Joshua · Chapter 23

V. 1. A long time-About fourteen years after it.

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.

Verses 1, 2. A long time after the Lord had given rest unto Israel — That is, about fourteen years after the conquest of the country, and seven after the division of it among the tribes: see Joshua 11:23, and 14:10. Joshua called — Either to his own city, or rather to Shiloh, the usual place of such assemblies, where his words, being uttered before the Lord, were likely to have the more effect upon them. All Israel — Not all the people in their own persons, but in their representatives, by their elders, heads, judges, and officers. Probably he took the opportunity of one of the three great feasts. You will not have me long to preach to you; therefore observe what I say, and lay it up for the time to come.

JOSHUA’S ADDRESS TO ISRAEL, 1-16.

[“The closing records of the history of Joshua show us a solemn pause and crisis in the career of Israel. They had now attained that first success which is always a trial of human power and endurance, and which, in their case, was the test of their faithfulness to Jehovah. In Joshua they had a leader equal to the crisis. He lived long after God had given them rest from their enemies, and he was now going the way of all the earth. His last care was to set clearly before the people their true position, and to bind them to Jehovah by another solemn covenant.” — Smith’s O.T. Hist.]

1. A long time — About fourteen years after the conquest and seven years after the allotment of Canaan, in the one hundred and tenth year of his life, Joshua uttered this speech. Stricken in age — Literally, as in the margin, come into days; that is, far gone in years.

V. 2. Joshua called-Either to his own city, or rather to Shiloh, the usual place of such assemblies, where his words being uttered before the Lord, were likely to have the more effect upon them. All Israel-Not all the people in their own persons, but in their representatives, by their elders, heads, judges and officers. Probably he took the opportunity, of one of the three great feasts. You will not have me long to preach to you; therefore observe what I say, and lay it up for the time to come.

Verse 2. Joshua called for all Israel] There are four degrees of civil distinction mentioned here: 1. µynqz zekenim, the elders or senate, the PRINCES of the tribes. 2. ראשים rashim or rashey aboth, the CHIEFS or HEADS of families. 3. µycpv shophetim, the JUDGES who interpreted and decided according to the law. 4. µyrcv 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 Joshua 24:1, we cannot tell. Some think that the meaning here, and that mentioned in Joshua 24:1, 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.

Verses 1, 2. A long time after the Lord had given rest unto Israel — That is, about fourteen years after the conquest of the country, and seven after the division of it among the tribes: see Joshua 11:23, and 14:10. Joshua called — Either to his own city, or rather to Shiloh, the usual place of such assemblies, where his words, being uttered before the Lord, were likely to have the more effect upon them. All Israel — Not all the people in their own persons, but in their representatives, by their elders, heads, judges, and officers. Probably he took the opportunity of one of the three great feasts. You will not have me long to preach to you; therefore observe what I say, and lay it up for the time to come.

2. And for their elders — The and is not in the Hebrew. It should be for the elders, the representatives of Israel. This restriction is sometimes not expressed but implied. Hence Bishop Colenso’s numerical impossibilities exist nowhere but in his own imagination. All Israel could not stand before the narrow front of the tabernacle, nor could they listen to the feeble words of an infirm old man in any other way than representatively. Probably this assembly was at Timnath-serah, the residence of Joshua; possibly at Shiloh. We have no data for determining the place. As death approaches, the national founder feels a special solicitude for his people. The farewell words of such men have great weight with succeeding generations. The Farewell Address of George Washington to the American people has exerted an incalculable influence upon the nation.

V. 3. Because of you-For your good, that you might gain by their losses.

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, worn-out 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.

Verses 3, 4. And ye have seen — Or rather, Behold ye have seen; for so the particle ve, which we translate and, sometimes signifies, as Genesis 24:31. All that the Lord hath done because of you — For your good, that you might gain by their losses. I have divided unto you those nations that remain — That are not yet conquered. To be an inheritance — You shall certainly subdue them, and inherit their land, as you have done the rest, if you be not wanting to yourselves. With all the nations — That is, with the land of those nations, the people put for their land, as we have seen before; and as sometimes, on the contrary, the land is put for the people. The great sea — Where the Philistines, your most formidable adversaries, yet survive; but them also and their land I have given to you, and you shall undoubtedly destroy them, if you will proceed vigorously in your work.

