is not reasonable to look for excellence beyond the measure of the age. Joshua was a soldier, a soldier of the Old Testament, a splendid man for his day, but not beyond his day. As a soldier, his business was to conquer his enemies, and to be loyal to his heavenly Master. It did not lie to him to enforce the numberless bearings which the spirit of trust in God might have on all the interests of life – on the family, on books, on agriculture and commerce, or on the development of the humanities, and the courtesies of society. Other men were raised up from time to time, many other men, with commission from God to devote their energies to such matters.

It is quite possible that, under Joshua, religion did not appear in very close relation to many things that are lovely and of good report. A celebrated English writer (Matthew Arnold) has asked whether, if Virgil or Shakespeare had sailed in the Mayflower with the puritan fathers, they would have found themselves in congenial society. The question is not a fair one, for it supposes that men whose destiny was to fight as for very life, and for what was dearer than life, were of the same mould with others who could devote themselves in peaceful leisure to the amenities of literature, Joshua had doubtless much of the ruggedness of the early soldier, and it is not fair to blame him for want of sweetness and light. Very probably it was from him that Deborah drew somewhat of her scorn, and Jael, the wife of Heber, of her rugged courage. The whole Book of Judges is penetrated by his spirit. He was not the apostle of charity or gentleness. He had one virtue, but it was the supreme virtue – he honoured God. Wherever God’s claims were involved, he could see nothing, listen to nothing, care for nothing, but that He should obtain His due. Wherever God’s claims were acknowledged and fulfilled, things were essentially right, and other interests would come right. For his absolute and supreme loyalty to his Lord he is entitled to our highest reverence. This loyalty is a rare virtue, in the sublime proportions in which it appeared in him. When a man honours God in this way, he has something of the appearance of a supernatural being, rising high above the fears and the feebleness of poor humanity. He fills his fellows with a sort of awe.

Among the reformers, the puritans, and the covenanters such men were often found. The best of them, indeed, were men of this type, and very genuine men they were. They were not men whom the world loved; they were too jealous of God’s claims for that, and too severe on those who refused them. And we have still the type of the fighting Christian. But alas! it is a type subject to fearful degeneration. Loyalty to human tradition is often substituted, unconsciously no doubt, for loyalty to God. The sublime purity and nobility of the one passes into the obstinacy, the self-righteousness, the self-assertion of the other. When a man of the genuine type does appear, men are arrested, astonished, as if by a supernatural apparition. The very rareness, the eccentricity of the character, secures a respectful homage. And yet, who can deny that it is the true representation of what every man should be who says, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth”?

After a life of a hundred and ten years the hour comes when Joshua must die. We have no record of the inner workings of his spirit, no indication of his feelings in view of his sins, no hint as to the source of his trust for forgiveness and acceptance. But we readily think of him as the heir of the faith of his father Abraham, the heir of the righteousness that is by faith, and as passing calmly into the presence of his Judge, because, like Jacob, he has waited for His salvation. He was well entitled to the highest honours that the nation could bestow on his memory; for all owed to him their homes and their rest. His name must ever be coupled with that of the greatest hero of the nation: Moses led them out of the house of bondage; Joshua led them into the house of rest. Sometimes, as we have already said, it has been attempted to draw a sharp antithesis between Moses and Joshua, the one as representing the law, and the other as representing the gospel. The antithesis is more in word than in deed. Moses represented both gospel and law, for he brought the people out of the bondage of Egypt; he brought them to their marriage altar, and he unfolded to the bride the law of her Divine husband’s house. Joshua conducted the bride to her home, and to the rest which she was to enjoy there; but he was not less emphatic than Moses in insisting that she must be an obedient wife, following the law of her husband. It were difficult to say which of them was the more instructive type of Christ, both in feeling and in act. The love of each for his people was most intense, most self-denying; and neither of them, had he been called on, would have hesitated to surrender his life for their sake.

