Joshua 24:25-28

[25] So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. [26] And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. [27] And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. [28] So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

What is the context of Joshua 24:25-28?

The Response of the People (Joshua 24:16-28 true)
“We Will Serve the Lord ” (Joshua 24:14-28 true)
The Covenant Renewal (Joshua 24:14-28 true)
Choose Whom You Will Serve (Joshua 24:14-28 true)
The Israelites Promise to Serve Yahweh (Joshua 24:14-33 true)
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History (Joshua 24:1-28 true)
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem (Joshua 24:1-28 true)
The Covenant at Shechem (Joshua 24:1-28 true)
The Lord’s Covenant Renewed (Joshua 24:1-28 true)

What does Joshua 24:25-28 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The covenant that Joshua made with the people on this day was not a new one but a renewal of the Mosaic Covenant made for the first time at Mt. Sinai ( Joshua 24:25). The Israelites renewed this covenant from time to time after God first gave it (cf. Joshua 8:30-35). The "statute" Joshua made was the written commitment of the people to obey the Law ( Joshua 24:26). The "ordinance" (right) was the record of the blessings Israel would enjoy as the fruits of her obedience.

The "book of the law of God" ( Joshua 24:26) appears to have been the document in which Joshua wrote the record of this renewal of the covenant. He evidently placed it with the written covenant itself. The "large stone" ( Joshua 24:26) he erected became a permanent memorial of the renewal of the covenant undertaken this day (cf. Genesis 28:18; Deuteronomy 27:2). Joshua set the stone up under the oak that was the same tree as, or one that represented, the oak under which Abraham had built his altar and worshipped Yahweh. Jacob had buried his idols under an oak tree in Shechem, perhaps the same one ( Genesis 12:6-7; Genesis 35:2-4). "The sanctuary" ( Joshua 24:26) was this holy place, not the tabernacle that was then at Shiloh.

The stone had not literally heard all that had taken place that day ( Joshua 24:27), but it would remain in the same place from then on as a silent witness to the proceedings. Joshua here rhetorically ascribed human characteristics to the stone (i.e, personification) to reinforce the seriousness of the commitment the Israelites had made to Yahweh. He then dismissed the nation ( Joshua 24:28).

This ceremony was very important to the Israelites because in it the whole nation reaffirmed its commitment to Yahweh as her God and to His covenant as her law. Israel prepared to begin another phase of her national existence without a God-appointed leader such as Moses and Joshua had been. It was important that she remember the faithfulness of her God and rededicate herself to exclusive allegiance to Him. Each tribe was to proceed now to exterminate the Canaanites in its area trusting in Yahweh and obeying His covenant. God would raise up local leaders (judges) as He saw the need for these to provide special leadership in difficult situations. Committed as the Israelites were to their God at this time there was no reason they should fail to possess and experience all God had promised them in the years ahead.