LORD's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity. 21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, 22 The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. 28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you. 29 God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, P to build an altar for burnt-offerings, for meat-offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. 23 That we have built us an altar to turn from 30 And when Phinehas the priest, and the following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt-princes of the congregation and heads of the offering or meat-offering, or if to offer peaceofferings thereon, let the LORD himself require it; 24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? 25 For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD. 26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar; not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; 27 But that it may be a witness between us and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him h Ch. 7. 1, 5-1 Deut. 10. 17-k 1 Kings 8. 39. Job 10. 7. & 23. 10. Psa. 44. 21. & 139. 1, 2. Jer. 12. 3. 2 Cor. 11. 11, 31-1 Deut. 18. 19. 1 Sam. 20. 16.-m Heb. 1o-mor TOW. he, through his zeal for the glory of God, was the means of preventing. thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD. r 32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. n Gen. 31. 48. Ch. 24. 27. Ver. 31.-o Deut. 12. 5, 6, 11, 12, 17, 18, 26, 27.-p Deut 12 13, 14-q Heb. it was good in their eyes.-r Lev. 26. 11, 12 2 Chron. 15. 2. Heb. then. been changed: and in the succeeding part of their defence they show, that their practice corresponded with their creed. The repetition of these solemn names by the Reubenites, &c. shows their deep concern for the honour of God, and their anxiety to wipe off the reproach which they consider cast on them by the supposition that they had been capable of defection from the pure worship of God, or of disaffection to their brethren. Verse 19. If the land of your possession be unclean] The generous mind of Phinehas, led him to form this excuse for them. If ye suppose that this land is impure, as not having been originally included in the covenant, and ye think that ye cannot expect the blessing of God, unless ye have an altar, sacrifices, &c. then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord's Save us not this day] This was putting the affair to tabernacle dwelleth, the only legitimate place where sac- the most solemn issue, and nothing but the utmost conrifices and offerings can be made. We will divide this landsciousness of their own integrity, could have induced them with you, and rather straiten ourselves, than that you to make such an appeal, and call for such a decision. "Let should conceive yourselves to be under any necessity of God the Judge cause us to perish this day, if in principle erecting a new altar, besides the altar of the Lord our God. or practice we have knowingly departed from him." Verse 20. Did not Achan the son of Zerah] Your sin Verse 24. For fear of this thing] The motive that will not be merely against yourselves: your transgressions actuated us, was directly the reverse of that of which we will bring down the wrath of God upon all the people; this have been suspected. was the case in the transgression of Achan; he alone sinned, and yet God, on that account, turned his face against the whole congregation, so that they fell before their enemies. We cannot, therefore, be unconcerned spectators of your transgression, we may all be implicated in its criminality; let this, and the dishonour which we apprehend is done to our God, plead our excuse, and vindicate the necessity of the present warlike appearance which we make before you. See the history of Achan, referred to here, chap. vii. and the notes there. Verse 21. Then the children of Reuben-answered] Though conscious of their own innocency, they permitted Phinehas to finish his discourse, though composed of little else than accusations-there was a decency in this, and such a full proof of good breeding, as does them the highest credit. There are many public assemblies in the present day, which lay claim to the highest refinement, who might take a very useful lesson from these Reubenites and their associates. Verse 22. The Lord God of gods] The original words are exceedingly emphatic, and cannot be easily translated, El Elohim Yehovah, are the three principal names by which the supreme God was known among the Hebrews, and may be thus translated, the strong God, Elohim Jehovah, which is nearly the version of Luther, Der starcte Gott der Herr, "The Strong God the LORD." And the Reubenites, by using these, in their very solemn appeal, expressed at once their strong, unshaken faith in the God of Israel; and by this they fully showed the deputation from the ten tribes, that their religious creed had not Verse 26. An altar; not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice] Because this would have been in flat opposition to the Law, Levit. xvii. 8, 9. Deut. xii. 