Joshua 23 Study Notes: Joshua's Farewell Charge to the Leaders
The aged Joshua gathers Israel's leaders and reminds them that God fought their battles and will still drive out the nations left in the land. He urges them to obey the law, love God, and avoid the nations' gods and marriages, warning that God's threats are as sure as His kept promises.
General
True or False: In 23:7-8, Joshua forbids Israel to call on or swear by the names of the remaining nations' gods, and tells them to cling to the LORD instead.
Answer: True
This is true. Joshua warned Israel not to mix with the nations that remained, not to invoke their gods or take oaths by them, and not to serve or worship them. Instead they were to keep clinging to the LORD as they had done up to that day (23:7-8), and to be very careful to love Him (23:11). The law had already forbidden even speaking the names of rival gods in worship (Exodus 23:13) and had commanded Israel to cling to the LORD and swear by His name (Deuteronomy 10:20). Love for God with all the heart stood at the center of it all (Deuteronomy 6:5).
- Joshua 23:7-8 (BSB)“So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them. Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.”Joshua forbids any religious contact with the gods of the remaining nations and calls Israel to keep clinging to the LORD.
- Joshua 23:11 (BSB)“Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.”Joshua urges the people to guard their love for the LORD.
- Exodus 23:13 (BSB)“Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.”The law forbade even invoking the names of other gods.
- Deuteronomy 10:20 (BSB)“You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.”Moses commanded Israel to cling to the LORD and swear by His name alone.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (BSB)“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”Love for God with the whole person was the heart of the law Joshua was urging them to keep.
Theological
True or False: In 23:7-8, Joshua forbids Israel to call on or swear by the names of the remaining nations' gods, and tells them to cling to the LORD instead.
Answer: True
This is true. Joshua's prohibition is comprehensive: no association with the remaining nations, no invoking or swearing by their gods, no service or worship of them; rather Israel must keep clinging to the LORD as it had until then (23:7-8), guarding its love for Him (23:11). This echoes the law's ban on invoking other gods (Exodus 23:13), its call to cleave to the LORD and swear by His name alone (Deuteronomy 10:20), and the great command of wholehearted love (Deuteronomy 6:5). Exclusive loyalty to the LORD is the issue on which the whole farewell turns.
- Joshua 23:7-8 (BSB)“So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them. Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.”Joshua forbids any religious contact with the gods of the remaining nations and calls Israel to keep clinging to the LORD.
- Joshua 23:11 (BSB)“Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.”Joshua urges the people to guard their love for the LORD.
- Exodus 23:13 (BSB)“Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.”The law forbade even invoking the names of other gods.
- Deuteronomy 10:20 (BSB)“You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.”Moses commanded Israel to cling to the LORD and swear by His name alone.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (BSB)“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”Love for God with the whole person was the heart of the law Joshua was urging them to keep.
General
What does Joshua warn in 23:12-13 will happen if Israel intermarries and associates with the remaining nations?
Answer: God would stop driving them out, and they would ensnare Israel
Joshua warned that if Israel turned away and joined itself to the remaining nations by intermarriage and close association, God would no longer drive those nations out. Instead they would become a trap and a torment to Israel until Israel perished from the good land (23:12-13). The concern is spiritual: Moses had forbidden intermarriage because it would turn Israel's children to other gods (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). God had already warned that peoples left in the land would be like thorns (Numbers 33:55) and their gods a snare (Exodus 23:33). Judges 2:3 records that this warning later came true.
- Joshua 23:12-13 (BSB)“For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.”Joshua warns of what will follow if Israel clings to and intermarries with the remaining nations.
- Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (BSB)“Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.”Moses forbade intermarriage because it would turn Israel's children to other gods.
- Numbers 33:55 (BSB)“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.”God had warned that inhabitants left in the land would become barbs and thorns to Israel.
- Exodus 23:33 (BSB)“They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.””God warned that serving the nations' gods would be a snare to Israel.
- Judges 2:3 (BSB)“So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.””Later God declared He would not drive these peoples out, and their gods would be a snare to Israel.
Theological
According to 23:12-13, what consequence follows if Israel intermarries and allies with the nations that remain?
