Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
JOSHUA 24
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.
5 “ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8 “ ‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 “ ‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.
23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.
27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.
Buried in the Promised Land
29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.
32 And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
Application Notes
24:15 The people had to decide whether they would obey the Lord (who had proven his trustworthiness) or follow the local gods (which were only handmade idols). Eventually, we see that they would not be intentional about obeying God and would foolishly drift toward the customs of their pagan neighbors. We can easily slip into a quiet rebellion, going about life in our own way. But the time will come when we have to choose who or what we will follow. The choice belongs to each of us. Will it be the one true God or an imperfect or sinful substitute? Seek each day to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Invite him daily to rule your heart, mind, and desires (Romans 8:9). Then it will be much more difficult to drift away from him.
24:15 In taking a definite stand for the Lord, Joshua again displayed his spiritual leadership. Because Joshua had made a commitment to God, he was determined to set an example of living by that decision, regardless of what others decided. The way we live shows others the strength of our commitment to serving God.
24:16-21 All the people boldly claimed that they would never forsake the Lord. The nation followed God throughout Joshua's lifetime, a great tribute to Joshua's faith in God and powerful leadership. But they did not keep that promise, even though Joshua warned them of the consequences. Very soon, God would charge them with breaking their covenant with him (Judges 2:2-3). Talk is cheap. We can say we will follow God, but living like we mean it is much more important. Look back to the promises you made to God earlier in your life. Are you keeping them with the fresh enthusiasm you had then? Review the commitments you have made to God, and renew your promise to keep them.
24:23 Joshua told the Israelites to destroy their foreign gods—their idols. To follow God requires destroying whatever gets in the way of worshiping him. We have our own idols—greed, disordered priorities, jealousy, prejudice—that get in the way of worshiping God. God is not satisfied if we merely hide these idols. We must completely remove them from our lives.
24:24-26 The covenant between Israel and God was that the people would worship and obey the Lord alone. Their purpose was to become a holy nation that would influence the rest of the world for God. The conquest of Canaan was a means to achieve this purpose, but after this generation, a new generation would slop following the Lord, forgetting all the great things he did for their ancestors and worshiping false gods (see Judges 2:10-11).
The same can happen in our own Lives. The people of Joshua's generation promised to serve the Lord alone, but the very next generation forgot this and went back on the promise their parents had made. We must be vigilant both in rooting out our own idols and sinful practices and in teaching others who come after us to follow God faithfully.
24:29-31 The book of Joshua opens with a new leader being handed a seemingly impossible task-to lead the nation in taking over the land of Canaan. By following God closely, Joshua led the people through military victories and faithful spiritual obedience. In 24:16 we read that the people were sure they would never forsake the Lord. The response of the whole nation during these many years is a tribute both to Joshua’s leadership and to the God he faithfully served.
24:33 Joshua and Eleazar died, but not before laying before the people the fundamentals of what it means to live faithfully before God. We are to fear and serve the Lord alone (24:14). This is based on a choice: to obey him instead of following other gods (24:15). We are incapable, however, of properly worshiping him because of our rebellion and sins (24:19). By choosing God as Lord, we enter into a covenant with him (24:25) whereby he promises not only to forgive and love us, but also to enable us by his Spirit to do his work here on earth. This covenant requires us to renounce the principles and practices of the culture around us that are hostile to God's plan (24:23). This is not to be done alone but by binding ourselves together with others who have faith in God. (See Deuteronomy 30:15-20 for a similar message from Moses.)
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)