Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Joshua
Chapter 24: Choose You This Day Whom Ye Will Serve
The book of Joshua closes at Shechem, where Joshua gathers all Israel to renew the covenant. He rehearses their whole history, and it is a history of grace: 'I took your father Abraham... I brought you out... I have given you a land for which ye did not labour.' God did it all. Then comes the great call to decision: 'choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.' The people pledge to serve God, a great stone is set up as a witness, and then the aged servant of the LORD dies. Joshua's book of entering the promise ends where every life must: with a choice, a covenant, and a faithful witness that God kept every word.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Joshua chapter 24, the final chapter of the book. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Joshua rehearses God's grace, calls Israel to choose whom they will serve, seals the covenant, and dies in faith. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
God Did It All
Joshua rehearses a history of pure grace.
Choose You This Day
"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
A Stone of Witness
The people pledge; a great stone stands as witness.
The Servant Dies
Joshua dies at 110; Joseph's bones come home.
A Land for Which Ye Did Not Labour (Joshua 24:1-13)
At Shechem, Joshua recounts the whole history of Israel in God's own voice, and it is all grace: God took Abraham, redeemed the nation, fought their battles, and gave them a land they did not earn.
I Took, I Brought, I Gave
"And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, 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. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 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. I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. 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. 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. 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: But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat."
Word Study
"given," Hebrew natan (נָתַן). The verb means to give, to bestow, to grant. It is the drumbeat of this history, along with "I took," "I sent," "I brought," "I delivered." Read the passage and count the verbs: the actor is always God. "I took your father Abraham... I gave him Isaac... I sent Moses... I brought you out... I gave them into your hand... I delivered them... I sent the hornet... I have given you a land." From beginning to end, the story of Israel is a story of what God did. And the climax is pure grace: "I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not... of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat." They received a land they did not earn, cities they did not build, harvests they did not plant. This is the very definition of grace, receiving as a gift what we could never earn. And it is the pattern of the gospel. Our salvation is not what we did but what God did: "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9). We enter an inheritance we did not labour for, purchased by Christ's blood, not our merit; "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). When Joshua calls Israel to serve the LORD, he grounds the call not in duty owed to a stranger but in gratitude to a Giver who had done everything for them. So natan lays the foundation of all true devotion: God is the Giver, and we are the receivers of grace. We serve Him not to earn His favor but because He has already, freely, given us all things. The land was a gift; salvation is a gift; and the only fitting response to such grace is wholehearted love and service to the God who gave.
Explanation
Joshua's last covenant renewal at Shechem begins with God telling Israel's whole story in the first person — "I took your father Abraham... I gave... I brought... I delivered." And it starts with an admission that levels all pride: Abraham himself, on "the other side of the flood," had "served other gods" (v. 2). Israel's whole existence began with God reaching down to an idolater. It ends the same way — "I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, cities which ye built not." From first to last, everything they are and have is sheer grace.
Gospel Focus
Joshua's final covenant renewal begins not with a demand but with a rehearsal of grace. Gathering Israel at Shechem, the very place where God first appeared to Abraham in the land (Genesis 12:6-7), Joshua recounts their whole history in God's own voice, "Thus saith the LORD." And what a history it is, all of grace. Their fathers "served other gods" beyond the river; God reached into that idolatry and "took" Abraham. He multiplied the family, redeemed them from Egypt with mighty signs, carried them through the wilderness, fought their battles, turned Balaam's intended curse into blessing, gave them the land, and even sent "the hornet" before them, "not with thy sword, nor with thy bow." At every turn, God was the actor and Israel the recipient. And the summary is breathtaking grace: "I have given you a land for which ye did not labour... vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat." For the Apostolic reader this is the right foundation for all devotion to God. Before Joshua asks anything of Israel, he reminds them of everything God has done for them. Grace comes first; the call to serve flows from gratitude, not from bare obligation. So it is with the gospel. We were far off, serving other gods; God took us, redeemed us by the blood of Christ, and gave us an inheritance we never earned. Our salvation, first to last, is His doing, not ours. And the only fitting response to such grace is to give ourselves wholly to Him. The remembrance of what God has done is the fuel of true service. So before we consider what we owe God, we do well to rehearse what He has given, and to let the wonder of His grace move us to serve Him with all our hearts.
