Joshua 24:14-33 - The Israelites Promise To Serve Yahweh
14 "Now you must fear the LORD and serve him in faithfulness and truth. Throw away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Instead, serve the LORD. 15 If you think it's the wrong thing for you to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve the gods whom your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose territories you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
16 In response, the people said, "Far be it from us that we should abandon the LORD to serve other gods, 17 since the LORD our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery. He did those great things right in front of us, preserving us along the way that we traveled and among all the nations through whose territory we passed. 18 The LORD expelled all the people before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore, we also will serve the LORD, since he is our God."
19 So Joshua told the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, because he is a God of Holiness. He is a jealous God, and he will forgive neither your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you abandon the LORD and serve foreign deities, then he will turn and do you harm, consuming you after all the good he has done for you."
21 "No," the people replied to Joshua. "We will serve the LORD."
22 Joshua responded, "You are giving testimony against yourselves, that you have chosen to serve the LORD." They replied, "We are witnesses!"
23 Joshua said, "Therefore abandon the foreign gods that are among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24 The people replied, "We will serve the LORD our God and obey his voice."
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, making statutes and ordinances in Shechem. 26 He wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God, took a large stone, moved it under the shade of the oak tree that was near the sanctuary of the LORD, 27 and then told all of the people, "Look! This stone will testify for us, because it has heard everything that the LORD has spoken to us. So it will stand as a witness against you in the event that you deny your God." 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, and each man returned to his territorial inheritance.
29 Some time later, Joshua servant of the LORD died at the age of 110 years, and 30 they buried him in his territorial inheritance at Timnath-serah in the mountainous region of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the LORD for the entire lifetimes of Joshua and of the officials who outlived Joshua, that is, the ones who had personally known everything that the LORD had done for Israel.
32 They also buried the bones of Joseph, which the Israelis brought up from Egypt, in the parcel of ground at Shechem that Jacob had purchased from the descendants of Shechem's father Hamor, for 100 pieces of silver. It became part of the inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33 Later, Aaron's son Eleazar also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which belonged to his son Phinehas, and which had been given to him in the mountainous region of Ephraim.