Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
Parallel Translations
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Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
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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.
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And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye cannot serve the LORD; for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression nor your sins.
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Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to Joshua 24:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 23:21 Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don’t provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.
- Isaiah 5:16 but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
- Psalms 99:5 Exalt Yahweh our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy!
- Psalms 99:9 Exalt Yahweh, our God. Worship at his holy hill, for Yahweh, our God, is holy!
- Exodus 20:5 you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,
- Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
- 1 Samuel 6:20 The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?”
- Exodus 34:14 for you shall worship no other god; for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Isaiah 6:3-5 One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!”
- Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” Aaron held his peace.
- Leviticus 20:26 You shall be holy to me, for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.
- Joshua 24:23 “Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”
- Ruth 1:15 She said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law.”
- 1 Samuel 3:14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until Yahweh’s wrath arose against his people, until there was no remedy.
- Isaiah 30:11 Get out of the way. Turn away from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
- Isaiah 30:15 For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused,
- Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
- Luke 14:25-33 Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build, and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace. So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-22 But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have fellowship with demons. You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t both partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- Exodus 34:7 keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”
- Isaiah 27:11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
- Habakkuk 1:13 You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously, and keep silent when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he,
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 19. And Joshua said unto the people, etc Here…
19. And Joshua said unto the people, etc Here Joshua seems to act altogether absurdly in crushing the prompt and alert zeal of the people, by suggesting ground of alarm. For to what end does he insist that they cannot serve the Lord, unless it be to make them, from a sense of their utter powerlessness, to give themselves up to despair, and thus necessarily become estranged from the fear of God. It was necessary, however, to employ this harsh mode of obtestation, in order to rouse a sluggish people, rendered more lethargic by security. And we see that the expedient did not fail to obtain, at least, a momentary success. For they neither despond nor become more slothful, but, surmounting the obstacle, answer intrepidly that they will be constant in the performance of duty.
In short, Joshua does not deter them from serving God, but only explains how refractory and disobedient they are, in order that they may learn to change their temper. So Moses, in his song, (Deuteronomy 32) when he seems to make a divorce between God and the people, does nothing else than prick and whet them, that they may hasten to change for the better. Joshua, indeed, argues absolutely from the nature of God; but what he specially aims at is the perverse behavior and untamed obstinacy of the people. He declares that Jehovah is a holy and a jealous God. This, certainly, should not by any means prevent men from worshipping him; but it follows from it that impure, wicked, and profane despisers, who have no religion, provoke his anger, and can have no intercourse with him, for they will feel him to be implacable. And when it is said that he will not spare their wickedness, no general rule is laid down, but the discourse is directed, as often elsewhere, against their disobedient temper. It does not refer to faults in general, or to special faults, but is confined to gross denial of God, as the next verse demonstrates. The people, accordingly, answer the more readily, that they will serve the Lord.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jos 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye…
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.
Ver. 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord.] You that are yet unregenerate, and that would fain make a mixture of religions, cannot serve the Lord; for he must be served like himself, that is, truly, that there be no halting; and totally, that there be no halving; he will not take up with a seeming or slubbering service. "Offer it now to thy prince; will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts." {Mal 1:8}
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For he is a holy God.] And requireth to be sanctified in all those that draw near unto him; it will be worse with them else. {Lev 10:3} Neither profaneness nor formal profession will he endure; but least of all idolatry.
For he is a jealous God.] And will not be yoked with idols, neither will he give his glory, which is as his wife, to another. If any cast but a leering look toward it, he shall smart and smoke for so doing.
He will not forgive your transgressions,] sc., Unless you forego them: or if he do forgive them, yet he may take vengeance, temporal vengeance, of their inventions; {Psa 99:8} and for that matter their repentance may come too late. {Deu 1:37 2Sa 12:16} All this Joshua speaketh, not to weaken but to waken their diligence in God’s service.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Ye cannot serve the Lord: he speaks not of…
Ye cannot serve the Lord: he speaks not of an absolute impossibility, (for then both his resolution to serve God himself, and his exhortation to them to do so, had been vain and ridiculous,) but of a moral impossibility, or a very great difficulty, which he allegeth not to discourage them from God’s service, which is his great design to engage them in; but only to make them more considerate and cautious in obliging themselves, and more circumspect and resolved in answering their obligations. The meaning is, God’s service is not, as you seem to fancy, a slight and easy thing, as soon done as said; but it is a work of great difficulty, and requires great care, and courage, and resolution; and when I consider the infinite purity of God, that he will not be mocked or abused; and withal your great and often manifested proneness to superstition and idolatry, even during the life of Moses, and in some of you whilst I live, and whilst the obligations which God hath laid upon you in this land are fresh in remembrance; I cannot but fear that after my decease you will think the service of God too hard and burdensome for you, and therefore will cast it off, and revolt from him, if you do not double your watch, and carefully avoid all occasions of idolatry, which I fear you will not do, but I do hereby exhort you to do.
He is a jealous God; he will not endure a co-rival or partner in his worship; you cannot serve him and idols together, as you will be inclined and tempted to do.
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He will not forgive your transgressions; if you who own yourselves for his people and servants, shall wickedly and wilfully transgress his laws by idolatry or other crimes, he will not let this go unpunished in you, as he doth in other nations; therefore consider what you do when you take the Lord for your God; weigh your advantages and inconveniences together; for as if you be sincere and faithful in God’s service, you will have admirable benefits by it; so if you be false to your professions, and forsake him whom you have so solemnly avouched to be your God, he will deal more severely with you than with any people in the world.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Joshua said unto the people,.... To their heads…
And Joshua said unto the people,.... To their heads and representatives now assembled together, and who had returned to him the preceding answer:
ye cannot serve the Lord; which he said not to discourage or deter them from serving the Lord, since it was his principal view, through the whole of this conversation with them, to engage them in it, but to observe to them their own inability and insufficiency of themselves to perform service acceptable to God; and therefore it became them to implore grace and strength from the Lord to assist them in it, and to depend upon that and not to lean to and trust in their own strength; as also to observe to them, that they could not serve him perfectly without any defect and failure in their service, for there is no man that does good and sins not; and therefore when a man has done all he can, he must not depend upon it for his justification before God; or consider it as his justifying righteousness, which was what that people were always prone to; some supply it,"you cannot serve the Lord with your images,''or along with them, so Vatablus:
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for he is an holy God: perfectly holy, so that the best of men, and the heat of their services, are impure and unholy before him and will not bear to be compared with him, and therefore by no means to be trusted in; and it requires much grace and spiritual strength to perform any service that may be acceptable to him through Christ. In the Hebrew text it is, "for the Holy Ones are he": which may serve to illustrate and confirm the doctrine of the trinity of, persons in the unity of the divine Essence, or of the three divine holy Persons, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit, as the one God, see Isa 6:3,
he is a jealous God; of his honour and glory, and of his worship, in which he will admit of no rival, of no graven images, or any idols to be worshipped with him, or besides him; nor will he suffer the idol of men's righteousness to be set up in the room of, or in opposition to, the righteousness of God, even no services and works of men, be they ever so good, since they cannot be perfect before him:
he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins; even the transgressions and sins of such that forsake the worship and service of him, and fall into idolatry, or who seek for justification by their own services, these are both abominable to him; otherwise he is a God pardoning the iniquity, transgression, and sin, of all those who seek unto him and serve him, confess their sins, and renounce their own righteousness; see Exo 23:21.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Ye cannot - He speaks not of an absolute…
Ye cannot - He speaks not of an absolute impossibility, (for then both his resolution to serve God himself, and his exhortation to them had been vain) but of a moral impossibility, or a very great difficulty, which he alledgeth not to discourage them from God's service, but to make them more considerate in obliging themselves; and more resolved in answering their obligations. The meaning is, God's service is not, as you seem to fancy, a slight and easy thing, but it is a work of great difficulty, and requires great care, and courage and resolution; and when I consider the infinite purity of God, that he will not be mocked or abused; and withal your proneness to superstition and idolatry, even during the life of Moses, and in some of you, while I live, and while the obligations which God had laid upon you in this land, are fresh in remembrance; I cannot but fear that after my decease you will think the service of God burdensome, and therefore will cast it off and revolt from him, if you do not carefully avoid all occasions of idolatry. A jealous God - In the Hebrew, He is the holy Gods, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit. He will not endure a partner in his worship; you can not serve him and idols together. Will not forgive - If you who own yourselves his people and servants, shall wilfully transgress his laws, he will not let this go unpunished in you, as he doth in other nations; therefore consider what you do, when you take the Lord for your God; weigh your advantages and inconveniences together; for as if you be sincere and faithful in God's service, you will have admirable benefits by it; so if you be false to your professions, and forsake him whom you have so solemnly avouched to be your God, he will deal more severely with you than with any people in the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he…
Verse 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 לא תוכלו lo thuchelu, ye CANNOT serve, &c., some eminent critics read לא תכלו lo thechallu, ye shall not CEASE to serve, &c. This is a very ingenious emendation, but there is not one MS. in all the collections of Kennicott and De Rossi to support it. However, it appears very possible that the first ו vau in תוכלו did not make a part of the word originally. If the common reading be preferred, the meaning of the place must be, "Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is holy and jealous, unless ye put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood. For he is a jealous God, and will not give to nor divide his glory with any other. He is a holy God, and will not have his people defiled with the impure worship of the Gentiles."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Jos 24:19. Ye cannot — He speaks not of…
Jos 24:19. Ye cannot — He speaks not of an absolute impossibility, (for then both his resolution to serve God himself, and his exhortation to them, had been vain,) but of a moral impossibility, or a very great difficulty, which he alleges not to discourage them from God’s service, but to make them more considerate in obliging themselves, and more resolved in answering their obligations. The meaning is, God’s service is not, as you seem to fancy, a slight and easy thing, but it is a work of great difficulty, and requires great care, and courage, and resolution; and when I consider the infinite purity of God, that he will not be mocked or abused, and withal your proneness to superstition and idolatry, even during the life of Moses, and in some of you while I live, and while the obligations which God has laid upon you in this land are fresh in remembrance, I cannot but fear that, after my decease, you will think the service of God burdensome, and therefore will cast it off and revolt from him, if you do not carefully avoid all occasions of idolatry. A jealous God — In the Hebrew, He is the holy Gods, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit. He will not endure a partner in his worship; you cannot serve him and idols together. Will not forgive — If you who own yourselves his people and servants shall wilfully transgress his laws, he will not let this go unpunished in you, as he doth in other nations; therefore consider what ye do, when you take the Lord for your God; weigh your advantages and inconveniences together; for as, if you be sincere and faithful in God’s service, you will have admirable benefits by it; so, if you be false to your professions, and forsake him whom you have so solemnly avouched to be your God, he will deal more severely with you than with any people in the world.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain You will not be able to serve the Lord,…
You will not be able to serve the Lord, &c. This was not said by way of discouraging them; but rather to make them more earnest and resolute, by setting before them the greatness of the undertaking, and the courage and constancy necessary to go through with it. (Challoner) --- Josue knew the fickle temper of his subjects. He insinuates, therefore, that if they do not lay that aside, they will not stand to their engagements, (Calmet) and will irritate God the more, if they enter into a covenant with him, and afterwards prove inconsistent. Hebrew La thuclu, "you cannot," may perhaps have the first u redundant; (Kennicott) as that is a letter which is often inserted or omitted at the transcriber’s pleasure. (Aben Ezra Simon) --- Hallet suggests that we ought to read lo thucelu, "you shall not cease," which would obviate the apparent difficulty of Josue’s attempting, as it were, to cool the fervour of the people, by insinuating that they will not be able to stick to their resolutions, and that at a time when he is exerting every nerve to make them sensible of their duty, and to engage them to swear an inviolable fidelity to the Lord. "Cease not to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, he is a jealous God, he will not forgive your rebellion, (Copssaco. Job xxxiv. 27,) nor your sins; if you forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and consume you." (Kennicott, Dis. 2.) --- If we were to read with an interrogation, "Will you not be able? &c., it might answer the same end. Josue may be considered as starting an objection, which is but too common in the mouth of the slothful, and of may of the pretended reformers, Luther, &c., who endeavour to persuade the world that they are not able to comply with the rigour of God’s law, and even make his severity an encouragement for their despair. Josue replies that these pretexts are groundless, and that God, who has already done so much for them, (ver. 20,) will not abandon them in their wants, if they cry unto him; and that, instead of being dejected by the thought of his judgments, they ought to strive, with the utmost fervour, to comply with his divine will. (Haydock) --- A general sometimes withholds the ardour of his soldiers, telling them that they are not a match for the enemy, in order to inflame their courage the more. (Menochius) --- A torrent which has been long repressed, rushes forward with greater fury when the dam is broken down. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord — Joshua utters…
19. Ye cannot serve the Lord — Joshua utters these discouraging words, based on the waywardness of the people’s hearts, to draw out from them the expression of strong purpose to serve Jehovah. Thereby he elicits their energetic We will, in Jos_24:21, and their self-pledging witness in Jos_24:22.
