CHAPTER XXIV _Joshua gathers all the tribes together at Shechem_, 1; _and gives them a history of God's gracious dealings with_ Abraham, 2, 3; Isaac, Jacob, _and_ Esau, 4; Moses _and_ Aaron, _and their_ fathers _in Egypt_, 5, 6. _His judgments on the Egyptians_, 7. _On the Amorites_, 8. _The... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:2. _ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLOOD_] The river _Euphrates_. _THEY SERVED OTHER GODS._] Probably Abraham as well as Terah his father was an idolater, till he received the call of God to leave that land. See on Genesis 11:31; Genesis 12:1. And for the rest of the history referred to h... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:9. _THEN BALAK - AROSE AND WARRED AGAINST ISRAEL_] This circumstance is not related in Numbers 22:1, nor does it appear in that history that the Moabites attacked the Israelites; and probably the _warring_ here mentioned means no more than his attempts to destroy them by the curses o... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:11. _THE MEN OF JERICHO FOUGHT AGAINST YOU_] See the notes on Joshua 3:1 and Joshua 6:1, c. The people of Jericho are said to have fought against the Israelites, because they _opposed_ them by _shutting their gates_, c., though they did not attempt to meet them in the field.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:12. _I SENT THE HORNET BEFORE YOU_] Exodus 23:28.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:14. _FEAR THE LORD_] Reverence him as the sole object of your religious worship. _SERVE HIM_] Perform his will by obeying his commands. _IN SINCERITY_] Having your whole heart engaged in his worship. _AND IN TRUTH_] According to the directions he has given you in his infallible wo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:15. _CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE_] Joshua well knew that all service that was not _free_ and _voluntary_ could be only _deceit_ and _hypocrisy_, and that God loveth a _cheerful giver_. He therefore calls upon the people to make their _choice_, for God himself would not _fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:16. _GOD FORBID THAT WE SHOULD FORSAKE THE LORD_] That they were now _sincere_ cannot be reasonably doubted, for they served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Joshua 24:31; but afterwards they turned aside, and did serve other gods. "It is ordinary,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:19. _YE CANNOT SERVE THE LORD: FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD_] If we are to take this literally, we cannot blame the Israelites for their defection from the worship of the true God; for if it was impossible for them to serve God, they could not but come short of his kingdom: but surely this... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:21. _AND THE PEOPLE SAID - NAY; BUT WE WILL SERVE, C._] So they understood the words of Joshua to imply no moral impossibility on their side: and had they earnestly sought the gracious assistance of God, they would have continued steady in his covenant.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:22. _YE ARE WITNESSES AGAINST YOURSELVES_] Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of GOD'S holiness - your own weakness and inconstancy - the need you have of Divine help, and the awful consequences of apostasy; and now ye deliberately make your choice.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:23. _NOW THEREFORE PUT AWAY_] As you have promised to reform, begin instantly the work of reformation. A man's promise to serve God soon loses its moral hold of his conscience if he do not instantaneously begin to put it in practice. The grace that enables him to promise is that by t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:25. _JOSHUA MADE A COVENANT_] Literally, _Joshua cut the_ _covenant_, alluding to the _sacrifice_ offered on the occasion. _AND SET THEN A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE_] He made a solemn and public act of the whole, which was signed and witnessed by himself and the people, in the prese... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:27. _THIS STONE - HATH HEARD ALL THE WORDS_] That is, the stone itself, from its permanency, shall be in all succeeding ages as competent and as substantial a witness as one who had been present at the transaction, and heard all the words which on both sides were spoken on the occasi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 28. _SO JOSHUA_] After this verse the Septuagint insert Joshua 24:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:29. _JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN - DIED_] This event probably took place shortly after this public assembly; _for he was old and_ _stricken in years_ when he held the assembly mentioned Joshua 23:2; and as his work was now all done, and his soul ripened for a state of blessedness, God took... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:30. _AND THEY BURIED HIM - IN TIMNATH-SERAH_] This was his own inheritance, as we have seen Joshua 19:50. The Septuagint add here, "And they put with him there, in the tomb in which they buried him, the knives of stone with which he circumcised the children of Israel in Gilgal, accor... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:31. _AND ISRAEL SERVED THE LORD, C._] Though there was private idolatry among them, for they had strange gods, yet there was no public idolatry all the days of Joshua and of the elders that overlived Joshua most of whom must have been advanced in years at the death of this great man.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:32. _AND THE BONES OF JOSEPH_] Genesis 50:25, and on Exodus 13:19. This burying of the bones of Joseph probably took place when the conquest of the land was completed, and each tribe had received its inheritance; for it is not likely that this was deferred till after the death of Jos... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Joshua 24:33. _AND ELEAZAR - DIED_] Probably about the same time as Joshua, or soon after; though some think he outlived him six years. Thus, nearly all the persons who had witnessed the miracles of God in the wilderness were gathered to their fathers; and their descendants left in possession... [ Continue Reading ]