Commentary - Joshua 24:14-28

Bird's-eye view

At the close of his long and faithful life, Joshua gathers the people of Israel at Shechem for a final, solemn act of covenant renewal. This is not a coronation, but a constitutional ratification. Having recounted God's mighty acts of deliverance and provision from Abraham to the conquest of Canaan, Joshua now brings the people to the point of decision. The central issue is fealty. Who will you serve? The choice is presented with stark clarity: the impotent gods of their Mesopotamian past, the demonic gods of their Canaanite neighbors, or Yahweh, the God of Israel. Joshua's challenge is sharp, forcing them to count the cost of discipleship. He makes them swear an oath, warns them of their inability to keep it, and then makes them swear it again, this time with a full appreciation for the holiness and jealousy of the God they are pledging to serve. This entire event is a formal legal proceeding, culminating in a written record and a stone of witness, establishing the terms of Israel's life in the land. It is the nation's foundational pledge of allegiance, the consequences of which will unfold throughout the rest of their history.

The famous declaration, "as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh," is the centerpiece, establishing the principle of federal headship and patriarchal responsibility. The man of the house answers for his house. But the passage is also a profound lesson in the nature of true commitment. A shallow, emotional decision is insufficient. Joshua presses the people, reminding them that the God they would serve is a holy, jealous, and consuming fire. True covenant-keeping is not possible in the strength of the flesh, which is precisely the point. The law makes demands that we cannot meet, driving us to the God who both makes the demands and provides the grace to fulfill them. This scene at Shechem is a foundational moment, setting the standard by which all of Israel's future generations, including our own, will be judged.

Outline

Context In Joshua

Joshua 24 is the grand finale of the entire book. The preceding 23 chapters have detailed the conquest of the land and its distribution among the tribes. The land has been subdued, the enemies have been routed, and God has fulfilled every one of His promises (Josh 21:45). This final chapter serves as Joshua's farewell address and the formal ceremony that establishes the constitution for Israel's life in the Promised Land. It is divided into two main parts: a recitation of God's saving acts in history (vv. 1-13) and the covenant renewal ceremony that is our text (vv. 14-28). This gathering at Shechem is historically significant, as it was a place of promise for Abraham (Gen 12:6-7) and the place where Jacob buried his household idols (Gen 35:4). By bringing them here, Joshua is connecting them to their entire patriarchal history. This chapter is the bridge between the generation of conquest and the generations to come, who will be tested on the basis of the oath sworn here. The tragic story of the book of Judges is the story of Israel's catastrophic failure to live up to the terms of this very covenant.

Key Issues

Choose This Day

Every generation has its Shechem. Every family, every church, and every nation is eventually brought to a crossroads where a decision must be made. The temptation is always to drift, to try and have it both ways, to serve God on Sunday and the gods of the Amorites the rest of the week. Joshua, as a faithful leader, refuses to allow this. He understands that a nation's identity is forged in its worship. A people become like the god they serve. Joshua's task here, at the end of his life, is to force a choice, to draw a line in the sand. He is not presenting Yahweh as one option among many on a religious buffet line. He is presenting the choice as absolute, total, and binding not just on the individuals present, but on their children after them. This is a constitutional assembly, and the question on the floor is one of ultimate allegiance. The God who brought them into the land now demands to be the God of the land.

Verse by Verse Commentary

14 “So now, fear Yahweh and serve Him in integrity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

The address begins with "So now," or "Therefore." This is the logical application of everything Joshua has just recounted in verses 1-13. Because God has sovereignly chosen you, redeemed you, and given you this land, your only rational response is worship. This worship has three components. First, fear Yahweh. This is not a servile terror, but a reverential awe and submission to His authority. Second, serve Him in integrity and truth. The Hebrew words are tamim and emeth, meaning completeness, sincerity, and faithfulness. This is a call for whole-hearted, unadulterated allegiance, not a partial or hypocritical service. Third, it requires a decisive break with the past. "Put away the gods." Repentance is not just turning to something; it is turning from something. He names the specific idols of their past: the Mesopotamian gods from Abraham's original home and the beastly gods of Egypt. You cannot serve Yahweh while keeping the old idols in the attic as souvenirs.

15 If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”

This is one of the most powerful challenges in all of Scripture. Joshua employs a kind of sanctified reverse psychology. "If serving the God who rescued you from slavery and gave you this land seems like a bad idea to you..." He lays out the alternatives, and in doing so, reveals their absurdity. You can have the dead gods your ancestors abandoned, or you can have the demonic gods of the people you just conquered. Take your pick. The choice is stark because there is no third way. Then comes the thunderclap of personal and patriarchal resolve: "but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh." Joshua does not take a poll of his family. As the covenant head of his household, he speaks for them. He sets the direction. This is the essence of godly, masculine leadership. The father and husband is responsible for the spiritual state of his home, and he must be the one to plant the flag and declare allegiance, leading his family by example and decree.

16-18 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh to serve other gods; for Yahweh our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt... We also will serve Yahweh, for He is our God.”