He is a jealous God — He demands, like a husband, the undivided affection and service of the people who have avowed their fidelity to him. The word jealous, as applied to God, involves evident anthropomorphism.
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He will not forgive — This seems to represent God as implacable, in direct contradiction to that wonderful revelation of his attributes made to Moses in Exo_34:7, as “forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin.” But the same revelation declares that he will by no means clear the guilty. The explanation is, that while God is forgiving to the truly penitent through the blood of sprinkling, he vigorously punishes all incorrigible sinners.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord] Joshua checks their…
19. Ye cannot serve the Lord] Joshua checks their hasty impulsiveness and confident protestation of fidelity, by reminding them of the difficulty involved in serving Jehovah aright; and he specially would have them dwell on (i) His holiness, and (ii) His jealousy. His words remind us of our Lord’s warnings in the Sermon on the Mount, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Mat_6:24).
he is a holy God] Comp. Lev_19:2; 1Sa_6:20; Psa_99:5; Psa_99:9; Isa_5:16. Holiness is the principle that guards the eternal distinction between Creator and creature, between God and man; it preserves the Divine dignity and majesty from being infringed by the Divine love; it eternally excludes everything evil and impure from the Divine nature. Comp. Isa_6:3, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts.” See Martensen’s Christian Dogmatics, pp. 99, 100. The plural Elohim, here used, “directs attention to the infinite riches and infinite fulness contained in the one Divine Being, and therefore to the fact that, if we were to believe in innumerable gods, and endow them with perfection, they would still all be contained in the one Elohim.” Hengstenberg.
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he is a jealous God] “Deus enim sanctus et fortis æmulator est,” Vulgate. “A strong feruent loouyere,” Wyclif. Numerous passages in the Prophets bring out the idea of God as One, Who requires of His people, whom He has married, the unbroken fidelity of marriage, and punishes most inflexibly any attachment to another god, any departure from Him, whilst He continues His blessings upon love and fidelity even to distant generations. Comp. Jer_2:2; Eze_16:8; Eze_16:22; Eze_16:60; Eze_23:3; Eze_23:8; Eze_23:19; Hos_2:16. “The Divine zeal is just the energy of Divine holiness. His jealousy turns especially against (1) idolatry, and (2) all sin, by which His holy Name is desecrated.” Oehler’s Theology of the Old Testament, i. 166, 167.
he will not forgive] Compare the words of God to Moses respecting the Angel of the Covenant, “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for My Name is in him,” Exo_23:21; and comp. Num_14:35; Deu_18:19; Jer_5:7. Forgiveness is conditional on repentance and amendment of life.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) And Joshua said . . . Ye cannot…
(19) And Joshua said . . . Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is . . . jealous . . .—Jehovah will not consent to be served as one God among many: the very thing which Israel was doing at the moment, which they meant to do, and did do, with rare intervals, down to the Babylonish captivity, when the evil spirit of (literal) idolatry was expelled for evermore. Israel always maintained the worship of Jehovah (except in very evil times) as the national Deity, but did not abstain from the recognition and partial worship of other national deities of whom they were afraid, and whom they thought it necessary to propitiate. Therefore Joshua’s argument is perfectly intelligible, and was entirely necessary for those times.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve…
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, (Jos 22) 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 higher conception of the law had taught him, that the law was too "holy, just, and good" for it to be possible that Israel should keep it. He had forebodings of coming failure, when he looked on one side at the law with its stern morality and rigorous provisions, and the undisciplined, untamed people that he saw around him. True and faithful to the last, he set before them the law in all its majesty and fulness, the nature of its requirements, and the unsuspected dangers that lay in their weak and wayward hearts. No doubt he had a dim presentiment of the truth, to teach which, to St. Paul, required a miracle and three years" wrestling in Arabia, that by the deeds of the law "shall no flesh be justified in God"s sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin". (Rom_3:20) As yet the Spirit of God had barely begun to unveil the figure of the Deliverer who was to declare at once God"s righteousness and His forgiveness. Yet none the less did Joshua do his duty, and strove to brace up the Israelites to theirs, not by disguising the nature of the undertaking to which they were pledging themselves, but by causing them to be penetrated with a sense of its awfulness and of the solemn responsibilities which it entailed. St. Augustine thinks that Joshua detected in the Israelites already the signs of that self righteousness which St. Paul (Rom_10:3) blames, and that he wished to make them conscious of it. But this is hardly borne out by the narrative. He is a holy God. The pluralis excellentiae is used here in the case of the adjective as well as the substantive. This is to enhance the idea of the holiness which is an essential attribute of God. He is a Jealous God. The meaning is that God will not permit others to share the affections or rights which are His due alone. The word, which, as its root, "to be red," shows, was first applied to human affections, is yet transferred to God, since we can but approximate to His attributes by ideas derived from human relations. Not that God stoops to the meanness and unreasonableness of human jealousy. His vindication of His rights is no other than reasonable in Him. "His glory" He not only "will not," but cannot "give to another." And therefore, as a jealous man does, yet without his infirmity, God refuses to allow another to share in what is due to Himself alone. The word, as well as the existence of the Mosaic covenant, has no doubt led the prophets to use, as they do on innumerable occasions, the figure of a husband and wife (Jer_2:2 Eze_23:25 Hos_2:2, Hos_2:13, Hos_2:16, Hos_2:19, Hos_2:20) in describing the relations ofGod to His Church, and approximate to His attitude towards His people by the illustration of an injured husband towards a faithless wife. (see also Exo_34:14 Deu_6:15) He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. (see Exo_23:21) There were many words used for "forgive" in Scripture: rpk avn and hls (see Pearson"s learned note in his "Treatise on the Creed," Art. 10). The one here used signifies to remove or to bear the burden of guilt, corresponding to the word airw in the New Testament. The word here translated" transgressions" is not the same as in Jos_7:15, and the cognate word to the one rendered "transgressed" in Jos_7:11, is here rendered "sins." It signifies a "breach of covenant," while the word translated" sins" is the equivalent of the Greek amatia .
The difficulties of God"s service.
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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 service itself involves spiritual endeavours and tasks and battles, before which the strongest fail. It is impossible to serve God in our own strength. We can only serve Him aright because what is impossible with men is possible with God; i.e, we can only serve Him in His strength and through the inspiration of His Spirit.
II THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SERVICE OF GOD ARISE FROM THE DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN OUR CHARACTER AND HIS. God does not willingly make His service hard; it would not be hard if we were not sinful. It is difficult while we have evil habits and affections lingering about us, and it is impossible so long as we cling to these voluntarily.
(1) God is holy, therefore He cannot accept service which is tainted with cherished sin (we must distinguish between cherished sin which makes acceptable service impossible, and resisted sin which hinders, but does not utterly prevent, such service).
(2) God is jealous, therefore He will not accept divided service. Israel must choose either the service of the Lord or the worship of the heathen gods. Both cannot be embraced. We must choose. So long as we give one-half of our heart to the world or to sin God will not accept the other half.
(3) God is, in some respects, unforgiving. He forgives the worst sins of the worst men on repentance; but whilst the least sin is cherished God cannot forgive it. No time will soften His resentment. Hence if we come to His service with evil knowingly in our hearts, He cannot overlook it and accept us.
