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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC06023.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J O S H U A</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter concludes the life and reign of Joshua, in which we have,
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I. The great care and pains he took to confirm the people of Israel in
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the true faith and worship of God, that they might, after his death,
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persevere therein. In order to this he called another general assembly
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of the heads of the congregation of Israel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:1">ver. 1</A>)
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and dealt with them.
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1. By way of narrative, recounting the great things God had done for
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them and their fathers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:2-13">ver. 2-13</A>.
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2. By way of charge to them, in consideration thereof, to serve God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:14">ver. 14</A>.
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3. By way of treaty with them, wherein he aims to bring them,
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(1.) To make religion their deliberate choice; and they did so, with
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reasons for their choice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:15-18">ver. 15-18</A>.
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(2.) To make it their determinate choice, and to resolve to adhere to
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it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:19-24">ver. 19-24</A>.
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4. By way of covenant upon that treaty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:25-28">ver. 25-28</A>.
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II. The conclusion of this history, with,
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1. The death and burial of Joshua
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:29,30">ver. 29, 30</A>)
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and Eleazar
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:33">ver. 33</A>),
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and the mention of the burial of Joseph's bones upon that occasion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:32">ver. 32</A>.
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2. A general account of the state of Israel at that time,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:31">ver. 31</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jos24_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Joshua's Farewell Address to Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1427.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and
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called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for
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their judges, and for their officers; and they presented
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themselves before God.
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2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God
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of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in
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old time, <I>even</I> Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of
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Nachor: and they served other gods.
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3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the
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flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and
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multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
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4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau
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mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down
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into Egypt.
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5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according
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to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
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6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the
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sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots
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and horsemen unto the Red sea.
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7 And when they cried unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, he put darkness between
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you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered
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them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye
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dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
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8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt
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on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave
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them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I
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destroyed them from before you.
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9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred
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against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to
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curse you:
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10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed
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you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
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11 And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men
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of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites,
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and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the
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Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
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12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from
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before you, <I>even</I> the two kings of the Amorites; <I>but</I> not with
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thy sword, nor with thy bow.
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13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and
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cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards
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and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
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14 Now therefore fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and serve him in sincerity and
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in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the
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other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Joshua thought he had taken his last farewell of Israel in the solemn
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charge he gave them in the foregoing chapter, when he said, <I>I go the
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way of all the earth;</I> but God graciously continuing his life longer
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than expected, and renewing his strength, he was desirous to improve it
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for the good of Israel. He did not say, "I have taken my leave of them
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once, and let that serve;" but, having yet a longer space given him, he
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summons them together again, that he might try what more he could do to
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engage them for God. Note, We must never think our work for God done
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till our life is done; and, if he lengthen out our days beyond what we
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thought, we must conclude it is because he has some further service for
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us to do.</P>
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<P>
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The assembly is the same with that in the foregoing chapter, the
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<I>elders, heads, judges, and officers of Israel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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But it is here made somewhat more solemn than it was there.</P>
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<P>
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I. The place appointed for their meeting is <I>Shechem,</I> not only
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because that lay nearer to Joshua than Shiloh, and therefore more
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convenient now that he was infirm and unfit for travelling, but because
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it was the place where Abraham, the first trustee of God's covenant
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with this people, settled at his coming to Canaan, and where God
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appeared to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:6,7">Gen. xii. 6, 7</A>),
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and near which stood mounts Gerizim and Ebal, where the people had
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renewed their covenant with God at their first coming into Canaan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+8:30">Josh. viii. 30</A>.