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14. which most positively forbad any sacrifice or offering to be made in any other place than that one which the Lord should choose. Therefore the altar builded by the Reubenites, &c. was for no religious purpose, but merely to serve as a testimony that they were one people with those on the west of Jordan, having the same religious and civil constitution, and bound by the same interests to keep that constitution inviolate. Verse 29. God forbid that we should rebel] These words not only express their strong abhorrence of this crime, but also show, that without God, they could do no good thing; and that they depended upon him for that strength by which alone they could abstain from evil. Verse 31. We perceive that the Lord is among us] Or, according to the Targum of Jonathan-"This day we know that the majesty of Jehovah dwelleth among us, because ye have not committed this prevarication against the WORD of the Lord, and thus ye have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the WORD of the Lord." They rejoice to find them innocent, and that there is no ground of quarrel between the children of the same family. And from this they draw a very favourable conclusion, that as God was among them as the sole object of their religious worship, so he would abide with them as their protector and their portion: and as they were his friends, they take it for granted that he will deliver them from the hands of their enemies. 33 And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. 34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar "Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God. CHAPTER XXIII. Joshua being old, calls for the rulers, and different heads of the Israelites, 1,2; to whom he relates how God had put them in possession of the promised land, 3, 4; from which all their remaining enemies should be expelled, 5. Exhorts them to be faithful to God, and to avoid all connexions with the idolatrous nations, 6-8. Encour ages 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, 9-11. Lays also before them the consequences of disobedience, 12, 13. Shows them, that as all God's promises had been fulfilled to them, while they were obedient, so his threatenings should be fulfilled on them if they revolted from his service; and that, if they did so, they should be utterly destroyed from off the good land, 14-16. An. Exod. Isr. 48. Anno ante L. Olymp. 667. ND it came pass a long A after that the last had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and *stricken in age: 2 And Joshua y called for all Israel and for t1 Chron. 29. 20. Neh. 8. 6. Dan. 2. 19. Luke 2. 28-u That is, a witness: so Ch. 24. 27. Ch. 21. 44. & 22. 4-w Ch. 13. 1-x Heb. come into days.-y Deut. 31. 28. Ch. 24. 1. 1 Chron. 28. 1.- Exod. 14. 14. Ch. 10. 14. 42.-a Ch. 13. 2, 6. & 18. 10.-b Heb. at Verse 33. And did not intend to go up against them in battle] That is, they now relinquished the intention of going against them in battle; as this explanation proved there was no cause for the measure. Verse 34. Called the altar Ed] The word ED which signifies witness or testimony, is not found in the common editions of the Hebrew Bible, and is supplied in Italics by our translators, at least in our modern copies; for in the first edition of this translation, it stands in the text without any note of this kind: and it is found in several of Kennicott's and de Rossi's MSS. and also in the Syriac and Arabic. Several also of the early printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, have the word y either in the text or in the margin; and it must be allowed to be necessary to complete the sense. It is very probable that an inscription was put on this altar, which pointed out the purposes for which it was erected. FROM the contents of this chapter, we learn that the Israelites were dreadfully alarmed at the prospect of a schism in their own body, both as it related to ecclesiastical and civil matters. A few observations on this subject may not be useless. Schism in religion is a dangerous thing; and should be carefully avoided by all who fear God. But this word should be well understood. Exopa, in theology, is generally allowed to signify a rent in, or departure from, the doctrine and practice of the apostles, especially among those who had been previously united in that doctrine and practice. A departure from human institutions in religion, is no schism, for this reason, that the wORD of GOD alone is the sufficient rule of the faith and practice of Christians: and as to human institutions, forms, modes, &c. those of one party may be as good as those of another. When the majority of a nation agrees in some particular forms and modes in their religious service; no conscientious man will lightly depart from these: nor depart at all, unless he find, that they are not only not authorized by the word of God, but repugnant to it. It is an object greatly to be desired, that