It is probably a mere incidental arrangement that the book concludes with a record of the burial of Joseph, and of the death and burial of Eleazar, the son of Aaron. In point of time, we can hardly suppose that the burial of Joseph in the field of his father Jacob in Shechem was delayed till after the death of Joshua. It would be a most suitable transaction after the division of the country, and especially after the territory that contained the field had been assigned to Ephraim, Joseph’s son. It would be like a great doxology – a Te Deum celebration of the fulfilment of the promise in which, so many centuries before, Joseph had so nobly shown his trust.

But why did not Joseph’s bones find their resting-place in the time-honoured cave of Macpelah? Why was he not laid side by side with his father, who would doubtless have liked right well that his beloved son should be laid at his side? We can only say in regard to Joseph as in regard to Rachel, that the right of burial in that tomb seems to have been limited to the wife who was recognised by law, and to the son who inherited the Messianic promise. The other members of the family must have their resting-place elsewhere; moreover, there was this benefit in Joseph having his burial-place at Shechem, that it was in the very centre of the country, and near the spot where the tribes were to assemble for the great annual festivals. For many a generation the tomb of Joseph would be a memorable witness to the people; by it the patriarch, though dead, would continue to testify to the faithfulness of God; while he would point the hopes of the godly people still onward to the future, when the last clause of the promise to Abraham would be emphatically fulfilled, and that Seed would come forth among them in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.

Was there a reason for recording the death of Eleazar? Certainly there was a fitness in placing together the record of the death of Joshua and the death of Eleazar. For Joshua was the successor of Moses, and Eleazar was the successor of Aaron. The simultaneous mention of the death of both is a significant indication that the generation to which they belonged had now passed away. A second age after the departure from Egypt had now slipped into the silent past. It was a token that the duties and responsibilities of life had now come to a new generation, and a silent warning to them to remember how

“Time like an ever-rolling stream Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.”

How short the life of a generation seems when we look back to these distant days! How short the life of the individual when he realizes that his journey is practically ended! How vain the expectation once cherished of an indefinite future, when there would be ample time to make up for all the neglects of earlier years! God give us all to know the true meaning of that word, ”the time is short,” and “so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom!”

CHAPTER XXXIII.

JOSHUA’S WORK FOR ISRAEL.

IT now only remains for us to take a retrospective view of the work of Joshua, and indicate what he did for Israel and the mark he left on the national history.

1. Joshua was a soldier – a believing soldier. He was the first of a type that has furnished many remarkable specimens. Abraham had fought, but he had fought as a quaker might be induced to fight, for he was essentially a man of peace. Moses had superintended military campaigns, but Moses was essentially a priest and a prophet. Joshua was neither quaker, nor priest, nor prophet, but simply a soldier. There were fighting men in abundance, no doubt, before the flood, but so far as we know, not believing men. Joshua was the first of an order that seems to many a moral paradox – a devoted servant of God, yet an enthusiastic fighter. His mind ran naturally in the groove of military work. To plan expeditions, to devise methods of attacking, scattering, or annihilating opponents, came naturally to him. A military genius, he entered con amore into his work.

Yet along with this the fear of God continually controlled and guided him. He would do nothing deliberately unless he was convinced that it was the will of God. In all his work of slaughter, he believed himself to be fulfilling the righteous purposes of Jehovah. His life was habitually guided by regard to the unseen. He had no ambition but to serve his God and to serve his country. He would have been content with the plainest conditions of life, for his habits were simple and his tastes natural. He believed that God was behind him, and the belief made him fearless. His career of almost unbroken success justified his faith.