3. All that the Lord… hath done — Here is a marked magnifying of the Divine interposition in all the victories of Joshua. True piety always exclaims, “Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name be all the praise and glory.”

V. 4. That remain-Not yet conquered. An inheritance-You shall certainly subdue them, and inherit their hand, as you have done the rest, if you be not wanting to yourselves. All the nations-That is, with the land of those nations; the people put for their land, as we have seen before; and as sometimes on the contrary, the land is put for the people. The great sea-Where the Philistines, your most formidable adversaries yet survive; but them also and their land I have given to you, and you shall undoubtedly destroy them, if you will proceed vigorously in your work.

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.

Verses 3, 4. And ye have seen — Or rather, Behold ye have seen; for so the particle ve, which we translate and, sometimes signifies, as Genesis 24:31. All that the Lord hath done because of you — For your good, that you might gain by their losses. I have divided unto you those nations that remain — That are not yet conquered. To be an inheritance — You shall certainly subdue them, and inherit their land, as you have done the rest, if you be not wanting to yourselves. With all the nations — That is, with the land of those nations, the people put for their land, as we have seen before; and as sometimes, on the contrary, the land is put for the people. The great sea — Where the Philistines, your most formidable adversaries, yet survive; but them also and their land I have given to you, and you shall undoubtedly destroy them, if you will proceed vigorously in your work.

4. These nations — “The nations are mentioned instead of the land which they possessed, because they were given into the hands of the Israelites to be destroyed.” — Keil. I have cut off — After ascribing the conquest to Jehovah, the truth of history requires mention of the human instrumentality. The frequent review of God’s mercies is a powerful incentive to gratitude and fidelity to him. It is noticeable how this passage assumes that all the Canaanite nations are cut off and subdued, but not yet exterminated or expelled. This explains the discrepancy often alleged between Joshua 11:23, and Joshua 13:1.

Verse 5. And drive them-out-and ye shall possess] The same Hebrew word vry 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.

JOSHUA’S ADDRESS TO ISRAEL, 1-16.

[“The closing records of the history of Joshua show us a solemn pause and crisis in the career of Israel. They had now attained that first success which is always a trial of human power and endurance, and which, in their case, was the test of their faithfulness to Jehovah. In Joshua they had a leader equal to the crisis. He lived long after God had given them rest from their enemies, and he was now going the way of all the earth. His last care was to set clearly before the people their true position, and to bind them to Jehovah by another solemn covenant.” — Smith’s O.T. Hist.]

1. A long time — About fourteen years after the conquest and seven years after the allotment of Canaan, in the one hundred and tenth year of his life, Joshua uttered this speech. Stricken in age — Literally, as in the margin, come into days; that is, far gone in years.

V. 6. Very courageous-For it will require great courage and resolution to execute all the commands of Moses, and particularly, that of expelling and destroying the residue of the Canaanites. The right hand or the left-That is, in one kind or other, by adding to the law, or diminishing from it.

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.

Verse 6. Be ye therefore very courageous — For it would require great courage and resolution to execute all the commands of Moses, and particularly that of expelling and destroying the residue of the Canaanites. The right hand or the left — That is, in one kind or other, by adding to the law, or diminishing from it. Which was the condition upon which God promised to continue them in the possession of the land. By this it is evident that the book of the law of Moses was extant in those days, and that the people read it.

6. Very courageous — This is the same exhortation that God gave to Joshua at the death of Moses. See Joshua 1:7, notes.

V. 7. Come not-That is, avoid all familiar converse and contracts, but especially marriages with them. Name their gods-To wit, unnecessarily and familiarly, lest the mention of them breed discourse about them, and so by degrees bring to the approbation and worship of them. Nor cause-Nor require nor compel the Gentiles to swear by them, as they used to do; especially in leagues and contracts. It is pity, that among Christians, the name of the Heathen God’s are so commonly used, especially in poems. Let those names which have been set up in rivalship with God, be forever loathed and lost. Nor bow-Neither give them any inward reverence, or outward adoration. Here is an observable gradation, whereby he shews what notable progress sin usually makes, and what need there is to look to the beginnings of it, forasmuch as a civil and common conversation with their persons was likely to bring them, and indeed did actually bring them, by insensible steps, to the worship of their gods. So it is no wonder, if some things not simply and in themselves evil, be forbidden by God, as here the naming of their gods is, because they are occasions and introductions to evil.

