Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
more than from the statement in v. 26 that it was "by the sanctuary of the Lord." For,
in the first place, "before God" ( Elohim ) is not to be identified with "before
Jehovah," which is used in Josh 18:6 and 19:51 to denote the presence of the Lord
above the ark of the covenant; and secondly, even "before Jehovah" does not always
presuppose the presence of the ark of the covenant, as Hengstenberg has clearly
shown. "Before God" simply denotes in a general sense the religious character of an
act, or shows that the act was undertaken with a distinct reference to the omnipresent
God; and in the case before us it may be attributed to the fact that Joshua delivered
his exhortation to the people in the name of Jehovah, and commenced his address
with the words, "Thus saith Jehovah."
(Note: "It is stated that they all stood before God, in order that the sanctity and religious character of the
assembly may be the more distinctly shown. And there can be no doubt that the name of God was
solemnly invoked by Joshua, and that he addressed the people as in the sight of God, so that each one
might feel for himself that God was presiding over all that was transacted there, and that they were not
engaged in any merely private affair, but were entering into a sacred and inviolable compact with God
himself." - Calvin. )
Verse 2-15. Joshua's address contains an expansion of two thoughts. He first of all
recalls to the recollection of the whole nation, whom he is addressing in the persons
of its representatives, all the proofs of His mercy which the Lord had given, from the
calling of Abraham to that day (vv. 2-13); and then because of these divine acts he
calls upon the people to renounce all idolatry, and to serve God the Lord alone (vv.
14, 15). Jehovah is described as the "God of Israel" both at the commencement (v. 2)
and also at the close of the whole transaction, in perfect accordance with the
substance and object of the address, which is occupied throughout with the goodness
conferred by God upon the race of Israel. The first practical proof of the grace of God
towards Israel, was the calling of Abraham from his idolatrous associations, and his
introduction to the land of Canaan, where the Lord so multiplied his seed, that Esau
received the mountains of Seir for his family, whilst Jacob went into Egypt with his
sons.
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