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Joshua 24

Chapter Text

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

The Death of Joshua

Summary

In his final address, Joshua gathers all Israel and recounts God's faithfulness from Abraham's call through the conquest of Canaan. He challenges Israel to choose whom they will serve, declaring 'as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' The people renew their covenant with God. Joshua dies at the age of one hundred and ten.

Meaning

Joshua's farewell address is a covenant renewal ceremony calling each generation to make a personal commitment to the Lord. Faith cannot be inherited; it must be chosen.

The declaration 'choose you this day' places the weight of decision upon every individual. Joshua's own testimony models the power of personal resolve. He does not compel others but leads by the conviction of his own household.

Background

Shechem, where this covenant renewal took place, was where Abraham first received God's promise and where Jacob buried foreign gods. It was a place of covenant significance throughout Israel's history.

Joshua was buried at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. The bones of Joseph, carried from Egypt, were also buried at Shechem.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1-13God Recounts His Faithfulness to Israel
  2. vv. 14-18Joshua Calls Israel to Choose the LORD
  3. vv. 19-24Joshua Tests the People's Resolve
  4. vv. 25-28The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
  5. vv. 29-31Death of Joshua and His Legacy
  6. vv. 32-33Burial of Joseph's Bones and Eleazar's Death

Key Verses

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”— 24:15

One of the most quoted verses in all of Scripture. Joshua's declaration models decisive, household-level spiritual leadership and frames faithfulness as a deliberate choice rather than passive inheritance.

“And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.”— 24:13

A powerful summary of grace — God's provision far exceeds human effort. This verse underscores that the conquest was ultimately God's gift, not Israel's achievement.

“Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.”— 24:23

Joshua presses beyond verbal commitment to demand practical action. The call to 'incline your heart' reveals that true covenant loyalty is internal and volitional, not merely ceremonial.

“And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.”— 24:31

A pivotal transitional verse that sets up the crisis of Judges. Faithfulness lasted only as long as eyewitness memory, highlighting the fragility of secondhand faith and the need for each generation to know God firsthand.

People & Places

People

  • Joshua — Aged leader of Israel delivering his farewell address and renewing the covenant before his death at 110 years old.
  • Abraham — Patriarch whom God called out of Mesopotamia to become the father of the covenant nation.
  • Terah — Father of Abraham who dwelt beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.
  • Isaac — Son of Abraham through whom the covenant promise continued.
  • Jacob — Son of Isaac and father of the twelve tribes who went down into Egypt.
  • Esau — Brother of Jacob who received Mount Seir as his inheritance.
  • Moses — Leader sent by God to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage.
  • Aaron — Brother of Moses and Israel's first high priest, sent alongside him to Egypt.
  • Balak — King of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel during their wilderness journey.
  • Balaam — Prophet son of Beor whom God compelled to bless Israel instead of cursing them.
  • Joseph — Patriarch whose bones were brought up from Egypt and buried at Shechem, fulfilling his dying wish.
  • Eleazar — Son of Aaron and high priest of Israel who died and was buried in Mount Ephraim.
  • Phinehas — Son of Eleazar in whose hill his father was buried.

Places

  • Shechem — Ancient city in central Canaan where Joshua assembled Israel for covenant renewal — a site rich in patriarchal history.
  • Egypt — Land of Israel's bondage from which God delivered them through plagues and the Red Sea crossing.
  • Red Sea — Body of water where God destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army.
  • Mount Seir — Mountain region south of the Dead Sea given to Esau as his possession.
  • Jericho — First Canaanite city conquered after Israel crossed the Jordan.
  • Timnathserah — City in Mount Ephraim where Joshua was buried within his own inheritance.
  • Mount Ephraim — Hill country in central Canaan where both Joshua and Eleazar were buried.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

The burial of Joseph's bones at Shechem (v. 32) fulfills the oath recorded in Genesis 50:25 and Exodus 13:19, where Joseph made the children of Israel swear to carry his bones out of Egypt into the promised land. This centuries-spanning fulfillment testifies to God's faithfulness across generations. Additionally, the covenant renewal at Shechem echoes the blessings and curses pronounced there in Deuteronomy 27–28, completing Moses' instructions for worship at this site upon entering the land.

Devotional

Joshua's farewell forces a question every generation must answer: whom will you serve? It is not enough to inherit faith from parents or drift along with a believing community. God recounts His acts — not to boast, but to remind Israel that everything they enjoy is unearned grace.

The call to "choose you this day" strips away comfortable neutrality. Faith demands decision, and decision demands action: put away the strange gods. Whatever competes for the heart's loyalty must be identified and removed.

Joshua's own declaration — "as for me and my house" — reminds us that spiritual leadership begins with personal resolve, then extends to those in our care.

Literary Style

This chapter is structured as a covenant renewal ceremony following ancient Near Eastern treaty patterns: historical prologue recounting the suzerain's deeds (vv. 2–13), stipulations and call to loyalty (vv. 14–24), and witnesses with memorial (vv. 25–27). The dialogue between Joshua and the people creates dramatic tension through three rounds of challenge and response. The closing obituary notices provide solemn narrative closure to the entire book.