1 Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem 2-13 A brief history of God's benefits from Terah 14-25 He renews the covenant between them and God 26-28 A stone the witness of the covenant 29-31 Joshua's age, death, and burial 32 Joseph's bones are buried 33 Eleazar dies
Joshua This must have been a different assembly from that mentioned in the preceding chapter, though probably held not long after the former.

Shechem As it is immediately added, that `they presented themselves before God,' which is supposed to mean at the tabernacle; some are of opinion that Joshua caused it to be conveyed from Shiloh to Shechem on this occasion, to give the greater solemnity to his last meeting with the people. The Vatican and Alexandrian copies of the Septuagint, however, read (), both here and in verse 25, which many suppose to have been the original reading. Dr. Shuckford supposes that the covenant was made at Shechem, and that the people went to Shiloh to conform it. But the most probable opinion seems to be that of Dr. Kennicott, that when all the tribes were assembled as Shechem, Joshua called the chiefs to him on that mount, which had before been consecrated by the law, and by the altar which he had erected. Ge 12:6 33:18,19 35:4 Jud 9:51-3 1Ki 12:1

called Jos 23:2 Ex 18:25,26

presented 1Sa 10:19 Ac 10:33

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.

Your fathers Ge 11:26,31 12:1 31:53 De 26:5 Isa 51:2 Eze 16:3

served other gods. In the case of Abraham this was probably the case, till he was called to the knowledge of God, when above 70 years old. Jos 24:15 Ge 31:19,30,32,53 35:4

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.

I took Ge 12:1-4 Ne 9:7,8 Ac 7:2,3

gave Ge 21:2,3 Ps 127:3

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.

unto Isaac Ge 25:24-26

unto Esau Ge 32:3 36:8 De 2:5

Jacob Ge 46:1-7 Ps 105:23 Ac 7:15

5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.

sent Ex 3:10 4:12,13 Ps 105:26

plagued Ex 7:1-13:1 Ps 78:43-51 105:27-36 135:8,9 136:10

6 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.

I brought Ex 12:37,51 Mic 6:4

Egyptians Ex 14:1-16:1 Ne 9:11 Ps 77:15-20 78:13 136:13-15 Isa 63:12,13 Ac 7:36 Heb 11:29

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.

And when Ex 14:10

he put Ex 14:20

brought Ex 14:27,28

your eyes Ex 14:31 De 4:34 29:2

he dwelt Jos 5:6 Nu 14:33,34 Ne 9:12-21 Ps 95:9 95:9,10 Ac 13:17,18 Heb 3:17

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.

Jos 13:10 Nu 21:21-35 De 2:32-37 3:1-7 Ne 9:22 Ps 135:10,11 136:17-22

9 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:

Nu 22:5,6 De 23:4,5 Jud 11:25 Mic 6:5

10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

Nu 22:11,12,18-20,35 23:3-12,15-26 24:5-10 Isa 54:17

11 And you 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.

And ye Jos 3:14-17 4:10-12,23 Ps 114:3,5

the men Jos 6:1-27 10:1-11:23 Ne 9:24,25 Ps 78:54,55 105:44 Ac 7:45 13:19

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.

I sent Ex 23:28 De 7:20

not Ps 44:3-6

13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

And I Jos 21:45

cities Jos 11:13 De 6:10-12 8:7 Pr 13:22

14 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.

fear De 10:12 1Sa 12:24 Job 1:1 28:28 Ps 111:10 130:4 Ho 3:5 Ac 9:31

serve Jos 24:23 Ge 17:1 20:5,6 De 18:13 2Ki 20:3 Ps 119:1,80 Lu 8:15 Joh 4:23,24 2Co 1:12 Eph 6:24 Php 1:10

put From this exhortation of Joshua, we not only learn that the Israelites still retained some relics of idolatry, but to what gods they were attached. 1. Those whom their fathers worshipped on the other side of the food, or the river Euphrates, i.e., the gods of the Chaldeans, fire, light, the sun, etc. 2. Those of the Egyptians, Apis, Anubis, serpents, vegetables, etc 3. Those of the Amorites, moabites, Canaanites, etc., Baal-peor Astarte, etc. How astonishing is it, that after all that God had done for them, and all the miracles they had seen, there should still be found among them both idols and idolaters! Jos 24:23 Ge 35:2 Ex 20:3,4 Le 17:7 Ezr 9:11 Eze 20:18 Am 5:25 5:26

in Egypt Eze 20:7,8 23:3

15 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.

choose Ru 1:15,16 1Ki 18:21 Eze 20:39 Joh 6:67

whether the gods Jos 24:14

or the gods Ex 23:24,32,33 34:15 De 13:7 29:18 Jud 6:10

as for me Ge 18:19 Ps 101:2 119:106,111,112 Joh 6:68 Ac 11:23

16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

1Sa 12:23 Ro 3:6 6:2 Heb 10:38,39

17 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:

Jos 24:5-14 Ex 19:4 De 32:11,12 Isa 46:4 63:7-14 Am 2:9,10

18 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.

will we also Ex 10:2 15:2 Ps 116:16 Mic 4:2 Zec 8:23 Lu 1:73-75

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 transgressions nor your sins.

