Joshua 24:16

16 Then the people answered Joshua. They said, "We would never desert the Lord! We would never serve other gods!

Joshua 24:16 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:16

And the people answered and said
To Joshua, upon his proposal to them, the option he gave them to serve the Lord or idols, and which was only done to try them:

God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
they speak with the utmost abhorrence of idolatry, as a thing far from their hearts and thoughts, as the most abominable and execrable that could be thought or spoken of; to forsake the word, and worship, and ordinances of God, and serve the idols of the Gentiles, strange gods, whether more ancient or more recent, such as their fathers worshipped in former times, or the inhabitants of the land they now dwelt in, for which they were spewed out of it.

Joshua 24:16 In-Context

14 "So have respect for the Lord. Serve him. Be completely faithful to him. Throw away the gods your people worshiped east of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.

15 "But suppose you don't want to serve him. Then choose for yourselves right now whom you will serve. You can choose the gods your people served east of the Euphrates River. Or you can choose the gods the Amorites serve. After all, you are living in their land. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."

16 Then the people answered Joshua. They said, "We would never desert the Lord! We would never serve other gods!

17 The LORD our God himself brought us and our parents up out of Egypt. He brought us out of that land where we were slaves. With our own eyes, we saw those great and miraculous signs he did. He kept us safe on our entire journey. He kept us safe as we traveled through all of the nations.

18 He drove them out to make room for us. That included the Amorites. They also lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord. That's because he is our God."