As for Me and My House (Joshua 24:14-28)
Joshua calls Israel to choose whom they will serve, declares his own resolve, warns them of the seriousness of the choice, and seals the covenant with a stone of witness.
But As for Me and My House, We Will Serve the LORD
"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether 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. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 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. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. 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. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 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. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance."
Word Study
"serve," Hebrew abad (עָבַד). The verb means to serve, to work for, to worship; it is used both of laboring and of religious service, for to worship a god is to give oneself to its service. It rings through this passage, "serve him in sincerity and in truth," "choose you this day whom ye will serve," "we will serve the LORD." The heart of Joshua's charge is that everyone serves someone; the only question is whom. There is no neutral ground; the choice is not whether to serve, but which master to serve, "the gods which your fathers served," "the gods of the Amorites," or the LORD. And Joshua sets his own resolve as a stake in the ground: "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." His faith is personal ("as for me") and it is for his household ("and my house"); the man of God leads his family in the service of God. This is the great decision every soul and every home must make. Jesus said the same, "No man can serve two masters... Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24); Paul rejoiced to be "a servant of Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:1), the same spirit of glad service abad names. To serve the LORD is not a part-time or half-hearted thing; it is "in sincerity and in truth," with the whole heart, putting away all rival gods. So abad presses the choice of Joshua 24 on every reader. You will serve someone, some god, some master, some love. Choose this day whom you will serve. And let the choice be wholehearted and for your house as well: as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. There is no greater decision, and no better resolve, than to give ourselves and our families wholly to the service of the living God.
Explanation
On the ground of all that grace comes the great summons: "choose you this day whom ye will serve," and Joshua leads with his own resolve — "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." But notice the sobering realism: the command to "put away the gods" reveals that Israel still harbored idols "your fathers served... in Egypt." And when the people glibly vow to serve God, Joshua tests them hard: "Ye cannot serve the LORD; for he is an holy God." He will not let them make a cheap promise. A stone is set up as a silent witness to a covenant meant to be kept, not merely spoken.
Gospel Focus
Having rehearsed God's grace, Joshua issues the great call of the book: "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth... choose you this day whom ye will serve." And he leads by example, planting his own flag first and for his family: "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." He does not merely urge others; he declares his own settled resolve and takes responsibility for his household's faith. The people respond well, "God forbid that we should forsake the LORD," rehearsing His grace themselves. But Joshua does something surprising: he challenges the ease of their commitment. "Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God." He is not discouraging them but pressing them, do not take this lightly; you cannot serve the holy God with a divided heart, keeping your idols on the side. True commitment counts the cost; casual, half-hearted profession will not stand. The people insist, "Nay; but we will serve the LORD," and Joshua makes them own their choice: "Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD." He calls them to back their words with action, "put away the strange gods which are among you," and seals the covenant with a written record and "a great stone" set up as a witness, "it hath heard all the words of the LORD." For the Apostolic reader this passage is a searching call to wholehearted decision. Everyone serves someone; there is no neutrality; and the choice must be made deliberately, personally, and for our households, "as for me and my house." Joshua also warns against cheap commitment: to serve the holy God is a serious thing, not to be undertaken with idols still hidden in the heart. Real devotion puts away the strange gods and gives itself in sincerity and truth. So we make the choice, and lead our families to make it: to fear the LORD, put away every rival, and serve Him wholly, calling heaven and earth to witness that we have chosen the LORD, to serve Him.
