Joshua 24:1-11
Jos 24:1
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,
and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges,
and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
Shechem was about 12 miles (19 KM) north of Shiloh where
the Tabernacle was. Shechem was the
place where God met Abraham and gave him the promise that his descendants would
receive the land as an inheritance.
6 And Abram passed through the
land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite
was then in the land. 7
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land:
and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. (Genesis
12:6-7) It was near Mt. Gerizim
and Mt. Ebal where the covenant was renewed by the people.
This gathering was not only before Joshua but it was before God.
Some believe that the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Tabernacle
and brought to Shechem for the purpose of showing the presence of God.
God had given Joshua the strength to call this assembly together.
Jos 24:2
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time,
even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served
other gods.
Then Joshua goes into the early history of Abraham and
his family which is found in Genesis 11.
Joshua tells them that before Abraham became saved they had worshipped
the false gods which were in Mesopotamia.
Noah and Shem would be the ones who lived on the other side of the flood.
Terah was the father of Abraham and Nachor.
The false gods were like other ancient civilizations which had a god for
almost every occasion. Some of
their gods were:
1. Adad or Hadad – The god of Storm and Rain
2. Dagan or Dagon – The god of Crop Fertility
3. Ea – The god of Water
4. Nabu – The god of Wisdom and Writing
5. Nergal – The god of Plague and War
6. Enlil – The god of Air and Earth
7. Ninurta – The god of War, Hunting, Agriculture, and
Scribes
8. Nanna – The god of the Moon
9. Shamash – The god of the Sun
10. Gibil – The god of Fire
Abram would definitely have been a worshipper of these
false gods before his salvation.
Jos 24:3
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the
flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed,
and gave him Isaac.
Then Joshua tells them the LORD had taken Abraham from
the other side and brought him through the land of Canaan and allowed his seed
to multiply as he was given Isaac when he and Sarah were well-stricken in years.
Then Isaac was born through whom the Messianic line would continue.
This is why they met at Shechem because Joshua wanted to emphasize the
history of Abraham and his history of the beginning of the nation of Israel.
Abraham had Ishmael through Sarah’s servant Hagar.
He was the progenitor of both the Hebrew and Arab races.
Jos 24:4
And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto
Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
Mount Seir was located east of the Dead Sea which was not
in the land of Canaan. Esau went
east and Jacob’s family went down into Egypt.
Esau received Mt. Seir because the land of Canaan was specifically for
the descendants of Jacob. Jacob’s
descendants stayed in Egypt for about 400 years until the exodus.
Jos 24:5
I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt,
according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
Then when the fullness of time had come God sent Moses
and Aaron to be the deliverers for Israel and were God’s spokesman to Pharaoh.
Then the ten major plagues fell upon Egypt and after they did then
Pharaoh had no other recourse but to let the children of Israel go.
Jos 24:6
And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto
the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen
unto the Red sea.
Then Joshua proceeds to tell them that Israel was
delivered from Egypt and when they came out they had camped by the Red Sea.
Then God stirred up the heart of Pharaoh and he engaged his army to
follow after Israel into the desert.
He utilized all his army since Israel was probably about two million but
since they were slaves and left Egypt in a hurry, they would have no time to
make weapons so they would be at the mercy of Pharaoh’s army and cavalry.
Jos 24:7
And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness
between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them;
and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the
wilderness a long season.
Then Israel being camped by the side of the sea could not
retreat because of Pharaoh’s army and they could not go forward because they had
the sea in front of them so they had cried out to the LORD.
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the
children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched
after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto
the LORD. (Exodus 14:10) The
darkness was the pillar of cloud which had a dark side that was turned toward
the Egyptians. Then God barred their way and opened the Red Sea for Israel to
cross over on dry ground. Then God
allowed the Egyptian army to pursue them into the Red Sea and when the moment
was right, the sea crashed in on them and drowned the entire army.
And the waters returned, and
covered the chariots, and the horsemen,
and all the host of Pharaoh
that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
(Exodus 14:28) Some of them
were old enough to remember what God did to the Egyptians and how they dwelt in
the wilderness for forty years before it was time to go into the land of Canaan.
Jos 24:8
And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which
dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into
your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before
you.
9 And
they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the
name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did
in Egypt, 10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites,
that were beyond Jordan, to
Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which
was at Ashtaroth. (Joshua
9:9-10) The Lord delivered into
the hands of Israel the two major kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og.
These lands were conquered and gave the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the
half tribe of Manasseh their inheritance on the east side of Jordan.
Jos 24:9
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and
warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
Then Balak the king of Moab had heard what Israel had
done to the Amorite kings was trying to find a way to stop Israel so they would
not take his kingdom and kill him.
So he thought that hiring one of the prophets of Israel to curse the people of
Israel would have some type of stopping power, he offered him great wealth to
stop them. Balaam was a false
prophet so he took the job but the outcome was not what he expected.
Come now therefore, I pray thee,
curse me this people; for they are
too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail,
that we may smite them, and
that I may drive them out of
the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest
is blessed, and he whom thou
cursest is cursed. (Numbers 22:6)
Jos 24:10
But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed
you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
Then the LORD states that he would not heed or hearken
unto Balaam’s curses and God turned Balaam’s curses into blessings.
This shows a mighty intervention of God on behalf of Israel.
So God delivered Israel from the false prophet Balaam and the king of the
Moabites.
Jos 24:11
And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the
men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the
Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the
Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.