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This chapter concludes the life and reign of Joshua, in which we have, I. The great care and pains he took to confirm the people of Israel in the true faith and worship of God, that they might, after his death, persevere therein. In order to this he called another general assembly of the heads of the congregation of Israel (Jos 24:1) and dealt with them. 1. By way of narrative, recounting the great things God had done for them and their fathers, Jos 24:2-13. 2. By way of charge to them, in consideration thereof, to serve God, Jos 24:14. 3. By way of treaty with them, wherein he aims to bring them, (1.) To make religion their deliberate choice; and they did so, with reasons for their choice, Jos 24:15-18. (2.) To make it their determinate choice, and to resolve to adhere to it, Jos 24:19-24. 4. By way of covenant upon that treaty, Jos 24:25-28. II. The conclusion of this history, with, 1. The death and burial of Joshua (Jos 24:29,30) and Eleazar (Jos 24:33), and the mention of the burial of Joseph's bones upon that occasion, Jos 24:32. 2. A general account of the state of Israel at that time, Jos 24:31.
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Joshua's Farewell Address to Israel (1427 BC)
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約書亞對以色列人的臨別贈言（主前1427年）
¹ 約書亞將以色列眾支派聚集在示劍，召了以色列的長老、族長、審判官和官長來；他們就站在神面前。
² 約書亞對眾民說：「耶和華以色列的神如此說：古時你們的列祖，就是亞伯拉罕的父親和拿鶴的父親他拉，住在大河那邊事奉別神。
³ 我將你們的祖宗亞伯拉罕從大河那邊帶來，領他走遍迦南全地，又使他的後裔繁多，把以撒賜給他。
⁴ 我把雅各和以掃賜給以撒；又把西珥山賜給以掃為業；雅各和他的兒孫卻下到埃及去了。
⁵ 我差遣摩西、亞倫，並照我在他們中所行的降災與埃及，之後把你們領出來。
⁶ 我將你們的列祖從埃及領出來，他們就到了海邊；埃及人帶領戰車馬兵追趕你們的列祖，直到紅海。
⁷ 他們呼求耶和華，他就在你們和埃及人之間安放黑暗，又使海水淹沒他們。我在埃及所行的，你們親眼看見了；你們在曠野也住了許多日子。
⁸ 我領你們到約旦河東亞摩利人所住之地；他們與你們爭戰，我將他們交在你們手中，你們便得了他們的地為業；我又在你們面前將他們除滅。
⁹ 那時摩押王西撥的兒子巴勒起來攻擊以色列人，打發人召了比珥的兒子巴蘭來咒詛你們。
¹⁰ 我卻不肯聽從巴蘭，所以他倒為你們祝福；這樣我便救你們脫離他的手。
¹¹ 你們過了約旦河，到了耶利哥；耶利哥人、亞摩利人、比利洗人、迦南人、赫人、革迦撒人、希未人、耶布斯人，都與你們爭戰；我卻把他們交在你們手中。
¹² 我打發黃蜂飛在你們前面，將亞摩利的兩個王從你們面前趕出去；這並不是用你的刀、用你的弓。
¹³ 我把你們沒有勞碌開墾的地賜給你們，又把你們沒有建造的城邑給你們居住；你們又得吃非你們所栽種的葡萄園、橄欖園的果子。
¹⁴ 現在你們要敬畏耶和華，誠心實意地事奉他；將你們列祖在大河那邊和在埃及所事奉的神除掉，去事奉耶和華。
約書亞原以為在前一章對他們所發的莊嚴勸誡中，他已經向以色列人作了最後的告別，那時他說：「我現在要走世人必走的路」；然而神恩慈地使他的壽數延長，超過了所預期的，又重新賜他力量，他便渴望善用這餘下的光陰為以色列人的益處。他沒有說：「我已經向他們辭過一次行了，那就夠了」；他既然還有一段較長的日子賜給他，便再次召集他們，為要試一試自己還能再作甚麼，使他們歸向神。當注意：我們絕不可在生命結束之前，以為自己為神所作的工已經完成；他若延長我們的壽數，超過我們所想的，我們就當斷定那是因為他還有更進一步的服事要我們去作。
這次大會與前一章的那次相同——「以色列的長老、族長、審判官和官長」（書24:1）。但這次比上次更為莊重。
I. 指定聚集的地點是「示劍」，不僅因為那地方比示羅離約書亞更近，如今他年邁體弱、不堪遠行，就更為方便，也因為那是亞伯拉罕——神與這百姓立約的第一位受託人——初到迦南時定居之處，也是神向他顯現的地方（創12:6,7），附近又有基利心山和以巴路山，百姓初次進入迦南時就在那裡與神重新立約（書8:30）。關於神對他們列祖所作的應許，以及他們自己對神所作的應許，這地方都可以使他們記念起來。
II. 他們在這大會中不僅是站在約書亞面前，更是「站在神面前」——即以莊重敬虔的方式聚集，如同進入神特別的同在之中，並仰望他藉約書亞向他們說話；這聚會大概是以禱告開始的。解經家們推測，在這重大時刻，約書亞吩咐祭司把神的約櫃抬到示劍——據說示劍距示羅約十英里——並安放在他們聚集之處，因此那地方被稱為（書24:26）「耶和華的聖所」，是約櫃的同在使它在當時成了聖所；這樣作是為了使這盛典更加隆重，並使與會的百姓心生敬畏。我們如今沒有這樣神同在的有形記號，卻當相信：無論在哪裡，「有兩三個人奉基督的名聚集」，他就如真實地在他們中間，如同神在約櫃所在之處一樣；他們確實是站在他面前。
III. 約書亞以神的名、作為神的發言人向他們說話，用的是先知的口吻（書24:2）：「耶和華以色列的神如此說」——耶和華，偉大的神，以色列的神，與你們立約的神，因此你們有義務聽從他、留意他。當注意：神的話，無論由誰傳遞，我們都當作為神的話來領受；傳話者的偉大不能增添它，傳話者的卑微也不能貶損它。他的講道分為教義和應用兩部分。
