Israel’s present responsibilities (Josh. 24:14–33)

I. Decision (Josh. 24:14–18).

14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” 16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.”

A. Israel had to make a decision to serve the Lord God of Israel.

There could be no neutrality. But if they served the Lord, then they would have to get rid of the false gods that some of them secretly were worshiping. Even after the great experience of the Exodus, some of the Jews still sacrificed to the gods of Egypt.

Joshua made it clear that the people of Israel had to make a decision to serve the Lord God of Israel. Jacob had given this same warning to his family (Gen. 35:2), and Samuel would give the same admonition in his day.

B. Joshua wasn’t suggesting that the people could choose to worship the false gods.

God wouldn’t accept idolatry. There was no other option but to serve the true God. Being a wise and spiritual man, Joshua knew that everybody must worship something or someone, whether they realized it or not, because humanity is “incurably religious.”

If the Jews didn’t worship the true God, they would end up worshiping the false gods of the wicked nations in Canaan. His point was that they couldn’t do both. The people assured Joshua that they wanted to worship and serve only the Lord God of Israel.

II. Devotion (Josh. 24:19–28).

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” 23 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

A. It’s easy to promise obedience to the Lord, but it was quite different to actually do it.

Israel was “married” to Jehovah, and He would not tolerate any rivals in their hearts. He is a jealous God (Ex. 20:5) and a holy God, and He could never permit them to be divided in their loyalty. Just as a husband and wife are faithful to their marriage vows and jealously guard their mate’s affection, so Israel and the Lord had to be faithful to each other.

When the former generation had met the Lord at Mt. Sinai, they had said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:8, NKJV). But a few weeks later, they were worshiping a golden calf! His stern words were meant to curb their overconfidence and make them look honestly into their own hearts.

B. Joshua warned them what would happen if they didn’t get rid of their idols.

They would eventually forsake the Lord, and then He would have to chasten them. They would lose all the blessings He had so graciously given them in the Promised Land. Their great need was to cleanse their hearts of allegiance to other gods and to incline their hearts only to the Lord. If they persisted in their hidden disloyalty, God would punish them for their sins.

Three times the people affirmed their desire to serve only the Lord (Josh. 24:16–18, 21, 24), and Joshua took them at their word. So that they wouldn’t forget this solemn covenant with Jehovah, Joshua wrote it in the Book of the Law and then set up a large stone as a witness to their agreement.

III. Death (Joshua 24:29-33)

29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. 32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

A. The book closes with three burials.

Joshua died at the age of 110 and was buried in his own inheritance. Eleazar the high priest died and was also buried in Ephraim, near Shiloh, where his son Phinehas had property. The bones of Joseph were buried in Shechem in the plot of ground Jacob had bought from Hamor.

Moses had named Joshua as his successor, but it’s significant that God didn’t tell Joshua to appoint a successor. The elders who had served with Joshua guided the nation after his death, but then the people went astray and began to disobey the Lord and worship the false gods of the Canaanites.

B. Why didn’t the next generation know the Lord and what He had done for Israel?

Because the people of Joshua’s generation failed to keep their promise and teach their children and grandchildren to fear and serve the Lord.

God kept His promise and chastened His people, first by bringing other nations into the land (vv. 14–19), and then by taking the Jews out of their land, the Northern Kingdom to Assyria and the Southern Kingdom to Babylon. But one day the Lord will regather His people Israel and establish them in their land.