On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.
Parallel translations
- WEB So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
- KJV So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
- NKJV So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
- NASB So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
- NLT So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua makes a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, giving them a statute and ordinance. It matters as the formal renewal of Israel's covenant commitment to Yahweh.
Overview
At Shechem, where God had earlier appeared to Abraham (Genesis 12:6-7), Joshua solemnly renews the covenant. Establishing a statute and ordinance binds the people's commitment to lasting law. This renewal points ahead to the new covenant inaugurated by Christ, written not on stone but on the heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Neh 9:38In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”
- Exod 15:25And Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them,
- 2 Chr 23:16Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people.
- 2 Kgs 11:17Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.
- 2 Chr 29:10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us.
- Deut 29:1These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb.
- Deut 29:10–15All of you are standing today before the LORD your God—you leaders of tribes, elders, officials, and all the men of Israel,
- Exod 24:3When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”
- 2 Chr 15:12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.
- Neh 10:28–29“The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the people of the land to obey the Law of God—along with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand,
- Exod 24:7–8Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
- Josh 24:26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.
- 2 Chr 15:15And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their heart. They had sought Him earnestly, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
- Deut 5:2–3The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
- 2 Chr 34:29–32Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
- Josh 24:1Then 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.
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 24:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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