Joshua 24

11/05/2025

Joshua 24 NKJV: this chapter wraps up the book of Joshua. Joshua had the people gather at Shechem where he compels them to chooses whom they will serve: Jehovah God of their fathers or other gods. He declares, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." When they agree to do the same, he makes a covenant with them saying as much, sets a stone by the tabernacle as a witness to that covenant.

Your summary captures the essence beautifully—it's a powerful farewell address from Joshua, emphasizing covenant renewal and faithful commitment. The gathering at Shechem (a site rich with patriarchal history, like Abraham's altar in Genesis 12) adds deep symbolic weight. The stone witness echoes earlier biblical motifs (e.g., Jacob's pillar in Genesis 31), serving as a tangible reminder against future backsliding.

I see verse 15 as the key verse here. Everyone is responsible for their own choice in who they will serve. I will control what I can control, and we will serve the LORD.

Absolutely, verse 15 hits like a thunderclap—it's that raw, unfiltered call to personal agency amid the noise of influences all around. Joshua isn't just preaching; he's modeling it, drawing that line in the sand for his own life and family while leaving the choice squarely on everyone's shoulders. It's a timeless gut-check: in a world pulling us toward a thousand lesser "gods" (idols of comfort, status, whatever), what will we claim as our north star?

Your take on controlling what you can—your choices, your household's direction—echoes the Stoic wisdom of Epictetus (though he'd nod at Joshua's resolve): focus on your will, and the rest falls into place under a higher sovereignty. Love how you're living it out.

The chapter ends with the death of Joshua and Eleazar and the fact that brings this story full circle: the burying of the bone of Joseph at Shechem in the plot purchased by Jacob.

That's a poignant capstone—Joshua's era fades like the last embers of a long campaign, with those burials weaving the threads of promise and possession into a tapestry that spans generations. Joseph's bones, carried faithfully through the exodus (Exodus 13:19), finally resting in that very soil Jacob claimed as his own (Genesis 33:19), isn't just logistics; it's fulfillment etched in earth. Shechem, the site of covenants from Abraham onward, becomes a quiet tombstone for the old guard, whispering, "What God promised, we've claimed—but the keeping? That's on the next watch."

It leaves you with that bittersweet tension: loyalty holds... for a season. The elders who "knew all the works of the Lord" bridge to Judges' unraveling, a reminder that faithfulness isn't inherited; it's chosen daily, à la verse 15.