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Of the promises God had made to their fathers, and of the promises they
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themselves had made to God, this place might serve to put them in
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mind.</P>
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<P>
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II. They presented themselves not only before Joshua, but before God,
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in this assembly, that is, they came together in a solemn religious
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manner, as into the special presence of God, and with an eye to his
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speaking to them by Joshua; and it is probable the service began with
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prayer. It is the conjecture of interpreters that upon this great
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occasion Joshua ordered the ark of God to be brought by the priests to
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Shechem, which, they say, was about ten miles from Shiloh, and to be
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set down in the place of their meeting, which is therefore called
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>)
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<I>the sanctuary of the Lord,</I> the presence of the ark making it so
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at that time; and this was done to grace the solemnity, and to strike
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an awe upon the people that attended. We have not now any such sensible
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tokens of the divine presence, but are to believe that <I>where two or
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three are gathered together</I> in Christ's name he is as really in the
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midst of them as God was where the ark was, and they are indeed
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presenting themselves before him.</P>
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<P>
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III. Joshua spoke to them in God's name, and as from him, in the
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language of a prophet
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Thus saith the Lord,</I> Jehovah, the great God, and the God of
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Israel, your God in covenant, whom therefore you are bound to hear and
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give heed to." Note, The word of God is to be received by us as his,
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whoever is the messenger that brings it, whose greatness cannot add to
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it, nor his meanness diminish from it. His sermon consists of doctrine
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and application.</P>
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<P>
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1. The doctrinal part is a history of the great things God had done for
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his people, and for their fathers before them. God by Joshua recounts
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the marvels of old: "I did so and so." They must know and consider, not
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only that such and such things were done, but that God did them. It is
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a series of wonders that is here recorded, and perhaps many more were
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mentioned by Joshua, which for brevity's sake are here omitted. See
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what God had wrought.
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(1.) He brought Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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He and his ancestors had served other gods there, for it was the
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country in which, though celebrated for learning, idolatry, as some
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think, had its rise; there <I>the world by wisdom knew not God.</I>
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Abraham, who afterwards was the friend of God and the great favourite
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of heaven, was bred up in idolatry, and lived long in it, till God by
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his grace snatched him as a brand out of that burning. Let them
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remember that rock out of which they were hewn, and not relapse into
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that sin from which their fathers by a miracle of free grace were
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delivered. "I took him," says God, "else he had never come out of that
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sinful state." Hence Abraham's justification is made by the apostle an
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instance of God's <I>justifying the ungodly,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:5">Rom. iv. 5</A>.
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(2.) He brought him to Canaan, and built up his family, led him through
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the land to Shechem, where they now were, multiplied his seed by
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Ishmael, who begat twelve princes, but at last gave him Isaac the
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promised son, and in him multiplied his seed. When Isaac had two sons,
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Jacob and Esau, God provided an inheritance for Esau elsewhere in Mount
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Seir, that the land of Canaan might be reserved entire for the seed of
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Jacob, and the posterity of Esau might not pretend to a share in it.
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(3.) He delivered the seed of Jacob out of Egypt with a high hand
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>),
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and rescued them out of the hands of Pharaoh and his host at the Red
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Sea,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.
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The same waters were the Israelites' guard and the Egyptians' grave,
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and this in answer to prayer; for, though we find in the story that
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they in that distress murmured against God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+14:11,12">Exod. xiv. 11, 12</A>),
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notice is here taken of their <I>crying to God;</I> he graciously
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accepted those that prayed to him, and overlooked the folly of those
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that quarrelled with him.
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(4.) He protected them in the wilderness, where they are here said, not
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to <I>wander,</I> but to <I>dwell for a long season,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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So wisely were all their motions directed, and so safely were they
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kept, that even there they had as certain a dwelling-place as if they
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had been in a walled city.
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(5.) He gave them the land of the Amorites, on the other side Jordan
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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and there defeated the plot of Balak and Balaam against them, so that
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Balaam could not curse them as he desired, and therefore Balak durst
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not fight them as he designed, and as, because he designed it, he is
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here said to have done it. The turning of Balaam's tongue to bless
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Israel, when he intended to curse them, is often mentioned as an
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instance of the divine power put forth in Israel's favour as remarkable
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as any, because in it God proved (and does still, more than we are
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aware of) his dominion over the powers of darkness, and over the
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spirits of men.
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(6.) He brought them safely and triumphantly into Canaan, delivered the
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Canaanites into their hand
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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<I>sent hornets before them,</I> when they were actually engaged in
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battle with the enemy, which with their stings tormented them and with
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their noise terrified them, so that they became a very easy prey to
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Israel. These dreadful swarms first appeared in their war with Sihon
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and Og, the two kings of the Amorites, and afterwards in their other
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battles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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God had promised to do this for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:27,28">Exod. xxiii. 27, 28</A>.
