Joshua's Farewell

Old and stricken in age, Joshua twice gathered Israel's leaders to remind them that the LORD had fought for them and given them the land. At Shechem he retold their story from Abraham's idolatrous fathers to the conquest of Canaan, then laid down a challenge: 'Choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.' The people promised to serve God, and Joshua made a covenant with them, wrote the words in the book of the law, and set up a great stone as a witness.

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Strongest connections in Scripture

Joshua 24 2× Joshua 23

Key Passages

The LORD Hath Fought for You

Joshua 23:1-3

Joshua begins by pointing his hearers away from his own leadership to the LORD who won their battles.

A¹nd it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.

² And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: ³ And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.

Choose You This Day

Joshua 24:14-15

Joshua calls Israel to put away other gods and makes his own commitment plain: his house will serve the LORD.

N¹⁴ow 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 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.

Ye Are Witnesses

Joshua 24:22-26

The people pledge to serve the LORD, and Joshua seals the covenant at Shechem with a written record and a great stone.

A²²nd 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 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. ²⁴ And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD 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 was by the sanctuary of the LORD.