III IT IS WELL TO CONSIDER THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. Israel was too ready hastily to accept God"s service without considering all that it involved. If difficulties exist they must be faced. It is best to count the cost before making choice. (Luk_14:28) Those representations of the gospel which are confined to invitations and promises, and ignore the call to repentance and to sacrifice for Christ, are false and unjust. Christ would have the new disciple face the cross. (Luk_14:27) Such considerations should not deter us from the choice of God"s service. They should make us
(1) careful to compare both sides of the question till we see how immensely the obligations and advantages of religion outweigh the difficulties,
(2) humble and free from boasting and presumption, and
(3) wholly dependent on the help of Christ to make us worthy of His service, to give us strength to serve, and to make our service acceptable. W.F.A. (Php_4:18)
HOMILIES BY S.R. ALDRIDGE Vers. 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 (ver. 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 promises of an easy rule. Jesus Christ spoke of the necessity of taking up the cross, of leaving home and friends, of enduring hatred, persecution, and trouble, so that none could afterwards complain of being deceived about the requirements and difficulties of discipleship. Men who undertake an enterprise with eyes open are the more likely to persevere; they have already afforded a proof that they are not to be daunted by the prospect of labour and hardship.
I THE CHARACTER OF GOD, AND THE KIND OF SERVICE HENCE EXPECTED.
1. He is holy, and consequently demands abstinence from sin. There is in Him entire rectitude of attribute, both in essence and in exercise. The seraphim cry, "Holy is the Lord of Hosts." His vesture is spotless, and He expects His servants to attend Him in uniform unstained. (see Lev_19:2) Also note the incidents of Moses at the burning bush, Nadab and Abihu consumed for offering unhallowed fire, and the men of Beth shemesh constrained to exclaim, "Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?" The sinlessness of Jesus proclaims Him Divine, and sometimes evokes the petition, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and condemns every act that is inconsistent with the relations in which we stand to Himself, to our fellow creatures, and the material world.
2. He is jealous, and therefore exacts whole-hearted allegiance. Annexed to the second commandment was a statement of Jehovah"s jealousy, which could not permit His glory to be paid to graven images. When the tables of the law were renewed it was expressly affirmed, "The Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." The word means, glowing with heat, hence the Almighty is compared to a "consuming fire" that subdues every work of man. Idolatry was the sin to which Israel was prone, and every prostration at the shrine of an idol was a derogation from the honour due to God, and excited His indignation. He is not content with an inferior share of affection, He must be loved and served with all our strength. "He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me." The true disciple is ready to forsake all and follow Christ. The will of the Lord is for him law, his only inquiry being, "Lord, what writ Thou have me to do?
3. He is immutable, and requires unvarying fidelity. "If ye forsake the Lord, then He will do you hurt after that He hath done you good." He rewards every man according to his doings, and visits transgression with punishment. The Israelites were fickle, moved like water by every passing breeze. God is not the son of man that He should repent. He cannot be false to His nature, and look with pleasure on offenders. Past obedience is no answer to the charge of present guilt. Each day brings its own need of sanctification. It is not possible, in God"s service, to work so hard one week as to enable us to spend the next in idleness, nor can we accumulate a store of good works to cover deficiencies in a time of sin. "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
II THE PEOPLE"S DETERMINATION TO SERVE THIS EXACTING GOD.
1. Indicates a feeling that only such a Master is worthy of men"s service. Conscience testified that worship should not be offered to other than a perfect Being, and that such a Being could rightly claim these high prerogatives. The rock on which the vessel of mythology has been wrecked is the evil character assigned to its deities, proving them the offspring of human imagination in a debased state. The remembrance of the past, and hopes and fears respecting the future incited the Israelites to continue in their position as the Lord"s peculiar people. And have not we experienced that to be the happiest day when we have thought most of God, and most frequently lifted our hearts in prayer to Him for guidance and succour? If called to renounce ease or sinful practices, have we not been amply repaid in the consciousness that we have acted rightly, and are walking in the light of God"s countenance? To set upon the throne of our hearts one who would be content with meagre devotion and occasional conformity to righteousness might please for a while, but could not durably satisfy our moral aspirations.
2. Intimates a belief that God chiefly regards the sincere endeavours of His servants to please Him. The Israelites could point to Joshua"s own demand in ver. 14 Him in sincerity and in truth." What is really displeasing to the Most High is wilful violation of His commandments, or hypocritical pretences of loyalty when the heart is estranged. These He visits with severest condemnation. Jehovah declared Himself in the same commandment both a "jealous" God, and one "showing mercy." And though the disciples of Christ had often exhibited a spirit of worldlinesss, of impatience and unbelief, yet their Master looking on His little company at the Last Supper could even after their unseemly dispute concerning precedence, recognise what was good in them and say, "Ye are they who have continued with Me in My temptations." He who knows all our works, (Rev_3:8) appreciates the humblest effort to keep His commandments.
3. Suggests an assurance that imperfections of service can be atoned for by confession, sacrifice, and intercession. Joshua"s assertion was quite true. Neither the Israelites nor any other nation could serve the Lord perfectly. Limitations of knowledge and frailties of temper produce at least temporary deviations from the path of obedience. But the people no doubt remembered the provision made in the law for sins of ignorance, the trespass offerings, the day of atonement "to cleanse them that they might be clean from all their sins before the Lord." Nor were they unmindful of the prayers which had been heard on their behalf When Moses pleaded for them, and the gracious forgiveness that had often followed their national repentance. And what was dimly foreshadowed in the Levitical economy now blazes brightly for our instruction and comfort under the Christian dispensation. Jesus Christ hath by one offering perfected them that are sanctified. His perpetual priesthood is a guarantee for the final salvation of those who come unto God by Him. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." "Ye are complete in Him.
4. Leads us to anticipate a period of perfect service. However the goodness of God may pardon our faults and, beholding us in Christ, take note of the direction rather than of the success of our attempts, it is impossible for us to rest content with our present experience. The spirit cries out for entire emancipation from the thraldom of sin, and longs for the redemption of the body. When shall we be conformed to the image of Christ, and enjoy to the full what now we know only by brief moments of rapture and sudden hasty glimpses? This question is answered by the promise of a manifestation of the sons of God," when, in unswerving obedience to His Father"s will, they shall realise truest liberty. You who so delight in Christian work as to wish you could spend all your time and energy therein, look to the years to come! "They serve Him day and night in His temple." "His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face. A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Ye cannot serve the Lord: for He is an…
Jos_24:19-28
Ye cannot serve the Lord: for He is an holy God.
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The covenant renewed
I. The difficulty of serving God. Ye cannot serve the Lord. It was a staggering admonition. It embodied what theologians have called the doctrine of moral inability. The seat of the disorder is in the will. There is the conflict. Till that is established in the choice of holiness it will still be true, as in the case before us, that one can not serve God. Ye cannot should still read for many, loath to abandon practices and ideas and hopes which He condemns, Ye will not.
II. The conscious ability to serve God. With much vehemence the people asserted that they would, and therefore could, be true to their promise. They realised that no more was demanded of them than was within the range of their powers to do. Their tribute to the righteousness of their Maker is the universal testimony as well. From the shrine of the most besotted savage to the latest Christian altar we see the multiplying tokens that each and all might have heeded and wrought that full measure of righteousness which their God prescribed. Everywhere, on all the recognised possibilities of a human soul, is plainly imprinted, and none can honestly exclaim against it, This is your reasonable service.
III. The solemn promise to serve God. The transfer of estates, the giving in marriage, the parting with a child--these chief acts of our lives are trivial and ordinary compared with that in which a heart yields itself for ever unto Him who has sought it from its first conscious moment. It is serious business we transact with Him. He hears, too, each voice among the myriads as though it were the only one, and receives each uplifted spirit as though no other had come.
IV. The abiding witnesses of the pledge to serve God. As our memorials and statues are eloquent of former scenes and persons, to those who will pause a little to listen, so this column in the spot of sanctuary told to childrens children that their fathers were given here and for ever to the Lord. Every individual, too, that stood near any who there uttered his credo had stamped upon his memory his neighbours act, to be made to glow as secret tracings when heat is applied. But are men aware of the numerous objects which have heard and may testify to their former promises to do the will of God? It was in some severe sickness, when the spectre of death seemed to draw nigh, when, begging for reprieve, you said: If I am spared I will dedicate myself to Him. And the walls of your chamber listened, and now and then repeat it in the stillness of the night. They who watched heard it, and are wondering yet if you have forgotten. Or it was when some sudden horror of doom flashed on you, and you proffered all you had for your life, while billows or tempest or hurrying car or roadside fences heard your cry and occasionally remind you of the pledge! Or, as you sat under the moving influences of the Spirit, and you were sure the acceptable time for turning to God had come, did you not say: When I have made my fortune, or gained this office, or reached that age, I will? And now the fortune is yours, the office has been held, the age has been passed, but your heart is not yet in the Lords keeping. It is easy to mortgage the future, so unknown, so full of plausible chances and opportunities. Be as fair, friend, with the Lord as with your neighbour, whom you are proud always to have satisfied, for He has waited longer, till you shall pay your vows to the full. (De Witt S. Clark.)
The difficulty of serving God
I. Some of their difficulty would be found on the side of God. He is an holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins so as to fail to punish them. He will turn, and do you hurt, and consume you, after that He hath done you good.
1. If Jehovah is to be served at all, He must be served alone. There can be no possible rivalry between Him and any other claimants to be gods. We may think of three things that are ever pressing in our day to be gods with God--the luxury of wealth; self-seeking pleasure; mere mind knowledge.
2. If God is served at all He must be served in righteousness. God will search through and through every form of service offered to Him, and it must be sincere, it must be clean every whit, or it cannot be acceptable to Him. The service of a holy God must be the service of intention and resolve, not of mere accident. It should be thought about, resolved upon, prayed about, made the most earnest thing in the whole life.
II. Some of the difficulties were found on the side of Israel. Ye cannot. Ye are too frail. Ye are too much exposed to the power of temptation. Ye have too serious inclinations to evil. You do not know yourselves, or you would not promise too readily. You do not fully estimate the influences of the past, or you would fear for your future. They who know themselves learn to pray, Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe, and I shall have respect unto Thy commandments. (The Weekly Pulpit.)
The holy character of God
I. Although the lord is full of compassion and mercy, he is yet a holy and a jealous God. We must beware of attributing to our God any qualities which are inconsistent with those by which He is known to be guided.
II. As a necessary consequence of the holy jealousy of God towards wilful sinners there are certain conditions of mind in which he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins, and in which, therefore, ye cannot serve the Lord. The impenitent, the unbelieving, the careless, the presumptuous will be excluded from the blessing. The fact is, that one thing is indispensable to your acceptable service of God; and that is, that you should be in earnest.
