Joshua 24

Near the end of his life, Joshua gathers Israel at Shechem and retells the story of what God has done, from Abraham to the conquest of the land. He then calls the people to choose whom they will serve. Israel renews the covenant, Joshua sets up a stone as a witness, and the chapter closes with the burials of Joshua, Joseph and Eleazar.

Joshua 24:1

Joshua calls all Israel to Shechem, the place where God first promised the land to Abraham and where Jacob later settled. The leaders come forward as a solemn assembly, standing in God’s presence. This is a covenant meeting, not just a farewell speech.

BSA: presented themselves (“stood, stationed”): They took their places as people answerable to God, not merely as an audience for Joshua.

See also: Genesis 12:6-7.

Joshua 24:2

Joshua speaks as God’s messenger. He begins with an unflattering truth: Israel’s own ancestors, even Abraham’s father Terah, served other gods beyond the Euphrates. Their story did not start with their own goodness but with God’s choice.

BSA: worshiped (“served, gave reverence to”): The same word for ‘serve’ returns all through this chapter, so the question is always who Israel will serve.

Hebrew: עָבְדוּ (ʿāvᵉdû, H5647) — “they served.” This one Hebrew word covers both worship and daily service. It sets up the whole chapter, where Israel must decide which master gets both its worship and its life.

See also: Genesis 11:31.

Joshua 24:3-4

God took the initiative. He led Abraham out and through Canaan, gave him a family, and shaped the line from Isaac to Jacob. Esau received Mount Seir, while Jacob’s family went down to Egypt. Every step is described as something God did.

BSA: led (“walked, journeyed with”): God did not just point the way; he went with Abraham on the road.

Joshua 24:5-7

God sent Moses and Aaron and struck Egypt, then brought Israel out. When Pharaoh’s army trapped them at the sea, the people cried out and God placed darkness between the two camps. The sea then covered the Egyptians. The Israelites saw this themselves.

BSA: cried out (“in distress, with urgent need”): Their rescue began with a desperate prayer, not with their own strength. sent (“with divine authority”): Moses and Aaron went as God’s commissioned messengers, not on their own initiative.

See also: Exodus 14:19-20.

Joshua 24:8-10

God gave Israel victory over the Amorites east of the Jordan. When Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel, God refused to hear the curse and turned it into repeated blessing. Israel was protected even from enemies they never saw.

BSA: blessed (“praised, spoke well of”): Balaam was hired to speak ill of Israel, but God made his mouth speak well of them.

Hebrew: בָּרֵךְ (bārēk, H1288) — “blessing, blessing indeed.” The Hebrew doubles the verb for emphasis. This is why the English says ‘again and again’: the blessing was thorough and certain.

See also: Numbers 23:11-12.

Joshua 24:11-13

After crossing the Jordan, Israel fought Jericho and the peoples of Canaan, but the victory was God’s. He sent the hornet ahead of them, not their swords and bows. They now live in cities they did not build and eat from vineyards they did not plant. Everything was a gift.

BSA: hornet (“a type of wasp”): God used a small, stinging force to panic and scatter the enemy ahead of Israel.

Hebrew: הַצִּרְעָה (hatsirʿāh, H6880) — “the hornet.” Some take this as a literal swarm and others as a picture of terror sent by God. Either way, the point is that God cleared the way before Israel fought.

See also: Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 6:10-11.

Joshua 24:14

Because of all God has done, Joshua says the right response is reverent, wholehearted service. Israel must throw away the idols still lingering from Mesopotamia and Egypt. Faith in the LORD cannot sit alongside secret loyalty to other gods.

BSA: sincerity (“uprightness, perfection”): God asks for service that is whole and undivided, not partial or outward only. cast aside (“turn away from, remove”): The old gods must be actively taken out, not just ignored.

Hebrew: תָמִים (tāmîm, H8549) — “complete, whole, blameless.” The word means undivided and complete, like a sacrifice with no flaw. God wants a service with nothing held back.

See also: Genesis 35:2.

Joshua 24:15

Joshua puts the choice plainly: serve the LORD or serve other gods. No one can stay neutral. Then he states his own decision, speaking for his whole household. His example invites the people, but he does not force them.

BSA: choose (“select, decide”): Joshua asks for a real, deliberate decision made today, not a habit inherited from the past. serve (“worship, obey”): Serving God means both worshiping him and doing what he says.

Hebrew: בַּחֲרוּ (baḥărû, H977) — “choose.” This is the same verb used for God choosing his people. Israel is being asked to answer God’s choice with their own.

See also: Deuteronomy 30:19.

Joshua 24:16-18

The people answer quickly and strongly. They say it would be unthinkable to leave the LORD, and they list his mighty acts: freedom from slavery, signs, protection on the road, and victory over the nations. Their reasoning is sound. Their confidence is about to be tested.

BSA: forsake (“abandon, loosen our grip on”): Abandoning God usually begins with a slowly loosening grip rather than one dramatic act.

