Joshua 24:16-33.
Joshua 24.16-33
The people answered:
"We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the Lord. The
Lord is our God. We were slaves in Egypt as our ancestors had been,
but we saw the Lord work miracles to set our people free and to bring
us out of Egypt. Even though other nations were all around us, the
Lord protected us wherever we went. And when we fought the Amorites
and the other nations that lived in this land, the Lord made them run
away. Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord, because the Lord is our
God.
Joshua said:
The Lord is fearsome; he is the one true God, and I don't think you
are able to worship and obey him in the ways he demands. You would
have to be completely faithful, and if you sin or rebel, he won't let
you get away with it. If you turn your backs on the Lord and worship
the gods of other nations, the Lord will turn against you. He will
make terrible things happen to you and wipe you out, even though he
had been good to you before. But the people shouted, "We won't worship
any other gods. We will worship and obey only the Lord!" Joshua said,
"You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the
Lord. Isn't that true?" "Yes, it's true," they answered. Joshua said,
"But you still have some idols, like those the other nations worship.
Get rid of your idols! You must decide once and for all that you
really want to obey the Lord God of Israel." The people said, "The
Lord is our God, and we will worship and obey only him." Joshua helped
Israel make an agreement with the Lord that day at Shechem. Joshua
made laws for Israel and wrote them down in The Book of the Law of
God. Then he set up a large stone under the oak tree at the place of
worship in Shechem and told the people, "Look at this stone. It has
heard everything that the Lord has said to us. Our God can call this
stone as a witness if we ever reject him." Joshua sent everyone back
to their homes.
Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar Are Buried
Not long afterwards, the Lord's servant Joshua died at the age of one
hundred ten. The Israelites buried him in his own land at
Timnath-Serah, north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim. As
long as Joshua lived, Israel worshiped and obeyed the Lord. There were
other leaders old enough to remember everything that the Lord had done
for Israel. And for as long as these men lived, Israel continued to
worship and obey the Lord. When the people of Israel left Egypt, they
brought the bones of Joseph along with them. They took the bones to
the town of Shechem and buried them in the field that Jacob had bought
for one hundred pieces of silver from Hamor, the founder of Shechem.
The town and the field both became part of the land belonging to the
descendants of Joseph. When Eleazar the priest died, he was buried in
the hill country of Ephraim on a hill that belonged to his son
Phinehas."
God bless you.
The people answered:
"We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the Lord. The
Lord is our God. We were slaves in Egypt as our ancestors had been,
but we saw the Lord work miracles to set our people free and to bring
us out of Egypt. Even though other nations were all around us, the
Lord protected us wherever we went. And when we fought the Amorites
and the other nations that lived in this land, the Lord made them run
away. Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord, because the Lord is our
God.
Joshua said:
The Lord is fearsome; he is the one true God, and I don't think you
are able to worship and obey him in the ways he demands. You would
have to be completely faithful, and if you sin or rebel, he won't let
you get away with it. If you turn your backs on the Lord and worship
the gods of other nations, the Lord will turn against you. He will
make terrible things happen to you and wipe you out, even though he
had been good to you before. But the people shouted, "We won't worship
any other gods. We will worship and obey only the Lord!" Joshua said,
"You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the
Lord. Isn't that true?" "Yes, it's true," they answered. Joshua said,
"But you still have some idols, like those the other nations worship.
Get rid of your idols! You must decide once and for all that you
really want to obey the Lord God of Israel." The people said, "The
Lord is our God, and we will worship and obey only him." Joshua helped
Israel make an agreement with the Lord that day at Shechem. Joshua
made laws for Israel and wrote them down in The Book of the Law of
God. Then he set up a large stone under the oak tree at the place of
worship in Shechem and told the people, "Look at this stone. It has
heard everything that the Lord has said to us. Our God can call this
stone as a witness if we ever reject him." Joshua sent everyone back
to their homes.
Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar Are Buried
Not long afterwards, the Lord's servant Joshua died at the age of one
hundred ten. The Israelites buried him in his own land at
Timnath-Serah, north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim. As
long as Joshua lived, Israel worshiped and obeyed the Lord. There were
other leaders old enough to remember everything that the Lord had done
for Israel. And for as long as these men lived, Israel continued to
worship and obey the Lord. When the people of Israel left Egypt, they
brought the bones of Joseph along with them. They took the bones to
the town of Shechem and buried them in the field that Jacob had bought
for one hundred pieces of silver from Hamor, the founder of Shechem.
The town and the field both became part of the land belonging to the
descendants of Joseph. When Eleazar the priest died, he was buried in
the hill country of Ephraim on a hill that belonged to his son
Phinehas."
God bless you.
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