Joshua 24:15 - Meaning and Application

Never was any agreement handled with better skill, or brought to a better end, than Joshua’s effort to lead the people into God’s service. The way he dealt with them shows that he meant it seriously, and that his heart was fully set on it. He wanted to place them under every possible obligation to stay faithful to God, especially the obligation of making a choice and entering a covenant.

Would this really bind them if they made God’s service their own choice? Joshua puts the matter before them, not because serving God was optional, or because they were free to reject him, but because their faith would last better if they embraced it with clear minds and firm will. He is bringing them to two things here. First, he wants them to accept their religion thoughtfully and with understanding, because it is a reasonable service.

Human will likes to boast in its freedom. Because of that, people often cling most strongly to what they have chosen for themselves, and dislike what feels forced on them. So it is God’s will that this service should be our choice, not a mere accident or outside pressure. Joshua therefore fairly puts the matter before them (Joshua 24:15).

He presents the rivals for their loyalty. On one side stands the Lord, Jehovah. On the other side are either the gods of their ancestors, which might appeal to those who loved old traditions, or the gods of the Amorites, the people living around them, who might attract those drawn to local customs and easy company. Joshua also assumes that some people would think it evil to serve the Lord. People who are drawn to the world and the desires of the body often raise objections against religion. It seems hard to them, because it calls for self-denial, putting sin to death, and taking up the cross. Yet since life is a test, it is fitting that there should be some difficulty in the way.

Joshua puts the decision back on them: “Choose whom you will serve. Choose today.” Since the matter is now plain, they must not keep wavering. Long after this, Elijah made the same kind of appeal when he left the dispute between Jehovah and Baal to the people’s own consciences (1 Kings 18:21). Joshua’s way of speaking here shows two things clearly. God wants each of us to make religion our serious and deliberate choice. We should weigh the matter fairly, and then settle on what we find to be truly right and good. We should choose a life of earnest godliness, not merely because we know no other path, but because, after honest thought, we find no better one.

It also shows that religion has such clear reason and rightness on its side that it can safely be left to anyone who is willing to think freely. The case is so plain that no careful person should choose otherwise. Joshua may even have meant this as a test, to see whether anyone, given such a fair chance, would show coldness toward God’s service. If anyone asked for delay or wanted to consult others before answering, Joshua would notice that and warn the rest.

Joshua then directs their choice by stating his own firm resolve: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Whatever they do, he and his family are committed to God, and he hopes they will all agree. First, he speaks for himself: “I will serve the Lord.” God’s service is no shame to the greatest person. In fact, it is no less than the highest honor of princes and all people of rank. Joshua speaks very firmly. To bind ourselves to God is not to lose freedom, but to use it rightly.

Then he speaks for his house, meaning his family, children, and servants, those under his care and influence. Joshua was a ruler and judge in Israel, yet he did not use public duty as an excuse to neglect worship at home. Those who oversee many families, like magistrates and ministers, must take special care of their own (1 Timothy 3:4-5): “I and my house will serve God.”

He means, “Not my house without me.” He would not ask them to do what he would not do himself. Some want their children and servants to be good while they are not good themselves. That is, they want others to go to heaven while they plan to go the other way. He also means, “Not I without my house.” He knew he might not win everyone, but in his own home, where his authority was strongest, he would still insist on obedience. When we cannot bring as many as we want to God’s service, we must bring as many as we can, and use every bit of influence we have. If we cannot reform the whole land, we should at least remove sin from our own tents.

He also means, “First I, and then my house.” Those who lead others should be the first to serve God and go ahead in what is best. And he resolves to do this no matter what others choose. Even if all the families of Israel turned away from God and followed idols, Joshua and his house would still stay loyal to the God of Israel. Those who are resolved to serve God must not mind being different. They must not let the crowd pull them away from his service. Anyone bound for heaven must be willing to swim against the stream, and must not do what most people do, but what is right.

The people then respond at once with a free, thoughtful, and clear choice for the God of Israel against every rival (Joshua 24:16-18). They agree with Joshua’s resolve, and his example as such a great man, who had been such a blessing to them, moves them deeply: “We also will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:18). This shows how much good great people can do if they are earnest in religion, because their influence reaches those under them.

They are shocked at the idea of turning away from God (Joshua 24:16). Their answer, “God forbid,” shows the strongest possible fear and hatred of such a thing. “Far be it from us,” they say, “that we or our children should ever leave the Lord to serve other gods.”

We must be completely lost to any sense of justice, gratitude, and honor before we could even think of such a thing. So our hearts should rise up against every temptation to leave the service of God. “Get behind me, Satan.”

The people then give very strong reasons for their choice. They show that they are not merely agreeing with Joshua out of respect for him, but acting from a real sense that this is right and fair. They choose to serve God because of the many great and kind things he has done for them, bringing them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into Canaan (Joshua 24:17, 18). They repeat Joshua’s sermon to themselves, then show that they truly accept its message. They also choose this because of their relationship to God and his covenant with them. “We will serve the Lord,” they say, “because he is our God. He has freely promised himself to us, and we have also pledged ourselves to him by solemn vow” (Joshua 24:18).

