the strictest sense, but it certainly tells us a great deal
Joshua 24 be helpful or hurtful, depending on how we use them.
impression on them!) Joshua had declared that he and his house would serve only the Lord (v. 15), and the people said, "Therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God" (v. 18).
The book closes with three burials. Joshua died at the age of 110 and was buried in his own inheritance. Eleazar the high priest (Num. 20:28) 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 (Gen. 33:19). Shechem became an important city for Ephraim and Manasseh, who were the two sons of Joseph. Thus it was fitting that their great ancestor be buried there. (See Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19; Heb. 11:22.)
Devotion (vv. 19–28). When the former generation had met the Lord at Mount Sinai, they had said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8 nkjv). But a few weeks later, they were worshipping a golden calf! Joshua knew that it was easy for the people to promise obedience to the Lord, but it was quite something else for them to actually do it. His stern words were meant to curb their overconfidence and make them look honestly into their own hearts (Josh. 24:19). 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.
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 (Judg. 2:6–15). 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.
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 (Josh. 24:23). If they persisted in their hidden disloyalty, God would not forgive them (Ex. 23:21) but would punish them for their sins.
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 (Isa. 11–12; 51–52; Ezek. 36:24ff.). Then "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14).
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 perpetual witness to their agreement. This is the ninth and last memorial mentioned in the book of Joshua. The nine memorials are:
CHAPTER THIRTEEN A Great Life in Review I n his Autobiography, Mark Twain wrote: "Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man—the biography of the man himself cannot be written."
1. The stones in the midst of the Jordan (4:9). 2. The stones on the western bank of the Jordan (4:20–24). 3. The stones in the Valley of Achor (7:26). 4. The heap of stones at Ai (8:29). 5. The altar on Mount Ebal (8:30). 6. The stones of the law on Mount Ebal (8:32). 7. The stones at the cave at Makkedah (10:27). 8. The altar built by the Transjordanic tribes (22:10ff.). 9. Joshua's stone of witness (24:26–28).
The book of Joshua is not a biography of Joshua in the strictest sense, but it certainly tells us a great deal about this godly man. Like the rest of the Old Testament Scriptures, this book was written both to warn us (1 Cor. 10:11) and to encourage us (Rom. 15:4). Therefore, we ought to take time to review Joshua's life and ministry and learn from him lessons that will help us know the Lord better and serve Him more effectively.
Joshua's preparation When God wants to accomplish something, He prepares a servant for the task and prepares the task for His servant. The Lord invested seventeen years preparing Joseph for His work in Egypt and eighty years getting Moses ready for forty years of ministry to the people of Israel. David experienced many years of trials and testings before he ascended the throne of Israel. "A
There's certainly nothing unbiblical about God's people memorializing a wonderful event or a sacred decision, so long as the memorial doesn't become the focus of idolatrous worship. It's good to remember what the Lord did and how we responded, but we must never live in the past. Religious traditions can