Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 49
23:5–24:6
J osh u a
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yet unconquered, as well as the land of those we have already conquered—
from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. This land will
be yours, for the Lord your God will himself drive out all the people living
there now. You will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your
God promised you.
“So be very careful to follow everything M
oses wrote in the Book of
Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the
left. Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining
in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear
by them or serve them or worship them. Rather, cling tightly to the Lord
your God as you have done until now.
“For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and
no one has yet been able to defeat you. Each one of you will put to flight
a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he
has promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
“But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors
of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,
then know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive them
out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for
your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this
good land the Lord your God has given you.
“Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your
hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true.
Not a single one has failed! But as surely as the Lord your God has given
you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you
disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has
given you. If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will
quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”
Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their
elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God.
Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and
Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.
But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates
and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through
his son Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains
of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt;
and afterward I brought you out as a free people. But when your ancestors