a whole people, living under the same laws, may, as much as possible, glorify God, not only with one heart, but also with one mouth. But there may be a dissent from established forms, without schism: for if that dissent make no rent in the doctrine or practice of Christianity, as laid down in the New Testament, it is an abuse of terms to call it a schism: besides, there may be a dissent among religious people relative to certain points, both in creed and practice, which, not affecting the essentials of Christianity, nor having any direct tendency to alienate the affections of Christians from each other, cannot be called a schism-but when professing Christians separate from each other, to set up one needless or non-essential form, &c. in the place of others, which they call needless or non-essential, they are highly culpable. This not only produces no good, but tends to much evil-for both parties, in order to make the points of their difference of sufficient consequence to justify their dissention, magnify these non-essential matters beyond all reason, and sometimes, beyond conscience itself; and thus, mint and cummin are tithed, while the weightier matters of the law, judgment and the love of God, are utterly neglected. If Christians either cannot, or will not, think alike on all points, surely they can agree to disagree, and let each go to heaven his own way. But should we take their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: 3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. 4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea b westward. 5 And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land as the LORD your God hath promised unto you. 6 Be ye therefore very courageous d and to do all that is written in the bus to keep law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; f 7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make the sunset.-o Exod. 23. 30. & 33. 2. & 34. 11. Deut. 11. 23. Ch. 13. 6-d Numb. 33. 53. e Ch. 1.7.-f Deut. 5.32 & 2. 14.-g Exod. 23. 33. Deut. 7. 2, 3 Prov. 4. 14. Eph. 5. 11.-h Exod. 23. 13. Ps. 16. 4. Jer. 5. 7. Zeph. 1. 5. See Numb. 32. 38. this advice, would it not lead to a total indifference about religion?" Not at all: for in the things which concern the essentials of Christianity, both in doctrine and prac tice, we should ever feel zealously affected, and earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXIII. Verse 1. A long time after that the Lord had given rest] This is supposed to have been in the last, or one hundred and tenth year of the life of Joshua, about thirteen or fourteen years after the conquest of Canaan, and seven after the division of the land among the tribes. Verse 2. Joshua called for all Israel] There are four degrees of civil distinction mentioned here. 1. Dypt Zikenim, the elders or senate, the PRINCES of the tribes. 2. DN Rashim, or Rashey Aboth, the CHIEFS, or HEADS of families. 3. DOD Shophitim, the JUDGES who interpreted, and decided according to the law. 4. now Shoterim, the OFFICERS, serjeants, &c. who executed the decisions of the Judges. Whether this assembly was held at Timnath-serah, where Joshua lived, or at Shiloh, where the ark was, or at Shechem, as in chap. xxiv. 1. we cannot tell. Some think that the meeting here, and that mentioned in chap. xxiv. were the same; and if so, Shechem was the place of assembling; but it is more likely that the two chapters treat of two distinct assemblies, whether held at the same place or not. Verse 3. For the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you] There is much both of piety and modesty in this address. It was natural for the Israelites to look on their veteran, wornout general, who had led them on from conquest to conquest, with profound respect; and to be ready. to say, "Had we not had such a commander, we had never got possession of this good land." Joshua corrects this opinion, and shows them, that all their enemies had been defeated, because the Lord their God had fought for them; that the battle was the Lord's and not his; and that God alone should have the glory. Verse 4. I have divided-these nations that remain] The whole of the promised land had been portioned out, as well those parts which had not yet been conquered, as those from which the ancient inhabitants had been expelled. The Canaanitish armies had long ago been broken in pieces, so that they could make no head against the Israelites; but in many districts the old inhabitants remained, more through the supineness of the Israelites than through their own bravery. From Jordan-unto the great sea] All the land that lay between the river Jordan, from Phiala, where it rose, to the southern extremity of the Dead sea; and to the Mediterranean sea, through the whole extent of its coast, opposite to Jordan. Verse 5. And drive them-out-and ye shall possess] The same Hebrew word yarash, is used here, to signify, to expel from an inheritance, and to succeed those thus expelled. Ye shall disinherit them from your sight, and ye shall inherit their land. Verse 6. Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do, &c.] It requires no small courage to keep a sound creed in the midst of scoffers; and not less to maintain a godly practice among the profane and profligate. That is written in the book]. By the word of God alone his followers are bound. Nothing is to be received as an article of faith, which God has not spoken. mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: 8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day. 91 For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. 10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. 11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. t 12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: 13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. W 14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you: all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. ¡Or, For if ye will cleave, &c. --k Deut. 10. 20. & 11. 22. & 13. 4. ch. 22. 5.--10r, Then the LORD will driæ-m Deut. 11. 23. Ch. 1. 5.- Lev. 26. 8. Deut. 3230. Sce Jug 3. 31. & 15 15. 2 Sam. 23. 8.--p Exod. 14. 14. & 23. 27. Deut, 3. 22,--q Ch. 22 5 Heb. your souls.-s Heb. 10. 38, 39. 2 Pet. 2. 20, 21.--t Deat. 7. 3. Verse 7. Come not among these nations] Have no civil or social contracts with them, see ver. 12. as these will infallibly lead to spiritual affinities-in consequence of which, ye will make honourable mention of the name of their gods, swear by them, as the judges of your motives and actions, serve them in their abominable rites, and bow yourselves unto them, as your creators and preservers; thus giving the whole worship of God to idols. And all this will follow from simply coming among them. He who walks in the counsel of the ungodly will soon stand in the way of sinners, and shortly sit in the seat of the scornful. Nemo repentè fuit turpissimus. No man rises to the highest stages of iniquity but by degrees. NERO himself, under the instructions of Seneca, was a promising youth. Verse 10. One man of you shall chase a thousand] Do not remain inactive, on the supposition that you must be much more numerous before you can drive out your enemies; for it is the Lord that shall drive out nations great and strong and under his direction and influence, one of you shall chase a thousand. : Verse 11. Take good heed-unto yourselves, that ye Love the Lord on lenaphshotaicem, Take heed To YOUR SOULS, literally; but we 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. Verse 12. Else if ye do-go back] The soldier who draws back, when going to meet the enemy, forfeits his life. These were the Lord's soldiers, and if they drew back, they drew back unto perdition: their lives being forfeited by their infidelity. Verse 13. They shall be snares] no lepach, a net, or a gin, set by the artful fowler, to catch heedless birds. And traps] po mokesh, any snare, toil, or trap, placed on the ground, to catch the unwary traveller, or wild beast, by the foot, Scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes] Nothing can be conceived more vexatious and distressing than a continual goad in the side, or thorn in the eye. They will drive you into obedience to their false gods, and put out the eyes of your understandings by their idolatries. And God will preserve them, merely to distress and punish you. Verse 14. The way of all the earth] I am about to die -I am going into the grave. Not one thing hath failed, &c.] God had so remarkably and literally fulfilled his promises, that not one of his enemies could state, that even the smallest of them had not had its most literal accomplishment: this all Israel could testify. 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you: so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you. CHAPTER XXIV. Joshua gathers all the tribes together at Shechem, 1; and gives them a history of God's gracious dealings with Abraham, 2, 3. Isaar, Jacob, and Eana, 4. Moses and Aaron, and their fathers in Egypt, 5, 6. His julguents on the Egyptians, 7. On the Amorites, 8. Their deliverance from Balak and Balaam, 9, 10. Their conquests in the promised land, and their establishment in the possession of it, 11--13. Exhorts them to abolish idolatry, and informs them of his and his family's resolution to serve Jehovah, 14,15. The people solemnly promise to serve the Lord alone, and mention ha merciful dealings towards them. 16-18. Joshta shows them the holiness of God, and the danger of apostasy, 19, 20. The people again promise obe lience, 21. Joshua calls them to witness against themselves, that they had promised to worship God alone, and exhorts them to put away the strange gols, 22, 23. They promise obedience, 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, 25-23. Joshua's death, 29, and burial, 30. The people continue faithful during that generation, 31 They bury the bones of Joseph in Sheehem, 32. Eleazar, the high priest, dies also, 33. AND Joshua gathered all the Anne Auste с tribes of Israel to a Shechem, I. Olymp. 