Joshua 24:12-22

Jos 24:12

And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you,

even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

 

And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. (Exodus 23:28)  This was a fulfillment of Exodus 23:28 where God promised to send hornets to drive out the two kings of the Amorites.  Even though Joshua’s army fought them it was the hornets that so diminished their strength and caused them to be so weak that they could not mount a strong defense.  It was like their spirit was broken having to fight off the hornets and Joshua’s army.  There was so many hornets that it was like a black cloud descending upon the Amorites so their vision was severely hampered.

 

Jos 24:13

And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

 

Then the LORD tells them that they received the land which they did not labor for which means they did not work the land like in an agricultural setting.  They also received cities which were already built up so they could move right into them without having to build them first.  Then they are told they had vineyards and oliveyards which means that they had good lands for growing things and that they did not have to plant the vineyards because they were already there.

 

Jos 24:14

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

 

Then Joshua admonishes them to fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and truth and only serve him.  They were not to serve or in any way even acknowledge the false gods of Mesopotamia and those false gods of Egypt which they slaved under for 400 years.  They were to totally reject those false gods and remain faithful to the LORD God.

 

Jos 24:15

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

 

Then Joshua gives one of the most famous passages of Scripture.  He admonishes them to choose this day whom they will serve.  Will they choose to serve the false gods of their fathers over the Euphrates or will they serve the false gods of the Amorites in whose land they now dwell?  The Amorites date back as far as 2500 B.C. and were contemporary with the time of Abraham so they shared some of the same false gods.  Then Joshua declares that he and his house will serve the LORD only and will never have anything to do with the false gods of the Amorites and Mesopotamians.  This declaration of Joshua can be used by every Christian.  In the morning, they can ask themselves who will I serve today, the false gods of my generation or the true God?

 

Jos 24:16

And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

 

Then the people answered Joshua and stated they would not follow any of the false gods but would only follow the LORD God.  When one progresses in the book of Judges which follows, they reneged on that promise continually and went and served the false gods. However, their initial intentions were good but good intentions are useless if they are not carried out to the fullest extent.

 

Jos 24:17

For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

 

Then they acknowledged that it was the LORD God who brought them and their father from out of the land of Egypt with all its false gods and delivered them from slavery.  He was the one who performed all the signs and wonders which caused Pharaoh to release the people from bondage.  Then they acknowledged that it was God who preserved and protected them while they marched through the wilderness for forty years and protected them from the people like the Amorites and Moabites through whose land they had passed and eventually conquered.

 

Jos 24:18

And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.

 

They acknowledged that the LORD was the one who drove out the inhabitants of both the east and west side of Jordan.  The Amorites dwelled on the east side of Jordan and were driven out of their homeland.  Based upon all the things God did for them, they declared that they would serve the LORD for he is the true God of Israel. 

 

Jos 24:19

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

 

Here Joshua was not discouraging them from serving the LORD but was emphasizing the big difference between them and the LORD who was holy beyond human understanding.  God’s jealousy is a righteous jealousy as there is no other god existing beside him and these inferior false gods did not even exist and therefore they would be following someone’s imagination.  If they ever decided to follow the false gods of the surrounding nations, then God will not pardon them nor forgive them since it was he that performed all the acts of deliverance on their behalf and to give glory to a false non-existent god is a slap in the face to the real God.  It is like those Christians who revel in the idea that modern Israel is going to build a third temple and begin animal sacrifices again.  That is a slap in the face to the Lord Jesus Christ who became the only true sacrifice which removes sins from his people.

 

Jos 24:20

If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

 

Then Joshua gives it to them straight, if they serve the false gods, then God will do them hurt or punish them.  He will utterly consume them which means he will destroy them which he did because of their incessant worship of false gods.  He removed the ten northern tribes in 721 B.C., then he removed Judah in 605, 597, and 586 B.C., and then the final destruction came in 70 A.D.  God was good to them throughout their history and they paid him back with rebellion and hatred. 

 

Jos 24:21

And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.

 

The people once again insisted that they would never serve the false gods but would only serve the true God of Israel.  Their initial intentions were good but they failed to follow through on them.

 

Jos 24:22

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

 

Their declaration of serving the LORD alone caused them to become witnesses of their own desires to serve the LORD.  They in essence became witnesses against themselves that if they ever serve the false gods, their own words would be a testimony against them that they have lied or given false testimony.  They may not have realized the gravity of their confession by agreeing to the fact that they were witnesses against themselves.

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