23 v.10 The comment on how the people had delivered the land ‘one man of you shall chase a thousand’ echoes the words of Moses in the plains of Moab [Deuteronomy 32:30] How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? And reminded the people that they had not taken the land through their own strength.

Chapter 24 The way in which Joshua gathered all the people together and spoke with them is reminiscent of Moses in the whole of the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy as Joshua 24 provides a summary of elements of Yahweh’s deliverance of the people to remind them of the goodness and faithfulness of their God. We should review our lives regularly to confirm in our own minds our awareness of the goodness of the Father in blessing us in so many ways. Unless we repeatedly reflect on these things we will forget the goodness of our Father.

The twofold use of the language from Deuteronomy 28 is a reminder of what would happen if Israel were faithless.

Joshua 24:29-31 is paralleled in Judges 2:6-9

23:10 The promise that one would chase a thousand echoes the ideas of the blessing of Leviticus 26:8. One of the few times that the blessing are presented as having been fulfilled on Israel.

24:1 Presenting before God was at the tabernacle. There is nothing mystical about this so this verse helps to explain what happened in the time of Job (Job 1:6)

23:1  In saying that Joshua called all Israel together when he was old, after 'a long time' we must conclude that Joshua had been a significant spiritual influence in the land both during the conquest and afterwards in the period of stability that followed.

It is easy to be either a pioneer or a consolidator but difficult to be both - but Joshua clearly was both.

24:26 The 'oak' which was in Shechem echoes Genesis 35:4 when Jacob buried silver and gold under an oak in Shechem. Now this is not to suggest that it is the same oak, but it is doubtless the same parcel of ground that Jacob owned.

23:14  Joshua was clear that everyone was subject to death when he uttered: I am going the way of all the earth.  That would, therefore, include Enoch (see my note on Hebrews 11, June 4).

24:1  It would have been fitting for Joshua to gather Israel to Mt. Ebal near Shechem.  It was here that Moses had the curses of the Law delivered (Deut 11:29; 27:13).  Moses had also set up an altar there (Deut 27:4,5) as had Joshua (Josh 8:30,31).  In his discourse, Joshua recounted the power and mercy of Yahweh towards Israel and issued one curse (24:20). 

Joshua, with the power of Yahweh, had subdued the enemies in the Land, and Yahweh had given Israel rest (Josh 23:1,4).  This parallels the time when Jesus (Joshua) will return to earth and subdue the enemies of Israel, bringing everlasting peace to the Land.

23:1      Even though Israel had been ‘given rest from their enemies’ they had not entered into the rest that God had prepared. They had been warned abut that in Deut 12:9 and it is confirmed in Heb 4:8 that Joshua never gave them rest. That was the job of the greater Joshua.

 24:14 - "now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in 'sincerity' [Heb. "tamiym" (8549) means "entire, integrity, truth, without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely, sincerity, sound, without spot, undefiled, upright, uprightly, whole"] and in 'truth' [Heb. "emeth" (571) means "stability, certainty, truth, trustworthiness, assured, assuredly, establishment, faithful, right, sure, true, truely, verity"]...". A similar New Testament verse is John 4:24. God is clear in what He wants from us Ecc 12:13; Deut 6:5; Matt 22:36-40; Rev 3:16 and this is so we might ultimately be welcomed as good and faithful servants (Matt 25:21) allowed to participate in His plan to fill the earth forever with His glory Psa 72:17-19.

24:29,32 - two echos or types of Christ, Joshua and Joseph, both died at the same age Gen 50:26. Lifespan decreased from 120 years to the present 70 or 80 Gen 6:3; Psa 90:10.

23:13    The chilling waning that Joshua gives was actually kept by God – Judg 2:2,21– when Israel refused to obey God’s words with respect to the inhabitants of the land.

24:19 The God who would not forgive Israel’s transgressions picks up on the warning given to Israel in the wilderness – Exo 23:21

23:6 Joshua urges a focus for Israel that is mirrored in Prov 4:25-27. The same focus should also apply to the followers of Jesus as they pursue the Kingdom (Phil 3:14).

23:11,12 Natural Israel was to remain loyal to Yahweh and separate from the other nations (Exo 19:5,6).  Spiritual Israel, the ecclesia of Christ, should likewise be separate from the world (1Pet 2:9).  In this generation, the ecclesia must guard against the most powerful and subtle enemy, Humanism.  This seductive enemy can pull one away from the Truth easier than any physical enemy. Suggested easy reading: Humanism: The Subtle Delusion available through ecclesial librarians, or e-mail me.