667. and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, d Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, u Judg. 2, 3-v Exod. 23. 33. Numb. 33. 35. Deut. 7. 16. 1 Kings 11. 4.-w 1 Kings 2.2 See Heb. 9, 27.x Ch. 21. 45. Luke 21. 33-y Dent. 28. 63.- Lev. 26. 16. Deut. 28. 15. 16, &c. Jutg. 3. 3, 12 & 4. 1. 2.& 6. 1. & 10. 6, 7. & 13. 1. 2 Chron. 36. 16, 17. a Gen. 35. 4.b Ch. 23. 2.-c 1 Sam. 10. 19.-d Geu. 11. 36, 31. Judith 5. 6, 7. Verse 15. So shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things] His faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, is a proof that he will as faithfully accomplish his threatenings: for the veracity of God is equally pledged for both. Verse 16. Ye shall perish quickly from off the good land] The following note from Mr. John Trapp is very judicious: "This judgment Joshua inculcates ver. 13, 15. and here; because he knew it would be a very grievous thing to them to forego so goodly a land, so lately gotten, and so short a while enjoyed. In the beginning of a speech, ra non, the milder affections, suit best: but toward the end, ra raon, passionate and piercing passages, according to the orator. This rule Joshua observes, being Ex utroque Cæsar, no less an orator, than a warrior." IN all this exhortation, we see how closely Joshua copies the example of his great master Moses. See Lev. xxvi. 7, 8, 14, &c. Deut. xxviii. 7. xxii. 30. He was tenderly concerned for the welfare of the people; and with a deeply affected heart, he spoke to their hearts. No people ever were more fairly and fully warned, and no people profited less by it. The threatenings pronounced here, were accomplished in the Babylonish captivity; but more fully in their general dispersion since the crucifixion of our Lord. And should not every Christian fear when he reads, If God spared not the natural branches, take heed that he spare not thee! Surely a worldly, carnal, and godless Christian, has no more reason to expect indulgence from the justice of God, than a profligate Jew. We have a goodly land, but the justice of God can decree a captivity from it, or a state of bondage in it. The privileges that are abused are thereby forfeited. And this is as applicable to the individual, as to the whole system. NOTES ON CHAPTER XXIV. Verse 1. Joshua gathered all the tribes] This must have been a different assembly from that mentioned in the preceding chapter, though probably held not long after the former. To Shechem] As it is immediatly added, that they presented themselves before God, this must mean the tabernacle; but at this time, the tabernacle was not at Shechem, but at Shiloh. The Septuagint appear to have been struck with this difficulty, and therefore read Enλw, Shiloh, both here and in ver. 25. though the Aldine and Complutensian editions have Evxeu, Sychem, in both places. Many suppose that this is the original reading, and that Shechem has crept into the text instead of Shiloh. Perhaps there is more of imaginary than real difficulty in the text. As Joshua was now old and incapable of travelling, he certainly had a right to assemble the representatives of the tribes wherever he found most convenient; and to bring JOSHUA. even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the | 4 And I gave unto Isaac, Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. k m 5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; P and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. 7 And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them: and "your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. ་ W 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you: 10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. 11 Andye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the e Gen. 31. 53-f Gen. 12. 1. Acts 7. 2, 3-g Gen. 21. 2, 3. Psa. 127. 3-h Gen. 25. 21, 25, 26-i Gen. 36. 8. Deut. 2. 5.-k Gen. 46. 1,6. Acts 7. 15.-1 Exod. 3. 10-m Exod 7. 8. & 9. & 10. & 12-n Exod. 12 37, 51-o Exod. 14. 2-p Exod. 14. 9-r Exod. 14. 10.-s Exod. 14, 20.--t Exod. 14. 27, 29.--u Deut. 4.34. & 29. 2-v Ch. 5. 6.--w Numb. 21. 21, 33. Deut. 2 32. & 3.1.x See Judg. 11. 25.-y Numb. 22. 5. Deut. 23. 4. z Deut. 23. 5-a Numb. 23. 11, 20. & 24. 10. the ark of the covenant to the place of assembling; and this was probably done on this occasion. Sychem is a place famous in the patriarchal history. Here Abraham settled on his first coming into the land of Canaan, Gen. xiii. 6, 7. and here the patriarchs were buried, Acts vii. 17. And as Sychem lay between Ebal and Gerizim, where Joshua had before made a covenant with the people, chap. viii. 30, &c. the very circumstance of the place would undoubtedly be friendly to the solemnity of the present occasion. Shuckford supposes, that the covenant was made at Shechem, and that the people went to Shiloh to confirm it before the Lord. Mr. Mede thinks the Ephraimites had a proseucha, or temporary oratory, or house of prayer, at Shechem, whither the people resorted for divine worship, when they could not get to the tabernacle; and that this is what is called before the Lord: but this conjecture seems not at all likely, God having forbidden this kind of worship. Verse 2. 