III. Ask yourselves the question, are you desirous to serve the lord your God? (E. G. Marshall, M. A.)
God declining first offers of service
If there be any one thing true in the Bible, it is that God welcomes the first approach which man makes to Him. Yet here Joshua offers a repulse to men who wish to avow themselves on the side of God. Are we to conclude, then, that the people were insincere? We have no evidence of this, but the reverse, in their subsequent conduct. There must be some reason for the manner in which they are met, and we shall try to discover it.
1. First, however, we shall seek to show that this procedure on the part of God is not so unusual. You may recollect how the band of Gideon was chosen. When the wise men from the East came seeking Christ the star seemed to desert them, and they met with disappointment and perplexity from all their inquiries in Jerusalem. When the Jews, stirred up to expect the coming Messiah, sent messengers to John, in the hope that they had found their desire, he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. We cannot forget the strange treatment of the woman of Canaan by the Lord Himself; how she cried after Him, and was not answered, and met at length what appeared a contemptuous rejection. In the same way He acted to the scribe who came to Him with such an unconditional offer of discipleship, Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. This is no common pleasure-walk, was the reply; the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head. There is another way of finding the same result in the Bible. Consider, for example, the view that is given of the character of God. He is presented to us not only as good, and ready to forgive, but as just and righteous--a God who cannot look on sin without displeasure. There are many terrible threatenings, many dreadful judgments against sin and sinners, which have all this language in them: Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is an holy God. When we leave Bible representations, and come to the experience of individuals, we meet with many similar illustrations. In regard to the general evidence of the divinity of the Bible, we can see that God has not constructed it on the plan of overpowering the conviction of any man at first sight. And even when a man has come to the entire conviction that the gospel is Divine, that there is none other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ, he is not assured thereby of perfect peace.
2. Having sought to show that this procedure, on the part of God, is not so unusual, we may now attempt to find some reasons for it.
(1) As a first reason we may assign this, that it sifts the true from the false seeker. The gospel comes into the world to be a touchstone of human nature--to be Ithuriels spear among men. There is enough in it to attract and convince at last every man who has a sense of spiritual need and a desire of spiritual deliverance, but it is presented in such a form as to try whether the soul really possess this, and therefore we may have obstacles of various kinds at the very entrance. It may seem a strange and unworthy thing that such an obstacle should meet a man in the very commencement of such a journey; but, after all, let it be remembered that what makes it an obstacle is the state of heart of the man himself. This further may be said, that no one will be able to complain of any real wrong from such obstacles. The false seeker is not injured, because he never sincerely sought at all. There was no sense of sins evil, no wish to be saved from it, and till this exists nothing can be sought, and nothing found. The true seeker is not injured, for never was such an one disappointed.
(2) Next, it leads the true seeker to examine himself more thoroughly. If a man is accepted, or thinks he is accepted, at once, he takes many things for granted which it would be well for him to inquire into. Very specially is this the case in regard to the nature of sin and the light in which God regards it. The easy complacency with which some talk of pardon and their assurance of it, often springs more from dulness of conscience than strength of faith. The natural result of such a defective view is, that when a man enlists with it in Gods service, he does so without any distinct idea of what he is to aim at. He does not see that the gospel binds us to the service of a God of truth and purity, and that only in this way can its blessings be enjoyed.
(3) Further, it binds a man to his profession by a stronger sense of consistency. There is a paper of obligations put into our hands to sign, and, when we take the pen, we are bidden read it over again and ponder it, that we may subscribe with clear consciousness of the contents. God will beguile no man into His service by false pretences.
(4) Lastly, it educates us to a higher growth and greater capacity of happiness. When we see the wind shaking a young tree, and bending it to the very earth, it may seem to be retarding its rise, but it is furthering it. In the intellectual world a strong man thrives on difficulties. There is no falser method of education than to make all smooth and easy, and remove every stone before the foot touches it. God Himself has hidden the knowledge of His creation in the depths of the sky and the bosom of the earth. He has demanded toil and travail, keen and patient thought, till study has become a weariness to the flesh, in order that mans intellect may rise to its proper stature. It would have been a strange thing if the spiritual world had been an exception. Read the manner in which such men as Paul and Luther and Pascal passed through the gate of life, not easily and complacently, but with fears within and fightings without, and you will see how God made them grow such men as they became. And, though we are far distant from that mark, very humble plants in the garden of God beside those great trees of righteousness, yet, if we are to rise to anything, it must be in the same way, not by soft indulgent nurture, but by endurance of hardship, and pressing on against repulse. If there be some who have been seeking God, as they think, in vain, and have given up the search as fruitless, what can we do but urge them to renew the application? Come, as these Israelites did, with the words, Nay; but we will serve the Lord. I can suppose a twofold class who have ceased to seek. There are some, perhaps, with a feeling of wounded pride or petulance. They say they have done their best, and it is useless. They have gone through a course of inquiry and search and prayer, and they have found neither comfort nor hope. Would it not be worth the while of such to reconsider this part of it, and to see whether some of the blame may not lie with themselves? There may, however, be another class who have left off seeking God, from very different motives, not in petulance, but in despondency, who have not so much turned their back on search, as sat down, wearied and hopeless, in the midst of it. Let them consider that they have to do with One who will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax; that the heart of God is with them; that the darkness and death of Christ, now changed to the strength of intercession, are on their side, and all those heavenly promises which are yea and amen in Him, and which, as bright and as many as the stars in their courses, all fight for them. Let them think of Jacobs wrestling, of Davids tears, of Pauls threefold prayer, of the woman of Canaan, &c. (John Ker, D. D.)
Moral inability
I. The certainty of the truth that unrenewed men cannot serve God.
1. The nature of God renders perfect service impossible to depraved men.
2. The best they could render as unrenewed men would lack heart and intent, and therefore must be unacceptable.
3. The law of God is perfect, comprehensive, spiritual, far-reaching: who can hope to fulfil it?
4. The carnal mind is inclined to self-will, self-seeking, lust, enmity, pride, and all other evils.
5. Let men try to be perfectly obedient. They will not try it. They argue for their ability, but they are loth enough to exert it.
II. The discouragement which arises from this truth.
1. It discourages men from an impossible task.
2. It discourages from a ruinous course.
3. It discourages reliance upon ceremonies or any other outward religiousness, by assuring men that these cannot suffice.
4. It discourages from every other way of self-salvation, and thus shuts men up to faith in the Lord Jesus. Nothing better can befall them (Gal_2:22-23).
III. The necessities of which we are reminded by this truth.
1. Unregenerate men, before you can serve God you need--
(1) A new nature.
(2) Reconciliation.
(3) Acceptance.
(4) Continual aid, to keep you in the way when once you are in it (1Sa_2:9; Jud_1:24-25).
2. If you cannot serve God as you are, yet trust Him as He manifests Himself in Christ Jesus; and do this just as you are.
3. This will enable you to serve Him on better principles.
4. This change of your nature will be effected by the Holy Spirit, who will come and dwell in you.
5. This will fit you for heaven, where His servants shall serve Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Moral inability
Their inability was wholly of the moral kind. They could not do it because they were not disposed to do it, just as it is said of Josephs brethren (Gen_37:4) that they could not speak peaceably unto him, so strong was their personal dislike to him. But an inability arising from this source was obviously inexcusable, on the same grounds that a drunkards inability to master his propensity for strong drink is inexcusable. In like manner the cannot of the impenitent sinner, in regard to the performance of his duty, is equally inexcusable. (George Bush.)
Entire change needed
A man deeply exercised about his soul was conversing with a friend on the subject, when the friend said, Come at once to Jesus, for He will take away all your sins from your back. Yes, I am aware of that; said the other; but what about my back? I find I have not only sins to take away, but there is myself; what is to be done with that? And there is not only my back, but hands and feet, and head and heart are such a mass of iniquity that its myself I want to get rid of before I can get peace. (British Evangelist.)
Discouragement useful
Discouragements, rightly put, encourage. The best way to deepen and confirm good resolutions which have been too swiftly and inconsiderately formed is to state very plainly all the difficulty of keeping them. The hand that seems to repel often most powerfully attracts. There is no better way of turning a somewhat careless we will into a persistent nay, but we will, than to interpose a ye cannot. Many a boy has been made a sailor by the stories of hardships which his parents have meant as dissuasives. Joshua here is doing exactly what Jesus Christ did often. He refused glib vows because He desired whole hearts. Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest! was answered by no recognition of the speakers enthusiasm, and by no word of pleasure or invitation, but by the apparently cold repulse: Foxes have holes, birds of the air roosting-places; but the Son of Man has not where to lay His head. That is what you are offering to share. Do you stand to your words? He will have no soldiers enlisted under false pretences. They shall know the full difficulties and trials which they must meet; and if, knowing these, they still are willing to take His yoke upon them, then how exuberant and warm the welcome which He gives 1 There is a real danger that this side of the evangelists work should be overlooked in the earnestness with which the other side is done. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Reasons why man will not serve God
Dr. Tucker, Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, said: In our journey we came to the country of Taita. The people of Taita are not a very interesting people, and are adverse to Christianity. I visited a chief there, and asked him why they were so unwilling for Christian people to settle in their midst, and I said, If I sent you a couple of missionaries would you not be glad to have them? No. Why? I asked. The chief replied, If they come and settle among us they tell us that stealing cattle and fighting are not right. Yes! I replied. Well, that would never do; for we are very fond of stealing cattle, and also of fighting. It was a most straightforward reason, and I think if many of the heathen at home would be as honest in giving the reasons why they will not come to Christ they would say much the same. If I came to Christ I should require to quit getting drunk, and I am very fond of getting drunk, &c.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Jos_24:19. Ye cannot serve Jehovah] Joshua here bids the…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Jos_24:19. Ye cannot serve Jehovah] Joshua here bids the people count the cost of the decision expressed in Jos_24:16. They could not serve Jehovah in the indifferent spirit of idolatry; for He was altogether unlike the gods which were no gods, and which therefore could not punish faithlessness. Jehovah was both holy and jealous, and Joshua would have the people weigh carefully their words of fealty. The idol gods which were no gods might be served godlessly, but Jehovah God must be worshipped with the whole heart by all who professed to be His servants.
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Jos_24:21. Nay, but we will serve Jehovah] This second answer of the people shows that they understood Joshua’s words in the sense of the foregoing remarks. Though it was so difficult and so fearful a thing to follow Jehovah, yet Him only would they nerve, a determination which is once more expressed in the verse that follows.
