(KJV) Joshua 241

<< Joshua 23 Judges 1 >>

⥃Joshua Reviews Israel’s History

[1] And Joshua2 gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem3, and called4 for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented5 themselves before God. [2] And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers6 dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, [even] Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods7. [3] And I took8 your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave9 him Isaac. [4] And I gave unto Isaac10 Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau11 mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob12 and his children went down into Egypt. [5] I sent13 Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued14 Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. [6] And I brought15 your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians16 pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. [7] And when17 they cried unto the Lord, he put18 darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought19 the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes20 have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt21 in the wilderness a long season. [8] And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.22 [9] Then 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:23 [10] But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.24 [11] And ye25 went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men26 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 sent27 the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, [even] the two kings of the Amorites; [but] not28 with thy sword, nor with thy bow. [13] And I29 have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities30 which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

⥃Choose Whom You Will Serve [ Deuteronomy 10:12–22 ]

[14] [¶]Now therefore fear31 the Lord, and serve32 him in sincerity and in truth: and put33 away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt34; and serve ye the Lord.35363738 [15] And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose39 you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods40 which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods41 of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me42 and my house, we will serve the Lord. [16] And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;43 [17] For the Lord our God, he [it is] that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:44 [18] And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: [therefore] will we also45 serve the Lord; for he [is] our God. [19] And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot46 serve the Lord: for he [is] an holy47 God; he [is] a jealous48 God; he will not49 forgive your transgressions nor your sins. [20] If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn50 and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. [21] And the people said unto Joshua, Nay51; but we will serve the Lord. [22] And Joshua said unto the people, Ye [are] witnesses52 against yourselves that ye have53 chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, [We are] witnesses. [23] Now therefore put away54, [said he], the strange gods which [are] among you, and incline55 your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. [24] And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.56 [25] So Joshua made57 a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem58.

[26] [¶]And Joshua59 wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took60 a great stone, and set it61 up there under62 an oak, that [was] by the sanctuary of the Lord. [27] And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath63 heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny64 your God.6566 [28] So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.67

⥃Joshua’s Death and Burial [ Judges 2:6–9 ]

[29] And it came to pass after these68 things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, [being] an hundred69 and ten years old. [30] And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath–serah70, which [is] in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash71. [31] And Israel served72 the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua73, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.

[32] [¶]And the bones74 of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried75 they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver76: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. [33] And Eleazar77 the son of Aaron died78; and they buried him in a hill [that pertained to] Phinehas79 his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

<< Joshua 23 Judges 1 >>

  1. Josh 24:1, Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem; Josh 24:2, A brief history of God’s benefits, from Terah; Josh 24:14, He renews the covenant between them and God; Josh 24:26, A stone the witness of the covenant; Josh 24:29, Joshua’s age, death, and burial; Josh 24:32, Joseph’s bones are buried; Josh 24:33, Eleazar dies. ↩

  2. This must have been a different assembly from that mentioned in the preceding chapter, though probably held not long after the former. ↩

  3. As it is immediately added, that "they presented themselves before God," which is supposed to mean at the tabernacle; some are of opinion that Joshua caused it to be conveyed from Shiloh to Shechem on this occasion, to give the greater solemnity to his last meeting with the people. The Vatican and Alexandrian copies of the Septuagint, however, read Σηλω, both here and in Josh 24:25; which many suppose to have been the original reading. Dr. Shuckford supposes that the covenant was made at Shechem, and that the people went to Shiloh to confirm it. But the most probable opinion seems to be that of Dr. Kennicott, that when all the tribes were assembled as Shechem, Joshua called the chiefs to him on that mount, which had before been consecrated by the law, and by the altar which he had erected. Gen 12:6, Gen 33:18-19, Gen 35:4; Judg 9:1-3; 1Kgs 12:1 ↩

  4. Josh 23:2; Exod 18:25-26 ↩

  5. 1Sam 10:19; Acts 10:33 ↩

  6. Gen 11:26, Gen 11:31, Gen 12:1, Gen 31:53; Deut 26:5; Isa 51:2; Ezek 16:3 ↩

  7. In the case of Abraham this was probably the case, till he was called to the knowledge of God, when above 70 years old. Josh 24:15; Gen 31:19, Gen 31:30, Gen 31:32, Gen 31:53, Gen 35:4 ↩