The Servant of the LORD Died (Joshua 24:29-33)
The book closes with the death of Joshua at a hundred and ten, the faithfulness of Israel in his generation, and the burial of Joseph's bones in the land, a promise kept across the centuries.
The Bones of Joseph Buried in Shechem
"And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. 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. 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 an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim."
Word Study
"bones," Hebrew atsmot (עַצְמוֹת), the bones of Joseph. Tucked into the closing verses is one of the most moving testimonies of faith in Scripture: "the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem." Some four hundred years earlier, Joseph, dying in Egypt at the height of his power, had made Israel swear an oath: "God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence" (Genesis 50:25). Joseph believed God's promise to bring his people back to the land, and he wanted his very bones to rest there, a testimony of his faith in the promise he would not live to see. So Israel carried his coffin out of Egypt (Exodus 13:19), through the Red Sea, through forty years of wilderness, through the conquest, and now, at last, buried his bones in the promised land, in the very field his father Jacob had bought. The New Testament singles this out as a triumph of faith: "By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones" (Hebrews 11:22). Joseph's faith reached beyond his own lifetime, beyond four centuries, to lay hold of a promise fulfilled long after his death, and God kept it. So atsmot, the bones of Joseph finally at rest in the land, preaches the faithfulness of God across the generations and the faith that trusts Him beyond the grave. God keeps His promises, though the fulfillment tarry for centuries; and faith may rest, even in death, on the sure word of God. The bones carried through the wilderness and buried at last in the land are a quiet monument to the truth that closes the whole book: not one good word of the LORD has failed; all came to pass.
Explanation
The book closes with three burials. Joshua, "the servant of the LORD," dies at 110, and Israel served God "all the days of Joshua." Then a quiet marvel: "the bones of Joseph... buried they in Shechem." Joseph had died in Egypt four centuries earlier, making his brothers swear to carry his bones to the land God would give (Genesis 50:25); through slavery, exodus, and conquest those bones were kept, and now at last they rest in the promised soil. His dying faith — "God will surely visit you" — is fulfilled to the letter. And Eleazar the priest is buried too: a generation of faithfulness laid to rest in the land of promise.
Gospel Focus
The book of Joshua ends as every earthly story must, with death, yet it is death crowned with faithfulness. "Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old." His final title is his greatest: "the servant of the LORD," the same honorific given to Moses. A life poured out in serving God ends with that noblest of epitaphs. And his influence outlived him: "Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua," a testimony to the power of godly leadership, though also, sadly, a hint of the decline that would come when that generation passed (Judges 2:10). Then comes the burial of Joseph's bones, carried out of Egypt long before and now laid to rest in the land, the fulfillment of a faith four centuries old. And Eleazar the priest dies, and is buried. Three graves close the book, Joshua, Joseph, Eleazar, and yet the book does not end in defeat but in fulfillment: the promises kept, the land possessed, the covenant renewed, the bones of Joseph home at last. For the Apostolic reader this ending gathers up the whole message of Joshua. God is faithful across the generations; the promise made to Abraham, sworn to Joseph, given through Moses, was kept under Joshua, "not one thing hath failed." Faith may rest on God's word even beyond the grave, as Joseph's did. And the highest honor a life can earn is to be called "the servant of the LORD." So the book of entering the promise ends with a choice made, a covenant sealed, a witness set up, and a faithful servant laid to rest in the inheritance God gave. It calls every reader to the same: to rehearse God's grace, to choose to serve Him wholly with our households, to trust His promises even beyond our own lifetime, and to spend our lives so that we too may die, like Joshua and Joseph, in the faith and the service of the God who keeps every word.
Chapter 24 in Review
Joshua 24 closes the book at Shechem, where Joshua renews the covenant. He rehearses Israel's whole history in God's own voice, and it is all grace: "I took your father Abraham... I brought you out... I have given you a land for which ye did not labour." Then comes the great call: "choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The people pledge to serve God, Joshua presses them to count the cost and put away their idols, and seals the covenant with a written record and "a great stone" of witness. Finally, "Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died," Israel served the LORD in his generation, and "the bones of Joseph" were buried at last in the land, a promise kept across four centuries.