1. 教義部分是回顧神為他百姓、以及為他們的列祖所行的大事。神藉著約書亞重述古時的奇事：「我作了這個、那個。」他們必須知道並思想，不僅是如此這般的事被成就了，而且是神成就了這些事。這裡所記的是一連串的奇事，約書亞或許還提到了更多，為簡潔之故此處被略去了。請看神所行的。（1）他將亞伯拉罕從迦勒底的吾珥領出來（書24:2,3）。亞伯拉罕和他的先祖在那裡事奉別神，因為那地雖以學問聞名，偶像崇拜據一些人想卻是從那裡發源的；在那裡，「這世界憑自己的智慧，不認識神」。亞伯拉罕日後成為神的朋友、天的大寵，卻是在偶像崇拜中被養大，並在其中生活了許久，直到神藉著恩典將他如一根柴從火中搶救出來。讓他們記念自己被鑿而出的磐石，不可重新陷入他們的列祖藉著白白恩典的奇事所蒙拯救脫離的那罪。「我將他領出來，」神說，「否則他永遠不能脫離那罪惡的狀態。」因此，亞伯拉罕的稱義被使徒用作神「稱不敬虔之人為義」的一個實例（羅4:5）。（2）他把他領到迦南，建立他的家室，領他走遍全地直到示劍——他們如今所在之處，藉著以實瑪利使他的後裔繁多——以實瑪利生了十二個族長，最終卻把應許之子以撒賜給他，並在他裡面使他的後裔繁多。以撒生了兩個兒子——雅各和以掃——神為以掃在別處的西珥山預備了產業，好使迦南地能完整地留給雅各的後裔，使以掃的後裔不能在其中分一杯羹。（3）他用大能的手將雅各的後裔從埃及領出來（書24:5,6），又在紅海從法老和他的全軍手中救出他們（書24:6,7）。同樣的水成了以色列人的護衛，卻成了埃及人的墳墓，這是在應允禱告中成就的；因為雖然我們在故事中讀到他們在那困境中向神發怨言（出14:11,12），這裡卻留意到了他們「向神呼求」；他恩慈地悅納了那些向他禱告的人，並寬容了那些向他爭鬧之人的愚妄。（4）他在曠野保護他們；這裡說他們在曠野不是「飄流」，而是「住了許多日子」（書24:7）。他們的一切行動都被如此智慧地引導，又如此安全地被保守，以致即使在那裡他們也有確定的住處，如同在有城牆的城裡一樣。（5）他把約旦河東亞摩利人的地賜給他們（書24:8），又在那裡挫敗了巴勒和巴蘭對他們的詭計，以致巴蘭不能如願咒詛他們，巴蘭也不敢如他所設計的與他們爭戰；而正因為他設計了這事，這裡就說他行了這事。神使巴蘭的舌頭轉去祝福以色列（他原意要咒詛），這事常被提及，當作神為以色列所施大能的一個明證，與任何奇事一樣令人矚目，因為在其中神證明瞭（如今仍是，比我們所意識到的更多）他對黑暗權勢、對人心之靈的主權。（6）他使他們平安、得勝地進入迦南，把迦南人交在他們手中（書24:11），「打發黃蜂飛在他們前面」——正當他們與仇敵實際交戰之時——黃蜂用牠們的刺折磨敵人，用牠們的嗡鳴驚嚇敵人，以致敵人成了以色列極易獲取的獵物。這些可怕的蜂群最先出現在他們與亞摩利兩王西宏和噩的戰爭中，其後又出現在其他戰役裡（書24:12）。神曾應許為他們行這事（出23:27,28）；這裡約書亞留意到那應許的應驗。見出23:27,28，申7:20。這些黃蜂看來比以色列的兵器更令仇敵苦惱，所以他加上說：「並不是用你的刀、用你的弓。」這完全是主的作為。最後，他們如今安然擁有一塊美地，並舒適地享用別人勞碌的果子（書24:13）。
2. 將這段神恩惠的歷史應用在他們身上，是藉著勸勉他們敬畏神、事奉神，為他的恩惠感恩，並使這恩惠能持續賜給他們（書24:14）。「所以你們」——既然考量了這一切——（1）「敬畏耶和華」，「耶和華和他的善」（何3:5）。要敬畏一位如此無限大能的神，懼怕得罪他、懼怕喪失他的恩惠，保持對他威嚴的敬畏，對他權柄的敬重，對他不高興的畏懼，以及對他無所不見之眼的持續顧念。（2）「讓你們的行為與這原則相符，事奉他——無論是藉著宗教敬拜的外在行動，還是藉著你們整個生活中每一樣順服的表現，都要這樣『誠心實意』地事奉他，用專一的眼目和正直的心，以及與外表相符的內心感動。」這就是神所要求的「內裡的誠實」（詩51:6）。因為向那察看人心的神虛偽，對我們有何益處呢？（3）「除掉外邦的神」，無論是迦勒底的偶像還是埃及的偶像，因為他們最可能叛離歸向的就是這些。從這重複的吩咐（書24:23）看來，似乎他們當中有些人暗中在自家櫃子裡藏著這些糞堆神明的像或畫——這些是從他們的列祖傳下來的家族傳家寶，雖然他們或許並不敬拜；約書亞懇切地勸他們扔掉：「毀掉它們，除滅它們，免得你們受試探去事奉它們。」雅各曾催促他的全家這樣行，而且正是在這個地方；因為當他們把那些小神像交出來時，他就把它們「埋在示劍那裡的橡樹底下」（創35:2,4）。這裡所提到的那棵橡樹（書24:26），或許就是同一棵，或是同一處的另一棵，可以恰當地被稱為「改革之橡」，正如也有拜偶像的橡樹一樣。
¹⁵ 若是你們以事奉耶和華為不好，今日就可以選擇所要事奉的：是你們列祖在大河那邊所事奉的神呢？還是你們所住這地亞摩利人的神呢？至於我和我家，我們必定事奉耶和華。
¹⁶ 百姓回答說：「我們斷不敢離棄耶和華去事奉別神。
¹⁷ 因為耶和華我們的神，曾將我們和我們列祖從埃及地為奴之家領出來，又在我們眼前行了那些大神蹟，在我們所行的路上、所經過的列國中，都保護了我們。
¹⁸ 耶和華又把這地的居民，就是住這地的亞摩利人，都從我們面前趕出去。所以我們必事奉耶和華，因為他是我們的神。」
¹⁹ 約書亞對百姓說：「你們不能事奉耶和華，因為他是聖潔的神，是忌邪的神；他必不赦免你們的過犯罪惡。
²⁰ 你們若離棄耶和華去事奉外邦的神，耶和華在降福之後，必轉而降禍與你們，把你們滅絕。」
²¹ 百姓對約書亞說：「不然，我們必定事奉耶和華。」
²² 約書亞對百姓說：「你們自己作了見證，見證自己揀選了耶和華來事奉他。」他們說：「我們願意作見證。」
²³ 約書亞說：「你們現在要除掉你們中間的外邦神，傾心歸向耶和華以色列的神。」
²⁴ 百姓對約書亞說：「我們必事奉耶和華我們的神，聽從他的話。」
²⁵ 當日，約書亞就與百姓立約，在示劍為他們立定律例典章。
²⁶ 約書亞將這些話都寫在神的律法書上，又將一塊大石頭立在橡樹下耶和華的聖所旁邊。
²⁷ 約書亞對眾百姓說：「看哪，這石頭可以向我們作見證，因為它聽見了耶和華對我們所說的一切話；所以這石頭要向你們作見證，免得你們背棄你們的神。」
²⁸ 於是約書亞打發百姓各歸自己的地業去了。
從未有過任何交涉，比約書亞與百姓的這次交涉處理得更得體，或帶來更好的結果——為要使他們受約束去事奉神。他對付他們的方式，表明他是認真的，他的心全然擺在其中，要使他們在一切可能的約束之下專心跟從神——尤其是揀選的約束和立約的約束。
I. 他們若把事奉神當作自己的揀選，這是否能成為對他們的約束？——他在這裡讓他們作出揀選，並非因為事奉神與否在事先是無關緊要的，也不是因為他們有自由拒絕事奉他，而是因為他們若以人的理智和人的決心來接受信仰，這會對他們在信仰上的堅忍大有影響。這兩件事他在這裡帶領他們做到。
1. 他帶領他們理智而明達地接受信仰，因為這是合理的敬拜。人的意志容易以其天生的自由為榮，並為維護這自由的尊嚴，而最樂意堅持那出於自己揀選、而非被強加於己的事物；所以神的旨意是：這項事奉當成為我們的揀選，而非偶然或強加。因此：
