Inspire: Joshua, Judges & Ruth 978-1-4964-7519-0 - Flipbook - Page 52
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abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you,
even though he has been so good to you.”
21 But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22 “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to
serve the Lord.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”
23 “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your
hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
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The people said to Joshua,
“We will serve theL ORD
our God.
We will obey him alone.”
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing
them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord. 26 Joshua recorded these
things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he
took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle
of the Lord.
27 Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said
to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to
God.”
28 Then Joshua sent all the people away to their own homelands.
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Leaders Buried in the Promised Land
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After this, Joshua son of Nun,
the servant of the LORD,
died at the age of 110.
They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill
country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and
of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that
the Lord had done for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when
they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the plot of land Jacob had bought
from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron also died. He was buried in the hill country of Ephraim,
in the town of Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas.
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