There have been soldiers who were religious in spite of their being soldiers – some of them in their secret hearts regretting the distressing fortune that made the sword their weapon; but there have also been men whose energy in religion and in fighting have supported and strengthened each other. Such men, however, are usually found only in times of great moral and spiritual struggle, when the brute force of the world has been mustered in overwhelming mass to crush some religious movement. They have an intense conviction that the movement is of God, and as to the use of the sword, they cannot help themselves; they have no choice, for the instinct of self-defence compels them to draw it. Such are the warriors of the Apocalypse, the soldiers of Armageddon; for though their battle is essentially spiritual, it is presented to us in that military book under the symbols of material warfare. Such were the Ziskas and Procopses of the Bohemian reformation; the Gustavus Adolphuses of the Thirty Years’ War; the Cromwells of the Commonwealth, and the General Leslies of the Covenant. Ruled supremely by the fear of God, and convinced of a Divine call to their work, they have communed about it with Him as closely and as truly as the missionary about his preaching or his translating, or the philanthropist about his homes or his rescue agencies. To God’s great goodness it has ever been their habit to ascribe their successes; and when an enterprise has failed, the causes of failure have been sought for in the Divine displeasure. Nor in their intercourse with their families and friends have they been usually wanting in gentler graces, in affection, in generosity, or in pity. All this must be freely admitted, even by those to whom war is most obnoxious. It is quite consistent with the conviction that a large proportion of wars has been utterly unjustifiable, and that in ordinary circumstances the sword is no more to be regarded as the right and proper weapon for settling the quarrels of nations than the duel for settling the quarrels of individuals. And the best of soldiers cannot but feel that fighting is at best a cruel necessity, and that it will be a happy day for the world when men shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks.

2. Being a soldier, Joshua confined himself in the main to the work of a soldier. That work was to conquer the enemy and to divide the land. To these two departments he limited himself, in subordination, however, to his deep conviction that they were only means to an end, and that that end would be utterly missed unless the people were pervaded by loyalty to God and devotion to the mode of worship which He had prescribed. No opportunity of impressing that consideration on their minds was neglected. It lay at the root of all their prosperity; and if Joshua had not pressed it on them by every available means, all his work would have been like pouring water on sand or sowing seed upon the rocks of the seashore.

Joshua was not called to ecclesiastical work, certainly not in the sense of carrying out ecclesiastical details That department belonged to the high priest and his brethren. While Moses lived, it had been under him, because Moses was head of all departments. Neither did Joshua take in hand the arrangement in detail of the civil department of the commonwealth. That was mainly work for the elders and officers appointed to regulate it. It is from the circumstance that Joshua personally confined himself to his two great duties, that the book which bears his name travels so little beyond these. Reading Joshua alone, we might have the impression that very little attention was paid to the ritual enacted in the books of Moses. We might suppose that but little was done to carry out the provisions of the Torah, as the law came to be called. But the inference would not be warranted, for the plain reason that such things did not come within the sphere of Joshua or the scope of the book which bears his name. We may make what we can of incidental allusions, but we need not expect elaborate descriptions. There are many things that it would have been highly interesting for us to know regarding this period of the history of Israel; but the book limits itself as Joshua limited himself. It is not a full history of the times. It is not a chapter of universal national annals. It is a history of the settlement, and of Joshua’s share in the settlement.

And the fact that it has this character is a testimony to its authenticity. Had it been a work of much later date, it is not likely that it would have been confined within such narrow limits. It would in all likelihood have presented a much larger view of the state and progress of the nation than the existing book does. The fact that it is made to revolve so closely round Joshua seems to indicate that Joshua’s personality was still a great power; the remembrance of him was bright and vivid when the book was written. Moreover, the lists of names, many of which seem to have been the old Canaanite names, and to have dropped out of the Hebrew history because the cities were not actually taken from the Canaanites, and did not become Hebrew cities, is another testimony to the contemporary date of the book, or of the documents on which it is founded.