Jos_24:22. Put away the strange gods] Cf. on verse14. The reiteration here seems to favour the idea that some of the people had idols actually in their possession.
Jos_24:25. Joshua made a covenant] Lit., “cut a covenant,” from Kârath, “to cut,” “to cut off.” “Kârath b’rîth, to make a covenant, so used from slaying and dividing the victims, as was customary in making a covenant (cf. Gen_15:18; Jer_34:8; Jer_34:18).” [Gesen.]
Jos_24:26. Under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. Heb., “under THE oak which was IN the sanctuary of Jehovah,” alluding, not to the tabernacle, but to the holy place of history which God had consecrated by appearing there to Abram (Gen_12:6), and which Jacob had further made sacred by putting away the strange gods of his household (Gen_35:4), including, most likely, the teraphim of Laban stolen by Rachel.
Jos_24:27. It hath heard all the words] “Compare, for this bold figure, Hab_2:11, and our Saviour’s own words, Luk_19:40.” [Crosby.]
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Jos_24:19-28
GOD TRYING AND TAKING PLEDGES OF HIS PEOPLE’S LOVE
It should not be forgotten that in these further words of Joshua he is still to be regarded as the mouthpiece of Jehovah. While Joshua no longer speaks as in the person of the Lord, the meeting itself becomes more grave in every verse of the record; and so far from thinking of Jehovah, at this stage, as having in some measure withdrawn from the meeting, leaving it to be concluded by His servant, we are rather to think of God as so manifestly present in the increased solemnity of the words, that it is no longer necessary that His presence should be outwardly and formally asserted in the mere style of the address. While it might seem to us that Joshua is speaking, we are told, by the very form of the language, that it is Jehovah; when the increased solemnity of the meeting proclaims indisputably the continued voice of the Lord, it is no longer thought necessary to assure us formally that the words are far more than the mere words of Joshua. It is, verily, for the then present God of Israel that Joshua proceeds to say, “Ye cannot serve Jehovah.”
I. Here is a life-long service freely offered by men, and that service apparently discouraged by God. After noticing a superficial attempt to read, “Ye shall not cease to serve,” for “Ye cannot serve the Lord,” Dr. Clarke remarks: “If the common reading be preferred, the meaning of the place must be, ‘Ye cannot serve the Lord, for He is holy and jealous, unless ye put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood; for He is a jealous God, and will not give to nor divide His glory with any other.’ ” Undoubtedly the meaning includes this; with almost equal certainty it comprises far more than this. Joshua is not merely saying, You cannot serve Jehovah with other gods; he is also asserting, You cannot serve Jehovah at all in your own strength; or, You cannot serve Jehovah at all if you set about it in a thoughtless spirit. God Himself was uttering, through Joshua, for secret purposes of His own, these words of severe rebuff and painful discouragement. Here, then, were people wanting to come to God. The sincerity which they manifested by their subsequent life (cf. Jos_24:31) was fully known to God when they made this earnest avowal of their choice. Yet here is the voice of the Lord saying, “Ye cannot serve me; my service is all too hard for your endeavours.” When a man comes to his fellow, feeling that his fellow can counsel and help him—trusting his wisdom, and pleading his direction—that is the kind of suppliant from whom a true man does not turn away. We had thought that this was the spirit of the Bible also. Does not God say, “I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me”? Why, then, are these seekers repelled? Does not the Saviour cry in His earthly ministry, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”? Why, then, are these who come so earnestly turned away so severely? Does not Christ call to men out of heaven itself, saying, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him”? Why, then, are these who open their hearts to the Lord discouraged by words in which the Lord seems to turn utterly and hopelessly away? Why, when they had been told to choose gods, and had chosen Jehovah with irrepressible ardour, are they thus rejected? Payson remarked: “The man who wants me is the man I want;” in these words, God seems to turn from men just according to the fervour in which they seek His face. As has been pointed out by Dr. Kor, this is no exceptional instance. The “father of the faithful” is the man who is told to offer up his son in sacrifice; and earnest Moses is confronted by the fire and thunder of Sinai, till he exceedingly fears and quakes. David enthusiastically serves his God, and is forthwith driven to ask, “Why do the wicked prosper?” Elijah is faithful when, to him, all seem so faithless that he exclaims, “I only am left;” and yet he is seen fleeing here and there before what appears to be an adverse Providence, till he cries in very despair, “O Lord, take away my life; I am not better than my fathers.” This trial of earnestness is no less frequent in the New Testament than in the Old. The Saviour talks to the ardent Syrophœnician woman about dogs to whom it is not meet to give the children’s bread. To the eager Magdalene, who seeks to embrace Him, He calmly replies, “Touch me not.” The young lawyer whom Jesus loved was told to sell all that he had, and give it to the poor; and the scribe who proclaimed his desire to follow Christ everywhere was checked by the assurance that he was seeking to follow one who had “not where to lay His head.” Similarly, when Saul cried, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Jesus answered back, through Ananias, “I will shew him how great things he must suffer.” We look at all this, and there remains, among others, this one conclusion: Trial is no sign that God does not love us. Even the discouragements of men, which seem to come direct from heaven, are only another phase of Divine affection. Emerson says, “A lady with whom I was riding in the forest said to me that the woods always seemed to her to wait, as if the genii who inhabited them suspended their deeds until the wayfarer has passed onward, a thought which poetry has celebrated in the dance of the fairies, which breaks off on the approach of human feet.” When walking in the woods in earlier days, I have often felt the same. I have looked into the quiet shadow-arches made by masses of overhanging foliage, and have felt, in the intense stillness, as if everything were waiting till I had gone. The silence has seemed so unusual—a great suspense, rather than a normal condition. So when the silence of God seems emphasized in some great trial or discouragement, the believing man may have his fancies, which are more than fancies. He may say, “This is not the usual mind of God. He often breaks in upon this silence. Of that I am sure. I have heard His voice, and the tones are the tones of love. He is only waiting till I have passed. For the time, and for some reason, He knows it is best that I should not see Him, and that I should hear from Him no voice of encouragement whatever.” The silence is not the real mind of God. It is a Divine feint. It is as when Jesus “made as if He would go further,” and did not go. It is as when He said, “I go not up yet unto the feast,” but went very shortly after. God conceals His real movements, now in silence, now in actions which mislead, or now, as here, in words which seem full of rebuff, but which, no less for their seeming, He would have us read as an enticement.
II. Here are loving hearts discouraged by God, and yet clinging to God even more lovingly and persistently than before. “Nay; but we will serve the Lord.” Joshua was feigning to break them off from their choice, and they asserted their determination more ardently than ever. It is as though a mother should feign to shut the door against her little child, and he, refusing to read his mother’s heart thus, should become all the more earnest because the door seemed about to be closed, well knowing all the time that his little strength was no match for hers. God gives these contrary voices to provoke our zeal. He hides His heart, that we may the more anxiously search out His real feeling. He turns us back, that out of our alarm and resistance we may press forward indeed. He seems to shut the door against us, that in our zeal to re-open it we may quicken our own energies, and so attract the attention of those about us, that they may say, “That man is a Christian;” and thus, ere ever we are aware, God would have as find ourselves committed to His service before all men. The Saviour does but call the Gentile woman a dog, that she may both know and shew that she is a child, and that He may quicken her appetite for the children’s bread. Said Martin Luther’s wife to him on one occasion: “Doctor, how is it that while subject to the papacy we prayed so often and so earnestly, while now we pray with the utmost coldness, and very seldom?” Few of us can be good disciples of the Crucified when we ourselves have no cross. It is not so much of the Lord’s desire as of our own necessity that “through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom.” It is exactly when in the hearing of voices which cry, “Ye cannot serve God,” that we find our holiest firmness to reply, “Nay; but we will.”
III. Here is persistent love accepted by God, on the understanding that men offer their love to no other gods. “Now therefore put away the strange gods. Jehovah is a jealous God.”
1. The Lord is jealous for His own glory.
2. The Lord is jealous for the supremacy of truth.
3. The Lord is jealous for the good of the worshippers.
4. The Lord is jealous for beholders, whom the worshippers continually influence. When cherishing our idols of the heart, we shall do well to remember that all around us there are places where some of our fathers have put away gods that were false and strange. The oak of Jacob, at Shechem (Gen_35:4), seemed in itself to admonish Jacob’s childen (Jos_24:26).
IV. Here is accepted love recklessly witnessing against its own future inconstancy, and pledging itself to love and serve God for ever. “Ye are witnesses against yourselves.” “We are witnesses.” True love makes no provision for infidelity. It provides no way of retreat. It “burns the bridges” by which otherwise it might be tempted to go back.
1. Men who turn from God should remember that there are many voices witnessing against them, among which no voice speaks so loudly as their own.
2. When human voices seem to the back slider to hold their peace, the very stones nevertheless cry out against him (Jos_24:27). Such witness would be borne by the stone now set up by Joshua 3. Those who really love God rather rejoice in such testimony than view it with fear. Love enters into solemn covenant; it delights to know that the covenant is recorded, and that the record is made in an enduring form. Even the witness of the imperishable stone is regarded with no disfavour.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Jos_24:19.—“GOD DECLINING FIRST OFFERS OF SERVICE.”
“This procedure, on the part of God,” may arise from the following reasons:
I. “It sifts the true from the false seeker. The gospel comes into the world to be a touchstone of human nature—to be Ithuriel’s spear among men. There is enough in it to attract and convince every man who has a sense of spiritual need and a desire of spiritual deliverance, but it is presented in such a form as to try whether the soul really possesses this, and therefore we may have obstacles of various kinds at the very entrance. Bunyan’s Pliable and Christian at the Slough of Despond.…
II. “It leads the true seeker to examine himself more thoroughly. If a man is accepted, or thinks he is accepted, at once, he takes many things for granted which it would be well for him to enquire into. Very specially is this the case in regard to the nature of sin, and the light in which God regards it. Almost all the errors of our time, or of any time, have their root here, and it would be well for many to be sent back for reflection with the words of Joshua—‘He is an holy God, He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.’ Not that Joshua would lead them to doubt God’s mercy, but he would have them to see that it is a more difficult question than men in general fancy. The easy complacency with which some talk of pardon, and their assurance of it, springs more from dulness of conscience than strength of faith.…
III. “It binds a man to his profession by a stronger sense of consistency. There is a paper of obligations put into our hands to sign, and when we take the pen, we are bidden to read it over again and ponder it, that we may subscribe with clear consciousness of the contents. God will beguile no man into His service by false pretences. He stops us when we would rush into it thoughtlessly, tells us the nature of the work, what His own character gives Him a right to expect of us, and then, if we will still go forward, He can say, ‘Ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen you the Lord to serve Him,’ and we are compelled to own, ‘We are witnesses.’ …
IV. “It educates us to a higher growth and greater capacity of happiness. When we see the wind shaking a young tree, and bending it to the very earth, it may seem to be retarding its rise, but it is furthering it. It is making it strike its roots deeper into the ground, that its stem may rise higher and stronger, till it can struggle with tempests, and spread its green leaves to a thousand summers.… In the intellectual world, a strong mind thrives on difficulties. There is no falser method of education than to make all smooth and easy, and remove every stone before the foot touches it.… ‘The kingdom of heaven,’ as Christ has declared, ‘suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force,’ that the man may prove himself the better soldier, and receive of God at last a brighter crown.”—[Dr. Ker.]