Hebrew: חָלִילָה (ḥālîlāh, H2486) — “far be it, God forbid.” This is a strong exclamation of horror at an idea. The people are saying they cannot even imagine leaving the LORD.

Joshua 24:19-20

Joshua’s reply is startling: you cannot serve the LORD. He does not mean God is unwilling. He means their quick promise is too light, because God is holy and will not tolerate divided loyalty. Turning away after receiving so much would bring judgment.

BSA: jealous (“zealous, demanding exclusive devotion”): God’s jealousy is the passion of a faithful covenant partner who wants all of his people’s love. holy (“set apart, sacred”): God is utterly distinct from everything else, so he cannot be treated as one god among many. forgive (“lift, pardon”): The Hebrew picture is of lifting a burden away, which makes careless rebellion a serious matter.

Hebrew: קַנּוֹא (qannôʾ, H7072) — “jealous, zealous.” This word is used only of God. It means a fierce, protective love that will not share its place, like that of a husband in a marriage.

See also: Exodus 20:5.

Joshua 24:21-22

The people insist they will serve the LORD. Joshua makes their words binding by saying they are witnesses against themselves. They agree. A promise made in front of others carries weight, and these words will stand as evidence either way.

BSA: witnesses (“testifying against yourselves, a testimony”): Their own statement becomes testimony they cannot later deny.

Joshua 24:23

Joshua points out that some foreign gods are still among them. He asks for practical action: get rid of them and turn the heart toward the LORD. Real devotion means removing rivals and also leaning the whole inner person toward God.

BSA: incline (“stretch, bow”): The heart is to bend toward God like a person leaning forward, not merely nodding agreement.

Hebrew: הַטּוּ (haṭṭû, H5186) — “stretch out, turn, bend.” The verb pictures turning or leaning in one direction. It places the decision in the heart rather than in outward behavior alone.

Joshua 24:24

The people repeat their pledge and add a promise to obey God’s voice. Serving the LORD is not a feeling; it means listening and doing. Their words are now a formal commitment.

BSA: serve (“to work, implying slavery or bondage”): Serving God is wholehearted, bound obedience, a willing life under his authority. obey (“to hear and listen, implying attention and obedience”): In Scripture, truly hearing God means acting on what he says.

Joshua 24:25

That same day, Joshua formally seals the agreement. He sets out the terms of the covenant for Israel, with laws to live by. This was a renewal of the covenant made with Moses, now put in place at Shechem.

BSA: covenant (“agreement, promise”): A covenant is a binding relationship with promises on both sides, not a casual deal.

Hebrew: בְּרִית (bᵉrît, H1285) — “covenant.” The word describes a solemn, binding bond, often sealed with an oath. It is the heart of Israel’s relationship with God.

See also: Deuteronomy 29:1.

Joshua 24:26-27

Joshua writes the words in the Book of the Law and sets up a large stone under the oak. The stone cannot speak, but it stands as a permanent reminder that Israel heard God’s words and promised to obey. It would testify if they ever denied him.

BSA: witness (“a testimony, a reminder”): The stone serves as a lasting memorial that cannot be argued with.

See also: Genesis 31:44-48.

Joshua 24:28

Joshua dismisses the people, each to his own family’s land. The gathering ends, and the covenant must now be lived out in ordinary homes and fields across the land God gave them.

BSA: inheritance (“property, heritage, something passed down”): The land was a gift received from God and handed down, not something earned.

Joshua 24:29-30

Joshua dies at 110 and is buried on his own land in Ephraim. He is called the LORD’s servant, the same title given to Moses. It is a fitting summary of a life spent doing what God asked.

BSA: servant (“slave, bondservant”): Joshua’s greatest honor was belonging fully to God and serving his purposes.

Hebrew: עֶבֶד (ʿeved, H5647) — “servant, slave.” This comes from the same root as ‘serve’ in Joshua’s challenge. He asked Israel to serve the LORD, and he ended as a servant of the LORD himself.

See also: Joshua 1:1.

Joshua 24:31

Israel stayed faithful during Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elders who had seen God’s works were still alive. Living memory of what God had done kept the nation steady. The book of Judges shows what happened when that memory faded.

See also: Judges 2:7-10.

Joshua 24:32

Joseph’s bones, carried out of Egypt as he had asked, are finally buried at Shechem in land Jacob had bought. Hundreds of years later, God’s promise to bring Israel home is fulfilled in this quiet act. Joseph’s trust in God was vindicated.

BSA: inheritance (“heritage, possession”): The plot became the lasting share for Joseph’s family, a small piece of the promise.

See also: Genesis 33:19; Exodus 13:19.

Joshua 24:33

The book ends with the death of Eleazar, the high priest and Aaron’s son. He is buried on land given to his son Phinehas. The leaders pass away, but God’s work continues through the next generation.

BSA: given (“granted, allotted”): Even the priest’s resting place was an allotment from God.