SCRIPTURE: JOSHUA 24
IMPORTANT VERSES:
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14)
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether to gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
THE COVENANT RENEWED AT SHECHEM (vs. 1-27)
Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
“Then i sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.
“I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam, son of Beor to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
“‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you – also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether to gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it form us to forsake the Lord to serve other god! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.
“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Low of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.
“see!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”
BURIED IN THE PROMISED LAND (vs. 28-33)
Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
After these things, Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of mount Gaash.
Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.
And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver form the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.
And Eleazar, son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
The people had to decide whether they would obey the lord, who had proven his trustworthiness, or obey the local gods, which were only man-made idols. It is easy to slip into a quiet rebellion – going about life in your own way. But the time comes when you have to choose who or what will control you. The choice is yours. Will it be God, your own limited personality or another imperfect substitute? Once you have chosen to be controlled by God’s Spirit, reaffirm your choice every day.
In taking a definite stand for the Lord, Joshua again displayed his spiritual leadership. Regardless of what others decided, Joshua had made a commitment to God. He was determined to set an example of living by the decision. The way we live shows others the strength of our commitment to serve God. All the people boldly claimed that they would never forsake the Lord. But they did not keep that promise. Very soon, God would charge them with breaking their contract with him. Talk is cheap. It is easy to say we will follow God, but it is much more important to live like it. However, the nation followed God through Joshua’s lifetime, a great tribute to Joshua’s faith in God and powerful leadership.
Joshua told the Israelites to throw away their foreign gods or idols. To follow God requires destroying whatever gets in the way of worshiping him. We have our own form of idols – greed, wrong priorities, jealousies, prejudices – that get in the way of worshiping God. God is not satisfied if we merely hide these idols. We must completely remove them from our lives.
The covenant between Israel and God was that the people would worship and obey the Lord alone. Their purpose was to become a holy nation that would influence the rest of the world for God. The conquest of Canaan was a means to achieve this purpose, but Israel became preoccupied with the land and lost sight of the Lord God. The same can happen in our lives. We can spend so much time on the means that we forget the end – to glorify God.
THOUGHTS: (By Warren Wiersbe)
GEOGRAPHY:
Joshua choose a meaningful place, Shechem for his final message because Shechem held many memories for Israel. There God appeared to Abraham (Gen. 12:6-7), and there Jacob had a “family revival” as he went to Bethel (Gen. 35:1-4). Shechem was near Mount Ebal where the people had rededicated themselves to the Lord after entering the land (Joshua 8:30-35). Being in a special place can sometimes make it easier for us to meet with God.
HISTORY:
Joshua reviewed the history of Israel and reminded the people of God’s grace and goodness in calling Abraham, delivering Israel from Egypt, and giving them their land. It is good to review the past and remember the mercies of the Lord.
SINCERITY:
Our God is “a jealous God” in that He will not tolerate rivals. He will not be one of several gods in our lives. He must be Lord of all. Everybody serves some god, and if it is not the true God as revealed in Jesus Christ, it is a false god. Joshua issued the challenge: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (v. 15) Have you chosen wisely?