Study Desk

"The Mighty One is God! He is the Lord ! The Mighty One is God! He is the Lord ! He knows why we did this, and we want you to know too! If we rebelled and did not keep faith with the Lord , do not let us live any longer!

No! We did it because we were afraid that in the future your descendants would say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord , the God of Israel?

We would certainly not rebel against the Lord or stop following him now by building an altar to burn offerings on or for grain offerings or sacrifices. We would not build any other altar than the altar of the Lord our God that stands in front of the Tent of his presence."

The Israelites were satisfied and praised God. They no longer talked about going to war to devastate the land where the people of Reuben and Gad had settled.

The people of Reuben and Gad said, "This altar is a witness to all of us that the Lord is God." And so they named it "Witness."

You have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you. The Lord your God has been fighting for you.

The Lord your God will make them retreat from you, and he will drive them away as you advance. You shall have their land, as the Lord your God has promised you.

Any one of you can make a thousand men run away, because the Lord your God is fighting for you, just as he promised.

Be careful, then, to love the Lord your God.

you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive these nations out as you advance. Rather, they will be as dangerous for you as a trap or a pit and as painful as a whip on your back or thorns in your eyes. And this will last until none of you are left in this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

"Now my time has come to die. Every one of you knows in his heart and soul that the Lord your God has given you all the good things that he promised. Every promise he made has been kept; not one has failed.

If you do not keep the covenant which the Lord your God commanded you to keep and if you serve and worship other gods, then in his anger he will punish you, and soon none of you will be left in this good land that he has given you."

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the presence of God.

Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, has to say: ‘Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor.

The Lord our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed.

As we advanced into this land, the Lord drove out all the Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the Lord ; he is our God."

Joshua said to the people, "But you may not be able to serve the Lord . He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals,

"Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have," he demanded, "and pledge your loyalty to the Lord , the God of Israel."

The people then said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey his commands."

Joshua wrote these commands in the book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in the Lord 's sanctuary.