joshua-24:1-25-nkjv

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:18

Therefore will we also serve the Lord. There is an ambiguity in our version which does not exist in the Hebrew. There is no "therefore," which only serves to obscure the sense, and which is borrowed from the Vulgate. The LXX ; which has ἀλλὰ καί , gives the true sense. After the enumeration of the great things God Jehovah has done for them, the Israelites break off, and, referring to the declaration of Joshua in verse 15, "but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah," reply,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:19

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord. Calvin thinks that Joshua said this to rouse the sluggish heart of the people to some sense of their duty. But this is quite contrary to the fact, for the heart of the people, as we have seen ( Joshua 22:1-34 ), was not sluggish. As little can we accept the explanation of Michaelis, who paraphrases, "Ye will not be able, from merely human resolutions, to serve God." Joshua was stating nothing but a plain fact, which his own... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:19

The difficulties of God's service. I. THERE ARE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SERVICE OF GOD . All are freely invited to serve God; all may find ready access to God; there is no need for delay, all may come at once and without waiting to be worthy of Him; after coming through Christ, the yoke is easy and the burden light. Yet there are difficulties. Sin and self and the world must be sacrificed; God cannot be served with a divided heart, hence complete devotion must be attained; the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:19-21

A strict master. Great as was Joshua's anxiety that the Israelites should renew their covenant with the Almighty, he would not secure this end by concealing the rigorous nature of the service it involved. Instead of accepting immediately the people's ready response (verse 18) to his appeal, he proceeded to speak of Jehovah in stern, almost chilling, language. True religion is honest, does not gloss over the requirements which will be insisted on, nor seek to entrap men by fair, smooth... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:20

Then he will turn. There is no contradiction between this passage and James 1:17 , any more than our expression, the sun is in the east or in the west, conflicts with science. St. James is speaking of God as He is in Himself, sublime in His unchangeableness and bountiful purposes towards mankind. Joshua and the prophets, speaking by way of accommodation to our imperfect modes of expression, speak of Him as He is in relation to us. In reality it is not He but we who change. He has no more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:21-25

The covenant. I. THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT . It was to bind the people to their promise to renounce the old life of sin and idolatry, and to enter upon and remain in the true service of God. Nations are proud of protecting treaties, constitutional pledges, charters of liberty, etc. No nation ever took a more important covenant than this. The chief question for all of us is whether we will live for the world or for God. The gospel brings to us a new covenant. The promises are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:22

Ye are witnesses against yourselves. Joshua has not disguised from them the difficulty of the task they have undertaken. Like a true guide and father, he has placed the case fully and fairly before them, and they have made their choice. He reminds them that their own words so deliberately uttered will be forever witnesses against them, should they afterwards refuse to keep an engagement into which they entered with their eyes open. They do not in any way shrink from the responsibility, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:23

Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you. Keil and Delitzsch notice that the words translated "among you" have also the meaning, "within you," and argue that Joshua is speaking of inward tendencies to idolatry. But this is very improbable. For The plain provisions of the law demanded obedience. Comparatively little heed was given at first to inward feelings and tendencies. There can be little doubt that the meaning is precisely the same as in Genesis 35:2 ,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:24

And the people said unto Joshua. The triple repetition of the promise adds to the solemnity of the occasion and the binding force of the engagement. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:25

So Joshua made a covenant. Literally, cut a covenant, a phrase common to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues, and derived from the custom of sacrifice, in which the victims were cut in pieces and offered to the deity invoked in ratification of the engagement. The word used for covenant , berith, is derived from another word having the same meaning. This appears more probable than the suggestion of some, that the berith is derived from the practice of ratifying an agreement by a social... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:19-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:21-25

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:22

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:24

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 24:25

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