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. xi. 31. xii. 1. And for the rest of the history referred to here, see the notes on the parallel passages in the margin. Verse 9. Then Balak-arose and warred against Israel] This circumstance is not related in Numb. xxii. nor does it appear in that history, that the Moabites attacked the Israelites; and probably the warring here mentioned, means no more than his attempts to destroy them by the curses of Balaam, and the wiles of the Midianitish women. Verse 11. The men of Jericho fought against you] See the notes on chap. iii. and chap. vi. 1, &c. The people of Jericho are said to have fought against the Israelites, because they opposed them by shutting their gates, &c. though they did not attempt to meet them in the field. Verse 12. I sent the hornet before you] See the note on Exod. xxiii. 28. Verse 14. Fear the Lord] Reverence him as the sole object of your religious worship. Serve him] Perform his will by obeying his commands. In sincerity] Having your whole heart engaged in his worship. And in truth] According to the directions he has given you in his infallible word. 596 Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Gir- drave them out from before you, even the two did not labour, and cities which ye built not, him in h sincerity and in truth: and i put away LORD, I choose you this day whom ye will serve; 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the whether m the gods which your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or "the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve 16 And the people answered and said, God other gods; 17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought from the house of bondage, and which did those us up, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: 18 And the LORD drave out from before us all the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in for he is our God. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye can b Ch. 3. 14, 17. & 4. 10, 11, 12. Ch. 6. 1. & 10. 1. & 11. 1.-d Exod. 23. 28. Deut. ship of whom these Israelites were still attached. 1. Those them, and all the miracles they had seen, there should still That they were now sincere, cannot be reasonably doubt- not serve the LORD: for he is a holy God; he [it hath heard all the words of the LORD which is a jealous God; he will not forgive your he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness transgressions nor your sins. unto you, lest ye deny your God. u V 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. 22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. 24 And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. b 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there, under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 29 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance. b 29 And it came to pass, after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. 31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel. 32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred P pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Be-Phinehas, his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim. 27 And Joshua said unto all the people, hold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for r Lev. 19. 2 1 Sam. 6. 20. Psa. 50. 5, 9. Isai. 5. 16.-8 Exod. 20. 5-t Exod. 23. 21. a 1 Chron. 28. 9. 2 Chron. 15. 2. Ezra 8. 22 Isai. 1. 28. & 65. 11, 12. Jer. 17. 13-v Ch. 23. 15. Isai. 63. 10. Acts 7. 42-w Ps. 119. 173-x Ver. 14. Gen. 35. 2. Judg. 10. 16. 1 Sam 7. 3-y See Exod. 15. 25. 2 Kings 11. 17.-z Ver. 26-a Deut. 31. 21-b Sce Judg. 9. 6. Verse 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is a holy God] If we are to take this literally, we cannot blame the Israelites for their defection from the worship of the true God; for if it was impossible to them to serve God, they could not but come short of his kingdom: but surely this was not the case. Instead of n lo tuclu, ye CANNOT serve, &c. some eminent critics read on lo tecallu, ye shall not CEASE to serve, &c. This is a very ingenious emendation, but there is not one MS. in all the collection of Kennicott and De Rossi to support it. However, it appears very possible that the first vau in did not make a part of the word originally. If the common reading be preferred, the meaning of the place must be, "Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is holy and jealous, unless ye put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood. For he is a jealous God, and will not give to, nor divide his glory with, any other. He is a holy God, and will not have his people defiled with the impure worship of the Gentiles." Verse 21. And the people said, Nay, but we will serve, &c.] So they understood the words of Joshua to imply no moral impossibility on their