24Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the presence of God.H3091H622H7626H3478H7927H7121H2205H3478H7218H8199H7860H3320H6440H4302Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has to say: 'Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor.H3091H559H5971H559H3068H430H3478H1H3427H5676H5104H5769H8646H1H85H1H5152H5647H312H4303Then I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land across the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,H3947H1H85H5676H5104H3212H776H3667H7235H2233H5414H33274and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his possession, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.H5414H3327H3290H6215H5414H6215H2022H8165H3423H3290H1121H3381H47145Later I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought great trouble on Egypt. But I led you out;H7971H4872H175H5062H4714H834H6213H7130H310H33186I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and cavalry. But when your ancestors got to the Red SeaH3318H1H4714H935H3220H4714H7291H310H1H7393H6571H5488H32207they cried out to me for help, and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians. I made the sea come rolling over the Egyptians and drown them. You know what I did to Egypt. " 'You lived in the desert a long time.H6817H3068H7760H3990H4713H935H3220H3680H5869H7200H6213H4714H3427H4057H7227H31178Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought you, but I gave you victory over them. You took their land, and I destroyed them as you advanced.H935H776H567H3427H5676H3383H3898H5414H3027H3423H776H8045H64409Then the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, fought against you. He sent word to Balaam son of Beor and asked him to put a curse on you.H1111H1121H6834H4428H4124H6965H3898H3478H7971H7121H1109H1121H1160H704310But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you, and in this way I rescued you from Balak.H14H8085H1109H1288H1288H5337H302711You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory over them all.H5674H3383H935H3405H1167H3405H3898H567H6522H3669H2850H1622H2340H2983H5414H302712As you advanced, I threw them into panic in order to drive out the two Amorite kings. Your swords and bows had nothing to do with it.H7971H6880H6440H1644H6440H8147H4428H567H2719H719813I gave you a land that you had never worked and cities that you had not built. Now you are living there and eating grapes from vines that you did not plant, and olives from trees that you did not plant.'H5414H776H3021H5892H1129H3427H3754H2132H5193H39814"Now then," Joshua continued, "honor the LORD and serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the LORD.H3372H3068H5647H8549H571H5493H430H1H5647H5676H5104H4714H5647H306815If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the LORD."H7489H4310H5647H3068H977H3117H5869H5647H430H1H5647H5676H5104H430H567H776H3427H1004H5647H306816The people replied, "We would never leave the LORD to serve other gods!H5971H6030H559H2486H5800H3068H5647H312H43017The LORD our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed.H3068H430H5927H1H776H4714H1004H5650H6213H1419H226H5869H8104H1870H1980H5971H7130H567418As we advanced into this land, the LORD drove out all the Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the LORD; he is our God."H3068H1644H6440H5971H567H3427H776H5647H3068H43019Joshua said to the people, "But you may not be able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals,H3091H559H5971H3201H5647H3068H6918H430H7072H410H5375H6588H240320and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before."H5800H3068H5647H5236H430H7725H7489H3615H310H319021The people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the LORD."H5971H559H3091H5647H306822Joshua told them, "You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes," they said, "we are witnesses."H3091H559H5971H5707H977H3068H5647H559H570723"Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have," he demanded, "and pledge your loyalty to the LORD, the God of Israel."H5493H5236H430H7130H5186H3824H3068H430H347824The people then said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey his commands."H5971H559H3091H3068H430H5647H6963H808525So Joshua made a covenant for the people that day, and there at Shechem he gave them laws and rules to follow.H3091H3772H1285H5971H3117H7760H2706H4941H792726Joshua wrote these commands in the book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in the LORD's sanctuary.H3091H3789H1697H5612H8451H430H3947H1419H68H6965H427H4720H306827He said to all the people, "This stone will be our witness. It has heard all the words that the LORD has spoken to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God."H3091H559H5971H68H5713H8085H561H3068H1696H5713H3584H43028Then Joshua sent the people away, and everyone returned to their own part of the land.H3091H5971H7971H376H515929After that, the LORD's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of a hundred and ten.H310H1697H3091H1121H5126H5650H3068H4191H3967H6235H8141H112130They buried him on his own land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.H6912H1366H5159H8556H2022H669H6828H2022H160831As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the LORD, and after his death they continued to do so as long as those leaders were alive who had seen for themselves everything that the LORD had done for Israel.H3478H5647H3068H3117H3091H3117H2205H748H3117H310H3091H3045H4639H3068H6213H347832The body of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought from Egypt, was buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. This land was inherited by Joseph's descendants.H6106H3130H1121H3478H5927H4714H6912H7927H2513H7704H3290H7069H1121H2544H1H7927H3967H7192H5159H1121H313033Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, the town in the hill country of Ephraim which had been given to his son Phinehas.H499H1121H175H4191H6912H1389H6372H1121H5414H2022H669
Unknown