Verse 7. Come not among these nations] Have no civil or social contracts with them, (see Joshua 23:12,) 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 repente 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 7. That ye come not among those nations — That ye avoid all familiar converse and contracts, but especially marriage, with them. Neither mention the name of their gods — To wit, unnecessarily and familiarly, lest the mention of them should lead to discourse about them, and so by degrees bring them to the approbation and worship of them. Nor cause to swear by them — Not to require or even admit a Gentile to swear by his god, as was usual, especially in leagues and contracts; for this would have been to suppose that these imaginary deities were conscious of men’s thoughts, and had power to punish those who were guilty of perjury. And the forbidding this was also to secure them against making leagues and covenants with the Gentiles, which they would not have considered as binding without an oath. It is to be lamented that, among Christians, the names of the heathen gods are so commonly used, especially in poems. Let those names, which have been set up in rivalship with God, be for ever loathed and lost. Nor bow — Neither give them any inward reverence, nor outward adoration. Here is an observable gradation, whereby he shows the progress which sin usually makes, and what need there is to look to the beginnings of it; forasmuch as a civil and common conversation with their persons was likely to bring them, and indeed did actually bring them, by insensible steps, to the worship of their gods. It is no wonder, therefore, if some things, not simply and in themselves evil, be forbidden by God, as here the naming of false gods is, because they are occasions and introductions to evil.

Verse 7. Neither make mention of the name of their gods. This prohibition is often repeated, and it involves mythology in difficulties. The LXX had authorities for saying, Joshua 24:33, that the Israelites fell away to worship Astarte and Ashtaroth. Of Astarte we find the following remarks, that she was a goddess of Syria, and one of the four Venuses that espoused Adonis, called also Atergatis, by Elian, and Tertullian in his Apology. She was the Venus or goddess of the Sidonians, to whom Solomon built an altar to please his idolatrous queens.—Ashtaroth is a plural name, equivalent to riches, flocks, &c. He was called the god of the Egyptians. These idols were destroyed by Samuel, 1 Samuel 7:3; but were privately restored by Solomon. Of Baal we have spoken, on Numbers 32:38.

7. Neither make mention — This not only forbids the admiring mention of the names of the pagan gods, but, as we believe, it commands the literal abstinence from uttering their names, as defiling the tongue. As the name of Jehovah was in Jewish estimation too holy to be pronounced, so the names of the Canaanite gods were too vile. Nor cause to swear by them — Since swearing by them implied their existence, this also was forbidden. [He who swears and he who administers an oath in the name of a false god virtually recognize and worship the false deity. Thus may a Christian state prostitute itself to idolatry, superstition, and even utter irreligion, by allowing in its courts of justice a careless, irreverent, or superstitious use of the oath. Better dispense with the civil oath entirely than prostitute the State to either idolatry, superstition, or atheism.] Neither serve, by external worship, nor bow yourselves, that is, enthrone them over yourselves as authorities to be revered in your hearts. Here is a fourfold prohibition of idolatry, which was rendered necessary by the uncultivated state of the Hebrews, by the strong influence of all the surrounding nations, and especially by that possessed by the idol-worshippers within their own borders whom they had failed to drive out.

V. 8. Cleave to the Lord-By constant obedience, entire affection, faithful service and worship of him alone. To this day-To wit, since you came in to Canaan; since which time the body of the people (for of them he speaks, not of every particular person) had behaved themselves much better than they did in the wilderness, and had not been guilty of any gross and general apostacy from God, or rebellion against him.

Verse 8. But cleave to the Lord — By constant obedience, entire affection, faithful service, and worship of him alone. As ye have done to this day — To wit, since you came into Canaan; since which time the body of the people (for of them he speaks, not of every particular person) had behaved themselves much better than they did in the wilderness, and had not been guilty of any gross and general apostacy from God, or rebellion against him.

8. Cleave unto the Lord — Cling unto him with a grip which no force can loosen. Fidelity to God always costs strenuous effort. “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” As ye have done — As a nation, with individual exceptions.

V. 9. No man-To wit, whom you have invaded; otherwise some of those people did yet remain unconquered.

Verses 9, 10. No man hath been able, &c. — To wit, whom you have attacked; otherwise some of those people did yet remain unconquered. He fighteth — Impute not this therefore to your own valour, as you will be apt to do, but to God’s gracious and powerful assistance.

