Joshua 23:3

_AND YE HAVE SEEN ALL THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD HATH DONE UNTO ALL THESE NATIONS BECAUSE OF YOU; FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS HE THAT HATH FOUGHT FOR YOU._ Ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done ... for you. The modesty and humility of Joshua are remarkably displayed at the commencement of this address. Sinking all thoughts of his personal services, he ascribed the subjugation and occupation of Canaan entirely to the favouring presence and aid of God; and in doing so, he spoke not more piously than truly. This had been promised (Deuteronomy 1:30; Deuteronomy 3:22); and the reality of the divine aid was seen in the rapid overthrow of the Canaanites, which had already led to the division of the whole land among the tribes....

1-10 Joshua was old and dying, let them observe what he said now. He put them in mind of the great things God had done for them in his days. He exhorted them to be very courageous. Keep with care, do with diligence, and regard with sincerity what is written. Also, very cautiously to endeavour that the heathen idolatry may be forgotten, so that it may never be revived. It is sad that among Christians the names of the heathen gods are so commonly used, and made so familiar as they are. Joshua exhorts them to be very constant. There might be many things amiss among them, but they had not forsaken the Lord their God; the way to make people better, is to make the best of them....

Verse Joshua 23:3. _FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD_ IS _HE THAT HATH FOUGHT FOR YOU._] There is much both of _piety_ and _modesty_ in this address. It was natural for the Israelites to look on their veteran, worn-out general, who had led them on from conquest to conquest, with profound respect; and to be ready to say, "Had we not had such a commander, we had never got possession of this good land." Joshua corrects this opinion, and shows them that all their enemies had been defeated, because the Lord their God had fought for them. That the battle was the Lord's, and not his; and that God _alone_ should have the glory....

EXPOSITION JOSHUA'S SOLEMN CHARGE.— JOSHUA 23:1 WAXED OLD AND STRICKEN IN AGE. Literally, _was old, advanced in days _(see Joshua 13:1). But this refers to a more advanced age still, when the patriarch felt his powers failing him, and desired, as far as his influence went, to preserve the Israelites in the path in which they had walked since their entrance into Canaan. Calvin has some good remarks on the "pious solicitude" shown by the aged warrior for those whom he had led in time of war and guided in time of peace. He seems to have sent for the chief men in Israel to his home at Timnath-Serah, where apparently he had led a retired and peaceful life, only coming forward to direct the affairs of t

AND YE HAVE SEEN ALL THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD HATH DONE UNTO ALL THOSE NATIONS BECAUSE OF YOU,.... How he had destroyed them, and driven them out of their habitations to make room for them, meaning the seven nations of the Canaanites: FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD [IS] HE THAT HATH FOUGHT FOR YOU; Joshua does not attribute any of the things that were done to his own valour, nor theirs, nor so much as mentions himself or them as instruments, but wholly ascribes all to the Lord, who fought their battles for them, and conquered their enemies, and subdued them under them; the Targum is, "the Word of the Lord fought for you;'' the Captain of the host of the Lord, Joshua 5:14....

2. JOSHUA'S TWO ADDRESSES The First Address CHAPTER 23 _ 1. The people gathered (Joshua 23:1)_ 2. God's faithfulness remembered (Joshua 23:3) 3. Exhortations to obedience (Joshua 23:6) 4. Warning (Joshua 23:12) 5. Conclusion of first address (Joshua 23:14) It was about eight years after the Lord had given rest unto Israel, that the aged Joshua called for all Israel and their elders to assemble in his presence. He was very old and the time of his departure at hand. The purpose of his first address is

GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim_. App-4...

_the Lord your God is he_ See Exodus 14:14. Of his own merits and exploits the modest hero makes no mention....

_A Review of Joshua's Work Joshua 23:1-5_ And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. 2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: 3 And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you. 4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the Great Sea westward. 5 And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promise

THE FIRST FAREWELL ADDRESS OF JOSHUA This discourse was probably delivered at Shiloh or Timnath-Serah. Unlike the Second Discourse, which is mainly a historical retrospect, it dwells chiefly upon the political future of Israel, laying special emphasis on their separateness, and the danger of social and religious intercourse with the remnant of the Canaanites. Joshua 23 is from the same source as Joshua 1 and Deuteronomy 27....