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James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joshua 24:16

"And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods; for Jehovah is our God, he it is that brought us and our children up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed; and Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land: therefore we will serve... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joshua 24:19

"And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. If ye forsake Jehovah and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:14

Ver. 14. Now, therefore, fear the Lord, &c.— Here it is no longer Jehovah that speaks; Joshua himself addresses the Israelites, and, after all that he had just represented to them in the name of God, concludes with exhorting them to fear Jehovah; i.e. to open their whole heart to his religion, and to render him, in sincerity and in truth, with right and pure intentions, free from all hypocrisy, the worship due to him; and that without any mixture of idolatry, and according to his law, which... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:15

Ver. 15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, &c.— Satisfied that the Israelites, as a nation, are very far from falling into atheism, or being averse from serving God; Joshua cannot think them so blind and ungrateful as to desire to serve any other God than Jehovah. This, and nothing more, is his meaning in this place. He speaks like an orator; he invites them to choose, merely because he supposes the choice already made. Just as if he had addressed the Israelites thus: "Put... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:16-18

Ver. 16-18. And the people answered— The whole assembly, which represented the nation, cried out, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, &c.,—"Far be from us so abominable a thought! No; we acknowledge no other God than Jehovah, our Deliverer, our Benefactor, our Protector: our utmost desire is to worship and obey him." read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:19

Ver. 19. And Joshua said unto the people, ye cannot serve the Lord, &c.— These words may he understood two ways. 1. They may signify, "you will not serve the Lord; I foresee that ye will not keep your word:" in the same sense as it is said of Jesus Christ, that he could work no miracle at Nazareth, to express that he would not; or, as when he said to the Jews, ye cannot hear my word; i.e. your prejudices and passions hinder you from desiring it. 2. They may signify "the thing is difficult,... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:21-22

Ver. 21, 22. And the people said—nay, but we will serve the Lord, &c.— To these fresh protestations of fidelity on the part of the whole assembly, Joshua replies, that he receives them as a holy and solemn declaration, which, thus publicly and deliberately made, will for ever witness against the Israelites, and condemn them if they become unfaithful to the Lord. In answer to this, they again express their consent, that if they ever forsake Jehovah their words may bear testimony against... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:23

Ver. 23. Now, therefore, put away—the strange gods— See ver. 14. All this evidently shews, that Joshua was a prophet, that he could penetrate the secret intentions of the Israelites, and was certain of their propensity to idolatry. Publicly they worshipped only the true God, but in secret they had their penates (as the Romans termed them), their household gods; idols which they worshipped clandestinely, teraphim, little statues, magical rings, and other such instruments of superstition. See... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 24:25

Ver. 25. So Joshua made a covenant with the people, &c.— The Israelites having a third time repeated that they were resolved only to serve the Lord, and being thereby bound more strictly than ever to obey him, Joshua, in order to bind, in the most indissoluble manner, those ties whereon their happiness depended, proposes to them a solemn renewal of the covenant which they had made first by the ministry of Moses, and afterwards by his own; in consequence of which, the Israelites rigorously... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Joshua 24:14

14-28. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth—After having enumerated so many grounds for national gratitude, Joshua calls on them to declare, in a public and solemn manner, whether they will be faithful and obedient to the God of Israel. He avowed this to be his own unalterable resolution, and urged them, if they were sincere in making a similar avowal, "to put away the strange gods that were among them"—a requirement which seems to imply that some were suspected... read more

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