Joshua 24:2 Ulasan

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 24 This chapter gives us an account of another summons of the tribes of Israel by Joshua, who obeyed it, and presented themselves before the Lord at Shechem, Jos 24:1; when Joshua in the name of the Lord rehearsed to them the many great and good things the Lord had done for them, from the time of their ancestor Abraham to that day, Jos 24:2; and then exhorted them to fear and serve the Lord, and reject idols, Jos 24:14; and put them upon making their choice, whether they would serve the true God, or the gods of the Canaanites; and they choosing the former, he advised them to abide by their choice, Jos 24:15; and made a covenant with them to that purpose, and then dismissed them, Jos 24:25; and the chapter is concluded with an account of the death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar, and of the interment of the bones of Joseph, Jos 24:29.

And Joshua said unto all the people,.... Then present, or to all Israel by their representatives: thus saith the Lord God of Israel; he spoke to them in the name of the Lord, as the prophet did, being himself a prophet, and at this time under a divine impulse, and spirit of prophecy. According to an Arabic writer (w): the Angel of God appeared in the form of a man, and with a loud voice delivered the following, though they are expressed by him in a different manner; perhaps he mean, the Captain of the Lord's host, Jos 15:13; and which is not unlikely: your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time; on the offer side the, river Euphrates; so the Targum,"beyond Perat;''i.e. Euphrates; in Mesopotamia and Chaldea; meaning not the remotest of their ancestors, Noah and Shem, but the more near, and who are expressly named: even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; the Israelites sprung from Terah, in the line of Abraham, on the father's side, and from him in the line of Nachor on the mother's side, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel, being of Nachor's family: and they served other gods; besides the true God, strange gods, which were no gods: "idols"; the idols of the people, as the Targum; so did Terah, Abraham, and Nachor; See Gill on Gen 11:26; See Gill on Gen 11:28; See Gill on Gen 12:1. (w) Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 35.

Joshua gathers all the tribes together at Shechem, Jos 24:1; and gives them a history of God's gracious dealings with Abraham, Jos 24:2, Jos 24:3; Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, Jos 24:4; Moses and Aaron, and their fathers in Egypt, Jos 24:5, Jos 24:6. His judgments on the Egyptians, Jos 24:7. On the Amorites, Jos 24:8. Their deliverance from Balak and Balaam, Jos 24:9, Jos 24:10. Their conquests in the promised land, and their establishment in the possession of it, Jos 24:11-13. Exhorts them to abolish idolatry, and informs them of his and his family's resolution to serve Jehovah, Jos 24:14, Jos 24:15. The people solemnly promise to serve the Lord alone, and mention his merciful dealings towards them, Jos 24:16-18. Joshua shows them the holiness of God, and the danger of apostasy, Jos 24:19, Jos 24:20. The people again promise obedience, Jos 24:21. Joshua calls them to witness against themselves, that they had promised to worship God alone, and exhorts them to put away the strange gods, Jos 24:22, Jos 24:23. They promise obedience, Jos 24:24. Joshua makes a covenant with the people, writes it in a book, sets up a stone as a memorial of it, and dismisses the people, Jos 24:25-28. Joshua's death, Jos 24:29, and burial, Jos 24:30. The people continue faithful during that generation, Jos 24:31. They bury the bones of Joseph in Shechem, Jos 24:32. Eleazar the high priest dies also, Jos 24:33.

On the other side of the flood - The river Euphrates. They served other gods - Probably Abraham as well as Terah his father was an idolater, till he received the call of God to leave that land. See on Gen 11:31 (note); Gen 12:1 (note).

JOSHUA ASSEMBLING THE TRIBES. (Jos 24:1) Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem--Another and final opportunity of dissuading the people against idolatry is here described as taken by the aged leader, whose solicitude on this account arose from his knowledge of the extreme readiness of the people to conform to the manners of the surrounding nations. This address was made to the representatives of the people convened at Shechem, and which had already been the scene of a solemn renewal of the covenant (Jos 8:30, Jos 8:35). The transaction now to be entered upon being in principle and object the same, it was desirable to give it all the solemn impressiveness which might be derived from the memory of the former ceremonial, as well as from other sacred associations of the place (Gen 12:6-7; Gen 33:18-20; Gen 35:2-4). they presented themselves before God--It is generally assumed that the ark of the covenant had been transferred on this occasion to Shechem; as on extraordinary emergencies it was for a time removed (Jdg. 20:1-18; Sa1 4:3; Sa2 15:24). But the statement, not necessarily implying this, may be viewed as expressing only the religious character of the ceremony [HENGSTENBERG].

RELATES GOD'S BENEFITS. (Jos 24:2-13) Joshua said unto all the people--His address briefly recapitulated the principal proofs of the divine goodness to Israel from the call of Abraham to their happy establishment in the land of promise; it showed them that they were indebted for their national existence as well as their peculiar privileges, not to any merits of their own, but to the free grace of God. Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood--The Euphrates, namely, at Ur. Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor--(see Gen 11:27). Though Terah had three sons, Nahor only is mentioned with Abraham, as the Israelites were descended from him on the mother's side through Rebekah and her nieces, Leah and Rachel. served other gods--conjoining, like Laban, the traditional knowledge of the true God with the domestic use of material images (Gen 31:19, Gen 31:34).