3. If we examine carefully Joshua’s character as a soldier, or rather as a strategist, we shall probably find that he had one defect. He does not appear to have succeeded in making his conquests permanent. What he gained one day was often won back by the enemy after a little time. To read the account of what happened after the victory of Gibeon and Bethhoron, one would infer that all the region south of Gibeon fell completely into his hands. Yet by-and-by we find Hebron and Jerusalem in possession of the enemy, while a hitherto unheard-of king has come into view, Adonibezek, of Bezek, of whose people there were slain, after the death of Joshua, ten thousand men (Jdg 1:4). With regard to Hebron we read first that Joshua “fought against it and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein ” (Jos 10:37). Yet not long after, when Caleb requested Hebron for his inheritance, it was (as we have seen) on the very ground that it was strongly held by the enemy: ”if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said” (Jos 14:12). Again, in the campaign against Jabin, King of Hazor, while it is said that Hazor was utterly destroyed, it is also said that Joshua did not destroy “the cities that stood on their mounds” (Jos 11:13, R.V.); accordingly we find that some time after, another Jabin was at the head of a restored Hazor, and it was against him that the expedition to which Barak was stimulated by the prophetess Deborah was undertaken (Jdg 4:2). Whether Joshua miscalculated the number and resources of the Canaanites in the country; or whether he was unable to divide his own forces so as to prevent the re-occupation and restoration of places that had once been destroyed; or whether he over-estimated the effects of his first victories and did not allow enough for the determination of a conquered people to fight for their homes and their altars to the last, we cannot determine; but certainly the result was, that after being defeated and scattered at the first, they rallied and gathered together, and presented a most formidable problem to the tribes in their various settlements. There is no reason for resorting to the explanation of our modern critics that we have here traces of two writers, of whom the policy of the one was to represent that Joshua was wholly victorious, and of the other that he was very far from successful. The true view is, that his first invasion, or run-over, as it may be called, was a complete success, but that, through the rallying of his opponents, much of the ground which he gained at the beginning was afterwards lost.

4. The great service of Joshua to his people (as we have already remarked) was, that he gave them a settlement. He gave them – Rest. Some, indeed, may be disposed to question whether that which Joshua did give them was worthy of the name of rest. If the Canaanites were still among them, disputing the possession of the country; if savage Adonibezeks were still at large, whose victims bore in their mutilated bodies the marks of their cruelty and barbarity; if the power of the Philistines in the south, the Sidonians in the north, and the Geshurites in the north-east was still unbroken, how could they be said to have obtained rest?

The objection proceeds from inability to estimate the force of the comparative degree. Joshua gave them rest in the sense that he gave them homes of their own. There was no more need for the wandering life which they had led in the wilderness. They had more compact and comfortable habitations than the tents of the desert with their slim coverings that could effectually shut out neither the cold of winter, nor the heat of summer, nor the drenching rains. They had brighter objects to look out on than the scanty and monotonous vegetation of the wilderness. No doubt they had to defend their new homes, and in order to do so they had to expel the Canaanites who were still hovering about them. But still they were real homes; they were not homes which they merely expected or hoped to get, but homes which they had actually gotten. They were homes with the manifold attractions of country life – the field, the well, the garden, the orchard, stocked with vine, fig, and pomegranate; the olive grove, the rocky crag, and the quiet glen. The sheep and the oxen might be seen browsing in picturesque groups on the pasture grounds, as if they were part of the family. It was an interest to watch the progress of vegetation, to mark how the vine budded, and the lily sprang into beauty, to pluck the first rose, or to divide the first ripe pomegranate. Life had a new interest when on a bright spring morning the young man could thus invite his bride: –

“Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come. And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.”

This, as it were, was Joshua’s gift to Israel, or rather God’s gift through Joshua. It was well fitted to kindle their gratitude, and though not yet complete or perfectly secure, it was entitled to be called “rest.” For if there was still need of fighting to complete the conquest, it was fighting under easy conditions. If they went out under the influence of that faith of which Joshua had set them so memorable an example, they were sure of protection and of victory. Past experience had shown to demonstration that none of their enemies could stand before them, and the future would be as the past had been. God was still among them; if they called on Him, He would arise, their enemies would be scattered, and they that hated Him would flee before Him. Fidelity to Him would secure all the blessings that had been read out at Mount Gerizim, and to which they had enthusiastically shouted, Amen. The picture drawn by Moses before his death would be realized in its brightest colours: “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed when thou goest out.”

But here a very serious objection may be interposed. Is it conceivable, it may be asked, that this serene satisfaction was enjoyed by the Israelites when they had got their new homes only by dispossessing the former owners; when all around them was stained by the blood of the slain, and the shrieks and groans of their predecessors were yet sounding in their ears? If these homes were not haunted by the ghosts of their former owners, must not the hearts and consciences of the new occupants have been haunted by recollections of the scenes of horror which had been enacted there? is it possible that they should have been in that tranquil and happy frame in which they would really enjoy the sweetness of their new abodes?