The people's initial response is swift, orthodox, and enthusiastic. They recoil at the very thought of apostasy. "Far be it from us!" They know the right answers. They recite the catechism of redemption: He brought us out of Egypt, the house of slavery; He performed great signs; He protected us on our journey; He defeated our enemies. Their conclusion is correct: because of who He is and what He has done, "We also will serve Yahweh." On the surface, this is a model confession. But Joshua, a wise and discerning leader, knows that a quick and easy confession can often be a shallow one.

19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve Yahweh, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins.

This is the pastoral masterstroke. Instead of congratulating them, Joshua throws a bucket of ice water on their zeal. "You can't do it." Why? Is he trying to crush their spirits? No, he is trying to crush their self-reliance. He is forcing them to move beyond shallow enthusiasm to a sober, realistic commitment. The reason for their inability is not found in them, but in God. He is a holy God. He is utterly separate from sin, pure, and perfect. He cannot be trifled with. He is a jealous God. The word for jealous here (qanna) is used of God's exclusive covenant love. He will not tolerate rivals for the affection of His people. And because of this, "He will not forgive your transgression or your sins." This is not a denial of the doctrine of forgiveness. It means that within the terms of this national covenant, the sin of apostasy, of turning to other gods, is a capital offense that will not be overlooked. High-handed, corporate rebellion will bring judgment, not a gentle warning.

20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”

Joshua makes the covenant curses explicit. God's past goodness is not a guarantee of future indulgence. If they break faith, the very same God who blessed them will turn and execute judgment upon them. This is the principle of covenantal sanctions. Blessing for obedience, curses for disobedience (Deut 28). This is a hard word, but a necessary one. It strips away any sentimental notion of a God who is all warm fuzzies and no wrath. The God of the Bible is good, but He is not safe.

21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.”

The people's second response is telling. Their first answer was a long, explanatory paragraph. This one is short, blunt, and resolute. "No, but we will serve Yahweh." They have heard the warnings. They have been told of God's consuming holiness and their own inability. And still they commit. This is a deeper, more considered pledge. They are no longer relying on their past performance or their good intentions. They are simply casting themselves on the God they are vowing to serve, with full knowledge of the stakes.

22-23 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves Yahweh, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” “So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”

Joshua now acts as the covenant lawyer, formalizing their testimony. "You are witnesses against yourselves." Your own words will condemn you if you break this oath. They agree: "We are witnesses." With the oath sworn, Joshua gives the immediate, practical command. "So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst." This implies that even as they were making these vows, some of them still had household idols stashed away. Joshua knew this. True repentance is not just a verbal promise about the future; it is a tangible house-cleaning in the present. You cannot serve God and mammon, and you cannot serve Yahweh and teraphim. Along with this external action, he commands the internal disposition: "incline your hearts to Yahweh." The will and the affections must be bent toward God.

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to His voice.”

This is their third and final pledge. It is the most complete one yet. They reiterate their intention to serve, but now they add the crucial component of obedience: "and we will listen to His voice." To serve God is to obey His Word. Worship and obedience are two sides of the same coin. This is the culmination of the dialogue, the final, settled resolution of the people.

25-27 So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day... and he took a large stone and set it up there... “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh...”

The deal is now sealed. Joshua formalizes the agreement by "cutting a covenant," the standard legal phrase for making a binding treaty. He writes the terms down in the "book of the law of God," giving it constitutional authority. And he erects a physical memorial, a large stone. This was common practice in the ancient world. The stone would serve as a permanent, public reminder of the oath taken on that day. Joshua's personification of the stone is powerful. It "heard" the words spoken. It stands as an inanimate but potent witness. If in the future the people deny their God, this stone will testify against them, a silent rebuke to their treachery.

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

With the covenant renewed and the nation formally constituted under God, the assembly is over. The people are sent home, not just to their houses, but to their "inheritance." This is a key word. They are to go and live out the terms of this covenant in the land that God has given them as a gracious inheritance. The high moment on the mountain must now be translated into faithful living in the valley.

Application

The call of Joshua echoes down through the centuries to us. Choose this day whom you will serve. This is not a one-time decision made at a camp meeting, but a daily reality. Every morning, we are confronted with the choice: will we serve Yahweh, or will we serve the gods of the Amorites in whose land we are living, the gods of materialism, sexual license, personal autonomy, and comfort? We cannot be neutral.

Like Joshua, fathers and husbands have a non-negotiable duty to declare for their households, "As for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh." This means establishing the worship of God as the central, non-negotiable reality of the home. This means catechizing our children, praying with our wives, and leading in righteousness. It is a declaration of war against the idols of our age.

And we must take to heart Joshua's warning: you are not able to serve this holy God. In our own strength, we will fail every time. Our flesh is weak, our hearts are prone to wander, and our best efforts are stained with sin. This inability should not lead us to despair, but should drive us to Christ. He is the one who perfectly served Yahweh. He is the one who kept the covenant for us. And He is the one who gives us His Spirit, so that we might be enabled to "put away the foreign gods" in our midst and "incline our hearts" to God. Our covenant renewal ceremony is the Lord's Supper, where we come as those who have failed, confess our sins, and are renewed by the body and blood of our covenant Head. There we remember the oath God swore to us in Christ, and we pledge ourselves anew to serve Him and listen to His voice.