Joshua 23:11 Komentář

This chapter concludes the life and reign of Joshua, in which we have, I. The great care and pains he took to confirm the people of Israel in the true faith and worship of God, that they might, after his death, persevere therein. In order to this he called another general assembly of the heads of the congregation of Israel (Jos 24:1) and dealt with them. 1. By way of narrative, recounting the great things God had done for them and their fathers (Jos 24:2-13). 2. By way of charge to them, in consideration thereof, to serve God (Jos 24:14). 3. By way of treaty with them, wherein he aims to bring them, (1.) To make religion their deliberate choice; and they did so, with reasons for their choice (Jos 24:15-18). (2.) To make it their determinate choice, and to resolve to adhere to it (Jos 24:19-24). 4. By way of covenant upon that treaty (Jos 24:25-28). II. The conclusion of this history, with, 1. The death and burial of Joshua (Jos 24:29, Jos 24:30) and Eleazar (Jos 24:33), and the mention of the burial of Joseph's bones upon that occasion (Jos 24:32). 2. A general account of the state of Israel at that time (Jos 24:31).

Here, I. Joshua directs them what to do, that they might persevere in religion, Jos 23:11. Would we cleave to the Lord, and not forsake him, 1. We must always stand upon our guard, for many a precious soul is lost and ruined through carelessness: "Take heed therefore, take good heed to yourselves, to your souls (so the word is), that the inward man be kept clean from the pollutions of sin, and closely employed in the service of God." God has given us precious souls with this charge, "Take good heed to them, keep them with all diligence, above all keepings." 2. What we do in religion we must do from a principle of love, not by constraint or from a slavish fear of God, but of choice and with delight. "Lord the Lord your God, and you will not leave him." II. He urges God's fidelity to them as an argument why they should be faithful to him (Jos 23:14): "I am going the way of all the earth, I am old and dying." To die is to go a journey, a journey to our long home; it is the way of all the earth, the way that all mankind must go, sooner or later. Joshua himself, though so great and good a man, and one that could so ill be spared, cannot be exempted from this common lot. He takes notice of it here that they might look upon these as his dying words, and regard them accordingly. Or thus: "I am dying, and leaving you. Me you have not always; but if you cleave to the Lord he will never leave you." Or thus, "Now that I am near my end it is proper to look back upon the years that are past; and, in the review, I find, and you yourselves know it in all your hearts and in all your souls, by a full conviction on the clearest evidence, and the thing has made an impression upon you" - (that knowledge does us good which is seated, not in the head only, but in the heart and soul, and with which we are duly affected) - "you know that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord spoke concerning you" (and he spoke a great many); see Jos 21:45. God had promised them victory, rest, plenty, his tabernacle among them, etc., and not one thing had failed of all he had promised. "Now," said he, "has God been thus true to you? Be not you false to him." It is the apostle's argument for perseverance (Heb 10:23), He is faithful that has promised. III. He gives them fair warning what would be the fatal consequences of apostasy (Jos 23:12, Jos 23:13, Jos 23:15, Jos 23:16): "If you go back, know for a certainty it will be your ruin." Observe, 1. How he describes the apostasy which he warns them against. The steps of it would be (Jos 23:12) growing intimate with idolaters, who would craftily wheedle them, and insinuate themselves into their acquaintance, now that they had become lords of the country, to serve their own ends. The next step would be intermarrying with them, drawn to it by their artifices, who would be glad to bestow their children upon these wealthy Israelites. And the consequence of that would be (Jos 23:16) serving other gods (which were pretended to be the ancient deities of the country) and bowing down to them. Thus the way of sin is down-hill, and those who have fellowship with sinners cannot avoid having fellowship with sin. This he represents, (1.) As a base and shameful desertion; "it is going back from what you have so well begun," Jos 23:12. (2.) As a most perfidious breach of promise (Jos 23:16): "It is a transgression of the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and which you yourselves set your hand to." Other sins were transgressions of the law God commanded them, but this was a transgression of the covenant he commanded them, and amounted to a breach of the relation between God and them and a forfeiture of all the benefits of the covenant. 2. How he describes the destruction which he warns them of. He tells them, (1.) That these remainders of the Canaanites, if they should harbour them, and indulge them, and join in affinity with them, would be snares and traps to them, both to draw them to sin (not only to idolatry, but to all immoralities, which would be the ruin, not only of their virtue, but of their wisdom and sense, their spirit and honour), and also to draw them into foolish bargains, unprofitable projects, and all manner of inconveniences; and having thus by underhand practices decoyed them into one mischief or other, so as to gain advantages against them, they would then act more openly, and be scourges in their sides and thorns in their eyes, would perhaps kill or drive away their cattle, burn or steal their corn, alarm or plunder their houses, and would be all ways possible be vexatious to them; for, whatever pretences of friendship they might make, a Canaanite, unless proselyted to the faith and worship of the true God, would in every age hate the very name and sight of an Israelite. See how the punishment would be made to answer the sin, nay, how the sin itself would be the punishment. (2.) That the anger of the Lord would be kindled against them. Their making leagues with the Canaanites would not only give those idolaters the opportunity of doing them a mischief, and be the fostering of snakes in their bosoms, but it would likewise provoke God to become their enemy, and would kindle the fire of his displeasure against them. (3.) That all the threatenings of the word would be fulfilled, as the promise had been, for the God of eternal truth is faithful to both (Jos 23:15): "As all good things have come upon you according to the promise, so long as you have kept close to God, so all evil things will come upon you according to the threatening, if you forsake him." Moses had set before them good and evil; they had experienced the good, and were now in the enjoyment of it, and the evil would as certainly come if they were disobedient. As God's promises are not a fool's paradise, so his threatenings are not bugbears. (4.) That it would end in the utter ruin of their church and nation, as Moses had foretold. This is three times mentioned here. Your enemies will vex you until you perish from off this good land, Jos 23:13. Again, "God will plague you until he have destroyed you from off this good land, Jos 23:15. Heaven and earth will concur to root you out, so that (Jos 23:16) you shall perish from off the good land." It will aggravate their perdition that the land from which they shall perish is a good land, and a land which God himself had given them, and which therefore he would have secured to them if they by their wickedness had not thrown themselves out of it. Thus the goodness of the heavenly Canaan, and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will aggravate the misery of those that shall for ever be shut out and perish from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are so much as to see how happy they might have been. Joshua thus sets before them the fatal consequences of their apostasy, that, knowing the terror of the Lord, they might be persuaded with purpose of heart to cleave to him.