Answer: God would stop driving them out, and they would ensnare Israel
The promise of 23:5 is conditional on covenant loyalty: if Israel clings to the remaining nations and intermarries with them, the LORD will cease to dispossess them, and they will become a snare, a trap, a whip, and thorns until Israel perishes from the land (23:12-13). The danger is idolatry, as Moses had explained (Deuteronomy 7:3-4), and the imagery picks up earlier warnings (Numbers 33:55; Exodus 23:33). Judges 2:3 records God's later sentence on exactly this failure.
- Joshua 23:12-13 (BSB)“For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.”Joshua warns of what will follow if Israel clings to and intermarries with the remaining nations.
- Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (BSB)“Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.”Moses forbade intermarriage because it would turn Israel's children to other gods.
- Numbers 33:55 (BSB)“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.”God had warned that inhabitants left in the land would become barbs and thorns to Israel.
- Exodus 23:33 (BSB)“They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.””God warned that serving the nations' gods would be a snare to Israel.
- Judges 2:3 (BSB)“So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.””Later God declared He would not drive these peoples out, and their gods would be a snare to Israel.
General
In 23:14-16, Joshua says every good promise God made had come true. What does he conclude from this about Israel's future if it serves other gods?
Answer: God would just as surely bring the disaster He had warned of
As he faced death, Joshua reminded Israel that they knew in their hearts that none of God's good promises had failed; all had been fulfilled (23:14), as the narrator had already said (21:45) and as Solomon would later praise God for (1 Kings 8:56). But Joshua drew a sobering conclusion: the same faithful God would just as surely bring the calamity He had warned of. If Israel broke His covenant (the binding agreement between God and His people) and served other gods, His anger would burn and they would quickly perish from the good land (23:15-16), exactly as Moses had warned (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). God keeps His word in blessing and in judgment.
- Joshua 23:14-16 (BSB)“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed. But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from this good land He has given you. If you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from this good land He has given you.””Facing death, Joshua affirms that every good promise was kept and warns that God's threats are just as certain.
- Joshua 21:45 (BSB)“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.”The narrator had already declared that none of God's good promises to Israel had failed.
- 1 Kings 8:56 (BSB)““Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.”Solomon later praised God because not one word of His promises through Moses had failed.
- Deuteronomy 8:19-20 (BSB)“If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD has destroyed before you, so you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.”Moses had testified that if Israel went after other gods it would perish like the nations before it.
Theological
What inference does Joshua draw in 23:14-16 from the fact that none of God's good promises had failed?
Answer: God would just as surely bring the disaster He had warned of
Joshua argues from God's proven faithfulness in both directions. Every good word had been fulfilled (23:14; cf. 21:45; 1 Kings 8:56), so the covenant curses are equally certain: if Israel transgresses the covenant and serves other gods, the LORD's anger will burn and they will perish from the land He gave (23:15-16), as Moses had testified (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). The God who cannot fail in His promises cannot fail in His warnings either.
- Joshua 23:14-16 (BSB)“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed. But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from this good land He has given you. If you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from this good land He has given you.””Facing death, Joshua affirms that every good promise was kept and warns that God's threats are just as certain.
- Joshua 21:45 (BSB)“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.”The narrator had already declared that none of God's good promises to Israel had failed.
- 1 Kings 8:56 (BSB)““Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.”Solomon later praised God because not one word of His promises through Moses had failed.
- Deuteronomy 8:19-20 (BSB)“If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD has destroyed before you, so you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.”Moses had testified that if Israel went after other gods it would perish like the nations before it.
General
According to 23:10, how many enemies could one Israelite drive off, since God was fighting for Israel?
Answer: A thousand
Joshua said that a single Israelite could drive away a thousand, because the LORD their God fought for them as He had promised (23:9-10). The point is not Israel's strength but God's: the tiny odds only make sense if God is the one winning the battle. The law had promised that an obedient Israel would rout much larger forces (Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 28:7), and Moses' song uses the same image in reverse: if one enemy ever chased a thousand Israelites, it would be because God had handed Israel over (Deuteronomy 32:30).
- Joshua 23:9-10 (BSB)“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you. One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.”Joshua recalls that God drove out mighty nations and that no one had been able to withstand Israel.