Jos_24:19.—GOD’S HOLINESS, JEALOUSY, AND FORGIVENESS.
I. The relation of God’s holiness to His forgiveness. “For He is an holy God: He will not forgive.” He is too holy to forgive lightly. As surely as a man’s righteousness has its inalienable rights, so certainly a man’s sin has its just deserts, and the demerit of transgression cannot lightly be passed over without a corresponding depreciation in the value of rectitude and piety.
II. The relation of God’s jealousy to His forgiveness. “He is a jealous God: He will not forgive.” God is very jealous for His good name. He would ever keep it as “a strong tower,” into which the righteous know that they may run with safety. The name of a wicked ruler affords no security to his faithful subjects. Many kings have been a terror to good and a shelter to evil doers. For the sake of men, and of truth, God is too jealous of His name ever to let the wicked say: “We may sin as we like; we are certain to be forgiven.”
III. The influence of God’s forgiveness upon man’s religious service. “Ye cannot serve the Lord: He will not forgive.” The unforgiven have no heart to serve. “We are saved by hope.” “Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.” “The joy of the Lord is our strength” for the service of the Lord. Who can labour for God, knowing that God holds him under condemnation!
THE NECESSITY OF PRESERVING HOLINESS
“Without holiness there can be no such heaven as the New Testament reveals. There may be scenery of surpassing grandeur—mountains, woods, rivers, and skies most charming; but they do not make a heaven, else a heaven might be found in Wales or Cumberland. There may be a capital full of palaces and temples; but they do not make a heaven, else a heaven might have been found in Delhi. There may be buildings of marble and precious stones; but they do not make a heaven, else a heaven might have been found in Rome or Venice. There may be health, and ease, and luxury, and festivities; but they do not make a heaven, else one would have been met with in Belshazzar’s halls. There may be education, philosophy, poetry, literature, art; but that will not make a heaven, else the Greeks would have had one in Athens, in the grove and in the porch. Holiness is that without which no heaven could exist.”—[Dr. Stoughton.]
THE LORD IMPRESSING HIS HOLINESS UPON THE MINDS OF THE ISRAELITES.
“In the Temple, even every ‘little’ ornament of the mighty structure that crowned the cliffs of Zion was ‘holy’ to the Lord. Not the great courts and inner shrines and pillared halls merely, but all. Not a carven pomegranate, not a bell, silver or golden, but was ‘holy.’ The table and its lamps, with flowers of silver light, tent and staves, fluttering curtain and ascending incense, altar and sacrifice, breastplate and ephod, mitre and gem-clasped girdle, wreathen chains and jewelled hangings—over all was inscribed HOLY, while within, in the innermost shrine, where God manifested Himself above the mercy-seat, was THE HOLIEST. Thus the utter holiness of that God with whom they had to do was by every detail impressed upon the heart and conscience of ancient Israel.”—[Grosart.]
Jos_24:20.—FORSAKING GOD.
I. To forsake the true God is ever to serve strange gods.
II. To forsake God is to be forsaken by God.
III. To be forsaken by God is to be presently hurt and consumed by God.
Jos_24:21.—THE INTERPRETING AND DETERMINING POWER OF A LOVING HEART.
I. Pious love instinctively interpreting the trying words of God. Joshua had said, “Ye cannot serve Jehovah.” The people immediately answered back, “Nay; but we will serve Jehovah.” They never for a moment understood that such service was absolutely impossible. Loving God indeed, their hearts read, even through the contrary words, the love that was in the heart of God.
II. Pious love firmly determining to adhere to God. Whether they could serve or not, they would. The heart that loves the holy and merciful God cannot take “No” for an answer. Love says: “If I perish, I will pray, if I get no reward, I will nevertheless serve.” And such love ever triumphs, when it pleads resolutely with God. However readily the wicked may spurn a loving heart away, the kingdom of heaven always “suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” “Love never faileth,” when it contends with God. Thus, the people who say, “We will serve,” are ever taken then and there into covenant.
Jos_24:22-25.—ENTERING INTO COVENANT WITH GOD.
I. No reservation must be made in the direction of sin. Men must be prepared even to witness against themselves. They must come to enter into covenant with God with a mind which contemplates no excuse for sin.
II. Sin itself must be first put away. “Put away the strange gods which are among you.” God will enter into no covenant with those who deliberately cherish sin.
III. God Himself must be unhesitatingly and persistently chosen.
1. He must be chosen in the heart. “Incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.”
2. He must be chosen openly. The declaration was made by the people before each other.
3. He must be chosen with no faltering purpose. “The Lord our God will we serve.” Though the service be fairly stated as severe and difficult, there must be no hesitation.
4. He must be chosen with a submissive spirit. “And His voice will we obey.”
IV. The covenant thus made with God must be made through a mediator. The covenant is made with the mediator on behalf of the people. The covenant is recorded by the mediator for the joy of all who are faithful, and for a witness against all transgressors, Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, also makes record of every man’s utterance who says, “The Lord God will I serve.” The names of those who have truly confessed Jesus are written “in the Lamb’s book of life.”
V. The covenant is preliminary to rest in the life which now is, and for that also which is to come. When the covenant was made, then, and not till then, the people departed “every man unto his own inheritance.” No man can truly enter into rest, excepting through Jesus. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Till a man is at peace with God, he can have little real joy in his own inheritance. He only is wise, who, before setting himself to enjoy his earthly estate, accepts the invitation of Jesus: “Come unto me … I will give you rest.”
Jos_24:22; Jos_24:27.—GOD’S WITNESSES AGAINST THE SINNER.
I. The witness which a man bears against his own sin. “Ye are witnesses against yourselves.” “We are witnesses.” How many insincere worshippers are daily witnessing against themselves. In their attendance in God’s house. In the songs of the sanctuary. In the religious instruction which they impart, or cause to be imparted, to their children, etc. Surely the Judge may say again presently, “Out of thine own mouth will I condemn thee, thou wicked servant!”
II. The witness borne against a sinful man by his fellows. Joshua was a witness of the people’s choice. Every man was a witness against every other. “We also are compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses.” They are not mere spectators of our course, but testifiers (μάρτυρες). Like the martyrs and others spoken of in Hebrews 11, they bear witness to the blessedness of faith and faithful service; they testify, in like manner, against all who “refuse Him that speaketh.”
III. The witness borne against a sinful man by the ordinary records of life. “Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard,” etc. Among the Israelites, this was an ordinary method of providing testimony. Not only this stone, set up by Joshua at Shechem, would bear witness against Israel’s unfaithfulness; other monuments, similarly erected, would bear their testimony also. There were the altars of Abraham (Gen_12:7; Gen_13:4), and Isaac (Gen_26:25). There was the stone of Bethel, set up by Jacob (Gen_28:18-22). There were the memorials erected by these Israelites themselves (chap. Jos_4:4-9, Jos_8:30-32, Jos_22:10). These and other monuments had been raised by themselves and their fathers, and represented so much faith and fervour in bygone days. In any relapse into idolatry, or even carelessness, these memorials would testify against all backsliders. It is ever thus in our days also: every man’s past service for God and truth is an almost vocal remonstrance against his future worldliness. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jos_24:23.—JEHOVAH GOD, AND STRANGE GODS.
I. God and strange gods cannot be worshipped together.
II. Strange gods can be and are to be put away.
III. To worship no strange gods is not enough; he who would worship acceptably must incline his heart towards the true God.
Jos_24:24.—THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL.
I. “God of His pleasure leaves us free to do wrong as well as right. Doubtless God could have created man without giving him liberty of will. He might have formed him merely capable of wishing to do what is right. There is nothing in the soul that shews this freedom to be a part of its nature. We can only believe that it is the will and pleasure of God to create us free from all necessity.
II. “Conscience urges and our hearts tell us that we have this free power of will. Our inner feelings continually tell us we are free agents. It is of no avail that we argue down our clearer convictions. Our convictions still tell us that we do wrong, that we are to blame when we do wrong, that we have the power of avoiding our faults. Nature within us utters this truth. All men understand this truth. From the cradle of the child to the study of the philosopher, this truth is everywhere uncontradicted. The race of man over all the earth believes itself free.
III. “Our daily life assures us that we have this power over our wills. The same consciousness that assures us we exist, with equal authority tells us that we are free. We may argue, and shuffle our words, we may deceive ourselves, but in actual life we still take this freedom for granted, and move our limbs in the belief that we move them at our own pleasure. Reason as we will, we are yet obliged to follow this persuasion that we are free. The belief that we have power over our wills, and the daily exercise of this power, are arguments so unanswerable that no man who is not in a dream can deny them. In all the common actions of life it is impossible for a man seriously to question his power to follow his right reason.
IV. Without freedom to do wrong there could be no virtue. Could we take away this free will from man, the whole of human life would be overthrown. If men are not free in what they do of good and evil, good is not good, and evil is not evil. If an un avoidable necessity oblige us to wish what we wish, human responsibility is gone; there is no more virtue or vice, praise or blame. There is no religion left upon earth.
V. “God is with us, helping us to use this power aright. When God made man free, He did not thereby leave him to himself. He gave him reason to be a light to him. He is Himself with him, to inspire him with goodness, to reprove him for his smallest faults, to lead him on by promises, to hold him back by threats, to melt him by His love. He forgives us, He avenges us, He waits for us. He bears with our neglect, and invites us even to the last. Our life is full of His grace.