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 23 Joshua being old, convenes the states of Israel a little before his death, Jos 23:1; and in his address to them observes what God had done for them, and would do, Jos 23:3; and exhorts them to keep the commandments of God, and cleave to him, and not to mix with the Gentiles, and join with them in idolatrous practices, and then it would be well with them, Jos 23:6; but otherwise should they join with them, and depart from the Lord, who had so faithfully and punctually performed every good thing he had promised them, they might expect all evils and calamities, utter ruin and destruction, to befall them, Jos 23:12.

Take good heed therefore unto yourselves,.... To be upon their guard, and to be watchful, were very necessary to them, that they might not be ensnared by the Canaanites, and drawn aside by them into idolatry, and so apostatize from the Lord and his worship, since their temptations would be many: that ye love the Lord your God; which would the most strongly influence and engage them to serve and worship the Lord, and obey his commands, and be the best preservative against idolatry and false worship.

Joshua, being old, calls for the rulers and different heads of the Israelites, Jos 23:1, Jos 23:2, to whom he relates how God had put them in possession of the promised land, Jos 23:3, Jos 23:4; from which all their remaining enemies should be expelled, Jos 23:5. Exhorts them to be faithful to God, and to avoid all connections with the idolatrous nations, Jos 23:6-8. Encourages them with the strongest promises, that no enemy should ever be able to prevail against them, if they continued to love the Lord their God, Jos 23:9-11. Lays also before them the consequences of disobedience, Jos 23:12, Jos 23:13. Shows them that as all God's promises had been fulfilled to them while they were obedient, so his threatening should be fulfilled own them if they revolted from his service; and that if they did so, they should be utterly destroyed from off the good land, Jos 23:14-16.

Take good heed - unto yourselves that ye love the Lord - לנפשתיכם lenaphshotheychem, Take heed To Your Souls, literally; but נפש nephesh and nefs, both in Hebrew and Arabic, signify the whole self, as well as soul and life; both soul and body must be joined in this work, for it is written, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength.

JOSHUA'S EXHORTATION BEFORE HIS DEATH. (Jos 23:1-2) a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies--about fourteen years after the conquest of Canaan, and seven after the distribution of that country among the tribes.

Take good heed, therefore, that ye love the Lord your God--The sum of his exhortation is comprised in the love of God, which is the end or fulfilment of the law (Deu 6:5; Deu 6:11:13; Mat 22:37).

Joshua's Farewell and Death - Joshua 23-24 After the division of the land among the tribes, Joshua had withdrawn to Timnath-serah, on the mountains of Ephraim (Jos 19:50), to spend the last days of his life there in the quiet enjoyment of his own inheritance. But when the time of his departure from the earth was drawing near, remembering the call which he had received from the Lord (Jos 1:6-8), he felt constrained to gather the people together once more in the persons of their representatives, to warn them most earnestly of the dangers of apostasy from the Lord, and point out the evils that would follow (Josh 23); and then after that, in a solemn assembly of the nation at Shechem, to review the abundant mercies which the Lord had conferred upon Israel from the calling of Abraham to that day, that he might call upon them to remain stedfast and faithful in the worship of their God, and then solemnly renew the covenant with the Lord. (Note: "The pious solicitude of Joshua furnishes an example worthy of imitation by all who have the charge of others. For just as a father would not be regarded as sufficiently careful it he merely thought of the interests of his children up to the time of his own death, and did not extend his thoughtfulness on their behalf still further, and as far as was in his power endeavour to provide for their welfare when he himself should be dead; so good rulers ought to look forward that they may not only leave behind them a well-organized state, but may also strengthen and secure its existence for a long time to come." - Calvin (with special reference to Pe2 1:13-15).)