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And here Joshua takes notice of the fulfilling of that promise. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:27,28,De+7:20">Exod. xxiii. 27, 28; Deut. vii. 20</A>.
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These hornets, it should seem, annoyed the enemy more than the
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artillery of Israel, and therefore he adds, <I>not with thy sword nor
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bow.</I> It was purely the Lord's doing. <I>Lastly,</I> They were now
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in the peaceable possession of a good land, and lived comfortably upon
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the fruit of other people's labours,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. The application of this history of God's mercies to them is by way
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of exhortation to fear and serve God, in gratitude for his favour, and
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that it might be continued to them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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Now therefore, in consideration of all this,
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(1.) "<I>Fear the Lord,</I> the Lord and his goodness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+3:5">Hos. iii. 5</A>.
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Reverence a God of such infinite power, fear to offend him and to
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forfeit his goodness, keep up an awe of his majesty, a deference to his
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authority, a dread of his displeasure, and a continual regard to his
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all-seeing eye upon you."
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(2.) "Let your practice be consonant to this principle, and serve him
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both by the outward acts of religious worship and every instance of
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obedience in your whole conversation, and this <I>in sincerity and
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truth,</I> with a single eye and an upright heart, and inward
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impressions answerable to outward expressions." This is the <I>truth in
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the inward part,</I> which God requires,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:6">Ps. li. 6</A>.
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For what good will it do us to dissemble with a God that searches the
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heart?
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(3.) <I>Put away the strange gods,</I> both Chaldean and Egyptian
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idols, for those they were most in danger of revolting to. It should
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seem by this charge, which is repeated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
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that there were some among them that privately kept in their closets
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the images or pictures of these dunghill-deities, which came to their
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hands from their ancestors, as heir-looms of their families, though, it
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may be, they did not worship them; these Joshua earnestly urges them to
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throw away: "Deface them, destroy them, lest you be tempted to serve
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them." Jacob pressed his household to do this, and at this very place;
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for, when they gave him up the little images they had, he buried them
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<I>under the oak which was by Shechem,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:2,4">Gen. xxxv. 2, 4</A>.
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Perhaps the oak mentioned here
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>)
|
|
|
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was the same oak, or another in the same place, which might be well
|
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called the <I>oak of reformation,</I> as there were idolatrous
|
|
oaks.</P>
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|
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_15"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_16"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_17"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_18"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_19"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_20"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_22"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_23"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_24"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_25"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos24_28"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, choose you
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|
this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers
|
|
served that <I>were</I> 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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should
|
|
forsake the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, to serve other gods;
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17 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God, he <I>it is</I> 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 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> drave out from before us all the people, even
|
|
the Amorites which dwelt in the land: <I>therefore</I> will we also
|
|
serve the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; for he <I>is</I> our God.
|
|
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>:
|
|
for he <I>is</I> a holy God; he <I>is</I> a jealous God; he will not
|
|
forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
|
|
20 If ye forsake the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and serve strange gods, then he will
|
|
turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done
|
|
you good.
|
|
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye <I>are</I> witnesses against
|
|
yourselves that ye have chosen you the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, to serve him. And
|
|
they said, <I>We are</I> witnesses.
|
|
23 Now therefore put away, <I>said he,</I> the strange gods which
|
|
<I>are</I> among you, and incline your heart unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of
|
|
Israel.
|
|
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God will we
|
|
serve, and his voice will we obey.
|
|
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set
|
|
them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
|
|
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
|
|
<I>was</I> by the sanctuary of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness
|
|
unto you, lest ye deny your God.
