World English Bible
- Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
- Joshua said to all the people, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ’Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other gods.
- I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring, and gave him Isaac.
- I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
- “’I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
- I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea.
- When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days.
- “’I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you.
- Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you,
- but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand.
- “’You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.
- I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
- I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’
- “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve the LORD.
- If it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
- The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
- for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed.
- The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD; for he is our God.”
- Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
- If you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good.”
- The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.”
- Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD yourselves, to serve him.” They said, “We are witnesses.”
- “Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
- The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God, and we will listen to his voice.”
- So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
- Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
- Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the LORD’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”
- So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
- After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old.
- They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
- Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the LORD, that he had worked for Israel.
- They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
- Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Date: 2025-08-30
Passage: Joshua 24 – “Choose This Day”
Shechem sits in a broad valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, right where Abraham first built an altar (Genesis 12:6-7) and where Israel earlier renewed covenant (Joshua 8:30-35). Archaeologists working at Tel Balata (the mound of ancient Shechem) have found a Late Bronze Age temple, a large standing stone, and a sizable courtyard—fitting reminders of public assemblies like the one in this chapter. Joshua gathers every tribe here because this ground already whispers of promise kept.
Cross-references
• Genesis 12:6-7 – Abraham’s first altar
• Deuteronomy 27:1-8 – Moses’ instruction for covenant renewal
• John 4:5-6 – Jesus meets the Samaritan woman “near the plot of ground
Jacob had given to his son Joseph,” again at Shechem.
Joshua speaks for God in the first person—“I took… I sent… I gave…”—fifteen times. It is a thunder of grace: salvation is God-initiated from start to finish. He selects Abraham, rescues from Egypt, splits the sea, defeats kings, and hands over land “for which you did not labor” (New International Version).
Western readers often miss how treaty language works here. Ancient Near Eastern treaties began with a preamble and historical prologue listing the suzerain’s deeds. Joshua follows the same form: “Because I have done all this, here is your part.”
Theological thread
Grace comes first; obedience follows. That order becomes the backbone of
both Old and New Covenants (compare Exodus 20:2 before the Ten
Commandments, and Ephesians 2:8-10).
“Now fear the LORD and serve [Hebrew ʿābad, to serve, work, worship] him with all faithfulness… Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Notes for deeper study:
• ʿĀbad appears 16 times in this chapter—Joshua’s drumbeat. Service is
worship.
• “Jealous” (Hebrew qannāʾ) in v19 pictures covenant zeal, like a loving
spouse refusing rivals.
• “If it seems evil in your eyes” (v15) is an idiom meaning “If you find
it disagreeable.”
Joshua shocks them: “You are not able to serve the LORD” (v19). He wants them to feel the weight of holiness before they make vows cheaply. The people still affirm, “We will serve.” Covenant involves sober realism and Spirit-given power (Romans 8:3-4).
Voices from the Church
• Augustine: “Grace makes covenant commands possible; without it the
pledge is presumption.”
• John Calvin: “Joshua presses hearts to sincere choice, not outward
ceremony.”
• John Wesley often quoted v15 at class meetings, urging families to
decide publicly.
Joshua writes the words “in the Book of the Law of God” and sets up a stone of witness (Hebrew ʾeven). Large stones, called maṣṣēbôt, often marked treaties. Putting it “under the oak near the holy place” echoes Genesis 35:4, where Jacob buried foreign gods under an oak at Shechem. The oak silently reminds them to keep idols buried.
Together they say: leaders die, promises live. Hebrews 11:22 praises Joseph’s faith in these bones, pointing forward to resurrection.
• Covenant grace → New Covenant in Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Luke
22:20).
• Exclusive loyalty → Jesus’ warning, “No one can serve two masters”
(Matthew 6:24).
• Household faith → Acts 16:31-34; 2 Timothy 1:5.
• Memorial stone → 1 Peter 2:4-6, Jesus the living Stone who bears
witness.
• Household gods (teraphim) were common; Joshua’s call includes
clearing mantelpieces as well as hearts.
• Ancient treaties allowed no neutral ground—either you served the
suzerain or rebelled. Joshua’s “choose” is not cafeteria faith; it is
total allegiance.
• Public recitation of history trained memory in an oral culture. Today
we read silently; they heard communally. Try reading God’s works aloud
in your home.
The chapter is framed like a chiasm:
A (1-2a) Gathering at Shechem
B (2b-13) God’s past deeds
C (14-15) Call to choose
B′ (16-24) People’s pledge and God’s holiness
A′ (25-28) Covenant recorded at Shechem
Book-ending at Shechem underscores continuity from Abraham to Joshua.
As we close our long walk through Joshua (see devotions from July 1 onward), the book ends where it began: God is faithful, so be strong and courageous—in loyalty, memory, and worship.
“Take My Life and Let It Be” by Frances Ridley Havergal. Sing especially the stanza “Take my will and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.”
Faithful God of Abraham, Joshua, and all who call on Your Name,
we remember Your mighty acts—creation, cross, empty tomb, and every
quiet mercy in our own lives.
We choose this day to serve You alone.
By Your Spirit, root out hidden idols,
write Your covenant on our hearts,
and let every room of our homes resound with loyal praise.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.