side; and had they earnest ly sought the gracious assistance of God, they would have continued steady in his covenant. Verse 22. Ye are witnesses against yourselves] Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way of God's holiness-your own weakness and inconsistency-the need you have of divine help, and the awful consequences of apostasy: and now ye deliberately make your choice. Remember then, that ye are witnesses against yourselves; and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner; or, as one terms it, index, judex, vindex. Verse 23. Now therefore put away] As you have promised to reform, begin instantly the work of reformation. A man's promise to serve God, soon loses its moral hold of his conscience, if he do not instantaneously begin to put it in practice. The grace that enables him to promise, is that, by the strength of which he is to begin the performance. Verse 25. Joshua made a covenant] Literally, Joshua cut the covenant, alluding to the sacrifice offered on the occasion. And set them a statute and an ordinance] He made a solemn and public act of the whole, which was signed and witnessed by himself and the people, in the presence of Jehovah; and having done so, he wrote the words of the covenant in the book of the law of God, probably in some part of the skin, constituting the great roll, on which the laws of God were written; and of which there were some blank columns to spare. Having done this, he took a great stone, and set it up under an oak-that this might be the yêd, or witness, that at such a time and place, this covenant was made, the terms of which might be found written in the book of the law, which was laid up beside the ark. See Deut. xxxi. 26. Verse 27. This stone-hath heard all the words] That c See Gen. 28. 18. Ch. 4. 3.-d Gen. 35. 4.-e See Gea. 31. 48, 52. Deut. 31. 19, 21, 26. Ch. 22. 27, 28, 34-f Deut. 32 1-g Judg. 2. 6.-h Judg. 2. 8-i Ch. 19. 50. Judg. 2. 9.-k Judg. 2. 7-1 Heb. prolonged their days after Joshua-n. See Deut. 11. 2 & 31. 13-n Gen. 50. 25. Exod. 13. 19.-0 Gen. 33. 19.-p Or, lambs.-r Exod. 6. 25. Judg. 20. 28. is, the stone itself, from its permanency, shall be, in all succeeding ages, as competent and as substantial a witness, as one who had been present at the transaction, and heard all the words, which, on both sides, were spoken on the occasion. Verse 28. So Joshua] After this verse the Septuagint insert ver. 31. Verse 29. Joshua the son of Nun-died] This event probably took place shortly after this public assembly; for he was old and stricken in years, when he held the assembly mentioned chap. xxiii. 1. and, as his work was now all done, and his soul ripened for a state of blessedness, God took him to himself, being one hundred and ten years of age; exactly the same age as that of the patriarch Joseph. See Gen. 1. 26. Verse 30. And they buried him in Timnath-serah] This was his own inheritance, as we have seen chap. xix. 50. The Septuagint add here, "And they put with him there, in the tomb, in which they buried him, the knives of stone with which he circumcised the children of Israel in Gilgal, according as the Lord commanded, when he brought them out of Egypt, and they are there unto this day." St. Augustine quotes the same passage in his thirtieth question on the book of Joshua; which, in all probability, he took from some copy of the Septuagint. It is very strange that there is no account of any public mourning for the death of this eminent general; probably, as he was buried in his own inheritance, he had forbidden all funeral pomp, and, it is likely, was privately interred. Verse 31. And Israel served the Lord, &c.] Though there was private idolatry among them, for they had strange gods, yet there was no public idolatry all the days of Joshua and of the elders that overlived Joshua; most of whom must have been advanced in years at the death of this great man. Hence Calmet supposes that the whole of this time might amount to about fifteen years. It has already been noted that this verse is placed by the Septuagint after ver. 29. Verse 32. And the bones of Joseph] See the note on Gen. 1. 25. and on Exod. xiii. 19. This burying of the bones of Joseph probably took place when the conquest of the land was completed, and each tribe had received its inheritance; for it is not likely that this was deferred till after the death of Joshua. Verse 33. And Eleazar-died] Probably about the same time, or soon after Joshua; though some think he outlived him six years. Thus, nearly all the persons who had witnessed the miracles of God in the wilderness, were gathered to their fathers; and their descendants left in possession of the great inheritance, with the law of God in their hands; and the bright example of their illustrious ancestors before their eyes. It must be added, that they possessed every advantage necessary to make them a great, a wise, and a holy people. How they used, or rather, how they abused these advantages, their subsequent history, given in the sacred books, amply testifies. |