|
|
28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his
|
|
inheritance.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Never was any treaty carried on with better management, nor brought to
|
|
a better issue, than this of Joshua with the people, to engage them to
|
|
serve God. The manner of his dealing with them shows him to have been
|
|
in earnest, and that his heart was much upon it, to leave them under
|
|
all possible obligations to cleave to him, particularly the obligation
|
|
of a choice and of a covenant.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Would it be any obligation upon them if they made the service of God
|
|
their choice?--he here puts them to their choice, not as if it were
|
|
antecedently indifferent whether they served God or nor, or as if they
|
|
were at liberty to refuse his service, but because it would have a
|
|
great influence upon their perseverance in religion if they embraced it
|
|
with the reason of men and with the resolution of men. These two things
|
|
he here brings them to.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He brings them to embrace their religion rationally and
|
|
intelligently, for it is a reasonable service. The will of man is apt
|
|
to glory in its native liberty, and, in a jealousy for the honour of
|
|
this, adheres with most pleasure to that which is its own choice and is
|
|
not imposed upon it; therefore it is God's will that this service
|
|
should be, not our chance, or a force upon us, but our choice.
|
|
Accordingly,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) Joshua fairly puts the matter to their choice,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] He proposes the candidates that stand for the election. The Lord,
|
|
Jehovah, on one side, and on the other side either the gods of their
|
|
ancestors, which would pretend to recommend themselves to those that
|
|
were fond of antiquity, and that which was received by tradition from
|
|
their fathers, or the <I>gods of their neighbours,</I> the Amorites, in
|
|
<I>whose land they dwelt,</I> which would insinuate themselves into the
|
|
affections of those that were complaisant and fond of good fellowship.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He supposes there were those to whom, upon some account or other,
|
|
it would <I>seem evil to serve the Lord.</I> There are prejudices and
|
|
objections which some people raise against religion, which, with those
|
|
that are inclined to the world and the flesh, have great force. It
|
|
seems evil to them, hard and unreasonable, to be obliged to deny
|
|
themselves, mortify the flesh, take up their cross, &c. But, being in a
|
|
state of probation, it is fit there should be some difficulties in the
|
|
way, else there were no trial.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He refers it to themselves: "<I>Choose you whom you will
|
|
serve,</I> choose this day, now that the matter is laid thus plainly
|
|
before you, speedily bring it to a head, and do not stand hesitating."
|
|
Elijah, long after this, referred the decision of the controversy
|
|
between Jehovah and Baal to the consciences of those with whom he was
|
|
treating,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+18:21">1 Kings xviii. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
Joshua's putting the matter here to this issue plainly intimates two
|
|
things:--<I>First,</I> That it is the will of God we should every one
|
|
of us make religion our serious and deliberate choice. Let us state the
|
|
matter impartially to ourselves, weigh things in an even balance, and
|
|
then determine for that which we find to be really true and good. Let
|
|
us resolve upon a life of serious godliness, not merely because we know
|
|
no other way, but because really, upon search, we find no better.
|
|
<I>Secondly,</I> That religion has so much self-evident reason and
|
|
righteousness on its side that it may safely be referred to every man
|
|
that allows himself a free thought either to choose or refuse it; for
|
|
the merits of the cause are so plain that no considerate man can do
|
|
otherwise but choose it. The case is so clear that it determines
|
|
itself. Perhaps Joshua designed, by putting them to their choice, thus
|
|
to try if there were any among them who, upon so fair an occasion
|
|
given, would show a coolness and indifference towards the service of
|
|
God, whether they would desire time to consider and consult their
|
|
friends before they gave in an answer, and if any such should appear he
|
|
might set a mark upon them, and warn the rest to avoid them.
|
|
|
|
[4.] He directs their choice in this matter by an open declaration of
|
|
his own resolutions: "<I>But as for me and my house,</I> whatever you
|
|
do, <I>we will serve the Lord,</I> and I hope you will all be of the
|
|
same mind." Here he resolves, <I>First,</I> For himself: <I>As for me,
|
|
I will serve the Lord.</I> Note, The service of God is nothing below
|
|
the greatest of men; it is so far from being a diminution and
|
|
disparagement to princes and those of the first rank to be religious
|
|
that it is their greatest honour, and adds the brightest crown of glory
|
|
to them. Observe how positive he is: "I will serve God." It is no
|
|
abridgment of our liberty to bind ourselves with a bond to God.