- Leviticus 26:8 (BSB)“Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.”God promised that an obedient Israel would rout enemies far greater in number.
- Deuteronomy 28:7 (BSB)“The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.”The covenant blessings included enemies defeated and fleeing before Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:30 (BSB)“How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?”Moses' song asks how one enemy could chase a thousand of Israel unless the LORD had given His people up.
Theological
In 23:10, what number does Joshua use to show how many foes one Israelite could rout through the LORD's fighting?
Answer: A thousand
Joshua's figure of one man routing a thousand (23:10) is grounded explicitly in the LORD fighting for Israel just as He had promised, the same God who had dispossessed mighty and strong nations so that none could stand against them (23:9). The disproportion magnifies God, not Israel. It echoes the covenant blessings of Leviticus 26:8 and Deuteronomy 28:7, and Moses' song turns the image around: if one enemy ever routed a thousand Israelites, it would be only because God had handed His people over (Deuteronomy 32:30).
- Joshua 23:9-10 (BSB)“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you. One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.”Joshua recalls that God drove out mighty nations and that no one had been able to withstand Israel.
- Leviticus 26:8 (BSB)“Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.”God promised that an obedient Israel would rout enemies far greater in number.
- Deuteronomy 28:7 (BSB)“The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.”The covenant blessings included enemies defeated and fleeing before Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:30 (BSB)“How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?”Moses' song asks how one enemy could chase a thousand of Israel unless the LORD had given His people up.
General
What does Joshua promise in 23:4-5 about the nations still left in the land?
Answer: God would push them out so Israel could possess their land
Joshua had already divided the land among the tribes as their inheritance (their family share of the land), including territory where nations still remained. He promised that God would push those nations out of Israel's way so that Israel could occupy it, as God had promised (23:4-5). God had told Joshua earlier that much land was still to be taken (13:1), and from the start He had said He would remove the nations gradually, not all at once (Exodus 23:29-30; Deuteronomy 7:22). God had given the land He promised; Israel's full possession of it was still incomplete, and God pledged to finish what He had begun.
- Joshua 23:4-5 (BSB)“See, I have allotted as an inheritance to your tribes these remaining nations, including all the nations I have already cut off, from the Jordan westward to the Great Sea. The LORD your God will push them out of your way and drive them out before you, so that you can take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.”Joshua has allotted the land, including nations not yet driven out, and promises God will still dispossess them.
- Joshua 13:1 (BSB)“Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.”God had already told the aged Joshua that a great deal of the land was still to be taken.
- Exodus 23:29-30 (BSB)“I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.”God had said He would remove the nations gradually rather than in one year.
- Deuteronomy 7:22 (BSB)“The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.”Moses repeated that the nations would be driven out little by little.
Theological
What assurance does 23:4-5 give regarding the nations that still remained in the allotted land?
Answer: God would push them out so Israel could possess their land
The land had been apportioned as an inheritance, including regions where Canaanite nations remained, and Joshua promised that the LORD would thrust them out so that Israel could occupy it according to His word (23:4-5). This sits alongside 21:43-45 without contradiction: God had given the land He swore to the fathers, while the tribes' full possession remained incomplete (13:1). God had said from the beginning that the dispossession would be gradual (Exodus 23:29-30; Deuteronomy 7:22), and here He commits Himself to complete it.
- Joshua 23:4-5 (BSB)“See, I have allotted as an inheritance to your tribes these remaining nations, including all the nations I have already cut off, from the Jordan westward to the Great Sea. The LORD your God will push them out of your way and drive them out before you, so that you can take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.”Joshua has allotted the land, including nations not yet driven out, and promises God will still dispossess them.
- Joshua 13:1 (BSB)“Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.”God had already told the aged Joshua that a great deal of the land was still to be taken.
- Exodus 23:29-30 (BSB)“I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.”God had said He would remove the nations gradually rather than in one year.
- Deuteronomy 7:22 (BSB)“The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.”Moses repeated that the nations would be driven out little by little.
General
In 23:6, what purpose does Joshua give for his call to be very strong?
