Joshua 24

Joshua 24:1-14

This chapter contains Joshua’s last words before the people at Shechem, ver. 1. In which, 1. He recounts their multiplied mercies, ver. 2—13. 2. Changes them to serve God, ver. 14. 3. He for them upon making this the matter of their choice, ver. 15. 4. They solemnly study God for their God, ver. 16—18. 5. He urges them to adhere to him, ver. 19—24. 6. A covenant made hereupon, and their disposition, ver. 25—28. 7. Joshua’s death and burial, and Eleanor’s, ver. 26, 29, 33. Mention of Joseph’s loans, ver. 32. and the state of the people at that time, ver. 31.

1. A MD 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. 2. And Joshua said unto * all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel. * Your fathers 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 gods. 3. And * I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all 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; but * Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. 5. * I sent Melee alish and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did amongst them: and afterward I brought you out. 6. And * I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came unto the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto * the Red-sea. 7. And when they cried unto the LORD, * he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them, and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt 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. 9. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arole, and warned against Israel, and * sent, and called Balaam the son of Isor to curle you: 10. But I would not hearken unto Balaam, therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. 11. And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and * the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hicutes, and the Girgallures, and the Hivites, and the Jebustites, and I delivered them into your hand. 12. And * I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites: but * 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 out, and ye dwell in them: of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not, do ye eat. 14. ¶ Now * there-

therefore, fear the LORD, and serve him in ‘sincerity’ and in ’truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt: and serve ye the LORD.

Joshua seems, at his left meeting the congregation, to have expected his difficulties at hand, but God having feared him a little longer, he is glad to make use of the last moments of his life in one more solemn assembly of the heads of Israel. The place appointed for the convocation is Shechem, and thither the assembled elders, princes, judges, and officers of Israel butte, and present themselves before the Lord; the ark being probably, on this solemnity, brought from Shiloh to Shechem, that the terrible presence of God might give greater weight to the subject of their meeting. Note, (1.) Whilst God continues our lives, it is a sign he has something for us yet to do. (2.) They whose hearts are faithful to God, will be pleased with the returning solemnities, when they come to expect before the Lord. (3.) God is still in the midst of his people, whenever or wherever they assemble in his name.

The congregation being collected, Joshua opens his farewell sermon, commissioned from God to speak, and therefore defenses the most awakened attention: he begins with a recapitulation of the most signal mercies that, from the beginning until that time, God had shewn to their ancestors, and to them. Their anæstia is not devel beyond the Euphrates, were forks, as after Gentiles, into gross idolatry; when God, of sovereign grace, separated Abraham from them, to be a vessel of mercy, and brought him out from thence into the land of Causars, where they now were, must plead his potterity in Ithmar, and gave him the promised seed in Israel. When Rebekah’s barrenness seemed to retrain the fulfillment of the promise, Jacob and Efra were born. Jacob, their great progenitor, with his increasing household, were driven into Egypt by famine; but when his head were there multiplied and oppressed, with a mighty arm did God rescue them from thence, protecting them with his pillar of a cloud, and overwhelming their purifiers in the sea. Through the dreary wilderness he led them lately, defeated the plots of their enemies, and turned wicked Balaam’s innocent curle into a bleeding. After this also he wrought his wonders in the land of Gilad, at Jordan and Jericho, cutting out their foes before them, not by their sword or bow, but by his arms of hornets, which he sent before them; and now at last he brought them into the pollution of Causars, where peace and plenty raged. In return for which mercies it was not more their bouncer duty, than the dictates of gratitude. 1. That they should fear that God whose wonders they had seen, and with a reverential feast of his majesty and mercy walk before him. 2. That they should serve him in sincerity and truth; for he is a heart-searching God, who cannot be imposed upon, who hasteth hypocrisy, and expect the God in simplicity to be excused to his service. 3. That they should put far from them strange gods: not that they now worshipped them, but they must never think of returning to their father’s idols, nor ever entertain a desire after them, but cleave only and persevere to the Lord. Note (1.) God requires the heart in his worship; without this we can do him no acceptable service. (2.) Neglect of God is not only foul disobedience, but bad ingratitude. (3.) That is still our idol to which our affections cleave more than to the blessed God.