（1）約書亞坦然把這事交給他們選擇（書24:15）。這裡，[1] 他提出等候選舉的候選人。耶和華——耶和華——在一邊；另一邊要麼是他們列祖的神（對於那些喜愛古制、喜愛從父輩傳統所領受之事的人，這些神自有其推薦之道），要麼是「他們鄰舍」亞摩利人的神——「就是他們所住這地的神」——對於那些隨和、喜愛結交的人，這些神會潛入他們的情感。[2] 他假定有些人因這樣那樣的緣故，會「以事奉耶和華為不好」。有人對宗教存有偏見和反對，這在那些傾向世界和肉體的人身上大有力量。事奉神在他們看來是不好的、艱難的、不合理的——要他們捨己、治死肉體、背起十字架等等。然而，既然他們處於受試煉的狀態，路上有些困難也是合宜的，否則就沒有試驗了。[3] 他把這事交給他們自己：「你們今日就可以選擇所要事奉的——如今事情既已如此擺明在你們面前，就趕快作個決定，不要再猶豫不決。」以利亞在此之後很久，也把耶和華與巴力之間的爭議的裁決，交給與他交涉之人的良心（王上18:21）。約書亞在這裡把事情交給這個了結，清楚地暗示了兩件事：第一，神的旨意是要我們每個人都把信仰當作自己認真、深思熟慮的揀選。我們當不偏不倚地把事情陳明在自己面前，在公平的天平上權衡，然後為我們發現實在真實美好之事下定決心。我們當決心過認真敬虔的生活，不僅僅是因為我們不知道別的路，而是因為經過查考，我們實在找不到更好的路。第二，信仰有如此不言自明的理性和公義為其撐腰，以致可以放心地交給每一個讓自己自由思考的人去選擇或拒絕；因為這事的理據如此明顯，任何深思熟慮的人都只能揀選它。這事如此清楚，以致它自己就能定案。約書亞或許有意藉著讓他們作選擇，試一試他們當中有沒有人會在如此公正的機會面前，對事奉神表現出冷淡和漠然，會不會要求時間考慮、徵詢朋友然後才作答；若出現這樣的人，他就可以標記他們，並警告其餘的人避開他們。[4] 他以公開宣告自己的決心來引導他們在這事上的選擇：「至於我和我家，無論你們怎樣，我們必定事奉耶和華。我希望你們也都同心。」在這裡他決心，第一，為自己：「至於我，我必事奉耶和華。」當注意：事奉神對於最偉大的人也絕非有失身分；對於君王和身居高位的人來說，敬虔非但不是貶損和屈辱，反而是他們最大的尊榮，為他們加上最明亮的榮耀冠冕。當注意他是多麼肯定地說：「我必事奉神。」用誓約把自己綁在神身上，並不是對我們自由的限制。第二，為「他的家」——就是他的家人、兒女和僕人，那些直接在他眼前、在他照管和影響之下的人。約書亞是以色列的統治者、士師，卻沒有以自己必須專注於公務為藉口，而疏忽家庭的信仰。那些管理許多家庭的人——如官長和傳道人——必須特別照管自己的家（提前3:4,5）：「我和我家必事奉神。」1.「不是我家的，而我不在內。」他不愿使他們從事自己不肯動手的工夫。有些人希望兒女和僕人好，自己卻不肯好；就是說，他們盼望兒女上天堂，自己卻打算下地獄。2.「不是我，而我家不在內。」他設想自己可能被自己的百姓離棄，但在他家中——那裡他的權柄更大、更直接——他就要作主。當注意：當我們不能帶領我們所願的一切人來事奉神時，我們當帶領我們所能帶領的，並把我們的努力擴展到我們活動範圍的極處；若不能改革全地，就當把罪惡從自己的帳棚中遠遠除去。3.「先是我，然後是我的家。」當注意：那些在別的事上帶領、治理的人，在事奉神上當居首，在最美的事上當走在前頭。第三，他決心無論別人怎樣都要如此行。即使以色列全家都背離神、事奉偶像，約書亞和他的家仍要堅定地持守以色列的神。當注意：決心事奉神的人，不可在意在其中成為孤獨的少數，也不可被群眾牽引而離棄他的事奉。那些嚮往天堂的人，必須甘願逆流而泳，不可隨從大多數人，而當隨從最好的人。
（2）事情既如此交給他們選擇，他們便立即以自由、理智、明達的宣告作出裁決，揀選以色列的神，反對一切競爭者（書24:16-18）。這裡，[1] 他們與約書亞的決定一致，受了如此偉大、曾是他們如此大祝福之人的榜樣所影響（書24:18）：「我們也必事奉耶和華。」請看偉人若在信仰上熱心，藉著他們對下屬的影響力，能作多大的善事。[2] 他們對背道於神的念頭感到驚恐（書24:16）：「我們斷不敢」——這詞表明了所能想像的最大的恐懼和憎惡。「我們或我們的後裔，竟然離棄耶和華去事奉別神，這是萬萬不可的。我們必須對公義、感恩和尊榮完全失去知覺，才會稍微懷有這樣的念頭。」照樣，我們的心也當對一切引誘我們離棄事奉神的試探如此奮起反對。「撒但，退我後邊去吧。」[3] 他們為自己的揀選舉出非常實在的理由，表明他們這樣作不純粹是順應約書亞，而是出於對此揀選的合理性和公正性的完全確信。他們作這揀選，是顧念和考量：第一，神為他們所行的許多大而極其恩慈的事——領他們出埃及、過曠野、進迦南（書24:17,18）。如此，他們把約書亞的講道對自己重述一遍，然後表明自己真誠地順服其中的用意。第二，他們與神所立的關係，以及神與他們所立的約：「我們必事奉耶和華（書24:18），因為他是我們的神」——他已恩慈地以應許與我們立約，我們也已以莊嚴的誓願與他立約。
2. 他帶領他們決心地接受信仰，並表達完全的心志要專心跟從主。如今他既使他們有了好的心志，便乘勝追擊，把釘子釘到底，使它（若可能的話）成為釘在堅固處的釘子。「緊緊綁住，就緊緊尋見。」
（1）為此，他把信仰的困難、以及其中看似令人灰心之處擺在他們面前（書24:19,20）：「你們不能事奉耶和華，因為他是聖潔的神」——希伯來文作「他是聖潔的神們」，暗示三位一體的奧祕，三而一；「聖哉、聖哉、聖哉」——聖父、聖子、聖靈。「他必不赦免。」「你們若離棄他，他必降禍與你們。」約書亞當然不是要以此阻止他們去事奉神，以為這是不切實際、危險的。但是，[1] 他或許有意在此陳述誘惑者的說辭——那些引誘以色列人離棄神、離棄事奉的人，正是用這類暗示來試探他們：說他是嚴苛的主人，他的工不可能做成，他不能被取悅，一旦被觸怒便不能挽回、報復心強——他只准他們單單敬畏他，不容他們對別神表示絲毫的善意——而在這一點上他與列國的神大不相同，那些神是寬容的，既不聖潔也不忌邪。猶太教當時大概常被如此反對，正如撒但自從試探我們始祖以來，一直用這手法誣蔑神和他的律法，說是嚴苛苛刻的；約書亞藉著他的語氣和表達方式，可能讓他們覺察他是把這當作一個反對意見提出來的，並要他們思想如何抵擋這股力量。或者，[2] 他如此表達自己對他們敬虔的忌邪，以及對他們的擔憂：儘管他們如今表現出對神和他事奉的熱心，日後卻會退後，若如此他們必發現他是公義而忌邪的，必為此報應。或者，[3] 他決意讓他們知道最壞的情況，以及他們當料想與神所站的嚴格條件，好叫他們坐下計算代價。「你們不能事奉耶和華，除非你們除掉一切別神；因為他是聖潔忌邪的，絕不容讓競爭者，所以你們必須非常警醒謹慎，因為你們若離棄他的事奉，後果自負；你們倒不如從未認識它。」照樣，雖然我們的主已向我們保證「他的軛是容易的」，但為免我們因此自恃而變得懈怠隨便，他也告訴我們：引到永生那門是窄的，路是小的，好叫我們因此努力進去，而不是僅僅尋求而已。「你們不能事奉神又事奉瑪門；所以，你們若決心事奉神，就必須棄絕一切與他競爭的。你們不能憑自己的力量事奉神，神也不會因你們自己的任何義而赦免你們的過犯；但『以色列的後裔都必稱義，並要單單以耶和華為他們的義和力量』」（賽45:24,25）。所以他們必須放下對自己充足的一切信靠，否則他們的決心就毫無意義。或者，[4] 約書亞如此向他們強調路上的看似灰心之處，為要磨利他們的決心，從他們口中引出一個更明確、更莊嚴的承諾：他們會忠於神和他們的信仰。他從他們口中引出，為要使他們更加懇切地抓住，更加牢牢地持守。