“It were terrible to believe that, without any power of his own to do right, man is required by his Maker to attain a virtue quite beyond his reach. No, indeed! man suffers no evil but what he makes for himself. He is able to procure for himself the greatest blessings.
VI. “In this freedom of will God has given us a part of His own nature. By making man free, God has given him a strong feature of likeness to Himself. Man’s empire over his own will has in it something divine. Master of his own inner movements, he turns to whatever seems to him good. God gave to man a noble power when He made him capable of deserving praise and approbation. What is higher or grander than to deserve? It is the power of rising to a rank and order above our present state. By deserving, man improves and exalts himself, goes forward step by step, and wins his reward. What richer crown of ornament could God put upon His work?”—[Fenelon.]
Jos_24:25.—THE COVENANT AT SHECHEM.
“Seven things are to be considered in this renewal of the covenant:—
I. “The dignity of the mediator. Take a view of his names, Hosea and Jehoshua. God will save: He will save. The first is like a promise; the second, the fulfilment of that promise. God will save some time or other: this is the very person by whom He will accomplish His promise. Take a view of Joshua’s life: his faith, courage, constancy, heroism, and success. A remarkable type of Christ. (See Heb_4:8.)
II. “The freedom of those who contracted. ‘Take away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood, and in Egypt,’ etc. (Jos_24:14). Consider the liberty of choice which every man has, and which God, in matters of religion, calls into action.
III. “The necessity of the choice. To be without religion is to be without happiness here, and without any title to the kingdom of God. To have a false religion is the broad road to perdition; and to have the true religion, and live agreeably to it, is the high road to heaven. Life is precarious, death is at the door; the Judge calls; much is to be done, and perhaps there is but little time to do it in. Choose: choose speedily and determinately.
IV. “The extent of the conditions. ‘Fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth and righteousness.’ Consider His being, His power, holiness, justice, etc. Religion itself consists of two parts.
1. Truth, (a) In opposition to the idolatry of the surrounding nations. (b) In reference to that revelation which God gave of Himself. (c) In reference to that peace and comfort which false religions may promise, but cannot give, and which the true religion communicates to all who properly embrace it.
2. Uprightness or integrity, in opposition to those abominable vices by which themselves and the neighbouring nations had been defiled. (a) The major part of men have one religion for youth, and another for old age. He who serves God with integrity serves Him with all his heart in every part of life. (b) Most men have a religion of times, places, and circumstances. Integrity takes in every time, every place, and every circumstance; God’s law ever being kept before the eyes, and His love in the heart, dictating purity and perfection to every thought, word, and work. (c) Many content themselves with abstaining from vice, and think themselves sure of the kingdom of God because they do not sin as others. But he who serves God in integrity, not only abstains from the act and appearance of evil, but steadily performs every moral good.
V. “The peril of the engagement. This covenant had in it the nature of an oath; for so much the phrase ‘before the Lord’ implies.… Joshua allows there is a great danger in making this covenant. ‘Ye cannot serve the Lord,’ etc. But this only supposes that nothing could be done right but by His Spirit, and in His strength. The energy of the Holy Spirit is equal to every requisition of God’s holy law, as far as it regards the moral conduct of a believer in Christ.
VI. “The solemnity of the acceptance. Not withstanding Joshua faithfully laid down the dreadful evils which those might expect who should abandon the Lord, yet the people entered solemnly into the covenant. ‘God forbid that we should forsake the Lord.’ ‘We will serve the Lord.’ They seemed to think that not to covenant in this case was to reject.
VII. “The nearness of the consequence. There were false gods among them, and these must be immediately put away (Jos_24:23). The moment the convenant is made, that same moment the conditions of it come into force. He who makes this covenant with God should immediately break off from every evil design, companion, word, and work.”—[Dr. A. Clarke, from M. Saurin.]
“THE REPEATED PROFESSION OF THE PEOPLE THAT THEY WILL SERVE THE LORD.
I. “The profession in reference to its import.
II. “The profession in reference to the responsibilities which the people thus took upon them.
“It is easily said, I will serve the Lord and obey His voice; but actually to keep the promise when the world allures to its altars is another thing.
“Israel’s resolution to serve the Lord was wholly voluntary. So should it be also with us. There should be no compulsion.”—[Fay.]
Jos_24:26-27.—“THE RELIGIOUS USE OF MEMORIALS.
“This action of Joshua seems a strange importance to be conferred on a piece of insensible matter, on a mere block of stone, unnoticed, perhaps, for a thousand years. ‘It hath heard,’ is an excessively strong figure; but it is quite in the Eastern style to give things the attributes of persons.
1. “How little it can be foreseen or conjectured to what use numberless things in the creation, apparently insignificant, are destined by Divine appointment to be applied. They may be entirely unnoticed while waiting that use, with no marks upon them to distinguish them from the most ordinary things of the same kind. The trees for Noah’s ark. The rod of Moses. The stones which were to be the tables of the Law, and which were to be written upon by the Almighty. The rams’ horns used at the siege of Jericho. The materials destined to the most awful use of all—THE CROSS. There is, as to most of us, now existing, somewhere, the very wood which will form our coffins. Some of us may have passed near the very trees, or the wood no longer in the state of trees. The material bears no mark what it is for; but God has on it His secret mark of its destination. If it were visible, what a reading we should have of inscriptions I—tomb inscriptions, seen beforehand!
2. “The sovereign Lord has some appointed use for everything in creation. The uses of an infinite number of things we shall never know; but He can have made nothing but for an use—to that it will come. What a view has He on all things as bearing His destination! What a stupendous prospective vision, if we may express it so, before His mind!
3. “Wise and good men can find for many things many uses, for instruction and piety, which do not occur to other men. If such a man, towards the close of life, could make out an account of the things that have served him to such a purpose, how many things, seeming not in themselves qualified to instruct him, would he have to recount as having been the occasions of his receiving instruction or salutary impressions!…
4. “The great leaders of Israel, Moses and Joshua, were solicitous to employ every expedient to secure an eternal remembrance of God in the people’s minds.… It was not enough that human and even angelie monitors should be speaking. They perceived how constantly the popular mind was withdrawing and escaping from under the impressive sense of an invisible Being; how easily the delusions of the surrounding idolatry stole on their senses and their imagination, to beguile their hearts and their very reason away; how imperfectly the grand scene of nature, of the creation, preserved, in any active force, the thought of the Creator; how apt to grow feeble and faint was their memory of even the miraculous events which themselves had beheld. Accordingly they marked places and times with monuments, built altars, raised heaps of stones, etc.
“Now can all this be turned to no good account for us? Have we less of this unhappy tendency to forget things which ought to stand conspicuous in our memory, relative to our concerns with God? What kind of memory have we, for example, of the mercies of God?
“We then, as much as the Israelites, need all manner of aids to revive the memory of them. Valuable advantage may be taken of particular circumstances, aiding us to recall them. ‘This stone shall be a witness to us.’ Everything that can be made a witness and remembrancer to us is worth being made so. We should not despise its assistance. The place where we were delivered from an accident should be a witness to us. The apartment where an oppressive sickness had brought its victim just to the gate of death; the place in which a person was saved from falling into some great sin; the house, book, letter, in or through which some important lesson of instruction was given at an opportune and critical moment: these, and similar things, should be memorials and witnesses to men.…
“A man should take like methods to remember his sins. A man may happen to meet, now sinking in age, a person who once remonstrated against his sinful ways; or he may pass by the grave of one who was once an associate in evil. Let him stand by it and reflect. Or, not to suppose heinous sins, there may be presented to a man various things which will remind him of a careless, irreligious season of his life; a Bible that he cared not to read; articles used for mere vain amusement and waste of time. Now, such monumental witnesses should suggest to a man to think of guilt, repentance, and pardon. He might fix his eyes on those objects while on his bended knees.
“There are men in whose memories are reposited times and places when and where they trembled under ‘the terrors of the Lord.’ …
“It is wise to seize upon all means of turning the past into lessons of solemn admonition; it is, as it were, bringing it back to be present, that we may have it over again. With the instructing, sanctifying influence of the Divine Spirit, we may thus pass again, in thought, over the scenes of our life, and reap certain benefit now, even in those where we reaped none then.”—[From John Foster’s Lectures.]
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain Jos 24:19 - Jos 24:28.
Joshua
THE NATIONAL OATH AT SHECHEM
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Jos 24:19 - Jos 24:28.
We reach in this passage the close of an epoch. It narrates the last public act of Joshua and the last of the assembled people before they scatter ‘every man unto his inheritance.’ It was fitting that the transition from the nomad stage to that of settled abode in the land should be marked by the solemn renewal of the covenant, which is thus declared to be the willingly accepted law for the future national life. We have here the closing scene of that solemn assembly set before us.
The narrative carries us to Shechem, the lovely valley in the heart of the land, already consecrated by many patriarchal associations, and by that picturesque scene {Jos 8:30 - Jos 8:35}, when the gathered nation, ranged on the slopes of Ebal and Gerizim, listened to Joshua reading ‘all that Moses commanded.’ There, too, the coffin of Joseph, which had been reverently carried all through the desert and the war, was laid in the ground that Jacob had bought five hundred years ago, and which now had fallen to Joseph’s descendants, the tribe of Ephraim. There was another reason for the selection of Shechem for this renewal of the covenant. The gathered representatives of Israel stood, at Shechem, on the very soil where, long ago, Abram had made his first resting-place as a stranger in the land, and had received the first divine pledge, ‘unto thy seed will I give this land,’ and had piled beneath the oak of Moreh his first altar {of which the weathered stones might still be there} to ‘the Lord, who appeared unto him.’ It was fitting that this cradle of the nation should witness their vow, as it witnessed the fulfilment of God’s promise. What Plymouth Rock is to one side of the Atlantic, or Hastings Field to the other, Shechem was to Israel. Vows sworn there had sanctity added by the place. Nor did these remembrances exhaust the appropriateness of the site. The oak, which had waved green above Abram’s altar, had looked down on another significant incident in the life of Jacob, when, in preparation for his journey to Bethel, he had made a clean sweep of the idols of his household, and buried them ‘under the oak which was by Shechem’ {Gen 35:2 - Gen 35:4}. His very words are quoted by Joshua in his command, in Jos 24:23, and it is impossible to overlook the intention to parallel the two events. The spot which had seen the earlier act of purification from idolatry was for that very reason chosen for the later. It is possible that the same tree at whose roots the idols from beyond the river, which Leah and Rachel had brought, had been buried, was that under which Joshua set up his memorial stone; and it is possible that the very stone had been part of Abram’s altar. But, in any case, the place was sacred by these past manifestations of God and devotions of the fathers, so that we need not wonder that Joshua selected it rather than Shiloh, where the ark was, for the scene of this national oath of obedience. Patriotism and devotion would both burn brighter in such an atmosphere. These considerations explain also the designation of the place as ‘the sanctuary of the Lord,’-a phrase which has led some to think of the Tabernacle, and apparently occasioned the Septuagint reading of ‘Shiloh’ instead of ‘Shechem’ in Jos 24:1 and Jos 24:25. The precise rendering of the preposition in Jos 24:26 {which the Revised Version has put in the margin} shows that the Tabernacle is not meant; for how could the oak-tree be ‘in’ the Tabernacle? Clearly, the open space, hallowed by so many remembrances, and by the appearance to Abram, was regarded as a sanctuary.