9. The Lord hath driven out — Or, as the margin, then the Lord will drive. In this way this sentence becomes the apodosis of the previous verse — For if ye cleave… then the Lord will drive. No man hath been able to stand whom ye have courageously confronted, trusting in God.

V. 10. He fighteth-Impute not this therefore to your own valour, as you will be apt to do, but to God’s gracious and powerful assistance.

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.

Verses 9, 10. No man hath been able, &c. — To wit, whom you have attacked; otherwise some of those people did yet remain unconquered. He fighteth — Impute not this therefore to your own valour, as you will be apt to do, but to God’s gracious and powerful assistance.

10. One shall chase a thousand — An enlargement of the promise in Leviticus 26:8, and nearly identical with Deuteronomy 32:30, signifying that a few shall vanquish a great multitude. See the night attack of Gideon. Judges 7:22. Also the acts of David’s worthies, one of whom lifted his spear against eight hundred and slew three hundred. 2 Samuel 23:8, 18; 1 Chronicles 11. 11.

V. 11. Take heed-Now it requires more watchfulness and diligence than it did in the wilderness, because your temptations are now stronger; from the examples and insinuations of your bad neighbours, the remainders of this wicked people; and from your own peace and prosperity: and the pride, security, forgetfulness of God, and luxury, which usually attend that condition.

Verse 11. Take good heed-unto yourselves that ye love the Lord] לנפשתיכם lenaphshotheychem, Take heed TO YOUR SOULS, literally; but vpn nephesh and [Arabic] 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 11. Take good heed — Now it requires more watchfulness and diligence than it did in the wilderness, because your temptations are now stronger, from the examples and insinuations of your bad neighbours, the remainders of this wicked people; and from your own peace and prosperity; and the pride, security, forgetfulness of God, and luxury, which usually attend that condition.

11. Take good heed — This is the condition of the foregoing promise. “Such is the slothfulness of the flesh that it always needs to be stimulated by threats.” — Calvin. The depravity of men compels a resort to fear when an appeal to hope has been ineffectual.

V. 12. Go back-From God, and from his worship and service.

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.

Verses 12, 13. If ye in any wise go back — From God, and from his worship and service. They shall be snares and traps to you — By your converse with them, you will be drawn by degrees into their errors, and impieties, and brutish lusts. Thorns in your eyes — When they have seduced, and thereby weakened you, then they will molest and vex you, no less than a severe scourge doth a man’s sides which are lashed by it, or than a small thorn doth the eye when it is got within it. Till ye perish — They shall so persecute you, and fight against you with such success, that you shall be forced to quit your own land, and wander, you know not whither. Which must needs have been very terrible to them to think of, when they compared their present ease, and plenty, and safety, with the pains, and weariness, and hazards, and wants of their former wanderings.

12. Make marriages — This most intimate form of alliance was forbidden in Exodus 34:12-16, as a precaution against temptation. Thus Christians are forbidden to wed infidels or pagans. 2 Corinthians 6:14. The affections largely determine religious opinions and practice. The heart makes theology.

V. 13. Traps to you-By your converse with them, you will be drawn by degrees into their errors, and impieties, and brutish lusts. Thorns in your eyes-When they have seduced, and thereby weakened you, then they will molest and vex you, no less than a severe scourge doth a man’s sides which are lashed by it, or than a small thorn doth the eye when it is got within it. Till ye perish-They shall so persecute you, and fight against, you with such success, that you shall be forced to quit your own land, and wander you know not whither; which must needs be very terrible to them to think of, when they compared this present ease, and plenty and safety, with the pains, and weariness, and hazards, and wants of their former wanderings.

Verse 13. They shall be snares] jpl lephach, a net or gin, set by the artful fowler to catch heedless birds.

And traps] vqwm 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.

Verses 12, 13. If ye in any wise go back — From God, and from his worship and service. They shall be snares and traps to you — By your converse with them, you will be drawn by degrees into their errors, and impieties, and brutish lusts. Thorns in your eyes — When they have seduced, and thereby weakened you, then they will molest and vex you, no less than a severe scourge doth a man’s sides which are lashed by it, or than a small thorn doth the eye when it is got within it. Till ye perish — They shall so persecute you, and fight against you with such success, that you shall be forced to quit your own land, and wander, you know not whither. Which must needs have been very terrible to them to think of, when they compared their present ease, and plenty, and safety, with the pains, and weariness, and hazards, and wants of their former wanderings.