|
|
<I>Secondly,</I> For <I>his house,</I> that is, his family, his
|
|
children and servants, such as were immediately under his eye and care,
|
|
his inspection and influence. Joshua was a ruler, a judge in Israel,
|
|
yet he did not make his necessary application to public affairs an
|
|
excuse for the neglect of family religion. Those that have the charge
|
|
of many families, as magistrates and ministers, must take special care
|
|
of their own
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+3:4,5">1 Tim. iii. 4, 5</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I and my house</I> will serve God.
|
|
|
|
1. "Not my house, without me." He would not engage them to that work
|
|
which he would not set his own hand to. As some who would have their
|
|
children and servants good, but will not be so themselves; that is,
|
|
they would have them go to heaven, but intend to go to hell themselves.
|
|
|
|
2. "Not I, without my house." He supposes he might be forsaken by his
|
|
people, but in his house, where his authority was greater and more
|
|
immediate, there he would over-rule. Note, When we cannot bring as
|
|
many as we would to the service of God we must bring as many as we can,
|
|
and extend our endeavours to the utmost sphere of our activity; if we
|
|
cannot reform the land, let us put away iniquity far from our own
|
|
tabernacle.
|
|
|
|
3. "First I, and then my house." Note, Those that lead and rule in
|
|
other things should be first in the service of God, and go before in
|
|
the best things. <I>Thirdly,</I> He resolves to do this whatever others
|
|
did. Though all the families of Israel should revolt from God, and
|
|
serve idols, yet Joshua and his family will stedfastly adhere to the
|
|
God of Israel. Note, Those that resolve to serve God must not mind
|
|
being singular in it, nor be drawn by the crowd to forsake his service.
|
|
Those that are bound for heaven must be willing to swim against the
|
|
stream, and must not do as the most do, but as the best do.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The matter being thus put to their choice, they immediately
|
|
determine it by a free, rational, and intelligent declaration, for the
|
|
God of Israel, against all competitors whatsoever,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:16-18"><I>v.</I> 16-18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] They concur with Joshua in his resolution, being influenced by the
|
|
example of so great a man, who had been so great a blessing to them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>We also will serve the Lord.</I> See how much good great men might
|
|
do, if they were but zealous in religion, by their influence on their
|
|
inferiors.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They startle at the thought of apostatizing from God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>God forbid;</I> the word intimates the greatest dread and
|
|
detestation imaginable. "Far be it, far be it from us, that we or ours
|
|
should ever <I>forsake the Lord to serve other gods.</I> We must be
|
|
perfectly lost to all sense of justice, gratitude, and honour, ere we
|
|
can harbour the least thought of such a thing." Thus must our hearts
|
|
rise against all temptations to desert the service of God. <I>Get thee
|
|
behind me, Satan.</I>
|
|
|
|
[3.] They give very substantial reasons for their choice, to show that
|
|
they did not make it purely in compliance to Joshua, but from a full
|
|
conviction of the reasonableness and equity of it. They make this
|
|
choice for, and in consideration, <I>First,</I> Of the many great and
|
|
very kind things God had done for them, bringing them out of Egypt
|
|
through the wilderness into Canaan,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus they repeat to themselves Joshua's sermon, and then express their
|
|
sincere compliance with the intentions of it. <I>Secondly,</I> Of the
|
|
relation they stood in to God, and his covenant with them: "We <I>will
|
|
serve the Lord</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>for he is our God,</I> who has graciously engaged himself by promise
|
|
to us, and to whom we have by solemn vow engaged ourselves."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He brings them to embrace their religion resolutely, and to express
|
|
a full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. Now that he has them in
|
|
a good mind he follows his blow, and drives the nail to the head, that
|
|
it might, if possible, be a nail in a sure place. Fast bind, fast
|
|
find.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) In order to this he sets before them the difficulties of religion,
|
|
and that in it which might be thought discouraging
