God Retells Israel's History
Study note
Joshua assembled all the tribes at Shechem, one of the most historically important places in Israel. This was where God first promised the land to Abraham and where Jacob had bought land and built an altar. Speaking on God's behalf, Joshua retold the entire history of Israel: how God called Abraham from beyond the Euphrates River, gave him Isaac, gave Isaac Jacob and Esau, sent Jacob's family to Egypt, raised up Moses and Aaron, brought plagues on Egypt, parted the Red Sea, led Israel through the wilderness, defeated the Amorites and Balaam, brought them across the Jordan, conquered Jericho and the nations of Canaan, and gave them a land with cities they did not build and crops they did not plant.
1 Joshua gathered every tribe of Israel together at Shechem. He called for the elders, leaders, judges, and officials. They all presented themselves before God. And 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 Joshua told everyone, "Here is what the Lord, Israel's God, says: 'A long time ago, your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, was among them. They worshipped other gods.'" 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 "'But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him across the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac.' 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 "'To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as his own. But Jacob and his children moved down to Egypt.' 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 "'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I hit Egypt with terrible plagues. After that, I brought you out.' I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
6 "'When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. The Egyptians chased them with chariots and horsemen.' And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
7 "'Your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help, so I put a wall of darkness between you and the Egyptians. Then I brought the sea crashing down on them and drowned them. You saw the whole thing with your own eyes. After that, you lived in the wilderness for a long time.' 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 "'I brought you to the land of the Amorites east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You took their land, and I destroyed them.' 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 son of Zippor, the king of Moab, went to war against Israel. He hired Balaam son of Beor to curse you.' Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
10 "'But I refused to listen to Balaam. Instead, he blessed you over and over again. I rescued you from Balak's power.' But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11 "'Then you crossed the Jordan and reached Jericho. The people of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I gave you victory over all of them.' 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 Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
12 "'I sent an overwhelming terror ahead of you that drove out the two Amorite kings. It was not your swords or your bows that won the battle.' 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 "'I gave you land you never worked for, cities you never built. You are living in them now. You are eating from vineyards and olive groves you never planted.' And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve
Study note
After recounting God's faithfulness, Joshua issued one of the most famous challenges in the Bible. He told the people to fear the Lord and serve him with complete faithfulness. They must throw away any foreign gods. Then came his powerful declaration: if they did not want to serve the Lord, they should choose right now whom they would serve, whether the gods their ancestors served in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites. But as for Joshua and his household, they would serve the Lord. The people responded by declaring they too would serve the Lord, because he had done so much for them.
14 "So respect the Lord and serve him with complete honesty and devotion. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone." Now 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.
15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose 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 you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye 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 The people responded, "We would never abandon the Lord to serve other gods!" And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
17 "It was the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up out of slavery in Egypt. He is the one who performed those incredible miracles right before our eyes. He protected us every step of the way and through every nation we traveled through." For the LORD our God, he it 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 "The Lord drove out all the nations ahead of us, including the Amorites who lived in this land. So yes -- we will serve the Lord, because he is our God." And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
The Covenant Renewed
Study note
Joshua tested the people's commitment by warning them that God is holy and jealous. If they served foreign gods after making this promise, God would turn against them. But the people insisted they would serve the Lord. Joshua told them they were witnesses against themselves, and they agreed. He told them to throw away their foreign gods and give their hearts completely to the Lord. That day Joshua made a covenant with the people at Shechem and recorded the terms in the Book of the Law of God. He set up a large stone under an oak tree near the sanctuary of the Lord as a witness to their promise.
19 Joshua told the people, "You may not be able to serve the Lord properly, because he is a holy God. He is a God who does not share your loyalty. He will not overlook your disobedience and sins." 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 transgressions nor your sins.
20 "If you walk away from the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn against you. After all the good he has done for you, he will bring disaster and destroy you." 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 But the people insisted, "No! We will serve the Lord." And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
22 Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves. You have chosen to serve the Lord." They answered, "Yes, we are witnesses." 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 Joshua said, "Then throw away the foreign gods you have. Give your hearts fully to the Lord, the God of Israel." Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
24 The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God and do what he says." And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25 That day at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant with the people. He established rules and laws for them to follow. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26 Joshua wrote all of this down in the Book of the Law of God. Then he set up a large stone under the oak tree near the Lord's sanctuary. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 Joshua told everyone, "Look at this stone. It will serve as a witness against us. It has heard every word the Lord said to us. It will be a witness against you if you ever turn your backs on your God." And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
28 Then Joshua sent the people away, and each person went home to their own piece of land. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
The Death of Joshua
Study note
After these events, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. He was buried on his own land at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. The chapter records that Israel served the Lord throughout Joshua's lifetime and the lifetime of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the Lord had done for Israel. The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had carried out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the piece of land Jacob had bought. This fulfilled the promise Joseph made his brothers swear before he died in Egypt. Finally, Eleazar son of Aaron also died and was buried in the hill country of Ephraim. The era of the conquest was over.
29 After all of this, Joshua son of Nun, the Lord's servant, died. He was one hundred and ten years old. And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
30 They buried him on his own land at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
31 Israel served the Lord the entire time Joshua was alive. They also served the Lord throughout the lives of the elders who outlived Joshua. These elders had seen for themselves everything the Lord had done for Israel. And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had carried with them from Egypt, were buried at Shechem. They were placed in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of silver. This land became part of the inheritance of Joseph's descendants. And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron also died. He was buried at Gibeah, a town in the hill country of Ephraim that had been given to his son Phinehas. And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.