（2）儘管信仰的困難如此陳明，他們卻宣告了堅定的心志，要繼續並堅忍其中（書24:21）：「不然，我們必定事奉耶和華。我們不會因他是聖潔忌邪的神而看輕他，也不會因他只准僕人單單敬拜他自己而退縮。離棄他的人理當被消滅，但我們絕不離棄他；不僅是我們有心事奉他、我們盼望會如此，我們已經定了意，我們不能忍受聽見任何『勸我們離開他、或轉去不隨從他的懇求』（得1:16）；靠著神恩典的能力，我們決心要事奉耶和華。」他們重複這決心並加以解釋（書24:24）：「我們必事奉耶和華我們的神」——不僅是被稱為他的僕人、穿上他的號衣，更是我們的信仰要在凡事上管轄我們，「我們也必聽從他的話。」我們若「不遵行他所說的，徒然稱呼他為主為夫子」，便是枉然（路6:46）。這最後的應許，是為答覆約書亞所給他們的吩咐（書24:23）——為要他們能堅忍：[1] 除掉外邦神的像和遺物，若決意「造他們的主作自己的丈夫」，就不可再留著那些別戀人的任何記號在他們手中；他們在此答應要聽從他的話。[2] 「傾心歸向以色列的神」——用他們對自己心靈的權柄，使它們歸向神，不僅要把情感傾注於他，更要使情感定居在他身上。這些條件他們都同意了；照約書亞對這約的解釋，他們就此成交：「我們必事奉耶和華我們的神。」
II. 事奉神既成為他們深思熟慮的揀選，約書亞便以莊嚴的立約把他們綁在其中（書24:25）。摩西曾兩次公開確認神與以色列之間的這約——在西奈山（出24:1-33）和在摩押平原（申29:1）。約書亞也行過一次（書8:31-35等），如今是第二次。這裡稱之為「律例」和「典章」，因為它的約束力堅固而持久，也因為這約所約束的，無非是他們原先已被神的命令所約束的。如今，為賦予這約立約的形式：1. 他召喚見證人——不是別人，正是他們自己（書24:22）：「你們自己作見證，見證自己揀選了耶和華。」他指望他們永不忘記今日的莊嚴；但若日後他們違背這約，他向他們保證：他們如今所作的宣告和應許，必在審判時起來定他們的罪；他們也同意了：「我們願意作見證；我們若對自己的神不忠，就讓我們憑自己的口被定罪。」2. 他把它寫下來，並如我們在此所見，收入正典之中：他把這些話「寫在神的律法書上」（書24:26）——寫在原版上，那原本放在約櫃旁，大概從那裡被抄錄到眾首領為各支派所用的各個副本中。在那裡被寫下，為的是使他們因神的命令而對信仰的義務，以及他們因自己的應許而對信仰的義務，可以一同留在記錄上。3. 他為此設立一個記念物，為那些或許不熟悉文字的人的益處（書24:26,27）。他「在橡樹下立了一塊大石頭」，作為這約的紀念碑，或許還在上面刻了文字（石頭藉此被使之說話），說明其用意。當他說「它聽見了」方才所發生的事，他暗中責備百姓心地剛硬，好像這塊石頭聽得和他們當中一些人一樣好；若他們忘記了剛才所作的事，這石頭會在某種程度上保存對此事的記憶，責備他們的遲鈍和疏忽，並作見證反對他們。
事情既如此定妥，約書亞便解散了以色列顯貴們的這次聚會（書24:28），向他們作了最後的告別——他既已盡了自己的本分，藉此救了自己的靈魂，便心滿意足；他們若滅亡，他們的血就歸到他們自己頭上。
영문 원문
Joshua's Farewell Address to Israel (1427 BC)
¹ 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.
² 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.
³ 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.
⁴ 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.
⁵ I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
⁶ 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.
⁷ 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.
⁸ 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.
⁹ 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:
¹⁰ But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
¹¹ 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.
¹² 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.
¹³ 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.
¹⁴ 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.
Joshua thought he had taken his last farewell of Israel in the solemn charge he gave them in the foregoing chapter, when he said, I go the way of all the earth; but God graciously continuing his life longer than expected, and renewing his strength, he was desirous to improve it for the good of Israel. He did not say, "I have taken my leave of them once, and let that serve;" but, having yet a longer space given him, he summons them together again, that he might try what more he could do to engage them for God. Note, We must never think our work for God done till our life is done; and, if he lengthen out our days beyond what we thought, we must conclude it is because he has some further service for us to do.