The question is certainly a disturbing one, and any answer that may be given to it must seem imperfect, just because we are incapable of placing ourselves wholly in the circumstances of the children of Israel.

We are incapable of entering into the callousness of the Oriental heart in reference to the sufferings or the death of enemies. Exceptions there no doubt were; but, as a rule, indifference to the condition of enemies, whether in life or in death, was the prevalent feeling.

Two parts of their nature were liable to be affected by the change which put the Israelites in possession of the houses and fields of the destroyed Canaanites – their consciences and their hearts.

With regard to their consciences the case was clear: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” God, as owner of the land of Canaan, had given it, some six hundred years before, to Abraham and his seed. That gift had been ratified by many solemnities, and belief in it had been kept alive in the hearts of Abraham’s descendants from generation to generation. There had been no secret about it, and the Canaanites must have been familiar with the tradition. Consequently, during all these centuries, they had been but tenants at will. When, under the guidance of Jehovah, Israel crossed the Red Sea and the army of Pharaoh was drowned, a pang must have shot through the breasts of the Canaanites, and the news must have come to them as a notice to quit. The echoes of the Song of Moses reverberated through the whole region: –

“The peoples have heard, they tremble: Pangs have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. Then were the dukes of Edom amazed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold of them: All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away. Terror and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till Thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over which Thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance The place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.”

It was well known, therefore, that, so far as Divine right went, the children of Israel were entitled to the land. But even after that, the Canaanites had a respite and enjoyed possession for forty years. Besides, they had been judicially condemned on account of their sins; and, moreover, when they first came into the country, they had dispossessed the former inhabitants. At last, after long delay, the hour of destiny arrived. When the Israelites took possession they felt that they were only regaining their own. It was not they, but the Canaanites, that were the intruders, and any feeling on the question of right in the minds of the Israelites would rather be that of indignation at having been kept out so long of what had been promised to Abraham, than of squeamishness at dispossessing the Canaanites of property which was not their own.

Still, one might suppose there remained scope for natural pity. But this was not very active. We may gather something of the prevalent feeling from the song of Deborah and the action of Jael. It was not an age of humanity. The whole period of the Judges was indeed an “iron age.” Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, were men of the roughest fibre. Even David’s treatment of his Ammonite prisoners was revolting. All that can be said for Israel is, that their treatment of enemies did not reach that infamous pre-eminence of cruelty for which the Assyrians and the Babylonians were notorious. But they had enough of the prevailing callousness to enable them to enter without much discomfort on the homes and possessions of their dispossessed foes. They had no such sentimental reserve as to interfere with a lively gratitude to Joshua as the man who had given them rest.

Probably, in looking back on those times, we fail to realize the marvellous influence in the direction of all that is humane and loving that came into our world, and began to operate in full force, with the advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We forget how much darker a world it must have been before the true light entered, that lighteth every man coming into the world. We forget what a gift God gave to the world when Jesus entered it, bringing with Him the light and love, the joy and peace, the hope and the holiness of heaven. We forget that the coming of Jesus was the rising of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. Coming among us as the incarnation of Divine love, it was natural that He should correct the prevailing practice in the treatment of enemies, and infuse a new spirit of humanity. Even the Apostle who afterwards became the Apostle of Love could manifest all the bitterness of the old spirit when he suggested the calling down of fire from heaven to burn up the Samaritan village that would not receive them. “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of, for the Son of man came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Who does not feel the humane spirit of Christianity to be one of its brightest gems, and one of its chief contrasts with the imperfect economy that preceded it? It is when we mark the inveteracy of the old spirit of hatred that we see how great a change Christ has introduced. If it was the great distinction of Christ’s love that “while we were yet enemies Christ died for us,” His precept to us to love our enemies ought to meet with our readiest obedience. Not without profound prophetic insight did the angel who announced the birth of Jesus proclaim, ”Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will to men.”

