Book of Joshua Chapter 23 Summary

Old Man Joshua Spews Words of Wisdom

  • Here we find Joshua in the last days of his life.
  • Joshua calls all the tribes together to review their accomplishments with God. This is a nice little callback to what Moses did at the end of Deuteronomy (1-2).
  • Joshua states that the Lord fought for Israel and drove out the other nations, and Joshua divided the land among the tribes.
  • Wait a tick. Didn't we learn that there are some other tribes living in Canaan? Well apparently, they're gone now. Or maybe Joshua is senile since he's so old.
  • The theme of courage is echoed here like in chapter one (6-10). For more on courage, hop on over to our "Themes" section.
  • Joshua warns the Israelites that they are not to marry outside of the Israelite nation. If they do, God will be unable to aid the Israelites in driving them out (11-13). This becomes a central problem for the Israelites later in their history. See: Samson.
  • Joshua knows his time has come and he's about to enter the great moon bounce in the sky. For the record, we're pretty sure heaven is not a moon bounce and that was a joke. Don't hate.
  • Joshua warns the Israelites that God will provide as long as they follow the covenant, but that the anger of God will be upon them if they fail (14-16).
  • Harsh.