SUMMARY
At the end of his life, Joshua addresses the people of Israel and charges them to serve the Lord rather than other gods. He then says, “But as for me and my householdA household is a living unit comprised of all the persons who live in one house. A household would embrace all the members of a family, including servants and slaves. In the book of Acts, stories are told of various persons and their households, like..., we will serve the LORD.”
ANALYSIS
Joshua assembles the Israelites for a second covenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God's people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience. renewal ceremony at the end of his life. They assemble at Shechem, where Joshua recounts their history, from Abraham’s father Terah, through the time of the patriarchsOriginally patriarchs were men who exercised authority over an extended family or tribe. The book of Genesis introduces Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the three patriarchs of the people of Israel., to the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan. He then tells them to serve the Lord, saying that, if they refuse, they should choose “this day” whom they will serve: the gods of Terah or of the Canaanites. In words familiar to many Christians, Joshua concludes, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
The Israelites choose to serve the Lord, and Joshua makes a covenant with them, writing in the book of the law and setting up a stone at Shechem to serve as a witness against Israel, should it break the covenant.
This passage highlights one of the central theological claims of the book of Joshua: the Lord is God and is the only deity worthy of worship. Neither the gods of the Canaanites nor the gods of Israel’s own pre-Abrahamic ancestors are to be worshiped. The Lord demands complete covenant loyalty from Israel and will bless such loyalty with divine favor.