The assembly is the same with that in the foregoing chapter, the elders, heads, judges, and officers of Israel, Jos 24:1. But it is here made somewhat more solemn than it was there.
I. The place appointed for their meeting is Shechem, not only because that lay nearer to Joshua than Shiloh, and therefore more convenient now that he was infirm and unfit for travelling, but because it was the place where Abraham, the first trustee of God's covenant with this people, settled at his coming to Canaan, and where God appeared to him (Ge 12:6,7), and near which stood mounts Gerizim and Ebal, where the people had renewed their covenant with God at their first coming into Canaan, Jos 8:30. Of the promises God had made to their fathers, and of the promises they themselves had made to God, this place might serve to put them in mind.
II. They presented themselves not only before Joshua, but before God, in this assembly, that is, they came together in a solemn religious manner, as into the special presence of God, and with an eye to his speaking to them by Joshua; and it is probable the service began with prayer. It is the conjecture of interpreters that upon this great occasion Joshua ordered the ark of God to be brought by the priests to Shechem, which, they say, was about ten miles from Shiloh, and to be set down in the place of their meeting, which is therefore called (Jos 24:26) the sanctuary of the Lord, the presence of the ark making it so at that time; and this was done to grace the solemnity, and to strike an awe upon the people that attended. We have not now any such sensible tokens of the divine presence, but are to believe that where two or three are gathered together in Christ's name he is as really in the midst of them as God was where the ark was, and they are indeed presenting themselves before him.
III. Joshua spoke to them in God's name, and as from him, in the language of a prophet (Jos 24:2): "Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah, the great God, and the God of Israel, your God in covenant, whom therefore you are bound to hear and give heed to." Note, The word of God is to be received by us as his, whoever is the messenger that brings it, whose greatness cannot add to it, nor his meanness diminish from it. His sermon consists of doctrine and application.
1. The doctrinal part is a history of the great things God had done for his people, and for their fathers before them. God by Joshua recounts the marvels of old: "I did so and so." They must know and consider, not only that such and such things were done, but that God did them. It is a series of wonders that is here recorded, and perhaps many more were mentioned by Joshua, which for brevity's sake are here omitted. See what God had wrought. (1.) He brought Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, Jos 24:2,3. He and his ancestors had served other gods there, for it was the country in which, though celebrated for learning, idolatry, as some think, had its rise; there the world by wisdom knew not God. Abraham, who afterwards was the friend of God and the great favourite of heaven, was bred up in idolatry, and lived long in it, till God by his grace snatched him as a brand out of that burning. Let them remember that rock out of which they were hewn, and not relapse into that sin from which their fathers by a miracle of free grace were delivered. "I took him," says God, "else he had never come out of that sinful state." Hence Abraham's justification is made by the apostle an instance of God's justifying the ungodly, Ro 4:5. (2.) He brought him to Canaan, and built up his family, led him through the land to Shechem, where they now were, multiplied his seed by Ishmael, who begat twelve princes, but at last gave him Isaac the promised son, and in him multiplied his seed. When Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau, God provided an inheritance for Esau elsewhere in Mount Seir, that the land of Canaan might be reserved entire for the seed of Jacob, and the posterity of Esau might not pretend to a share in it. (3.) He delivered the seed of Jacob out of Egypt with a high hand (Jos 24:5,6), and rescued them out of the hands of Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, Jos 24:6,7. The same waters were the Israelites' guard and the Egyptians' grave, and this in answer to prayer; for, though we find in the story that they in that distress murmured against God (Ex 14:11,12), notice is here taken of their crying to God; he graciously accepted those that prayed to him, and overlooked the folly of those that quarrelled with him. (4.) He protected them in the wilderness, where they are here said, not to wander, but to dwell for a long season, Jos 24:7. So wisely were all their motions directed, and so safely were they kept, that even there they had as certain a dwelling-place as if they had been in a walled city. (5.) He gave them the land of the Amorites, on the other side Jordan (Jos 24:8), and there defeated the plot of Balak and Balaam against them, so that Balaam could not curse them as he desired, and therefore Balak durst not fight them as he designed, and as, because he designed it, he is here said to have done it. The turning of Balaam's tongue to bless Israel, when he intended to curse them, is often mentioned as an instance of the divine power put forth in Israel's favour as remarkable as any, because in it God proved (and does still, more than we are aware of) his dominion over the powers of darkness, and over the spirits of men. (6.) He brought them safely and triumphantly into Canaan, delivered the Canaanites into their hand (Jos 24:11), sent hornets before them, when they were actually engaged in battle with the enemy, which with their stings tormented them and with their noise terrified them, so that they became a very easy prey to Israel. These dreadful swarms first appeared in their war with Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites, and afterwards in their other battles, Jos 24:12. God had promised to do this for them, Ex 23:27,28. And here Joshua takes notice of the fulfilling of that promise. See Ex 23:27,28, De 7:20. These hornets, it should seem, annoyed the enemy more than the artillery of Israel, and therefore he adds, not with thy sword nor bow. It was purely the Lord's doing. Lastly, They were now in the peaceable possession of a good land, and lived comfortably upon the fruit of other people's labours, Jos 24:13.
2. The application of this history of God's mercies to them is by way of exhortation to fear and serve God, in gratitude for his favour, and that it might be continued to them, Jos 24:14. Now therefore, in consideration of all this, (1.) "Fear the Lord, the Lord and his goodness, Ho 3:5. Reverence a God of such infinite power, fear to offend him and to forfeit his goodness, keep up an awe of his majesty, a deference to his authority, a dread of his displeasure, and a continual regard to his all-seeing eye upon you." (2.) "Let your practice be consonant to this principle, and serve him both by the outward acts of religious worship and every instance of obedience in your whole conversation, and this in sincerity and truth, with a single eye and an upright heart, and inward impressions answerable to outward expressions." This is the truth in the inward part, which God requires, Ps 51:6. For what good will it do us to dissemble with a God that searches the heart? (3.) Put away the strange gods, both Chaldean and Egyptian idols, for those they were most in danger of revolting to. It should seem by this charge, which is repeated (Jos 24:23), that there were some among them that privately kept in their closets the images or pictures of these dunghill-deities, which came to their hands from their ancestors, as heir-looms of their families, though, it may be, they did not worship them; these Joshua earnestly urges them to throw away: "Deface them, destroy them, lest you be tempted to serve them." Jacob pressed his household to do this, and at this very place; for, when they gave him up the little images they had, he buried them under the oak which was by Shechem, Ge 35:2,4. Perhaps the oak mentioned here (Jos 24:26) was the same oak, or another in the same place, which might be well called the oak of reformation, as there were idolatrous oaks.
¹⁵ 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.
¹⁶ And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
¹⁷ 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:
¹⁸ 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.
¹⁹ And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
²⁰ 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.
²¹ And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
²² 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.
²³ Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
²⁴ And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
²⁶ 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.
²⁷ 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.
