Joshua 24:1-13
Remember What God Has Done
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1Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.
3But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac,
4and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau Mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
5Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and afterward I brought you out.
6When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea.
7So your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, over whom He brought the sea and engulfed them. Your very eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I delivered them into your hand, that you should possess their land when I destroyed them before you.
9Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
10but I would not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you from his hand.
11After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.
12I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
13So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build, and now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Joshua gathers all the tribes at Shechem and summons the elders, heads, judges, and officers before God. The LORD speaks through the history that follows. He begins with Israel's ancestors, including Terah, worshiping other gods beyond the Euphrates. The LORD took Abraham from there, led him through Canaan, and gave him descendants. Isaac, Jacob, Esau, and the journey into Egypt follow in the account.
The account moves through Moses and Aaron, the plagues, the Red Sea, the wilderness, and the victories east of the Jordan. It also recalls Balak's attempt to have Balaam curse Israel. The LORD would not listen to Balaam, who blessed Israel again and again instead. The history is told from God's point of view: “I” appears again and again.
The LORD says He brought Israel into the land, gave them vineyards and olive groves they did not plant, and cities they did not build. The gift is not presented as proof that Israel was self-made. Their life in the land rests on grace received from a God who acted first.
The setting at Shechem also reaches back to the beginning of Abraham's story. The people stand in a place associated with God's promises and hear a history that asks for a response. Memory is about to become a decision.
How We Know
Genesis 12:6–7 places Abram at Shechem when the LORD promises the land to his offspring. Joshua now gathers those descendants at Shechem to hear how God brought them there. The shared location connects this assembly with a specific earlier promise.
Questions
1 Where does Joshua gather the tribes?
AnswerHe gathers them at Shechem and summons the leaders to stand before God, placing the entire national story in a covenant setting.
2 How does the LORD tell Israel's history?
AnswerHe tells it through His own actions, repeatedly saying that He called, brought, sent, delivered, and gave.
3 What does God give Israel that they did not build or plant?
AnswerHe gives them cities they did not build and vineyards and olive groves they did not plant.
4 What does the history emphasize about Israel's life?
AnswerIt emphasizes that Israel's life in the land rests on God's prior grace rather than on Israel making itself secure.
What This Means for Us
Gratitude becomes clearer when we tell the story with God as the active giver rather than ourselves as the only architects. That does not erase human work; it puts work inside grace.
Tell your household's history with enough honesty to name help received, doors opened, and mercy you could not manufacture. Such memory creates humility and prepares people to respond faithfully when a choice arrives.
Prayer
Lord, keep our household from telling a self-made story. Help us remember Your gifts, the people through whom You helped us, and the mercy that prepared us for every faithful choice. Amen.
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