Joshua 24
24
Review of Israel’s History
1Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem#Gn 12:1–7 and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.#Jos 23:2 2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah,#Gn 11:27–32 the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants.#Gn 12:1 I gave him Isaac,#Gn 21:3 4and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.#Gn 25:25–26 I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession.#Gn 36:8; Dt 2:5
“‘Jacob and his sons, however, went down to Egypt.#Gn 46:6 5I sent Moses and Aaron,#Ex 4:14 and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it, and afterward I brought you out. 6When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea,#Ex 14:2 the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. 7Your ancestors cried out to the Lord, 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 a long time.
8“‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan.#Nm 21:21–32 They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you. 9Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab,#Nm 22:5 set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I rescued you from him.
11“‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.#Jos 3:14,17 Jericho’s citizens — as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hethites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites — fought against you, but I handed them over to you. 12I sent hornets#24:12 Or sent terror#Ex 23:27–28; Dt 7:20 ahead of you, and they drove out the two Amorite kings#Nm 21:21–35; Dt 2:26–3:11; 29:7 before you. It was not by your sword or bow. 13I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build,#Dt 6:10–11 though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’
The Covenant Renewal
14“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth.#Dt 10:12; 1Sm 12:24 Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped#Gn 35:4 beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. 15But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship — the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living?#Jdg 6:10 As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”
16The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! 17For the Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery,#Lv 26:13; Dt 5:6; 6:12; 8:14; 13:5,10; Jr 34:13 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. 18The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because he is our God.”
19But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God;#Lv 19:2 he will not forgive your transgressions and sins.#Ex 23:21 20If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy#Jos 10:1; 11:11; Jdg 1:17 you, after he has been good to you.”
21“No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”
22Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.”
“We are witnesses,” they said.
23“Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.”
25On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. 26Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God;#Dt 31:24 he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak at the sanctuary of the Lord. 27And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone — it will be a witness against us,#Jos 22:27,34 for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.” 28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Burial of Three Leaders
29After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. 30They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim#Jos 19:49–50 north of Mount Gaash. 31Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua#Jdg 2:7 and who had experienced all the works the Lord had done for Israel.
32Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,#Gn 50:25; Ex 13:19 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.#24:32 Lit a hundred qesitahs#Gn 33:19; Jb 42:11 It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
33And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,#24:33 = the Hill which had been given to his son Phinehas#Jos 22:13 in the hill country of Ephraim.
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Joshua 24: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Joshua 24
24
1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel to stand before God.
2Then Joshua said to all the people, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, worshiped other gods. 3But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children, including his son Isaac. 4I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau. I gave the land around the mountains of Edom to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt, where I brought many disasters on the Egyptians. Afterwards I brought you out. 6When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea, and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and men on horses. 7So the people called out to the Lord. And I brought darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea to cover them. You yourselves saw what I did to the army of Egypt. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.
8“ ‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. I destroyed them before you, and you took control of that land. 9But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, prepared to fight against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10but I refused to listen to Balaam. So he asked for good things to happen to you! I saved you and brought you out of his power.
11“ ‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, where the people of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I handed them over to you. 12I sent terror ahead of you to force out two Amorite kings. You took the land without using swords and bows. 13I gave you that land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’ ”
14Then Joshua said to the people, “Now respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16Then the people answered, “We will never stop following the Lord to serve other gods! 17It was the Lord our God who brought our ancestors out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land, but the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out and protected us while we traveled through other lands. 18Then he forced out all the people living in these lands, even the Amorites. So we will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19Then Joshua said, “You are not able to serve the Lord, because he is a holy God and a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. 20If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will send you great trouble. The Lord may have been good to you, but if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”
21But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22Then Joshua said, “You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
The people said, “Yes, we are.”
23Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the gods that you have. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”
24Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will obey him.”
25On that day at Shechem Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made rules and laws for them to follow. 26Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the Lord’s Holy Tent.
27Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will remind you of what we did today. It was here the Lord spoke to us today. It will remind you of what happened so you will not turn against your God.”
Joshua Dies
28Then Joshua sent the people back to their land.
29After that, Joshua son of Nun died at the age of one hundred ten. 30They buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah, in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31The Israelites served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who lived after Joshua who had seen what the Lord had done for Israel.
Joseph Comes Home
32When the Israelites left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them. They buried them at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor (Hamor was the father of Shechem). This land now belonged to Joseph’s children.
33And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah in the mountains of Ephraim, which had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.