²⁸ So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
Never was any treaty carried on with better management, nor brought to a better issue, than this of Joshua with the people, to engage them to serve God. The manner of his dealing with them shows him to have been in earnest, and that his heart was much upon it, to leave them under all possible obligations to cleave to him, particularly the obligation of a choice and of a covenant.
I. Would it be any obligation upon them if they made the service of God their choice?—he here puts them to their choice, not as if it were antecedently indifferent whether they served God or nor, or as if they were at liberty to refuse his service, but because it would have a great influence upon their perseverance in religion if they embraced it with the reason of men and with the resolution of men. These two things he here brings them to.
1. He brings them to embrace their religion rationally and intelligently, for it is a reasonable service. The will of man is apt to glory in its native liberty, and, in a jealousy for the honour of this, adheres with most pleasure to that which is its own choice and is not imposed upon it; therefore it is God's will that this service should be, not our chance, or a force upon us, but our choice. Accordingly,
(1.) Joshua fairly puts the matter to their choice, Jos 24:15. Here, [1.] He proposes the candidates that stand for the election. The Lord, Jehovah, on one side, and on the other side either the gods of their ancestors, which would pretend to recommend themselves to those that were fond of antiquity, and that which was received by tradition from their fathers, or the gods of their neighbours, the Amorites, in whose land they dwelt, which would insinuate themselves into the affections of those that were complaisant and fond of good fellowship. [2.] He supposes there were those to whom, upon some account or other, it would seem evil to serve the Lord. There are prejudices and objections which some people raise against religion, which, with those that are inclined to the world and the flesh, have great force. It seems evil to them, hard and unreasonable, to be obliged to deny themselves, mortify the flesh, take up their cross, etc. But, being in a state of probation, it is fit there should be some difficulties in the way, else there were no trial. [3.] He refers it to themselves: "Choose you whom you will serve, choose this day, now that the matter is laid thus plainly before you, speedily bring it to a head, and do not stand hesitating." Elijah, long after this, referred the decision of the controversy between Jehovah and Baal to the consciences of those with whom he was treating, 1Ki 18:21. Joshua's putting the matter here to this issue plainly intimates two things:—First, That it is the will of God we should every one of us make religion our serious and deliberate choice. Let us state the matter impartially to ourselves, weigh things in an even balance, and then determine for that which we find to be really true and good. Let us resolve upon a life of serious godliness, not merely because we know no other way, but because really, upon search, we find no better. Secondly, That religion has so much self-evident reason and righteousness on its side that it may safely be referred to every man that allows himself a free thought either to choose or refuse it; for the merits of the cause are so plain that no considerate man can do otherwise but choose it. The case is so clear that it determines itself. Perhaps Joshua designed, by putting them to their choice, thus to try if there were any among them who, upon so fair an occasion given, would show a coolness and indifference towards the service of God, whether they would desire time to consider and consult their friends before they gave in an answer, and if any such should appear he might set a mark upon them, and warn the rest to avoid them. [4.] He directs their choice in this matter by an open declaration of his own resolutions: "But as for me and my house, whatever you do, we will serve the Lord, and I hope you will all be of the same mind." Here he resolves, First, For himself: As for me, I will serve the Lord. Note, The service of God is nothing below the greatest of men; it is so far from being a diminution and disparagement to princes and those of the first rank to be religious that it is their greatest honour, and adds the brightest crown of glory to them. Observe how positive he is: "I will serve God." It is no abridgment of our liberty to bind ourselves with a bond to God. Secondly, For his house, that is, his family, his children and servants, such as were immediately under his eye and care, his inspection and influence. Joshua was a ruler, a judge in Israel, yet he did not make his necessary application to public affairs an excuse for the neglect of family religion. Those that have the charge of many families, as magistrates and ministers, must take special care of their own (1Ti 3:4,5): I and my house will serve God. 1. "Not my house, without me." He would not engage them to that work which he would not set his own hand to. As some who would have their children and servants good, but will not be so themselves; that is, they would have them go to heaven, but intend to go to hell themselves. 2. "Not I, without my house." He supposes he might be forsaken by his people, but in his house, where his authority was greater and more immediate, there he would over-rule. Note, When we cannot bring as many as we would to the service of God we must bring as many as we can, and extend our endeavours to the utmost sphere of our activity; if we cannot reform the land, let us put away iniquity far from our own tabernacle. 3. "First I, and then my house." Note, Those that lead and rule in other things should be first in the service of God, and go before in the best things. Thirdly, He resolves to do this whatever others did. Though all the families of Israel should revolt from God, and serve idols, yet Joshua and his family will stedfastly adhere to the God of Israel. Note, Those that resolve to serve God must not mind being singular in it, nor be drawn by the crowd to forsake his service. Those that are bound for heaven must be willing to swim against the stream, and must not do as the most do, but as the best do.
(2.) The matter being thus put to their choice, they immediately determine it by a free, rational, and intelligent declaration, for the God of Israel, against all competitors whatsoever, Jos 24:16-18. Here, [1.] They concur with Joshua in his resolution, being influenced by the example of so great a man, who had been so great a blessing to them (Jos 24:18): We also will serve the Lord. See how much good great men might do, if they were but zealous in religion, by their influence on their inferiors. [2.] They startle at the thought of apostatizing from God (Jos 24:16): God forbid; the word intimates the greatest dread and detestation imaginable. "Far be it, far be it from us, that we or ours should ever forsake the Lord to serve other gods. We must be perfectly lost to all sense of justice, gratitude, and honour, ere we can harbour the least thought of such a thing." Thus must our hearts rise against all temptations to desert the service of God. Get thee behind me, Satan. [3.] They give very substantial reasons for their choice, to show that they did not make it purely in compliance to Joshua, but from a full conviction of the reasonableness and equity of it. They make this choice for, and in consideration, First, Of the many great and very kind things God had done for them, bringing them out of Egypt through the wilderness into Canaan, Jos 24:17,18. Thus they repeat to themselves Joshua's sermon, and then express their sincere compliance with the intentions of it. Secondly, Of the relation they stood in to God, and his covenant with them: "We will serve the Lord (Jos 24:18), for he is our God, who has graciously engaged himself by promise to us, and to whom we have by solemn vow engaged ourselves."
2. He brings them to embrace their religion resolutely, and to express a full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. Now that he has them in a good mind he follows his blow, and drives the nail to the head, that it might, if possible, be a nail in a sure place. Fast bind, fast find.
