joshua-24:14-25-bsb

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:22

And Joshua said unto the people ,.... In reply to their answer and resolution: ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen you the Lord God to serve him ; that is, should they, after this choice of him, which they had so publicly declared, desert his service, and go into idolatry, their testimony would rise up against them, and they would, be self-condemned: and they said, we are witnesses ; should we ever apostatize from the Lord and his worship, we are content to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:23

Now therefore put away, said he ,.... Which last words are rightly supplied, for they are the words of Joshua: the strange gods which are among you ; not their private notions and secret sentiments that some of them had imbibed in favour of idols, and the worship of them, as Ben Gersom thinks; but, as the Targum expresses it,"the idols of the Gentiles;'either such as they had brought out of Egypt, or had found among the plunder of the Canaanites, and had secretly retained; or, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:24

And the people said unto Joshua ,.... A third time, that as by the mouth of two or three witnesses everything is confirmed, so by three testimonies of the same persons: the Lord our God will we serve ; as they had before declared, and to which they add: and his voice will we obey ; or his word, as the Targum, not only his word of command, but his essential Word, the Son of God. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:25

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day ,.... Proposing to them what was most eligible, and their duty to do, and they agreeing to it, this formally constituted a covenant, of which they selves were both parties and witnesses: and set statute and an ordinance in Shechem ; either made this covenant to have the nature of a statute and ordinance binding upon them, or repeated and renewed the laws of Moses, both moral and ceremonial, which had been delivered at Mount Sinai, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:14

Fear the Lord - Reverence him as the sole object of your religious worship. Serve him - Perform his will by obeying his commands. In sincerity - Having your whole heart engaged in his worship. And in truth - According to the directions he has given you in his infallible word. Put away the gods , etc. - From this exhortation of Joshua we learn of what sort the gods were, to the worship of whom these Israelites were still attached. Those which their... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:15

Choose you this day whom ye will serve - Joshua well knew that all service that was not free and voluntary could be only deceit and hypocrisy, and that God loveth a cheerful giver. He therefore calls upon the people to make their choice, for God himself would not force them - they must serve him with all their heart if they served him at all. As for himself and family, he shows them that their choice was already fixed, for they had taken Jehovah for their portion. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:16

God forbid that we should forsake the Lord - That they were now sincere cannot be reasonably doubted, for they served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Joshua 24:31 ; but afterwards they turned aside, and did serve other gods. "It is ordinary," says Mr. Trapp, "for the many-headed multitude to turn with the stream - to be of the same religion with their superiors: thus at Rome, in Diocletian's time, they were pagans; in Constantine's... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:19

Ye cannot serve the Lord : for he is a holy God - If we are to take this literally, we cannot blame the Israelites for their defection from the worship of the true God; for if it was impossible for them to serve God, they could not but come short of his kingdom: but surely this was not the case. Instead of תוכלו לא lo thuchelu , ye Cannot serve, etc., some eminent critics read תכלו לא lo thechallu , ye shall not Cease to serve, etc. This is a very ingenious... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:21

And the people said - Nay ; but we will serve , etc. - So they understood the words of Joshua to imply no moral impossibility on their side: and had they earnestly sought the gracious assistance of God, they would have continued steady in his covenant. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:22

Ye are witnesses against yourselves - Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of God's holiness - your own weakness and inconstancy - the need you have of Divine help, and the awful consequences of apostasy; and now ye deliberately make your choice. Remember then, that ye are witnesses against yourselves, and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner; or, as one terms it, index, judex, vindex . read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:22

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:23

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:24

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:25

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:14

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:15

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:19

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:21

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 24:22

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