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God,</I> or, as it is in
|
|
the Hebrew, <I>he is the holy Gods,</I> intimating the mystery of the
|
|
Trinity, three in one; <I>holy, holy, holy,</I> holy Father, holy Son,
|
|
holy Spirit. <I>He will not forgive.</I> And, <I>if you forsake him, he
|
|
will do you hurt.</I> Certainly Joshua does not intend hereby to deter
|
|
them from the service of God as impracticable and dangerous. But,
|
|
|
|
[1.] He perhaps intends to represent here the suggestions of seducers,
|
|
who tempted Israel from their God, and from the service of him; with
|
|
such insinuations as these, that he was a hard master, his work
|
|
impossible to be done, and he not to be pleased, and, if displeased,
|
|
implacable and revengeful,--that he would confine their respects to
|
|
himself only, and would not suffer them to show the least kindness for
|
|
any other,--and that herein he was very unlike the gods of the nations,
|
|
which were easy, and neither holy nor jealous. It is probable that this
|
|
was then commonly objected against the Jewish religion, as it has all
|
|
along been the artifice of Satan every since he tempted our first
|
|
parents thus to misrepresent God and his laws, as harsh and severe; and
|
|
Joshua by his tone and manner of speaking might make them perceive he
|
|
intended it as an objection, and would put it to them how they would
|
|
keep their ground against the force of it. Or,
|
|
|
|
[2.] He thus expresses his godly jealousy over them, and his fear
|
|
concerning them, that, notwithstanding the profession they now made of
|
|
zeal for God and his service, they would afterwards draw back, and if
|
|
they did they would find him just and jealous to avenge it. Or,
|
|
|
|
[3.] He resolves to let them know the worst of it, and what strict
|
|
terms they must expect to stand upon with God, that they might sit down
|
|
and count the cost. "<I>You cannot serve the Lord,</I> except you put
|
|
away all other gods for he is holy and jealous, and will by no means
|
|
admit a rival, and therefore you must be very watchful and careful, for
|
|
it is at your peril if you desert his service; better you had never
|
|
known it." Thus, though our Master has assured us that <I>his yoke is
|
|
easy,</I> yet lest, upon the presumption of this, we should grow remiss
|
|
and careless, he has also told us that the gate is strait, and the way
|
|
narrow, that leads to life, that we may therefore strive to enter, and
|
|
not seek only. "<I>You cannot serve God and Mammon;</I> therefore, if
|
|
you resolve to serve God, you must renounce all competitors with him.
|
|
You cannot serve God in your own strength, nor will he forgive your
|
|
transgressions for any righteousness of your own; but <I>all the seed
|
|
of Israel must be justified and must glory in the Lord alone as their
|
|
righteousness</I> and <I>strength,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:24,25">Isa. xlv. 24, 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
They must therefore come off from all confidence in their own
|
|
sufficiency, else their purposes would be to no purpose. Or,
|
|
|
|
[4.] Joshua thus urges on them the seeming discouragements which lay in
|
|
their way, that he might sharpen their resolutions, and draw from them
|
|
a promise yet more express and solemn that they would continue faithful
|
|
to God and their religion. He draws it form them that they might catch
|
|
at it the more earnestly and hold it the faster.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Notwithstanding this statement of the difficulties of religion,
|
|
they declare a firm and fixed resolution to continue and persevere
|
|
therein
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Nay, but we will serve the Lord.</I> We will think never the worse
|
|
of him for his being a holy and jealous God, nor for his confining his
|
|
servants to worship himself only. Justly will he consume those that
|
|
forsake him, but we never will forsake him; not only we have a good
|
|
mind to serve him, and we hope we shall, but we are at a point, we
|
|
cannot bear to hear any <I>entreaties to leave him or to turn from
|
|
following after him</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+1:16">Ruth i. 16</A>);
|
|
|
|
in the strength of divine grace we are resolved that we will serve the
|
|
Lord." This resolution they repeat with an explication
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>The Lord our God will we serve,</I> not only be called his servants
|
|
and wear his livery, but our religion shall rule us in every thing,
|
|
<I>and his voice will we obey.</I>" And in vain do we <I>call him
|
|
Master and Lord, if we do not the things which he saith,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+6:46">Luke vi. 46</A>.
