Week 8: Choose This Day (Joshua 24:14–27)

The Big Idea

Near the end of his life, Joshua gathers all Israel at Shechem and calls them to renew the covenant. He presses them hard. He wants a real choice, not an easy one. The people answer together, Joshua makes a covenant with them, and a great stone is set up as a witness. Covenant is personal, but it is never private. It is something a whole congregation does together.

Before You Read

Israel has entered the land under Joshua's leadership, and the tribes have received their inheritance. Joshua is now old (23:1–2). In 24:1–13, he gathers the tribes at Shechem and speaks for God, retelling Israel's whole story: Abraham called out from beyond the River where his family served other gods, the Exodus, the wilderness, and the gift of a land they did not labor for. Shechem itself carries history. It is where God first promised the land to Abram (Genesis 12:6–7), and where Jacob once had his household bury their foreign gods (Genesis 35:2–4). Ancient covenants often called on witnesses; here, the people themselves and a stone take that role.

Read

Read Joshua 24:14–27 slowly, twice, once aloud. It reads like a conversation, so notice who is speaking each time. If you have time, read verses 1–13 first to hear the story Joshua is building on.

Observe

1. What does Joshua tell the people to do in verse 14? What are they to put away?
2. In verse 15, what choices does Joshua lay before the people? What does he declare about his own household?
3. In verses 16–18, what reasons do the people give for serving the LORD? What do they remember?
4. What surprising thing does Joshua say in verses 19–20? How does he describe God?
5. How do the people respond (v. 21)? How many times in this passage do they say they will serve the LORD?
6. What does Joshua call the people in verse 22, and what do they answer?
7. In verse 23, Joshua again tells them to put away foreign gods that are among them. What does that suggest?
8. List everything Joshua does in verses 25–27 to seal the covenant. What does he say the stone has done?

A Word to Notice

Emet (EH-met) means faithfulness, firmness, truth. It is the quality of being reliable, something you can lean your weight on. We met it in Exodus 34:6, where it described God himself. Now, in Joshua 24:14, the same word is turned toward the people. They are called to serve the LORD with sincerity and faithfulness. The faithfulness God has shown them is what he asks to see in them. Covenant is not one-sided in its relationship, even though it is God who started it and God who sustains it. He has been firm and true toward them; now he calls them to be firm and true toward him.

Interpret

1. Why does Joshua open by calling the people to fear the LORD? How does that fear relate to the faithfulness he asks for?Consider: In the Old Testament, fearing the LORD is reverent awe that shapes how you live. It is not cringing terror, but it is also not casual. It is the soil faithfulness grows in.

2. Right after the people promise to serve the LORD, Joshua tells them they are not able to (v. 19). Why would he say that? Is he trying to discourage them?Consider: Joshua is making sure they understand the weight of what they are saying. God is holy and will not share his people with idols. A shallow yes will not hold. He wants a yes that knows its own weakness and what it costs.

3. What is the significance of the people being witnesses against themselves, and of a stone that, Joshua says, has heard God's words?Consider: In ancient covenants, witnesses confirmed the agreement and testified if it was broken. Here the people's own words and a standing stone serve as reminders. Every time they passed it, the stone would speak of the day they chose.

4. Why does this renewal happen as a whole people, rather than each person privately?Consider: Israel was a covenant community, not a collection of individuals. Their faithfulness or unfaithfulness would affect each other and the generations after them. Joshua speaks for his household; the people answer as one.

5. Cross-reference: Read Judges 2:7–12. What happened after Joshua and his generation died? What does that teach us about covenant renewal?Consider: Israel served the LORD as long as Joshua and the elders who had seen God's works were alive. Then a generation arose who did not know the LORD. Covenant faithfulness has to be passed on deliberately; it is never automatic.

Apply: Let the Text Read You

• Joshua asked Israel to put away gods that were still among them, even after they had said yes. What quiet loyalties in your life compete with God, even though you would never call them gods?
• Joshua's declaration about himself and his house hangs on many farmhouse walls. What would it look like in your household this year, concretely?
• Joshua was honest that they were not able to do this in their own strength. Does that honesty discourage you or free you? Why?
• Who in your church family needs to see your faithfulness? Who has shown you theirs? How might you thank them?

Pray

LORD, you have been faithful to me long before I ever chose you. Today I choose you again. Search out the quiet idols I've kept close, and help me put them away. Make me firm and true toward you, and help my household and my church serve you together. Amen.

For Groups (optional)

• Discussion starter: If our church set up a stone this year to remember a day we renewed our commitment to God, what would we want it to say?
• Consider ending your group time by reading verses 16–18 and 24 together aloud as a renewal of your own commitment.
• Talk about Judges 2:10 honestly. How are we passing on what we have seen of God to the next generation, especially in a small community where young people often move away?

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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.