HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 584
JOSHUA 24
9 “For the Lord has driven out great and
powerful nations for you, and no one has yet
been able to defeat you. 10 Each one of you will
put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the
Lord your God fights for you, just as he has
promised. 11 So be very careful to love the Lord
your God.
12 “But if you turn away from him and cling to
the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with
them, 13 then know for certain that the Lord your
God will no longer drive them out of your land.
Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you,
a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in
your eyes, and you will vanish from this good
land the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know
that every promise of the Lord your God has
come true. Not a single one has failed! 15 But
as surely as the Lord your God has given you
the good things he promised, he will also bring
disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has
given you. 16 If you break the covenant of the
Lord your God by worshiping and serving other
gods, his anger will burn against you, and you
will quickly vanish from the good land he has
given you.”
The LORD’s Covenant Renewed
Then Joshua summoned all the tribes
of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came
and presented themselves to God.
2 Joshua said to the people, “This is what the
Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your
ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates
River,* and they worshiped other gods. 3 But
24
• Encouragement
JO SH U A 2 4 :2 -1 3
Joshua reminded a discouraged people
of all the times God had provided for
them and demonstrated his goodness.
Reviewing past blessings can encourage us to continue to serve God faithfully. Keep records—perhaps through
a journal or a scrapbook—of the love
God has shown for you. When you
need encouragement, review what
God has already done, revisiting the
mementos of his work in your life. And
read the Bible in order to refresh your
knowledge of the many blessings God
has given his people throughout history.
page 214
I took your ancestor Abraham from the land
beyond the Euphrates and led him into the
land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants
through his son Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob
and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of
Seir, while Jacob and his children went down
into Egypt.
5 “Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I
brought terrible plagues on Egypt; and afterward I brought you out as a free people. 6 But
when your ancestors arrived at the Red Sea,*
the Egyptians chased after you with chariots
and charioteers. 7 When your ancestors cried out
to the Lord, I put darkness between you and the
Egyptians. I brought the sea crashing down on
the Egyptians, drowning them. With your very
own eyes you saw what I did. Then you lived in
the wilderness for many years.
8 “Finally, I brought you into the land of the
Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. They
fought against you, but I destroyed them before
you. I gave you victory over them, and you took
possession of their land. 9 Then Balak son of
Zippor, king of Moab, started a war against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse
you, 10 but I would not listen to him. Instead,
I made Balaam bless you, and so I rescued you
from Balak.
11 “When you crossed the Jordan River and
came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought
against you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites,
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory
over them. 12 And I sent terror* ahead of you to
drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was
not your swords or bows that brought you victory. 13 I gave you land you had not worked on,
and I gave you towns you did not build—the
towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did
not plant them.
14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the
Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord
alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then
choose today whom you will serve. Would you
prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond
the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me
and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people replied, “We would never
abandon the Lord and serve other gods. 17 For
the Lord our God is the one who rescued us
and our ancestors from slavery in the land of
Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before
our very eyes. As we traveled through the
wilderness among our enemies, he preserved
24:2 Hebrew the river; also in 24:3, 14, 15. 24:6 Hebrew sea of
reeds. 24:12 Often rendered the hornet. The meaning of the
Hebrew is uncertain.