  8. Gen 12:1-4; Neh 9:7-8; Acts 7:2-3 ↩

  9. Gen 21:2-3; Ps 127:3 ↩

  10. Gen 25:24-26 ↩

  11. Gen 32:3, Gen 36:8; Deut 2:5 ↩

  12. Gen 46:1-7; Ps 105:23; Acts 7:15 ↩

  13. Exod 3:10, Exod 4:12-13; Ps 105:26 ↩

  14. Exod. 7:1-12:51; Ps 78:43-51, Ps 105:27-36, Ps 135:8-9, Ps 136:10 ↩

  15. Exod 12:37, Exod 12:51; Mic 6:4 ↩

  16. Exod. 14:1-15:27; Neh 9:11; Ps 77:15-20, Ps 78:13, Ps 136:13-15; Isa 63:12-13; Acts 7:36; Heb 11:29 ↩

  17. Exod 14:10 ↩

  18. Exod 14:20 ↩

  19. Exod 14:27-28 ↩

  20. Exod 14:31; Deut 4:34, Deut 29:2 ↩

  21. Josh 5:6; Num 14:33-34; Neh 9:12-21; Ps 95:9-10; Acts 13:17-18; Heb 3:17 ↩

  22. Josh 13:10; Num 21:21-35; Deut 2:32-37, Deut 3:1-7; Neh 9:22; Ps 135:10-11; Ps 136:17-22 ↩

  23. Num 22:5, Num 22:6-21; Deut 23:4-5; Judg 11:25; Mic 6:5 ↩

  24. Num 22:11-12, Num 22:18-20, Num 22:35, Num 23:3-12, Num 23:15-26, Num 24:5-10; Isa 54:17 ↩

  25. Josh 3:14-17, Josh 4:10-12, Josh 4:23; Ps 114:3, Ps 114:5 ↩

  26. Josh 6:1-27, 10:1-11:23; Neh 9:24-25; Ps 78:54-55, Ps 105:44; Acts 7:45, Acts 13:19 ↩

  27. Exod 23:28; Deut 7:20 ↩

  28. Ps 44:3-6 ↩

  29. Josh 21:45 ↩

  30. Josh 11:13; Deut 6:10-12, Deut 8:7; Prov 13:22 ↩

  31. Deut 10:12; 1Sam 12:24; Job 1:1, Job 28:28; Ps 111:10, Ps 130:4; Hos 3:5; Acts 9:31 ↩

  32. Josh 24:23; Gen 17:1, Gen 20:5-6; Deut 18:13; 2Kgs 20:3; Ps 119:1, Ps 119:80; Luke 8:15; John 4:23-24; 2Cor 1:12; Eph 6:24; Phil 1:10 ↩

  33. From this exhortation of Joshua, we not only learn that the Israelites still retained some relics of idolatry, but to what gods they were attached. ↩

  34. Ezek 20:7-8, Ezek 23:3 ↩

    1. Those whom their fathers worshipped on the other side of the food, or the river Euphrates, i.e., the gods of the Chaldeans, fire, light, the sun, etc.

    ↩

    1. Those of the Egyptians, Apis, Anubis, serpents, vegetables, etc.

    ↩

    1. Those of the Amorites, Moabites, Canaanites, etc., Baal–peor, Astarte, etc.

    ↩

  38. How astonishing is it, that after all that God had done for them, and all the miracles they had seen, there should still be found among them both idols and idolaters! Josh 24:2, Josh 24:23; Gen 35:2; Exod 20:3-4; Lev 17:7; Ezra 9:11; Ezek 20:18; Amos 5:25-26 ↩

  39. Ruth 1:15-16; 1Kgs 18:21; Ezek 20:39; John 6:67 ↩

  40. Josh 24:14 ↩

  41. Exod 23:24, Exod 23:32-33, Exod 34:15; Deut 13:7, Deut 29:18; Judg 6:10 ↩

  42. Gen 18:19; Ps 101:2, Ps 119:106, Ps 119:111-112; John 6:68; Acts 11:23 ↩

  43. 1Sam 12:23; Rom 3:6, Rom 6:2; Heb 10:38-39 ↩

  44. Josh 24:5-14; Exod 19:4; Deut 32:11-12; Isa 46:4, Isa 63:7-14; Amos 2:9-10 ↩

  45. Exod 10:2, Exod 15:2; Ps 116:16; Mic 4:2; Zech 8:23; Luke 1:73-75 ↩

  46. Josh 24:23; Ruth 1:15; Matt 6:24; Luke 14:25-33 ↩

  47. Lev 10:3, Lev 19:2; 1Sam 6:20; Ps 99:5, Ps 99:9; Isa 5:16, Isa 6:3-5, Isa 30:11, Isa 30:15; Hab 1:13 ↩

  48. Exod 20:5, Exod 34:14; 1Cor 10:20-22 ↩

  49. Exod 23:21, Exod 34:7; 1Sam 3:14; 2Chr 36:16; Isa 27:11 ↩

  50. Josh 23:12-15; 1Chr 28:9; 2Chr 15:2; Ezra 8:22; Isa 1:28, Isa 63:10, Isa 65:11-12; Jer 17:13; Ezek 18:24; Acts 7:42; Heb 10:26-27, Heb 10:38 ↩