|
|
|
|
This last promise they make in answer to the charge Joshua gave them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
that, in order to their perseverance, they should,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Put away the images and relics of the strange gods, and not keep
|
|
any of the tokens of those other lovers in their custody, if they
|
|
resolved their <I>Maker should be their husband;</I> they promise, in
|
|
this, to obey his voice.
|
|
|
|
[2.] That they should <I>incline their hearts to the God of Israel,</I>
|
|
use their authority over their own hearts to engage them for God, not
|
|
only to set their affections upon him, but to settle them so. These
|
|
terms they agree to, and thus, as Joshua explains the bargain, they
|
|
strike it: <I>The Lord our God will we serve.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The service of God being thus made their deliberate choice, Joshua
|
|
binds them to it by a solemn covenant,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Moses had twice publicly ratified this covenant between God and Israel,
|
|
at Mount Sinai
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+24:1-33">Exod. xxiv.</A>)
|
|
|
|
and in the plains of Moab,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+29:1">Deut. xxix. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Joshua had likewise done it once
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+8:31-35"><I>ch.</I> viii. 31</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c.) and now the second time. It is here called a
|
|
<I>statute</I> and an <I>ordinance,</I> because of the strength and
|
|
perpetuity of its obligation, and because even this covenant bound them
|
|
to no more than what they were antecedently bound to by the divine
|
|
command. Now, to give it the formalities of a covenant,
|
|
|
|
1. He calls witnesses, no other than themselves
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
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<I>You are witnesses that you have chosen the Lord.</I> He promises
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himself that they would never forget the solemnities of this day; but,
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if hereafter they should break this covenant, he assures them that the
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professions and promises they had now made would certainly rise up in
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judgment against them and condemn them; and they agreed to it: "<I>We
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are witnesses;</I> let us be judged out of our own mouths if ever we be
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false to our God."
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2. He put it in writing, and inserted it, as we find it here, in the
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sacred canon: He <I>wrote it in the book of the law</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>),
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in that original which was laid up in the side of the ark, and thence,
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probably, it was transcribed into the several copies which the princes
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|
had for the use of each tribe. There it was written, that their
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|
obligation to religion by the divine precept, and that by their own
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|
promise, might remain on record together.
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3. He erected a memorandum of it, for the benefit of those who perhaps
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|
were not conversant with writings,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>.
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He <I>set up a great stone under an oak,</I> as a monument of this
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|
covenant, and perhaps wrote an inscription upon it (by which stones are
|
|
made to speak) signifying the intention of it. When he says, <I>It hath
|
|
heard</I> what was past, he tacitly upbraids the people with the
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|
hardness of their hearts, as if this stone had heard to as good purpose
|
|
as some of them; and, if they should forget what was no done, this
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|
stone would so far preserve the remembrance of it as to reproach them
|
|
for their stupidity and carelessness, and be a witness against
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|
them.</P>
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<P>
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|
The matter being thus settled, Joshua dismissed this assembly of the
|
|
grandees of Israel
|
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|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>),
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|
|
|
and took his last leave of them, well satisfied in having done his
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|
part, by which he had delivered his soul; if they perished, their blood
|
|
would be upon their own heads.</P>
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<A NAME="Jos24_29"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_30"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_31"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_32"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jos24_33"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Death of Joshua.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1427.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
|
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<P>
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|
<FONT SIZE=+1>29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son
|
|
of Nun, the servant of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, died, <I>being</I> a hundred and ten
|
|
years old.
|
|
30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in
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|
Timnath-serah, which <I>is</I> in mount Ephraim, on the north side of
|
|
the hill of Gaash.