(1.) In order to this he sets before them the difficulties of religion, and that in it which might be thought discouraging (Jos 24:19,20): You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, or, as it is in the Hebrew, he is the holy Gods, intimating the mystery of the Trinity, three in one; holy, holy, holy, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit. He will not forgive. And, if you forsake him, he will do you hurt. Certainly Joshua does not intend hereby to deter them from the service of God as impracticable and dangerous. But, [1.] He perhaps intends to represent here the suggestions of seducers, who tempted Israel from their God, and from the service of him; with such insinuations as these, that he was a hard master, his work impossible to be done, and he not to be pleased, and, if displeased, implacable and revengeful,—that he would confine their respects to himself only, and would not suffer them to show the least kindness for any other,—and that herein he was very unlike the gods of the nations, which were easy, and neither holy nor jealous. It is probable that this was then commonly objected against the Jewish religion, as it has all along been the artifice of Satan every since he tempted our first parents thus to misrepresent God and his laws, as harsh and severe; and Joshua by his tone and manner of speaking might make them perceive he intended it as an objection, and would put it to them how they would keep their ground against the force of it. Or, [2.] He thus expresses his godly jealousy over them, and his fear concerning them, that, notwithstanding the profession they now made of zeal for God and his service, they would afterwards draw back, and if they did they would find him just and jealous to avenge it. Or, [3.] He resolves to let them know the worst of it, and what strict terms they must expect to stand upon with God, that they might sit down and count the cost. "You cannot serve the Lord, except you put away all other gods for he is holy and jealous, and will by no means admit a rival, and therefore you must be very watchful and careful, for it is at your peril if you desert his service; better you had never known it." Thus, though our Master has assured us that his yoke is easy, yet lest, upon the presumption of this, we should grow remiss and careless, he has also told us that the gate is strait, and the way narrow, that leads to life, that we may therefore strive to enter, and not seek only. "You cannot serve God and Mammon; therefore, if you resolve to serve God, you must renounce all competitors with him. You cannot serve God in your own strength, nor will he forgive your transgressions for any righteousness of your own; but all the seed of Israel must be justified and must glory in the Lord alone as their righteousness and strength," Isa 45:24,25. They must therefore come off from all confidence in their own sufficiency, else their purposes would be to no purpose. Or, [4.] Joshua thus urges on them the seeming discouragements which lay in their way, that he might sharpen their resolutions, and draw from them a promise yet more express and solemn that they would continue faithful to God and their religion. He draws it from them that they might catch at it the more earnestly and hold it the faster.
(2.) Notwithstanding this statement of the difficulties of religion, they declare a firm and fixed resolution to continue and persevere therein (Jos 24:21): "Nay, but we will serve the Lord. We will think never the worse of him for his being a holy and jealous God, nor for his confining his servants to worship himself only. Justly will he consume those that forsake him, but we never will forsake him; not only we have a good mind to serve him, and we hope we shall, but we are at a point, we cannot bear to hear any entreaties to leave him or to turn from following after him (Ru 1:16); in the strength of divine grace we are resolved that we will serve the Lord." This resolution they repeat with an explication (Jos 24:24): "The Lord our God will we serve, not only be called his servants and wear his livery, but our religion shall rule us in every thing, and his voice will we obey." And in vain do we call him Master and Lord, if we do not the things which he saith, Lu 6:46. This last promise they make in answer to the charge Joshua gave them (Jos 24:23), that, in order to their perseverance, they should, [1.] Put away the images and relics of the strange gods, and not keep any of the tokens of those other lovers in their custody, if they resolved their Maker should be their husband; they promise, in this, to obey his voice. [2.] That they should incline their hearts to the God of Israel, use their authority over their own hearts to engage them for God, not only to set their affections upon him, but to settle them so. These terms they agree to, and thus, as Joshua explains the bargain, they strike it: The Lord our God will we serve.
II. The service of God being thus made their deliberate choice, Joshua binds them to it by a solemn covenant, Jos 24:25. Moses had twice publicly ratified this covenant between God and Israel, at Mount Sinai (Ex 24:1-33) and in the plains of Moab, De 29:1. Joshua had likewise done it once (Jos 8:31-35, etc.) and now the second time. It is here called a statute and an ordinance, because of the strength and perpetuity of its obligation, and because even this covenant bound them to no more than what they were antecedently bound to by the divine command. Now, to give it the formalities of a covenant, 1. He calls witnesses, no other than themselves (Jos 24:22): You are witnesses that you have chosen the Lord. He promises himself that they would never forget the solemnities of this day; but, if hereafter they should break this covenant, he assures them that the professions and promises they had now made would certainly rise up in judgment against them and condemn them; and they agreed to it: "We are witnesses; let us be judged out of our own mouths if ever we be false to our God." 2. He put it in writing, and inserted it, as we find it here, in the sacred canon: He wrote it in the book of the law (Jos 24:26), in that original which was laid up in the side of the ark, and thence, probably, it was transcribed into the several copies which the princes had for the use of each tribe. There it was written, that their obligation to religion by the divine precept, and that by their own promise, might remain on record together. 3. He erected a memorandum of it, for the benefit of those who perhaps were not conversant with writings, Jos 24:26,27. He set up a great stone under an oak, as a monument of this covenant, and perhaps wrote an inscription upon it (by which stones are made to speak) signifying the intention of it. When he says, It hath heard what was past, he tacitly upbraids the people with the hardness of their hearts, as if this stone had heard to as good purpose as some of them; and, if they should forget what was no done, this stone would so far preserve the remembrance of it as to reproach them for their stupidity and carelessness, and be a witness against them.
The matter being thus settled, Joshua dismissed this assembly of the grandees of Israel (Jos 24:28), and took his last leave of them, well satisfied in having done his part, by which he had delivered his soul; if they perished, their blood would be upon their own heads.
