14 And now fear Jehovah and serve him in perfectness and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, and in Egypt; and serve Jehovah.
Now therefore put away the strange gods that are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah the God of Israel.
Only, fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth, with all your heart; for see how great things he has done for you.
For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and sincerity before God, (not in fleshly wisdom but in God's grace,) we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly towards you.
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.
And Jacob said to his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments;
that ye may judge of and approve the things that are more excellent, in order that ye may be pure and without offence for Christ's day,
Grace with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption.
But [the] hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for also the Father seeks such as his worshippers. God [is] a spirit; and they who worship him must worship [him] in spirit and truth.
But that in the good ground, these are they who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
And Abram was ninety-nine years old, when Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said to him, I [am] the Almighty ùGod: walk before my face, and be perfect.
And I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk not in the statutes of your fathers, neither keep their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
and I said unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I [am] Jehovah your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: none of them cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I thought to pour out my fury upon them, so as to accomplish mine anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
Let my heart be perfect in thy statutes, that I be not ashamed.
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do [his precepts]: his praise abideth for ever.
And unto man he said, Lo, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess [it], is an unclean land through the filthiness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations with which they have filled it from one end to another through their uncleanness.
Ah! Jehovah, remember, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done what is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept much.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thyself any graven image, or any form of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth:
Did he not say to me, She is my sister? and she, even she said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and in the innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said to him in a dream, I also knew that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart, and I, too, have withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore have I not suffered thee to touch her.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 24
Commentary on Joshua 24 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 24
This chapter concludes the life and reign of Joshua, in which we have,
Jos 24:1-14
Joshua thought he had taken his last farewell of Israel in the solemn charge he gave them in the foregoing chapter, when he said, I go the way of all the earth; but God graciously continuing his life longer than expected, and renewing his strength, he was desirous to improve it for the good of Israel. He did not say, "I have taken my leave of them once, and let that serve;' but, having yet a longer space given him, he summons them together again, that he might try what more he could do to engage them for God. Note, We must never think our work for God done till our life is done; and, if he lengthen out our days beyond what we thought, we must conclude it is because he has some further service for us to do.
The assembly is the same with that in the foregoing chapter, the elders, heads, judges, and officers of Israel, v. 1. But it is here made somewhat more solemn than it was there.
Jos 24:15-28
Never was any treaty carried on with better management, nor brought to a better issue, than this of Joshua with the people, to engage them to serve God. The manner of his dealing with them shows him to have been in earnest, and that his heart was much upon it, to leave them under all possible obligations to cleave to him, particularly the obligation of a choice and of a covenant.
The matter being thus settled, Joshua dismissed this assembly of the grandees of Israel (v. 28), and took his last leave of them, well satisfied in having done his part, by which he had delivered his soul; if they perished, their blood would be upon their own heads.
Jos 24:29-33
This book, which began with triumphs, here ends with funerals, by which all the glory of man is stained. We have here