Joshua’s Final Address: Part 2
Joshua 24
Joshua 24
Joshua 24. This chapter brings the book to its solemn close. God’s review of grace shows that Israel owed everything to Him. On that foundation, Joshua exhorted them to wholehearted service, having given them the example of his own decision; “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. But instead of relying on grace, the people — who still had idols — pledge in self-confidence: “We will serve the LORD.” The stone at Shechem was set up as a witness against them: a people under law, destined to failure as Judges shows. At the end of the chapter Joshua and Eleazar die. Yet Christ, the living Leader and Priest, will never die, and He keeps us by His grace.
Historic Retrospect and Exhortations (24:1-15)
CHAPTER 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.
v.1 The Gathering at Shechem. Joshua gathered all the tribes at Shechem, a location rich in history. It was there that Abraham first built an altar (Gen. 12:6-7), Jacob buried idols under the oak (Gen. 35:4), and the covenant was renewed earlier in Joshua 8. It is notable that Joshua did not gather them at Shiloh where the tabernacle was. Shechem is a place both of blessing and responsibility; fitting for this solemn occasion. There the people and their leaders presented themselves before God. A key difference between ch.23 and ch.24 is that in ch.23 it was Joshua’s own words, while in ch.24 he was speaking directly what Jehovah revealed to him as a prophet, although both are inspired.
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, and led him throughout 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; and Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them; and afterwards 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 Then they cried to Jehovah, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long time. 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and ye took possession of their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 And 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, and he blessed you expressly, and I delivered you out of his hand.
vv.2-10 God’s Grace to Israel Up to Jordan. Joshua began with the words of Jehovah: “Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel.” The retrospective account is not Joshua’s own thought, but God’s own recitation of His grace toward Israel. Abraham was called out of idolatry, chosen and multiplied; Isaac and Jacob were given; Egypt was judged; Moses and Aaron were sent; Israel was delivered at the Red Sea; and in the wilderness the Lord sustained them. Even Balak’s attempt to curse them was turned into blessing through Balaam. This section shows “grace upon grace”: (John 1:16) with the prime being God Himself: “I took”… “I gave”… “I sent”… “I brought you out”, highlighting that Israel owed everything to Jehovah. Their past was a testimony that only grace had brought them thus far.
11 And ye went over the 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, as the two kings of the Amorites; 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 vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
vv.11-13 God Grace to Israel in the Conquest of Canaan. Crossing Jordan, Israel faced Jericho, the Amorites, and the nations of Canaan. Yet God delivered them, sending “hornets” before them (perhaps figurative of fear, Ex. 23:28; Deut. 7:20). They inherited vineyards and cities they had not built, enjoying rest in a land given by God’s hand. Whether in Egypt, the wilderness, or Canaan, every enemy was laid low, magnifying God’s grace to Israel. The promises of Exodus and Deuteronomy find their fulfillment: God had given them “a land for which ye did not labor.”
14 And now fear Jehovah and serve him in perfectness and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, and in Egypt; and serve Jehovah. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods whom your fathers that were on the other side of the river served, or the gods of the Amorite, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
vv.14-15 Exhortation to Serve Jehovah. On the ground of God’s grace, Joshua called the people to fear Jehovah and serve Him in sincerity and truth. He charged them to put away the strange gods still among them. This is a sobering revelation that idolatry lingered in Israel. He sets before the people a stark choice: to serve Jehovah or the false gods of their ancestors or of the Canaanites. There can be no compromise between Jehovah and idols. Joshua was not going to force them to choose the Lord; “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy” (2 Cor. 1:24). Yet Joshua sets before them his own resolve: “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” We may apply this to ourselves. The best encouragement we can be to the assembly is to serve the Lord with our household.