24:14,15 Joshua asks Israel to choose whom it would serve, either Yahweh or false gods.  Choosing to obey Yahweh or choosing to obey false gods had different consequences.  If Yahweh were chosen then blessings would follow; if false gods were chosen then curses would be the result.  

Yahweh has given humankind free will (the ability to choose).  He has spelled out the results of the options, but it is up to humankind to choose. 

Jesus has presented an opportunity for salvation (eternal life) to anyone who wishes to choose that option (2Pet 3:9).  This Christ-centered option demands obedience and service which will probably mean human discomfort in this present life (Titus 3:12; James 1:12).  The people who choose this option are in the minority (Matt 7:14).

The other option is to serve self and to strive for the most personal comfort possible in this life. The choice of this egocentric option leads to permanent death.  The vast majority people in the world choose the second option (2Tim 3:2-5).

Josh 24:25-28 - V25 the expression "make a covenant" signifiies "cut a covenant" i.e. the covenant was confirmed over a slain animal and this ceremony anticipated the communion of bread and wine through which believers unite with Christ and Yahweh in a desire to carry out the new covenant agreement (Heb 9:15); the "statute" [Heb. "choq" (2706) means "a ruling or enactment commanding obedience in certain defined terms"] and the "ordinance" [Heb. "mishpat" (4941) means "a verdict favorable or unfavorable, defines the sentence if it is broken"] were in "Shechem" which signifies "burden-bearer" (Matt 11:30;Isa 53:4,12) and was one of the cities of refuge just as Christ is our refuge. V26-27 a great stone as a witness (1Pet 2:4,6;Isa 8:14;Rev 3:14;Isa 55:4;Rom 11:26-27) is Christ; the "oak" [Heb. "allah" (427) means "an oak, elm or other strong tree"] also at Shechem is where people had cleansed their hearts by burying their worldly talismans etc. under the tree (Gen 35:4), i.e. sin was symbolically covered and buried under the shadow of a mighty tree which perhaps foreshadowed Christ (Psa 80:17;Isa 6:13), whose followers can "put away sin" through the forgiveness obtained through the strength of his offering (Heb 2:14); this site at Shechem had altars erected by Abraham, Jacob and Joshua - it was a holy site, a sanctuary of yahweh. V28 "every man unto his inheritance" perhaps echos the inheritance faithful believers will have in the promised land when Christ returns.

Some of the above was gleaned from The Book of Joshua by H.P.Mansfield, pps. 230-232.

Vs.1,2  Ariel is descriptive of Jerusalem.  Ariel  can have two meanings: Lion of God, which points to Jerusalem as being the city of Jesus, the King, the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5); and Hearth of God because Jerusalem was associated with the temple where sacrifices were made.  Hence, the references to sacrifices in v.1 and to the simile as Ariel in v.2, which the NIV  better translates as altar hearth. 

29:4  In speaking o ‘Ariel’ – Jerusalem – as having a ‘familiar spirit’ and associated language Isaiah is saying that Jerusalem will not listen to God’s revelation – see his use of similar language in Isa 8:20

Vs.3,4 The enemy who encompassed Jerusalem is descriptive of the Assyrians (701 BC) rather than of Babylon.  Isaiah prophesies that this threatening enemy would be suddenly eliminated (v.5).  Later, he describes the fulfilment of this prophecy with the hasty demise of the Assyrians and their king Sennacherib in 37:33,38.        

A beautiful description of redeemed Israel in the kingdom is found in vs.17-24.    

29:8 This sorrowful state of Jerusalem is just like Damascus would be – Isa 17:14. So the punishment of God upon Judah is just like that upon wicked Syria.

29:3These words of Isaiah are the basis for the words of a later prophet – Eze 4:2– when he Was, from captivity, acting out the Babylonian armies surrounding Jerusalem.

29:17,18,23 The prophet speaks of healing in Lebanon. He then speaks in verse:23 of those who experience that healing worshipping ‘the God of Israel’. Clearly a prophecy about the work of Jesus and a fulfilment can be seen in Matt 15 where in 15:21 Jesus is in Tyre and Sion (Lebanon) and they ‘glorified the God of Israel’ 15:31

In the first instance, this prophecy is talking about the invasion of Jerusalem by Sennacherib and his northern host Assyria.  But, this prophecy also foreshadows the events of the end times when Gog will lead his northern host against Jerusalem and Israel.  

V.2 Gog and his confederates will come down and wreak havoc on Jerusalem (Zech 14:2).