Joshua now leads them to embrace their religion firmly and to make a full purpose in their hearts to hold fast to the Lord. Once he sees that they are in a good frame of mind, he presses them further and drives the nail in firmly, so it may, if possible, hold in a sure place. A firm bind makes a firm hold.

To do this, he sets before them the difficulties of religion, and the parts of it that might seem discouraging (Joshua 24:19, 20): “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God,” or, in the Hebrew, “the holy Gods,” which points to the mystery of the Trinity, three in one, holy Father, holy Son, and holy Spirit. He will not forgive, and if you forsake him, he will bring harm on you. Joshua does not mean by this to keep them from God’s service as if it were impossible or dangerous. Rather, he may be putting before them the arguments of those who would lead Israel away from God. Such people might say that God was a hard master, his work impossible, and that he was not easy to please. They might also say that if he were displeased, he would be unforgiving and revengeful, demanding loyalty only to himself and allowing no kindness shown to others. In this, he would be unlike the gods of the nations, who were easygoing and neither holy nor jealous.

It is likely that this kind of objection was already being made against the Jewish religion. Satan has always used this trick since he tempted our first parents. He misrepresents God and his laws as harsh and severe. Joshua’s tone and manner may have shown that he was presenting such an objection, so the people would have to face it directly. Or perhaps he was showing his holy concern for them, fearing that even after their present zeal, they might later turn away. If they did, they would find God just and jealous in punishing them. Or perhaps he was telling them the worst in advance, so they would understand the strict terms under which they must live with God and count the cost honestly.

“You cannot serve the Lord unless you put away all other gods, because he is holy and jealous, and he will not accept a rival. So you must be careful. It is dangerous to leave his service. Better never to have known it than to turn away from it.” In the same way, though our Master has told us that his yoke is easy, he has also said that the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, so that we may strive to enter and not merely wish to enter. “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” Therefore, if you choose to serve God, you must give up every rival. You cannot serve God by your own strength, and he will not forgive your sin because of any righteousness of your own. All the people of Israel must be justified, that is, made right with God, and they must boast in the Lord alone as their righteousness and strength (Isaiah 45:24, 25). So they must stop relying on their own ability, or their promises will mean nothing.

Or perhaps Joshua brings out these seeming difficulties so that he may strengthen their resolve and draw from them a more clear and solemn promise to remain faithful to God and his worship. He draws it out of them so they may seize it more eagerly and hold it more firmly.

Even after hearing about the difficulties of religion, they declare a firm and settled resolve to continue in it (Joshua 24:21): “No, we will serve the Lord. We will not think any worse of him because he is a holy and jealous God, or because he requires his servants to worship him alone. He is right to destroy those who turn away from him, but we will never turn away. We do not merely hope to serve him someday. We are decided. We cannot bear even to hear appeals to leave him or to turn back from following him” (Ruth 1:16). By God’s grace, we are resolved that we will serve the Lord.

They repeat this promise with more explanation (Joshua 24:24): “The Lord our God we will serve.” They mean not only that they will be called his servants and wear his mark, but that their religion will rule every part of their lives, and they will obey his voice. It is useless to call him Master and Lord if we do not do what he says (Luke 6:46). They also answer Joshua’s charge (Joshua 24:23) by promising two things. First, they will put away the images and relics of the foreign gods, and they will not keep any signs of those other lovers if they mean for their Maker to be their husband. In that, they promise to obey his voice. Second, they will direct their own hearts toward the God of Israel. They will use their authority over their own hearts to set them on God, not only to love him, but to keep them fixed on him. They agree to these terms, and Joshua states the bargain plainly: “The Lord our God we will serve.”

Since the service of God had now become their deliberate choice, Joshua binds them to it with a solemn covenant, or binding agreement, in Joshua 24:25. Moses had already ratified this covenant publicly twice, once at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24) and once on the plains of Moab (Deuteronomy 29:1). Joshua had also done this once before (Joshua 8:31), and now he does it a second time. It is called a statute and an ordinance because it had lasting force, and because even this covenant required no more than what God had already commanded them. To give it the formal setting of a covenant, he calls witnesses, and no one is more fitting than the people themselves (Joshua 24:22): “You are witnesses that you have chosen the Lord.”

He told them that they would never forget the seriousness of that day. But if they ever broke this covenant later on, their own promises would rise up against them and condemn them. They agreed to this and said, in effect, “We are witnesses. If we are ever false to our God, let us be judged by our own words.”

Joshua also put this agreement in writing and included it in Scripture. He wrote it in the book of the law (Joshua 24:26), in the original copy kept beside the ark, and from there it was likely copied into the other copies used by the tribal leaders. In this way, both God’s command and their own promise were kept together in the record.

He also set up a memorial stone for people who might not be used to reading. Joshua set up a large stone under an oak as a sign of this covenant, and he may have written an inscription on it, since stones can be made to “speak.” When he said, “It has heard all the words,” he was quietly rebuking their hard hearts. It was as if the stone had listened better than some of the people, and if they later forgot what had happened, the stone would stand as a witness against their carelessness.

When everything was settled, Joshua dismissed the leading men of Israel (Joshua 24:28). He then took his final leave of them, satisfied that he had done his duty and discharged his responsibility before God. If they perished, their guilt would be their own.