The Answer Given by Israel (24:16-18)
16 And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods; 17 for Jehovah our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs before our eyes, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed! 18 And Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, and the Amorites the inhabitants of the land: so therefore we will serve Jehovah, for he is our God.
vv.16-18 Israel’s Answer. The people respond with enthusiasm: “Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah… therefore we will serve Jehovah, for he is our God.” They could rehearse His goodness in delivering them from Egypt and preserving them in the wilderness. Yet, their zeal was only words, not reality. Their quick agreement echoed Joshua’s words, but without the inward power to sustain it. Where was the self judgment for the idolatry — the hidden, nurtured, secret sin — that Joshua had just referenced? There should have been repentance, an admission of their need for God’s continued grace, as well as firm commitment to follow the Lord.
Joshua’s Appeals and the Repeated Promise (24:19-24)
19 And Joshua said to the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous GOD; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake Jehovah, 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 to Joshua, No; but we will serve Jehovah.
vv.19-21 Joshua’s First Appeal, and Israel’s Response. Joshua pressed upon them the seriousness of what they had just declared. Service to Jehovah was no light matter; “for he is a holy God; he is a jealous GOD”. Joshua, with Moses’ prophecies in mind, foresaw Israel’s apostasy. He was not deceived by their enthusiasm. But instead of casting themselves on grace, Israel clung to law, trusting their own resolve to serve Jehovah: “Nay; but we will serve the LORD.”
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore put away the strange gods that are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah the God of Israel. 24 And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and to his voice will we hearken.
vv.22-24 Joshua’s Second Appeal, and Israel’s Response. Joshua made them witnesses against themselves: their own lips bound them to serve Jehovah. He again exhorted them to put away the strange gods among them, and without hesitation they answer a second time: “Jehovah our God will we serve, and to his voice will we hearken.” This echoes Israel’s words to Moses and the wilderness; “all that the Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient” (Ex. 24:7). They were a people under law, who had not learned the message of the Law, that man is incapable of pleasing God through his own efforts. The persistence of idols in their midst showed that their words lacked substance. Their history would soon bear out Joshua’s warning.
The Covenant Made and Joshua’s Final Word (24:25-28)
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah.
vv.25-26 The Covenant Made. Joshua made a covenant with the people, recorded it in the book of the law, and set up a great stone under the oak at Shechem. The stone was a lasting memorial of Israel’s vow. But outward memorials cannot secure inward fidelity; they only bear witness to man’s obligation. The stone may be a picture of the law written in tables of stone.
27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spoke unto us; and it shall be a witness against you, lest ye deny your God. 28 And Joshua dismissed the people, every man to his inheritance.
vv.27-28 Joshua’s Final Word. Joshua declared that the stone had “heard all the words of the LORD” and would be a witness against them if they denied Him. With this final charge, he dismissed the people. How long did Israel’s promise last? The book of Judges gives the answer: they almost immediately they forsook the LORD and served Baalim (Judg. 2:11-13).
Epilogue (24:29-33)
29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, a hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the mountain of Gaash. 31 And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after Joshua, and who had known all the works of Jehovah, which he had done for Israel.
vv.29-31 Joshua’s death and burial. Joshua died at a hundred and ten years old and was buried in his inheritance in mount Ephraim. With his passing, the era of conquest closes. Yet the effect of Joshua’s leadership and testimony remained for a while: “Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after Joshua” (v. 31). Though Joshua dies, Christ (the true Joshua) never does! No successor was appointed for Joshua.
32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem in the portion of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred kesitahs; and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
v.32 The bones of Joseph buried. Joseph’s bones, carried all the way from Egypt, were finally laid to rest in Shechem. This act fulfilled the patriarch’s request (Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19; Heb. 11:22). It is remarkable that Joseph and Joshua both died at a hundred and ten years old, linking the patriarch’s faith in the promise with the leader’s accomplishing of it: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). This is a reminder of resurrection: Joseph’s faith had looked forward to God’s promise, and now it was fulfilled.
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in mount Ephraim.
v.33 Eleazar’s death. Eleazar the priest died as well. Now Joshua the leader and Eleazar the priest have passed from the scene, leaving Israel dependent on God alone. This highlights the insufficiency of human leadership and priesthood, in contrast to Christ, who lives forever as Priest and Captain of salvation (the doctrine of Hebrews).