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|
31 And Israel served the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> all the days of Joshua, and all
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|
the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known
|
|
all the works of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, that he had done for Israel.
|
|
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 a hundred pieces of silver: and it became the
|
|
inheritance of the children of Joseph.
|
|
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a
|
|
hill <I>that pertained to</I> Phinehas his son, which was given him in
|
|
mount Ephraim.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This book, which began with triumphs, here ends with funerals, by which
|
|
all the glory of man is stained. We have here
|
|
|
|
1. The burial of Joseph,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
He died about 200 years before in Egypt, but <I>gave commandment
|
|
concerning his bones,</I> that they should not rest in their grave
|
|
until Israel had rest in the land of promise; now therefore the
|
|
children of Israel, who had brought this coffin full of bones with them
|
|
out of Egypt, carried it along with them in all their marches through
|
|
the wilderness (the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, it is probable,
|
|
taking particular care of it), and kept it in their camp till Canaan
|
|
was perfectly reduced, now at last they deposited it in that piece of
|
|
ground which his father gave him near Shechem,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+48:22">Gen. xlviii. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Probably it was upon this occasion that Joshua called for all Israel to
|
|
meet him at Shechem
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
to attend Joseph's coffin to the grave there, so that the sermon in
|
|
this chapter served both for Joseph's funeral sermon and his own
|
|
farewell sermon; and if it was, as is supposed, in the last year of his
|
|
life, the occasion might very well remind him of his own death being at
|
|
hand, for he was not just at the same age that his illustrious ancestor
|
|
Joseph had arrived at when he died, 110 <I>years old;</I> compare
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>
|
|
|
|
with
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+50:26">Gen. l. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. The death and burial of Joshua,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:29,30"><I>v.</I> 29, 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
We are not told how long he lived after the coming of Israel into
|
|
Canaan. Dr. Lightfoot thinks it was about seventeen years; but the
|
|
Jewish chronologers generally say it was about twenty-seven or
|
|
twenty-eight years. He is here called the <I>servant of the Lord,</I>
|
|
the same title that was given to Moses
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+1:1"><I>ch.</I> i. 1</A>)
|
|
|
|
when mention was made of his death; for, though Joshua was in many
|
|
respects inferior to Moses, yet in this he was equal to him, that,
|
|
according as his work was, he approved himself a diligent and faithful
|
|
servant of God. And he that traded with his two talents had the same
|
|
approbation that he had who traded with his five. <I>Well done, good
|
|
and faithful servant.</I> Joshua's burying-place is here said to be
|
|
<I>on the north side of the hill Gaash,</I> or <I>the quaking hill;</I>
|
|
the Jews say it was so called because it trembled at the burial of
|
|
Joshua, to upbraid the people of Israel with their stupidity in that
|
|
they did not lament the death of that great and good man as they ought
|
|
to have done. Thus at the death of Christ, our Joshua, the earth
|
|
quaked. The learned bishop Patrick observes that there is no mention of
|
|
any days of mourning being observed for Joshua, as there were for Moses
|
|
and Aaron, in which, he says, St. Hierom and others of the fathers
|
|
think there is a mystery, namely, that under the law, when life and
|
|
immortality were not brought to so clear a light as they are now, they
|
|
had reason to mourn and weep for the death of their friends; but now
|
|
that Jesus, our Joshua, has opened the kingdom of heaven, we may rather
|
|
rejoice.
|
|
|
|
3. The death and burial of Eleazar the chief priest, who, it is
|
|
probable, died about the same time that Joshua did, as Aaron in the
|
|
same year with Moses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:33"><I>v.</I> 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jews say that Eleazar, a little before he died, called the elders
|
|
together, and gave them a charge as Joshua had done. He was buried in
|
|
a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which came to him, not by
|
|
descent, for then it would have pertained to his father first, nor had
|
|
the priests any cities in Mount Ephraim, but either it fell to him by
|
|
marriage, as the Jews conjecture, or it was freely bestowed upon him,
|
|
to build a country seat on, by some pious Israelite that was
|
|
well-affected to the priesthood, for it is here said to have been
|
|
<I>given him;</I> and there he buried his dear father.
|
|
|
|
4. A general idea given us of the state of Israel at this time,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
While Joshua lived, religion was kept up among them under his care and
|
|
influence; but soon after he and his contemporaries died it went to
|
|
decay, so much oftentimes does one head hold up: how well is it for the
|
|
gospel church that Christ, our Joshua, is still with it, by his Spirit,
|
|
and will be always, even <I>unto the end of the world!</I></P>
|
|
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