Ye cannot Jos 24:23 Ru 1:15 Mt 6:24 Lu 14:25-33

holy Le 10:3 19:2 1Sa 6:20 Ps 99:5,9 Isa 5:16 6:3-5 30:11,15 Hab 1:12

a jealous Ex 20:5 34:14 1Co 10:20-22

he will not Ex 23:21 34:7 1Sa 3:14 2Ch 36:16 Isa 27:11

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.

he will turn Jos 23:12-15 1Ch 28:9 2Ch 15:2 Ezr 8:22 Isa 1:28 63:10 65:11,12 Jer 17:13 Eze 18:24 Ac 7:42 Heb 10:26,27,38

21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.

Nay Ex 19:8 20:19 24:3,7 De 5:27,28 26:17 Isa 44:5

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.

Ye are witnesses Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way of God's holiness, and the nature of his service--your own weakness and inconstancy, and insufficiency--your need of the Divine help, and the hope of assistance held out in the law-- and the awful consequences of apostasy: and now ye make your choice. Remember then that ye are witnesses against yourselves; and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner. De 26:17 Jos 15:6 Lu 19:22

ye have Ps 119:11,173 Lu 10:42

23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.

put away Jos 24:14 Ge 35:2-4 Ex 20:23 Jud 10:15,16 1Sa 7:3,4 Ho 14:2,3,8 1Co 10:19-21 2Co 6:18-16

incline Pr 2:2 Heb 12:28,29

24 And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

De 5:28,29

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

made Ex 15:25 24:3,7,8 De 5:2,3 29:1,10-15 2Ki 11:17 2Ch 15:12,15 23:16 29:10 34:29-32 Ne 9:38 10:28,29

in Shechem Jos 24:1,26

26 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.

Joshua Ex 24:4 De 31:24-26

took Jud 9:6

set it Jos 4:3-9,20-24 Ge 28:18-22

under Ge 35:4,8 Jud 9:6

27 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.

A curious coincidence of circumstances is related by Livy, the Roman historian: he writes that `when three ambassadors were sent from Rome to complain of the perfidious conduct of the AEqui, the General informed them, that they might deliver their message to an oak which shaded his tent.' On this one of the ambassadors turning away, said, `This venerable oak, and all the gods, shall know that you have violated the peace; they shall now hear our complaints; and may they also soon be witnesses, when we revenge with our arms the violation of divine and human rights.' It is worthy of remark that Joshua merely set up a pillar under an oak, - the one, perhaps, to protect the other; while the General directed the ambassadors to address the oak, perhaps with an idolatrous feeling that they were addressing one of the gods, who would aid his cause; while the Roman ambassadors caught the feeling, and really invoked the aid of the oak and the gods.

Jos 22:27,28,34 Ge 31:44-52 De 4:26 30:19 31:19,21,26 1Sa 7:12

it hath De 32:1 Isa 1:2 Hab 2:11 Lu 19:40

deny Job 31:23 Pr 30:9 Mt 10:33 2Ti 2:12,13 Tit 1:16 Re 3:8

28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

Jud 2:6

29 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.

after these De 34:5 Jud 2:8 Ps 115:17 2Ti 4:7,8 Re 14:13

an hundred Ge 50:22,26

30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

Timnath-serah Jos 19:50 Jud 2:9

Gaash 2Sa 23:30

31 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.

served De 31:29 Jud 2:7 2Ch 24:2,17,18 Ac 20:29 Php 2:12

overlived Joshua [heb] prolonged their days after Joshua
which had De 11:2,7 31:13

32 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.

bones Ge 50:25 Ex 13:19 Ac 7:16 Heb 11:22

buried Ge 33:19 48:22

pieces of silver. or, lambs.

33 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.

Eleazar Jos 14:1 Ex 6:23,25 Nu 3:32 20:26-28

died Job 30:23 Ps 49:10 Isa 57:1,2 Zec 1:5 Ac 13:36 Heb 7:24 9:26,27

Phinehas Jud 20:28

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON JOSHUA

The book of Joshua is one of the most important documents in the Old Testament. The rapid conquest of the Promised Land, and the actual settlement of the Israelites in it, afford a striking accomplishment of the Divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs; and at the same time bear the most unequivocal and simple testimony to the authenticity of this sacred book. Several of the transactions related in it are confirmed in a very extraordinary manner, by the traditions current among heathen nations, and preserved by ancient profane historians of undoubted character. Thus there are monuments still in existence, which prove that the Carthaginians were a colony of Syrians that escaped from Joshua; as also that the inhabitants of Leptis, in Africa, can originally from the Sidonians, who abandoned their country on account of the calamities with which it was overwhelmed. Procopius relates that the Phoenicians fled before the Hebrews in Africa, and spread themselves abroad as far as the pillars of Hercules; and adds, In Numida, where now stands the city Tigisis (Tangiers), they have erected two columns, on which, in Phoenician characters, is the following inscription:--We are the Phoenicians who fled from the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son of Naue (Nun).