*Joshua 24:1-31
Joshua challenges the Israelites to renew their covenant with God after reminding them of his past blessings and victories.
- Joshua’s Gathering of the Tribes:
- Joshua assembles all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning the elders, leaders, judges, and officials to present themselves before God.
- He recounts the history of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites, from the time of Abraham and Terah’s worship of other gods to the conquest of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership.
- God’s Intervention in History:
- Joshua reminds the Israelites of God’s miraculous interventions on their behalf, including the deliverance from slavery in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the defeat of their enemies.
- He emphasizes that it was God who drove out the nations before them and gave them possession of the land, fulfilling His promise to Abraham.
- Call to Choose Whom to Serve:
- Joshua challenges the Israelites to choose whom they will serve—whether the gods their ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the Lord, who brought them out of Egypt and gave them the land of Canaan.
- He declares his allegiance to the Lord, urging the people to fear Him and serve Him faithfully and sincerely.
- Israel’s Response:
- The people respond affirmatively, affirming their commitment to serving the Lord and forsaking other gods, acknowledging His power and faithfulness.
- They recount how God performed mighty deeds on their behalf, reaffirming their dedication to obeying His commands.
- Covenant Renewal:
- Joshua establishes a covenant and writes down the words of the covenant in the Book of the Law of God.
- He erects a stone as a witness to the covenant, symbolizing the people’s commitment to serving the Lord and obeying His commands.
- Joshua’s Death and Burial:
- Joshua dies at the age of 110, having served the Lord faithfully throughout his life.
- He is buried in the land of his inheritance at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, where he had led the Israelites in the conquest of Canaan.
Joshua 24:1-31 teaches us the importance of choosing to follow God wholeheartedly. Joshua reminded the Israelites of all that God had done for them and challenged them to decide whom they would serve. This reminds us that faith is a daily choice—we must decide to trust and obey God in every part of our lives. It encourages us to be faithful, let go of distractions, and commit to following Him, knowing that He is always faithful to us.
Joshua 24:1-31 (WEB)
24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other gods. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring, and gave him Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.5 “ ‘I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days.8 “ ‘I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand.11 “ ‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’14 “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve the LORD. 15 If it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”16 The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed. 18 The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD; for he is our God.”19 Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good.”21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD yourselves, to serve him.”They said, “We are witnesses.”23 “Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God, and we will listen to his voice.”25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the LORD’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.29 After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old. 30 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the LORD, that he had worked for Israel.