Alas! it is with much humiliation we must own that in practising this humane spirit of her Lord the progress of the Church has been slow and small. It seemed to be implied in the prophecies that Christianity would end war; yet one of the most outstanding phenomena of the world is, the so-called Christian nations of Europe armed to the teeth, expending millions of treasure year by year on destructive armaments, and withdrawing millions of soldiers from those pursuits which increase wealth and comfort, to be supported by taxes wrung from the sinews of the industrious, and to be ready, when called on, to scatter destruction and death among the ranks of their enemies. Surely it is a shame to the diplomacy of Europe that so little is done to arrest this crying evil; that nation after nation goes on increasing its armaments, and that the only credit a good statesman can gain is that of retarding a collision, which, when it does occur, will be the widest in its dimensions, and the vastest and most hideous in the destruction it deals, that the world has ever seen! All honour to the few earnest men who have tried to make arbitration a substitute for war.

And surely it is no credit to the Christian Church that, when its members are divided in opinion, there should be so much bitterness in the spirit of its controversies. Grant that what excites men so keenly is the fear that the truth of God being at stake, that which they deem most sacred in itself, and most vital in its influence for good is liable to suffer; hence they regard it a duty to rebuke sharply all who are apparently prepared to betray it or compromise it. Is it not apparent that if love is not mingled with the controversies of Christians, it is vain to expect violence and war to cease among the nations? More than this, if love is not more apparent among Christians than has been common, we may well tremble for the cause itself. One of the leaders of German unbelief is said to have remarked that he did not think Christianity could be Divine, because he did not find the people called Christians paying more heed than others to the command of Jesus to love their enemies.

5. One other service of Joshua to the nation of Israel remains to be noticed: he sought with all his heart that they should be a God-governed people, a people that in every department of life should be ruled by the endeavour to do God’s will. He pressed this on them with such earnestness, he commended it by his own example with such sincerity, he brought his whole authority and influence to bear on it with such momentum, that to a large extent he succeeded, though the impression hardly survived himself. ”The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord that He had wrought for Israel.” Joshua seemed always to be contending with an idolatrous virus which poisoned the blood of the people, and could not be eradicated. The only thing that seemed capable of crushing it was the outstretched arm of Jehovah, showing itself in some terrible form. While the effect of that display lasted the tendency to Idolatry was subdued, but not extirpated; and as soon as the impression of it was spent, the evil broke out anew. It was hard to instil into them ruling principles of conduct that would guide them in spite of outward influences. As a rule, they were not like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or like Moses who ”endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Individuals there were among them, like Caleb and Joshua himself, who walked by faith; but the great mass of the nation were carnal, and they exemplified the drift or tendency of that spirit – “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” Still Joshua laboured to press the lesson – the great lesson of the theocracy – Let God rule you; follow invariably His will. It is a rule for nations, for churches, for individuals. The Hebrew theocracy has passed away; but there is a sense in which every Christian nation should be a modified theocracy. So far as God has given abiding rules for the conduct of nations, every nation ought to regard them. If it be a Divine principle that righteousness exalteth a nation; if it be a Divine command to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; if it be a Divine instruction to rulers to deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also and him that hath no helper, in these and in all such matters nations ought to be divinely ruled. It is blasphemous to set up rules of expediency above these eternal emanations of the Divine will.

So, too, churches should be divinely ruled. There is but one Lord in the Christian Church, He that is King of kings, and Lord of lords. There may be many details in Church life which are left to the discretion of its rulers, acting in accordance with the spirit of Scripture; but no church should accept of any ruler whose will may set aside the will of her Lord, nor allow any human authority to supersede what He has ordained.

And for individuals the universal rule is: “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by Him.” Each true Christian heart is a theocracy – a Christ-governed soul. Not ruled by external appliances, nor by mechanical rules, nor by the mere effort to follow a prescribed example; but by the indwelling of Christ’s Spirit, by a vital force communicated from Himself. The spring of the Christian life is here – “Not I, but Christ liveth in me.” This is the source of all the beautiful and fruitful Christian lives that ever have been, of all that are, and of all that ever shall be.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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