  51. Exod 19:8, Exod 20:19, Exod 24:3, Exod 24:7; Deut 5:27-28, Deut 26:17; Isa 44:5 ↩

  52. Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of God's holiness, and the nature of his service - your own weakness, inconstancy, and insufficiency - your need of the Divine help, and the hope of assistance held out in the law - and the awful consequences of apostasy, and now ye make your choice. Remember then that ye are witnesses against yourselves; and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner. Deut 26:17; Job 15:6; Luke 19:22 ↩

  53. Ps 119:11, Ps 119:173; Luke 10:42 ↩

  54. Josh 24:14; Gen 35:2-4; Exod 20:23; Judg 10:15-16; 1Sam 7:3-4; Hos 14:2-3, Hos 14:8; 1Cor 10:19-21; 2Cor 6:16-18 ↩

  55. Prov 2:2; Heb 12:28-29 ↩

  56. Deut 5:28-29 ↩

  57. Exod 15:25, Exod 24:3, Exod 24:7-8; Deut 5:2-3, Deut 29:1, Deut 29:10-15; 2Kgs 11:17; 2Chr 15:12, 2Chr 15:15; 2Chr 23:16, 2Chr 29:10, 2Chr 34:29-32; Neh 9:38, Neh 10:28-29 ↩

  58. Josh 24:1, Josh 24:26 ↩

  59. Exod 24:4; Deut 31:24-26 ↩

  60. Judg 9:6 ↩

  61. Josh 4:3-9, Josh 4:20-24; Gen 28:18-22 ↩

  62. Gen 35:4, Gen 35:8; Judg 9:6 ↩

  63. Deut 32:1; Isa 1:2; Hab 2:11; Luke 19:40 ↩

  64. Job 31:23; Prov 30:9; Matt 10:33; 2Tim 2:12-13; Titus 1:16; Rev 3:8 ↩

  65. A curious coincidence of circumstances is related by Livy, the Roman historian. He writes that "when three ambassadors were sent from Rome to complain of the perfidious conduct of the Aqui, the General informed them, that they might deliver their message to an oak which shaded his tent." On this one of the ambassadors turning away, said, "This venerable oak, and all the gods, shall know that you have violated the peace; they shall now hear our complaints; and may they also soon be witnesses, when we revenge with our arms the violation of divine and human rights." It is worthy of remark that Joshua merely set up a pillar under an oak - the one, perhaps, to protect the other; while the General directed the ambassadors to address the oak, perhaps with an idolatrous feeling that they were addressing one of the gods, who would aid his cause; while the Roman ambassadors caught the feeling, and really invoked the aid of the oak and the gods. ↩

  66. Josh 22:27-28, Josh 22:34; Gen 31:44-52; Deut 4:26, Deut 30:19, Deut 31:19, Deut 31:21, Deut 31:26; 1Sam 7:12 ↩

  67. Judg 2:6 ↩

  68. Deut 34:5; Judg 2:8; Ps 115:17; 2Tim 4:7-8; Rev 14:13 ↩

  69. Gen 50:22, Gen 50:26 ↩

  70. Josh 19:50; Judg 2:9 ↩

  71. 2Sam 23:30 ↩

  72. Deut 31:29; Judg 2:7; 2Chr 24:2, 2Chr 24:17-18; Acts 20:29; Phil 2:12 ↩

  73. Heb. prolonged their days after Joshua, which had. Deut 11:2, Deut 11:7, Deut 31:13 ↩

  74. Gen 50:25; Exod 13:19; Acts 7:16; Heb 11:22 ↩

  75. Gen 33:19, Gen 48:22 ↩

  76. or, lambs ↩

  77. Josh 14:1; Exod 6:23, Exod 6:25; Num 3:32, Num 20:26-28 ↩

  78. Job 30:23; Ps 49:10; Isa 57:1-2; Zech 1:5; Acts 13:36; Heb 7:24; Heb 9:26-27 ↩

  79. Judg 20:28 ↩