If it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 15. Choice. Josue was persuaded that no restraint could bind the will; ( Bible.) and that, if the Israelites did not freely adhere to the Lord, they would not serve him long, nor would their adoration have any merit. Calmet.—Hence he endeavours by all means to draw from them a free and candid acknowledgment of his divinity; and he leads the way, by declaring that all his house will adhere to the true and only God. They answer his fullest expectations, and profess in the most cordial manner, that every tie of gratitude must bind them for ever to the service of the same Lord. Bible.—Elias makes a similar proposition; (3 Kennicott. 18:21. See Sirach 15:18. Menochius.) not that it can be ever lawful to choose evil and to reject the sovereign good. But by this method the minds and hearts of the audience are stimulated to make the free and decided election of what alone can ensure their eternal happiness. Bible.—Thus we often set before the people hell or heaven for their choice. Menochius.