13. Snares, traps, scourges, thorns — This mixing of metaphors vividly portrays the trouble, sudden disaster, wasting captivity, and destruction which idolatry would bring upon their nation. Until ye perish from off this good land — The Jews are strangers to that land to-day, so wonderfully has God scattered them, and so marvelously has he preserved their nationality in order that they may be a monument of his truthfulness.

V. 14. Of all the earth-That is, of all flesh, or of all men; the way which all men go; I am about to die, as all men must. To die is, to go a journey, a journey to our long home. And Joshua himself, tho’ he could so ill be spared, cannot be exempted from this common lot. He takes notice of it, that they might look on these as his dying words, and regard them accordingly. Ye know-That is, you know assuredly; your own experience puts it out of all question.

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.

Verse 14. I am going the way of all the earth — That is, of all flesh, or of all men; the way which all men go; I am about to die, as all men must. To die is to go a journey, a journey to our long home. And Joshua himself, though he could so ill be spared, cannot be exempted from this common lot. He takes notice of it, that they might look on these as his dying words, and regard them accordingly. Ye know — That is, you know assuredly: your own experience puts it out of all question.

14. This day I am going — The expression this day is used here, as in Deuteronomy 9:1, to denote what is about to take place — shortly.

V. 15. Evil things-The accomplishment of God’s promise is a pledge that he will also fulfil his threatnings; both of them depending upon the same ground, the faithfulness of God.

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 15. Bring upon you all evil things — According to what Moses had predicted at large, Leviticus 26. and Deuteronomy 28. For God’s faithfulness is no less visible in fulfilling his threatenings than his promises. Indeed the accomplishment of his promises is a pledge that he will also fulfil his threatenings, both of them standing on the same ground, the truth of God.

15. As all good… so all evil things — The threatenings are as sure as the promises; both alike are grounded on the divine veracity. The sophistry which would explain away the former must destroy the latter. “The pillars of heaven are no firmer than the foundations of hell.” — Whedon. These words of Joshua are of universal application. They belong to all peoples and to all generations. Before each individual of the human race there lies the path of obedience, ending in the promises, and the path of disobedience, ending in the threatenings of the Almighty. “Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men.”

V. 16. It will aggravate their perdition, that the land from which they shall perish is a good land, and a land which God himself had given them: and which therefore he would have secured to them, if they had not thrown themselves out of it. “Thus the goodness of the heavenly Canaan, says Mr. Henry, and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will aggravate the misery of those that shall forever be shut out and perish from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much as to see, how happy they might have been.” Might have been! What on the supposition of absolute decrees? How happy might a person not elected have been? And if he was elected, how could he be wretched for ever? What art of man can reconcile these things? Again, shall any of the elect perish for ever? or has God made to any others, a free and sure grant of the heavenly Canaan? If not, how can the misery of those that perish be aggravated, by a free and sure grant which they never had any share in?

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 Joshua 23:13, 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 ta hqh, the milder affections, suit best; but towards the end ta paqh, passionate and piercing passages; according to the orator. This rule Joshua observes, being Exodus 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 Leviticus 26:7, 8, 14, &c.; Deuteronomy 28:7; 32:30. 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. JOSHUA

Verse 16. Ye shall perish quickly from off the good land — It would aggravate their misery in their destruction, that the land from which they perished was a good land, and a land which God himself had given them: and which therefore he would have secured to them, if they had not thrown themselves out of it. “Thus the goodness of the heavenly Canaan,” says Mr. Henry, “and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will aggravate the misery of those who shall for ever be shut out and perish from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much so as to see how happy they might have been.”

JOSHUA’S ADDRESS TO ISRAEL, 1-16.

[“The closing records of the history of Joshua show us a solemn pause and crisis in the career of Israel. They had now attained that first success which is always a trial of human power and endurance, and which, in their case, was the test of their faithfulness to Jehovah. In Joshua they had a leader equal to the crisis. He lived long after God had given them rest from their enemies, and he was now going the way of all the earth. His last care was to set clearly before the people their true position, and to bind them to Jehovah by another solemn covenant.” — Smith’s O.T. Hist.]

1. A long time — About fourteen years after the conquest and seven years after the allotment of Canaan, in the one hundred and tenth year of his life, Joshua uttered this speech. Stricken in age — Literally, as in the margin, come into days; that is, far gone in years.