V.6 The enemies of Israel will be confronted by Jesus who has returned to earth (Zech 14:4).  

Vs.7,8 Instead of having their dream of success fulfilled, the enemies of Israel in the end times will be destroyed (Eze 39:4).  

Vs.9-12 There will be a point at which the prophets of Israel will be unable to foresee the future.  Understanding the future will be sealed from the prophets and not even the most learned of them will be able to unravel the mystery.

The sealing of the future is confirmed by Daniel (Dan 12:4,9). Only Jesus would be capable of unsealing the book and understanding the future (Rev 5:1-5, 9).  This He has done.  Most of the future events from the first century have been fulfilled, and only a few remain. By this we know that we are living in the end times.

29:4 ‘whisper <06850> out of the ground’ echoes exactly Isa 8:19 where <06850> is translated ‘peep’.

12:1 the ‘weight’ that beset the brethren in Jerusalem was not just the sins and temptations that come upon all of us. In the light of the previous chapter we have to realise that the ‘weight’ is the adherence to the old order, to thinking that the Mosaic order would continue for ever.

V.1 As runners engaged in a race, we are individuals. every believer must run the race that God has laid out for him. Everyone has his own obstacles, and also his own capabilities. To run that race each one must put aside anything that is a hinderance. One must also at all times remain focused on the race we are running, not on those things which each one of us are surrounded by. We must look to him who is the author and finisher of our faith. (V.2) at all times.

V.2 Since the fall of man, nakedness has become an exhibition of shame.  That is the reason Adam and Eve sought to cover themselves (Gen 3:7), whereas they were previously unashamed (Gen 2:25). 

The shame of seeing Noah naked brought a curse upon his son Ham (Gen 9:22-25). 

Under the Law of Moses, nakedness was linked to inappropriate sexual relations (Lev 18:6-19). 

When David's men reached out to Hanun in peace, they were shamefully treated, having half their beards cut off and their clothes severed in the middle, thus exposing their private parts (2Sam 10:4,5). 

When Jesus was crucified, He was naked and displayed helplessly to a gaping and taunting public for six hours (Luke 23:34,35).  And so, when Hebrews talks about the shame of the cross, perhaps, we can better understand what He overcame.  Now, He is in a position, like His Father, to have all things uncovered and naked before Him (Heb 4:13). 

12:23 ‘made perfect’ is a phrase occurring three times in Hebrews. (5:9, 11:40, 12:23) and it traces a progression from Jesus being made perfect through a multitude in the past and then onto those whoa re now alive in Christ.

12:1 The twofold ‘let us’ of this chapter continues the appeal of chapter 10

12:3    Notice again the appeal ‘consider’. The call of the Apostle, though based on close reasoning from Scripture, is an appeal to the mind to think about the impact of the message on the way one lives.

12:1 The testimony of the eyewitness – the men and women of faith – are all found in the Old Testament. So the writer is now reinforcing the point that God sought faith and did not want Israel to rest in their works.

Here we find 2 mountains compared. In Gal 4:24-31 we also read of the same 2 mountains, but Mt Sinai relates to Hagar, to bondage and to rejection; and Mt Sion which equates with New Jerusalem, the mother of us all, (although I admit the passage doesn’t actually say Mt Sion.) Now in Heb 12:18-24 the wonderful appearance of Almighty God on Mt Sinai, described as the mount that might be touched, is compared with Mt Sion or “the heavenly Jerusalem”. (You will notice that Zion is spelt with a Z in the old Testament, and an S in the New.) Here Jesus is “the mediator of the new covenant”, which of-course compares with the Law of Moses.

V.1 The group of faithful people described in Hebrews 11 are here called a cloud of witnesses.  This description should be noted when 1Thess 4:17 is considered.  

When Jesus returns, the faithful who are alive at that time will meet with such as those described in Hebrews 11.  The living faithful will be caught up (pulled) together with them in the clouds (the cloud of witness of Hebrews 11).  The dead faithful of Hebrews 11 (and others) will have been resurrected and will join with the living faithful.  This combined group will meet the Lord Jesus in the air (surrounding Him).  All will live together forever.  This all takes place on earth.

Those who have taken the English translation on face value have missed the mark when they say that this verse means the reward of the faithful is to float off to heaven to be there with Jesus forever.

12:28 The ‘kingdom which cannot be moved’ is a contrast with that which was to ‘vanish away’ -Heb 8:13- the Mosaic order and the temple at Jerusalem.