Josh'u-a began his address by reminding the Is'ra-el-ites of their humble origin. Their ancestors before the Flood had been idol-worshipers. A'bra-ham's father was an idolater, but he had been chosen of God and called out of a land of idolatry. Under the grace and protection of God he had sojourned in the land of Ca'naan, and God had promised this land as a national home for his descendants. The patriarch's I'saac and Ja'cob had dwelt in the land of Ca'naan, and with each of them God had renewed the Covenant which he had made with A'bra-ham. Josh'u-a presented these facts as the basis of an appeal for humility, gratitude, and loyalty.
He then spoke briefly of the two hundred fifteen years in E'gypt, and of the slavery into which the Is'ra-el-ites had fallen toward the end of that period. He reminded them of the love of God in giving them Mo'ses to lead them out of bondage in E'gypt, and to impart to them the Laws of God; of God's favor in giving them Aa'ron to direct their worship; and of the miraculous way in which God had cared for them and guided them during their forty years in the wilderness. It had been through God's help that they were delivered from the armies of E'gypt, from the superior forces of the Am'a-lek-ites, from the scheming of Ba'lak and the greed of Ba'laam, and from the powerful tribes of the Am'o-rites.
The marvelous manner in which God had enabled them to conquer the warlike nations of Ca'naan was quickly reviewed. Strong enemies which might easily have defeated them had they been left to their own strength were overthrown by the LORD. Thirty-one strong heathen nations east of the Jor'dan had been subdued, and their lands and cities given to the Is'ra-el-ites for an inheritance. Under the gracious Providence of God they were now living in houses which they had not built, gathering fruits from orchards which they had not planted, enjoying the finest of grapes from vineyards on which they had bestowed no labor, and living in security under His continued Blessings.
With these proofs that God had chosen as His people, with the record of four hundred and fifty years of miraculous favors from God in the past, and with the blessings which they now enjoyed as the basis of His appeal, Josh'u-a urged Is'ra-el to serve God with perfect sincerity. They were called upon to avoid every form of idolatry, and to serve and worship only the True God. Declaring his own allegiance to God, Josh'u-a challenged the faith of the others in these words, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve."
