Joshua 24:14-25
Bible verses · Also called: Joshua 24:14-25, Joshua 24:15, Covenant at Shechem, As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD, Choose you this day whom ye will serve
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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.
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.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
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:
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.
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.
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.
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
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.
23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
In this passage Joshua, at Shechem, urges the people of Israel to put away other gods and choose to serve the LORD alone, and then makes a covenant with them. Verse 15, "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD," is widely quoted as a pledge of household faith.
Context
This scene appears in the final chapter of the book of Joshua. After the conquest and division of Canaan, the aged Joshua gathers the tribes of Israel at Shechem (Joshua 24:1). In verses 2–13 he reviews their history in the form of a message from God, recounting how God led Israel from the days of Terah, the father of Abraham, through the Exodus and the wilderness to the conquest of Canaan. The word "therefore" in verse 14 draws a conclusion from this retrospective. "The other side of the flood" refers to Mesopotamia, beyond the Euphrates River.
The passage proceeds in the following order:
- Joshua's demand
- The people's response
- Joshua's stern warning
- The people's renewed pledge
- The people become witnesses against themselves
- The making of the covenant (v. 25)
In the verses that follow (vv. 26–27), Joshua records these words and sets up a great stone as a witness.
Interpretation
- As a covenant renewal: Many commentators regard this passage as a covenant renewal ceremony that reaffirms in the new land the covenant made at Sinai. It is also widely noted in scholarship that the passage's structure—historical review, demands, witnesses, and a written record—resembles the form of ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties (treaties made between a great king and a vassal state).
- As a demand for exclusive loyalty: "Choose" in verse 15 is a call to decide whether to serve the LORD or other gods. Interpreters generally agree that it is not an invitation to choose freely among religions in general. The expression "a jealous God" in verse 19 is read in the same context as the opening commandments of the Ten Commandments.
- On the warning in verse 19: The statement "Ye cannot serve the LORD" is read in two ways. One reading takes it as a rhetorical warning that tests the seriousness of a people who pledge themselves too readily. The other holds that it reveals the inability of human beings to keep the covenant fully in their own strength. The verse is often read alongside the account in Judges, where Israel soon turns to serve other gods.
Questions of Application
- Choice and predestination: The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions frequently cite this passage as showing the human responsibility to respond and decide before God. Calvinists read it as a call to responsibility addressed to the covenant people, while explaining that it does not contradict God's sovereign election. For further discussion, see Predestination and Free Will.
- Quoting verse 15 in isolation: The latter half of verse 15 is often quoted on its own. Some observe that doing so omits the demand to "put away" other gods (vv. 14, 23) and the warning of verses 19–20.
In the Korean Church
The words of verse 15, "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD," are commonly used as a family motto or as a framed inscription in Christian homes. The passage is also frequently used as a sermon text for family worship and wedding services.
Related Passages
- Deuteronomy 30:15-20: Moses' exhortation to choose life rather than death
- 1 Kings 18:21: Elijah urges the people, who are halting between the LORD and Baal, to decide
- Deuteronomy 5:6-10: The commandment to have no other gods, and "a jealous God"
- 1 John 5:21: The exhortation to keep oneself from idols
See also 8
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