The earlier part of this chapter shows that the people, by their representatives, responded with alacrity-which to Joshua seemed too eager-to his charge, and enumerated with too facile tongues God’s deliverances and benefits. His ear must have caught some tones of levity, if not of insincerity, in the lightly-made vow. So he meets it with a douche of cold water in Jos 24:19 - Jos 24:20, because he wishes to condense vaporous resolutions into something more tangible and permanent. Cold, judiciously applied, solidifies. Discouragements, rightly put, encourage. The best way to deepen and confirm good resolutions which have been too swiftly and inconsiderately formed, is to state very plainly all the difficulty of keeping them. The hand that seems to repel, often most powerfully attracts. There is no better way of turning a somewhat careless ‘we will’ into a persistent ‘nay, but we will’ than to interpose a ‘ye cannot.’ Many a boy has been made a sailor by the stories of hardships which his parents have meant as dissuasives. Joshua here is doing exactly what Jesus Christ often did. He refused glib vows because He desired whole hearts. His very longing that men should follow Him made Him send them back to bethink themselves when they promised to do it. ‘Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest!’ was answered by no recognition of the speaker’s enthusiasm, and by no word of pleasure or invitation, but by the apparently cold repulse: ‘Foxes have holes, birds of the air roosting-places; but the Son of Man has not where to lay His head. That is what you are offering to share. Do you stand to your words?’ So, when once ‘great multitudes’ came to Him He turned on them, with no invitation in His words, and told them the hard conditions of discipleship as being entire self-renunciation. He will have no soldiers enlisted under false pretences. They shall know the full difficulties and trials which they must meet; and if, knowing these, they still are willing to take His yoke upon them, then how exuberant and warm the welcome which He gives!
There is a real danger that this side of the evangelist’s work should be overlooked in the earnestness with which the other side is done. We cannot be too emphatic in our reiteration of Christ’s call to all the ‘weary and heavy-laden’ to come unto Him, nor too confident in our assurance that whosoever comes will not be ‘cast out’; but we may be, and, I fear, often are, defective in our repetition of Christ’s demand for entire surrender, and of His warning to intending disciples of what they are taking upon them. We shall repel no true seeker by duly emphasising the difficulties of the Christian course. Perhaps, if there were more plain speaking about these at the beginning, there would be fewer backsliders and dead professors with ‘a name to live.’ Christ ran the risk of the rich ruler’s going away sorrowful, and so should His messengers do. The sorrow tells of real desire, and the departure will sooner or later be exchanged for return with a deeper and more thorough purpose, if the earlier wish had any substance in it. If it had not, better that the consciousness of its hollowness should be forced upon the man, than that he should outwardly become what he is not really,-a Christian; for, in the one case, he may be led to reflection which may issue in thorough surrender; and in the other he will be a self-deceived deceiver, and probably an apostate.
Note the special form of Joshua’s warning. It turns mainly on two points,-the extent of the obligations which they were so lightly incurring, and the heavy penalties of their infraction. As to the former, the vow to ‘serve the Lord’ had been made, as he fears, with small consideration of what it meant. In heathenism, the ‘service’ of a god is a mere matter of outward acts of so-called worship. There is absolutely no connection between religion and morality in idolatrous systems. The notion that the service of a god implies any duties in common life beyond ceremonial ones is wholly foreign to paganism in all its forms. The establishment of the opposite idea is wholly the consequence of revelation. So we need not wonder if the pagan conception of service was here in the minds of the vowing assembly. If we look at their vow, as recorded in Jos 24:16 - Jos 24:18, we see nothing in it which necessarily implies a loftier idea. Jehovah is their national God, who has fought and conquered for them, therefore they will ‘serve Him.’ If we substitute Baal, or Chemosh, or Nebo, or Ra, for Jehovah, this is exactly what we read on Moabite stones and Assyrian tablets and Egyptian tombs. The reasons for the service, and the service itself, are both suspiciously external. We are not judging the people more harshly than Joshua did; for he clearly was not satisfied with them, and the tone of his answer sufficiently shows what he thought wrong in them. Observe that he does not call Jehovah ‘your God.’ He does so afterwards; but in this grave reply to their exuberant enthusiasm he speaks of Him only as ‘the Lord,’ as if he would put stress on the monotheistic conception, which, at all events, does not appear in the people’s words, and was probably dim in their thoughts. Then observe that he broadly asserts the impossibility of their serving the Lord; that is, of course, so long as they continued in their then tone of feeling about Him and His service.
Then observe the points in the character of God on which he dwells, as indicating the points which were left out of view by the people, and as fitted to rectify their notions of service. First, ‘He is an holy God.’ The scriptural idea of the holiness of God has a wider sweep than we often recognise. It fundamentally means His supreme and inaccessible elevation above the creature; which, of course, is manifested in His perfect separation from all sin, but has not regard to this only. Joshua here urges the infinite distance between man and God, and especially the infinite moral distance, in order to enforce a profounder conception of what goes to God’s service. A holy God cannot have unholy worshippers. His service can be no mere ceremonial, but must be the bowing of the whole man before His majesty, the aspiration of the whole man after His loftiness, the transformation of the whole man into the reflection of His purity, the approach of the unholy to the Holy through a sacrifice which puts away sin.
Further, He is ‘a jealous God.’ ‘Jealous’ is an ugly word, with repulsive associations, and its application to God has sometimes been explained in ugly fashion, and has actually repelled men. But, rightly looked at, what does it mean but that God desires our whole hearts for His own, and loves us so much, and is so desirous to pour His love into us, that He will have no rivals in our love? The metaphor of marriage, which puts His love to men in the tenderest form, underlies this word, so harsh on the surface, but so gracious at the core.
There is still abundant need for Joshua’s warning. We rejoice that it takes so little to be a Christian that the feeblest and simplest act of faith knits the soul to the all-forgiving Christ. But let us not forget that, on the other hand, it is hard to be a Christian indeed; for it means ‘forsaking all that we have,’ and loving God with all our powers. The measure of His love is the measure of His ‘jealousy,’ and He loves us no less than He did Israel. Unless our conceptions of His service are based upon our recognition of His holiness and demand for our all, we, too, ‘cannot serve the Lord.’
The other half of Joshua’s warnings refers to the penalties of the broken vows. These are put with extraordinary force. The declaration that the sins of the servants of God would not be forgiven is not, of course, to be taken so as to contradict the whole teaching of Scripture, but as meaning that the sins of His people cannot be left unpunished. The closer relation between God and them made retribution certain. The law of Israel’s existence, which its history ever since has exemplified, was here laid down, that their prosperity depended on their allegiance, and that their nearness to Him ensured His chastisement for their sin. ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.’
The remainder of the incident must be briefly disposed of. These warnings produced the desired effect; for Joshua did not seek to prevent, but to make more intelligent and firm, the people’s allegiance. The resolve, repeated after fuller knowledge, is the best reward, as it is the earnest hope, of the faithful teacher, whose apparent discouragements are meant to purify and deepen, not to repress, the faintest wish to serve God. Having tested their sincerity, he calls them to witness that their resolution is perfectly voluntary; and, on their endorsing it as their free choice, he requires the putting away of their ‘strange gods,’ and the surrender of their inward selves to Him who, by this their action as well as by His benefits, becomes in truth ‘the God of Israel.’ Attempts have been made to evade the implication that idolatry had crept in among the people; but there can be no doubt of the plain, sad meaning of the words. They are a quotation of Jacob’s, at the same spot, on a similar occasion centuries before. If there were no idols buried now under the old oak, it was not because there were none in Israel, but because they had not been brought by the people from their homes. Joshua’s commands are the practical outcome of his previous words. If God be ‘holy’ and ‘jealous,’ serving Him must demand the forsaking of all other gods, and the surrender of heart and self to Him. That is as true to-day as ever it was. The people accept the stringent requirement, and their repeated shout of obedience has a deeper tone than their first hasty utterance had. They have learned what service means,-that it includes more than ceremonies; and they are willing to obey His voice. Blessed those for whom the plain disclosure of all that they must give up to follow Him, only leads to the more assured and hearty response of willing surrender!
The simple but impressive ceremony which ratified the covenant thus renewed consisted of two parts,-the writing of the account of the transaction in ‘the book of the law’; and the erection of a great stone, whose grey strength stood beneath the green oak, a silent witness that Israel, by his own choice, after full knowledge of all that the vow meant, had reiterated his vow to be the Lord’s. Thus on the spot made sacred by so many ancient memories, the people ended their wandering and homeless life, and passed into the possession of the inheritance, through the portal of this fresh acceptance of the covenant, proclaiming thereby that they held the land on condition of serving God, and writing their own sentence in case of unfaithfulness. It was the last act of the assembled people, and the crown and close of Joshua’s career.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 This refers to the Israelites.
people
This refers to the Israelites.
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he is a jealous God
God wants his people to worship only him.
He will consume you
Yahweh's anger is spoken of as if he was a fire that would destroy them. AT: "He will destroy you as with fire" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
Joshua
Yahweh
holy
God
jealous
forgive
transgress
sin
forsake
alien
turn
consume
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:19-24 Joshua pressed the Israelites from a different perspective…
24:19-24 Joshua pressed the Israelites from a different perspective to underscore the seriousness of their commitment and to ensure that they were not merely responding to the enthusiasm of the moment.
24:19 God is holy: See “God’s Absolute Holiness” Theme Note. • God is also jealous; he created every human being for relationship with himself.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.