15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me 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. 17. For the LORD our God, he 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. 18. And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites, which dwell in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD, for he is our God. 19. And Joshua said unto the people, ‘Ye cannot serve the LORD; for he is an holy God: he is a jealous God,’ he will not forgive your transcriptions nor your sins. 20. ‘If ye forsake the LORD, 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 unto Joshua, Nay, but we will serve the LORD. 22. And Joshua said unto the people, ‘Ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen you the LORD to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23. Now therefore put

away (said he) the strange gods which are among you, and incline 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. 25. So Joshua ‘made a covenant with the people that day, and let them a stature, and an ordinance in Shechem. 26. And Joshua ‘wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great store and ‘set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, ’this those shall be a witness; unless, for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he (pale unto us: it shall be therefore a witness) you, lest you deny your God. 28. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.’

Babes Chod 1434.

Joshua 24:15-28

To engage them to make that their choice which was so evidently their duty,

1. Joshua proposes to them the question, and declares his own resolution, if it seemed evil to them to serve the Lord, if his service appeared burdensome, and they had no delight in it, let them seek a better matter, either among the several gods of their fathers, or the more modern deities of their Amorites’ neighbours; but for his own part, to furnish was he with the blessed service, and to happy in the choice of God for his position, that let them determine as they would be. 2. The said said in God, and his house at last in Israel should be faithful in the worship and true to the obligations of the mercies they received from Jehovah. Note, (1.) If the service of God be not our deliberate choice from conviction of its libellations, and experience of its comfort, a contrarian profession will fall but a short time. (2.) Those who count the denial of their corrupt affections, and the restraints of religious burdensome, have already rejected the Lord from being their God. (3.) A good and great example is very influential. (4.) They who resolve to serve God themselves, cannot but labour that all who are under their care may do so too. (5.) They who are faithful to God fear not to be singular, though all others are ashamed of his religion, or lose a dishonour to it; their houses shall be the temples for prayer and praise daily, and their ways unconsolidated to the wicked world around them.

2. A proposition to evident needed no great deliberation; the unanimous voice of Israel is to join in their leader’s resolution, with the utmost detestation of the thought of forsaking God for idols, especially after the mercies which they thankfully remember, and under the confessions of which their souls are bound to cleave to God. Note, We can never hesitate whose service to prefer, God or the world, Christ or Belial, if our minds are freed from the delusions of Satan, and the birds of corrupt affections.

3. He fixes them in their good purposes, by intimating how they might abide in them, and how dangerous it would be to depart from them. They must beware of depending on their own sufficiency, because they cannot of themselves serve the Lord, and must be indebted to his grace for the ability to keep their resolution; and at the best, their own services would not be without defect, if they trusted on them for acceptance, fearing he was a holy God, with whom they had to do, (the Holy Own, as the word is, intimating the sacred trusty of persons), a zealous God, who cannot admit a rival, and a joyful God, who cannot pardon transcriptions, and therefore they should think well what they received, and with whom they had to do, that humbly trusting, as forbid, on his pardoning mercy, and as weak, on his supporting grace, they might be faithful to their views; for else it were impossible for them to serve him: whilst their spoilage from him would turn him from a friend to be their enemy, and provoke him, after all his mercies, utterly to consume them. Note, (1.) The foregone is ever every means to work upon our fears and hopes. (2.) The more we despair of our own sufficiency, the better shall we be enabled to show our fidelity.

4. The people repeat their solemn purpose. Nay, no idol-gods will we ever serve, but only cleave to the Lord our God, dependant on his grace, and trusting on his mercy, fully purposed to obey his voice, and that alone as the rule of our conversation. And when again required to put away the strange gods from among them, either idol-images, which some might have secreted, or rather idolarious affections, which hopeful leaves lurked in their hearts, they the third time confirm their purpose, of serving the Lord God only.

5. A solemn covenant concludes the assembly. Joshua took them for witnesses against themselves, for the transactions of that day; and that it might never be forgotten, it is written on the book of the law, and laid up with it in the ark before the Lord; whilst a great stone, as a monument of their solemn engagements, (and on it perhaps was written all the words of the covenant) is for up under an oak in Shechem, to remind their potterity of their woes, or to reproach their befonds, if they were unfaithful to them. And heresque the assembly is

dif.