Answer: So that they would obey everything Moses had written in the law
Joshua's call to strength in 23:6 is not mainly about battle. Israel was to be very strong so that they would carefully keep everything Moses had written down in the law, without swerving from it in any direction. This is the same charge God gave to Joshua at the beginning of the book (1:7-8), now handed on to the whole nation. Moses had given the same warning (Deuteronomy 5:32), and he connected turning aside from God's words with going after other gods (Deuteronomy 28:14), which is exactly the danger Joshua turns to next.
- Joshua 23:6 (BSB)“Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left.”Joshua calls Israel to steadfast obedience to the written law of Moses.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (BSB)“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.”God had given Joshua himself this same charge at the start of the book.
- Deuteronomy 5:32 (BSB)“So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.”Moses had warned Israel not to swerve from God's commands in either direction.
- Deuteronomy 28:14 (BSB)“Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.”Moses tied swerving from God's words directly to following other gods.
Theological
What is the stated goal of the strength Joshua urges on Israel in 23:6?
Answer: So that they would obey everything Moses had written in the law
The courage Joshua commends in 23:6 is covenant faithfulness: strength in order to keep and do the whole written law given through Moses, deviating neither right nor left. Joshua passes on to the people the very charge he received in 1:7-8, so the nation's future depends on the same written word that guided its leader. Moses had framed obedience the same way (Deuteronomy 5:32) and linked deviation from God's words with serving other gods (Deuteronomy 28:14), the theme of Joshua's next warning.
- Joshua 23:6 (BSB)“Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left.”Joshua calls Israel to steadfast obedience to the written law of Moses.
- Joshua 1:7-8 (BSB)“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.”God had given Joshua himself this same charge at the start of the book.
- Deuteronomy 5:32 (BSB)“So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.”Moses had warned Israel not to swerve from God's commands in either direction.
- Deuteronomy 28:14 (BSB)“Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.”Moses tied swerving from God's words directly to following other gods.
General
In 23:3, what reason does the aged Joshua give for everything Israel had seen done to the nations?
Answer: Because the LORD their God had fought for them
Long after God had given Israel peace from its enemies, the elderly Joshua called together all Israel and its leaders. He reminded them that they had watched what God did to the nations for their sake, and he gave the reason: the LORD their God had done the fighting (23:1-3). Joshua takes no credit for himself and gives none to Israel's soldiers or numbers. This was exactly what Moses had promised, first at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:14) and again on the way to the land (Deuteronomy 1:30; 3:22). Joshua repeats the same point in 23:10.
- Joshua 23:1-3 (BSB)“A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years, he summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers. “I am old and well along in years,” he said, “and you have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was the LORD your God who fought for you.”Aged Joshua gathers Israel's leaders and reminds them of what the LORD had done to the nations.
- Exodus 14:14 (BSB)“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.””At the Red Sea Moses promised that the LORD Himself would do Israel's fighting.
- Deuteronomy 1:30 (BSB)“The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt”Moses told the people that the God who went ahead of them would battle on their behalf.
- Deuteronomy 3:22 (BSB)“Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.””Moses told Joshua not to fear the kingdoms ahead, because God Himself would fight for Israel.
Theological
According to 23:3, why had Israel seen the nations it faced defeated?
Answer: Because the LORD their God had fought for them
Joshua's farewell opens by locating the victories in God, not in Israel: the people had seen what the LORD did to the nations on their account, because He was the one who fought for them (23:1-3). The conquest is presented throughout as the LORD's own war, fulfilling Moses' repeated assurance that God would fight for His people (Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30; 3:22). Joshua, now old, points away from his own leadership to the God whose promise had carried Israel, and he restates the theme in 23:10.
- Joshua 23:1-3 (BSB)“A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years, he summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers. “I am old and well along in years,” he said, “and you have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was the LORD your God who fought for you.”Aged Joshua gathers Israel's leaders and reminds them of what the LORD had done to the nations.
- Exodus 14:14 (BSB)“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.””At the Red Sea Moses promised that the LORD Himself would do Israel's fighting.
- Deuteronomy 1:30 (BSB)“The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt”Moses told the people that the God who went ahead of them would battle on their behalf.
- Deuteronomy 3:22 (BSB)“Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.””Moses told Joshua not to fear the kingdoms ahead, because God Himself would fight for Israel.