Joshua 24 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Joshua 24 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land began around 1450 B.C. and lasted approximately 5-7 years.

• The events of Joshua 23 and 24 took place “a long time” after the conquest of Canaan, when Joshua was “well advanced in years” (Joshua 23:1).

CHARACTERS:

• Joshua – The leader of the Israelites.

• Israelites – The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were slaves in Egypt for 100s of years, but God used Moses to free them and lead them to the Promised Land.

• Eleazar – Son of Aaron and High Priest of Israel.

• Joseph – Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel. God elevated him to become a great ruler in Egypt. You can read his story in the second half of the book of Genesis.

WHERE:

• Joshua’s address to the people of Israel in Joshua 24 took place in Shechem.

• Joshua was buried in Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim.

OUTLINE:

• JOSHUA RECOUNTS ISRAEL’S HISTORY, FROM TERAH TO CANAAN (24:1-13):

  • Joshua called all the tribes of Israel to Shechem to speak to them before his death.

  • He began by recounting their nation’s history to them.

  • He told them about Abraham’s father, Terah, who lived in the far east.

  • How God selected Abraham, brought him to Canaan, and gave him many offspring through his son Isaac.

  • He reminded them of Isaac’s grandson, Jacob, and how his family ended up in Egypt.

  • Then Joshua started telling the Israelites about the events that had happened in his lifetime.

  • How God used Moses and Aaron and the 10 plagues to free Jacob’s descendants (the Israelites) from Egyptian slavery.

  • How God led them through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptians army.

  • How they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before God allowed them to enter the Promised Land.

  • How they defeated the kings east of the Jordan River, and then crossed the river to conquer Jericho.

  • Joshua’s historical retelling ended with the people’s conquest of the Promised Land and with a confirmation that God had kept all His promises to Israel.

• AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD (24:14-28):

  • After finishing his history of Israel, Joshua called on Israel to faithfully serve the Lord as their nation grew and settled in Canaan.

  • He told them to put away false gods.

  • Joshua could not make the people serve God, that was a decision they needed to make on their own, but Joshua and his household were committed to serving God.

  • The people responded that they too would serve God, but Joshua pushed back on their promise.

  • He questioned whether they would follow through on their promise because, in the past, they had not been consistent.

  • In response, the people reaffirmed their commitment.

  • Joshua set up a stone near the Tabernacle as a memorial of the people’s vow. Joshua told them the stone had heard their commitment and would stand as a witness against them if they ever broke their word.

• JOSHUA’S DEATH AND JOSEPH’S BURIAL (24:29-33):

  • Joshua died at 110 years old and was buried in his land at Timnath-serah.

  • Joseph’s bones were buried at Shechem, in the land Jacob purchased from Hamor (Gen 33:19; Gen 50:25-26; Exo 13:19).

  • Eleazar, the High Priest of Israel, died and was buried at Gibeah.

  • The Israelites served God faithfully all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua.

APPLICATION:

• As we finish Joshua, let’s think about the big picture and the story of the Bible.

• This book, in some ways, concludes the first big section of the Bible.

• Since Genesis 11, we’ve been following the story of Abraham’s descendants and God’s promises to them to give them the Promised Land and to make them a large nation.

• Those promises have now been kept.

• The rest of the Old Testament is the history of Israel in their homeland.

• It’s a record of whether Israel kept their word to Joshua and kept their covenant with God and remained faithful to Him.

• Also, keep in mind that one of the promises God made to Abraham has not yet been fulfilled. God promised that all the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham’s children (Gen 22:17).

• So, we are left with a cliffhanger. How will God bless the entire world and how will God use the Israelites to bring about the blessing?