So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build, and now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.' So I gave you a landThis phrase highlights God's sovereign provision and grace. The Hebrew root for "gave" is "נָתַן" (natan), which implies a gift freely given, not earned. This reflects the theological concept of grace, where God bestows blessings upon His people not because of their merit but because of His covenantal love and faithfulness. Historically, this land is Canaan, a region promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, fulfilling God's covenantal promise. on which you did not toil
The word "toil" comes from the Hebrew "יָגַע" (yaga), meaning labor or work. This phrase emphasizes that the Israelites received the land without the labor typically required to cultivate and prepare it. It underscores the divine intervention and miraculous nature of their inheritance, contrasting human effort with divine provision. This serves as a reminder of God's power and the fulfillment of His promises, encouraging believers to trust in His provision. and cities you did not build
The Hebrew word for "build" is "בָּנָה" (banah). This phrase indicates that the Israelites inherited established cities, a testament to God's provision and the fulfillment of His promises. Archaeologically, evidence of ancient cities in Canaan, such as Jericho and Hazor, supports the biblical narrative of established urban centers. This inheritance without labor signifies God's abundant blessings and serves as a metaphor for the spiritual inheritance believers receive through Christ. and you live in them
The phrase "live in them" signifies the Israelites' settled life in the Promised Land. The Hebrew root "יָשַׁב" (yashab) means to dwell or inhabit, indicating permanence and stability. This reflects the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham about his descendants possessing the land. Spiritually, it symbolizes the rest and peace believers find in God's promises, encouraging a life of faith and trust in His provision. You are eating from vineyards and olive groves
The mention of "vineyards and olive groves" highlights the abundance and fertility of the land. Vineyards and olive groves were symbols of prosperity and blessing in ancient Israel. The Hebrew words "כֶּרֶם" (kerem) for vineyard and "זַיִת" (zayit) for olive emphasize the richness of God's provision. This abundance is a direct result of God's promise and serves as a metaphor for the spiritual nourishment and blessings believers receive through a relationship with God. that you did not plant
The phrase "did not plant" underscores the unearned nature of the blessings the Israelites received. The Hebrew root "נָטַע" (nata) means to plant or establish. This highlights the grace of God in providing for His people beyond their efforts. It serves as a reminder of the spiritual truth that salvation and blessings are gifts from God, not results of human works, aligning with the New Testament teaching of salvation by grace through faith. Persons / Places / Events 1. JoshuaThe leader of Israel after Moses, who is delivering his farewell address to the Israelites in this chapter. 2. IsraelitesThe people of God who have been led into the Promised Land, receiving blessings they did not earn. 3. Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants, now inhabited by the Israelites. 4. Vineyards and Olive GrovesSymbols of prosperity and blessing, representing the abundance provided by God. 5. Covenant Renewal at ShechemThe event where Joshua calls the Israelites to renew their covenant with God, reminding them of His faithfulness and their responsibilities. Teaching Points Divine ProvisionRecognize that all blessings come from God, not from our own efforts. This should lead to humility and gratitude. Faithfulness of GodReflect on God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises, encouraging trust in His future provisions. StewardshipUnderstand the responsibility to manage God's gifts wisely, acknowledging that we are caretakers of what we have received. Covenant RelationshipEmphasize the importance of renewing our commitment to God, just as the Israelites did, by living in obedience and faithfulness. Gratitude and RemembranceCultivate a heart of thankfulness, regularly remembering and recounting God's past faithfulness in our lives. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding that the Israelites received a land they did not toil for change your perspective on the blessings in your life? 2. In what ways can you actively remember and give thanks for the "vineyards and olive groves" in your life that you did not plant? 3. How does the concept of divine provision challenge the modern idea of self-sufficiency and personal achievement? 4. What are some practical ways you can renew your covenant relationship with God, similar to the Israelites at Shechem? 5. How can the reminder of God's faithfulness in Joshua 24:13 encourage you in times of uncertainty or difficulty? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 6:10-12This passage warns the Israelites not to forget the Lord when they enjoy the blessings of the land they did not work for, similar to the reminder in Joshua 24:13. Psalm 44:3This verse emphasizes that it was not by their own sword that the Israelites took the land, but by God's hand, reinforcing the message of divine provision. John 4:38Jesus speaks of reaping where others have sown, a New Testament parallel to the concept of receiving blessings not earned by one's own labor. People Aaron, Amorites, Balaam, Balak, Beor, Canaanites, Egyptians, Eleazar, Esau, Girgashite, Girgashites, Hamor, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jebusites, Joseph, Joshua, Nachor, Nahor, Nun, Perizzites, Phinehas, Seir, Serah, Terah, ZipporPlaces Canaan, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gaash, Gibeah, Jericho, Jordan River, Moab, Red Sea, Seir, Shechem, Timnath-serahTopics Build, Building, Built, Cities, Didn't, Dwell, Eat, Eating, Fruit, Groves, Hadst, Hast, Labor, Labored, Labour, Laboured, Olive, Olive-gardens, Oliveyards, Olive-yards, Plant, Planted, Planting, Therein, Towns, Vine-gardens, Vineyards, WhereonDictionary of Bible Themes Joshua 24:13 4492 olive Joshua 24:11-13 4438 eating Library February the Tenth Registering a Verdict
"The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey." --JOSHUA xxiv. 22-28. Here was a definite decision. Our peril is that we spend our life in wavering and we never decide. We are like a jury which is always hearing evidence and never gives a verdict. We do much thinking, but we never make up our minds. We let our eyes wander over many things, but we make no choice. Life has no crisis, no culmination. Now people who never decide spend their days in hoping to do so. But this kind of life …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling YearA Summary of Israel's Faithlessness and God's Patience
'And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). In our last chapter we considered at some length the much debated and difficult question of the human will. We have shown that the will of the natural man is neither Sovereign nor free but, instead, a servant and slave. We have argued that a right conception of the sinner's will-its servitude-is essential to a just estimate of his depravity and ruin. The utter corruption and degradation of human nature is something which …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making "The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Manner of Covenanting.
Previous to an examination of the manner of engaging in the exercise of Covenanting, the consideration of God's procedure towards his people while performing the service seems to claim regard. Of the manner in which the great Supreme as God acts, as well as of Himself, our knowledge is limited. Yet though even of the effects on creatures of His doings we know little, we have reason to rejoice that, in His word He has informed us, and in His providence illustrated by that word, he has given us to …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Joshua 24:13 NIVJoshua 24:13 NLTJoshua 24:13 ESVJoshua 24:13 NASBJoshua 24:13 KJV
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