29-33
The Death of Joshua (1427 BC)
繁體中文
約書亞之死（主前1427年）
²⁹ 這些事以後，耶和華的僕人嫩的兒子約書亞，正一百一十歲就死了。 ³⁰ 以色列人將他葬在他地業的境內，就是在以法蓮山地的亭拿‧西拉，在迦實山的北邊。 ³¹ 約書亞在世的日子，和約書亞死後那些知道耶和華為以色列人所行諸事的長老在世的日子，以色列人事奉耶和華。 ³² 以色列人從埃及所帶出來的約瑟的骸骨，葬埋在示劍的一塊地裏；這地是雅各從前用一百塊銀子向示劍的父親哈抹的子孫買來的；這地就作了約瑟子孫的產業。 ³³ 亞倫的兒子以利亞撒也死了；他們把他葬在他兒子非尼哈所得以法蓮山地的小山上。
本書以勝利開始，在此卻以葬禮結束——人的榮華因此盡被玷污。我們在此看到 1. 約瑟的葬禮（Jos 24:32）。約兩百年前他死於埃及，但「為自己的骸骨留下遺命」——他們不可在自己的墳墓中安息，直到以色列在應許之地得享安息；因此以色列人從埃及帶出了這口裝滿骸骨的棺材，在曠野的一切行程中隨身攜帶（很可能由以法蓮和瑪拿西兩個支派特別照料），留在營中直到迦南被完全征服，如今終於將它安葬在他父親在示劍附近賜給他的那塊地裏（Ge 48:22）。很可能正是在這個場合，約書亞召集以色列眾人到示劍相見（Jos 24:1），為要送約瑟的棺木到那裏的墳地，因此本章的講道既作了約瑟的喪禮講道，也作了約書亞自己的告別講道；如果那確如所推測，是他生命最後一年，這場合很可能適當地提醒他自己的死期近了，因為他正到了他那位傑出的先祖約瑟死時的年齡——一百一十歲；比較 Jos 24:29 與 Ge 50:26。2. 約書亞的死和葬禮（Jos 24:29-30）。我們沒有被告知他在以色列人進入迦南之後又活了多久。萊特富特博士認為大約十七年；但猶太年代學者一般說大約二十七或二十八年。他在此被稱為「耶和華的僕人」，這與摩西死時所得的稱號相同（Jos 1:1）；因為雖然約書亞在許多方面不如摩西，但在這一點上他與摩西相等——按著他的工作，他證明自己是神勤勉而忠心的僕人。那用兩千銀子作買賣的，與那用五千的得了同樣的稱讚。「好，你這又良善又忠心的僕人。」約書亞的葬地據說是在「迦實山北邊」，即「震動之山」；猶太人說它如此得名，是因為在約書亞葬禮時那山震動，責備以色列人在那位偉大而善良的人去世時，沒有像應當的那樣為他哀哭。照樣，我們的約書亞——基督——死時，地也震動。博學的帕特里克主教注意到，聖經沒有提到為約書亞守喪的日子，正如為摩西和亞倫所行的；他說，耶柔米和其他教父認為其中有一個奧秘：在律法之下，當生命和不朽還未如今日這般被帶到明光照耀之時，他們有理由為親人的死哀哭流淚；但如今我們的約書亞——耶穌——已經開了天國的門，我們倒可以喜樂。3. 大祭司以利亞撒的死和葬禮。他很可能與約書亞大約同時去世，正如亞倫與摩西同年（Jos 24:33）。猶太人說以利亞撒在臨終前不久召集了長老，像約書亞所行的那樣囑咐了他們。他被葬在他兒子非尼哈所得的一座山上；這山不是因繼承而歸給他的，否則首先應歸給他父親，而且祭司在以法蓮山區也沒有城邑；這要麼如猶太人所猜測的，是因婚姻而歸給他的，要麼是某位敬虔、善待祭司的以色列人甘心賜給他、讓他建造鄉間別墅的，因為這裏說是「給了他」；他在那裏葬了他親愛的父親。4. 此時以色列狀況的一般概述（Jos 24:31）。約書亞活著的時候，在他的照管和影響之下，宗教在他們中間得以維持；但不久之後，他和他的同代人都去世了，宗教就衰敗了——往往一個領袖一倒，就如此；福音教會有何等福氣，因為我們的約書亞——基督——藉著他的聖靈仍與她同在，且要一直同在，「直到世界的末了」！
영문 원문
The Death of Joshua (1427 BC)
²⁹ And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old.
³⁰ And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
³¹ 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.
³² 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 a hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
³³ 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.
This book, which began with triumphs, here ends with funerals, by which all the glory of man is stained. We have here 1. The burial of Joseph, Jos 24:32. He died about 200 years before in Egypt, but gave commandment concerning his bones, that they should not rest in their grave until Israel had rest in the land of promise; now therefore the children of Israel, who had brought this coffin full of bones with them out of Egypt, carried it along with them in all their marches through the wilderness (the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, it is probable, taking particular care of it), and kept it in their camp till Canaan was perfectly reduced, now at last they deposited it in that piece of ground which his father gave him near Shechem, Ge 48:22. Probably it was upon this occasion that Joshua called for all Israel to meet him at Shechem (Jos 24:1), to attend Joseph's coffin to the grave there, so that the sermon in this chapter served both for Joseph's funeral sermon and his own farewell sermon; and if it was, as is supposed, in the last year of his life, the occasion might very well remind him of his own death being at hand, for he was not just at the same age that his illustrious ancestor Joseph had arrived at when he died, 110 years old; compare Jos 24:29 with Ge 50:26. 2. The death and burial of Joshua, Jos 24:29,30. We are not told how long he lived after the coming of Israel into Canaan. Dr. Lightfoot thinks it was about seventeen years; but the Jewish chronologers generally say it was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years. He is here called the servant of the Lord, the same title that was given to Moses (Jos 1:1) when mention was made of his death; for, though Joshua was in many respects inferior to Moses, yet in this he was equal to him, that, according as his work was, he approved himself a diligent and faithful servant of God. And he that traded with his two talents had the same approbation that he had who traded with his five. Well done, good and faithful servant. Joshua's burying-place is here said to be on the north side of the hill Gaash, or the quaking hill; the Jews say it was so called because it trembled at the burial of Joshua, to upbraid the people of Israel with their stupidity in that they did not lament the death of that great and good man as they ought to have done. Thus at the death of Christ, our Joshua, the earth quaked. The learned bishop Patrick observes that there is no mention of any days of mourning being observed for Joshua, as there were for Moses and Aaron, in which, he says, St. Hierom and others of the fathers think there is a mystery, namely, that under the law, when life and immortality were not brought to so clear a light as they are now, they had reason to mourn and weep for the death of their friends; but now that Jesus, our Joshua, has opened the kingdom of heaven, we may rather rejoice. 3. The death and burial of Eleazar the chief priest, who, it is probable, died about the same time that Joshua did, as Aaron in the same year with Moses, Jos 24:33. The Jews say that Eleazar, a little before he died, called the elders together, and gave them a charge as Joshua had done. He was buried in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which came to him, not by descent, for then it would have pertained to his father first, nor had the priests any cities in Mount Ephraim, but either it fell to him by marriage, as the Jews conjecture, or it was freely bestowed upon him, to build a country seat on, by some pious Israelite that was well-affected to the priesthood, for it is here said to have been given him; and there he buried his dear father. 4. A general idea given us of the state of Israel at this time, Jos 24:31. While Joshua lived, religion was kept up among them under his care and influence; but soon after he and his contemporaries died it went to decay, so much oftentimes does one head hold up: how well is it for the gospel church that Christ, our Joshua, is still with it, by his Spirit, and will be always, even unto the end of the world!
本章結束約書亞的生平與執政記載，其中記有：一、他為堅固以色列人對真神的信仰與敬拜而付出的極大關懷與心力，好叫他們在他離世之後仍能恆心持守。為此，他再次召集以色列會眾的首領（Jos 24:1），並與他們交涉。1. 以敘述的方式，數算神為他們和他們列祖所成就的大事（Jos 24:2-13）。2. 以勸誡的方式，要他們因此事奉神（Jos 24:14）。3. 以立約的方式與他們交涉，旨在帶領他們：（一）使信仰成為他們深思熟慮的選擇；他們也確實如此行了，並說明了選擇的理由（Jos 24:15-18）。（二）使信仰成為他們堅定不移的選擇，決心持守到底（Jos 24:19-24）。4. 在此立約的基礎上與他們立約（Jos 24:25-28）。二、這段歷史的結尾，記有：1. 約書亞的死與安葬（Jos 24:29,30），以及以利亞撒的死與安葬（Jos 24:33），並在此際提及約瑟骸骨的安葬（Jos 24:32）。2. 對以色列當時光景的概括記述（Jos 24:31）。