For the Apostolic reader this final chapter is the fitting crown of the book, and it presses home its great themes. First, grace comes before the call: before Joshua asks anything, he rehearses everything God has done, for true service flows from gratitude, and our salvation, like Israel's inheritance, is a gift we did not earn. Second, the great decision: everyone serves someone; there is no neutral ground; and the choice must be made deliberately, wholeheartedly, and for our households, "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua warns against cheap commitment, for the holy God cannot be served with idols kept in the heart; real devotion puts away every rival and serves Him "in sincerity and in truth." Third, the faithfulness of God across the generations: Joshua died "the servant of the LORD," Joseph's four-hundred-year-old faith was honored as his bones came home, and every promise God ever made was kept, "not one thing hath failed." So the book of entering the promise ends with a choice, a covenant, and a faithful witness. And it calls us to the same: to remember God's grace, to choose to serve Him wholly with our families, to trust His promises even beyond the grave, and to so spend our lives that our epitaph, like Joshua's, may be the noblest of all, "the servant of the LORD." Choose you this day whom ye will serve; as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
- God's history with Israel is all grace: "I took... I brought... I gave" (24:2-13).
- We receive an inheritance "for which ye did not labour", grace, not works (24:13; Ephesians 2:8-9).
- Everyone serves someone; "choose you this day whom ye will serve" (24:15).
- Faith is personal and for the household: "as for me and my house" (24:15).
- The holy God cannot be served with idols kept in the heart; count the cost (24:19-23).
- God is faithful across the generations; Joseph's bones came home as promised (24:32; Hebrews 11:22).
Questions for Reflection
- Does the remembrance of God's grace move you to serve Him with all your heart?
- Have you deliberately chosen whom you will serve, and led your household to choose?
- Are there "strange gods" you are keeping while professing to serve the LORD?
- Do you trust God's promises even for things you may not live to see?
With this chapter, the verse-by-verse commentary on the whole book of Joshua is complete, from the crossing of the Jordan and the fall of Jericho to the dividing of the inheritance and the final covenant at Shechem. Its great theme has run from first to last: God keeps His word. He gave the land He swore to Abraham, fought every battle, subdued every enemy, and, as the book itself declares, "there failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken... all came to pass" (Joshua 21:45). The name Joshua is the name Jesus, "the LORD saves"; and the rest Joshua gave was a shadow of the greater rest our Lord Jesus gives to all who cleave to Him. May we, like Joshua, be found faithful servants of the LORD, and enter the rest that remains for the people of God.
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Shechem; the rehearsal of grace: Joshua 24:1-13; Genesis 12:6-7; 11:31; Exodus 3:10; 14:19-31; Numbers 22-24; Deuteronomy 6:10-12; Exodus 23:28; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23. The choice and the covenant; serve the LORD: Joshua 24:14-28; Deuteronomy 10:12; 30:15-20; Exodus 20:5; Matthew 6:24; Romans 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Genesis 35:2-4. The death of Joshua; Joseph's bones; the faithfulness of God: Joshua 24:29-33; Genesis 50:24-26; Exodus 13:19; Hebrews 11:22; Judges 2:7-10; Joshua 21:45; Deuteronomy 34:5. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The rehearsal of grace: "I took... I brought... I gave" a land not laboured for: Joshua 24:1-13; Ephesians 2:8-9.
- "Choose you this day whom ye will serve"; "as for me and my house": Joshua 24:14-24; Matthew 6:24.
- The covenant sealed; the great stone of witness: Joshua 24:25-28; Genesis 35:4.
- Joshua dies "the servant of the LORD"; Joseph's bones come home: Joshua 24:29-33; Hebrews 11:22; Genesis 50:25.