Joshua 24

Joshua 24:1 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what Yahveh, 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.

Joshua 24:3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac,

Joshua 24:4 and to Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession. ” ‘Jacob and his sons, however, went down to Egypt.

Joshua 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it, and afterward I brought you out.

Joshua 24:6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you reached the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea.

Joshua 24:7 Your fathers cried out to Yahveh, so he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

Joshua 24:8 “Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you.

Joshua 24:9 Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you,

Joshua 24:10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I rescued you from him.

Joshua 24:11 ” ‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. Jericho’s citizens – as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hethites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites – did battle with you, but I handed them over to you.

Joshua 24:12 I sent hornets ahead of you, and they drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not by your sword or bow.

Joshua 24:13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

Joshua 24:14 “For this reason, fear Yahveh and worship him wholeheartedly and truthfully. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahveh.

Joshua 24:15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahveh, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship – the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship Yahveh.”

Joshua 24:16 The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon Yahveh to worship other gods!

Joshua 24:17 Because Yahveh our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through.

Joshua 24:18 Yahveh drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship Yahveh because he is our God.”

Joshua 24:19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship Yahveh because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and sins.

Joshua 24:20 If you abandon Yahveh and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after he has been good to you.”

Joshua 24:21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship Yahveh.”

Joshua 24:22 Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship Yahveh.” “We are witnesses,” they said.

Joshua 24:23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to Yahveh, the God of Israel.”

Joshua 24:24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship Yahveh our God and obey him.”

Joshua 24:25 On that day, Joshua made a covenant with the people of Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them.

Joshua 24:26 Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God; he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak at the sanctuary of Yahveh.

Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone – it will be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words Yahveh said to us, and it will be a witness against you so that you will not deny your God.”

Joshua 24:28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his inheritance.

Joshua 24:29 After these things, Yahveh’s slave, Joshua, son of Nun, died at the age of 110.

Joshua 24:30 They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

Joshua 24:31 Israel worshiped Yahveh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had experienced all the works Yahveh had done for Israel.

Joshua 24:32 Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.

Joshua 24:33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

Joshua 24 quotes:

“A narrative reports that Joshua cut a covenant with the people, writing down their responsibilities to God in decrees and laws. He did three things to formalize the agreement. He wrote the covenant in the Book of the Law of God and set up a large stone under a sacred oak tree, near the holy place of the Lord. Then he turned to the people and declared, See! .. . 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 (24:27). An impartial witness now stands to remind all of their agreement with God. A book containing the responsibilities of the covenant can be read at any time to testify against violations of this agreement. People may rationalize their behavior, but these witnesses cannot be changed. They will verify whether the people live up to their commitments or not and thereby dispense either blessings or curses, rewards or punishment.”

Harris J. Gordon et al. Joshua Judges Ruth. Hendrickson Publishers ; Paternoster Press 2000. p. 117.

“The emphasis throughout this historical summary is that of God’s election of Israel and God’s constant guidance and protection.”

Lyles, Ron, et al. Joshua and Judges. 1st ed, Baptistway Press, 2005. p. 63.

“Joshua begins by recalling the history of the people, starting with Abraham’s departure from Mesopotamia and going all the way to the conquest of Canaan (verses 2-13). Next he exhorts them to pledge their loyalty to the Lord, to which they respond wholeheartedly (verses 15-24). Joshua draws up the covenant and dedicates a large stone as a perpetual witness to the people’s promise (verses 29-27). After concluding his farewell address, Joshua lets the people return to their own part of the land.”

Bratcher Robert G and Barclay Moon Newman. A Handbook on the Book of Joshua. United Bible Societies 1992. p. 300.