SEV Biblia, Chapter 24:19
Entonces Josué dijo al pueblo: No podréis servir al SEÑOR, porque él es Dios santo, y Dios celoso; no sufrirá vuestras rebeliones y vuestros pecados.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Joshua 24:19
Verse 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is a holy God] If we are to take this literally, we cannot blame the Israelites for their defection from the worship of the true God; for if it was impossible for them to serve God, they could not but come short of his kingdom: but surely this was not the case. Instead of wlkwt al lo thuchelu, ye CANNOT serve, &c., some eminent critics read al wlkt lo thechallu, ye shall not CEASE to serve, &c. This is a very ingenious emendation, but there is not one MS. in all the collections of Kennicott and Deuteronomy Rossi to support it. However, it appears very possible that the first w vau in wlkwt did not make a part of the word originally. If the common reading be preferred, the meaning of the place must be, "Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is holy and jealous, unless ye put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the flood. For he is a jealous God, and will not give to nor divide his glory with any other. He is a holy God, and will not have his people defiled with the impure worship of the Gentiles."
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 19. And Joshua said unto the people , etc.] To their heads and representatives now assembled together, and who had returned to him the preceding answer: ye cannot serve the Lord ; which he said not to discourage or deter them from serving the Lord, since it was his principal view, through the whole of this conversation with them, to engage them in it, but to observe to them their own inability and insufficiency of themselves to perform service acceptable to God; and therefore it became them to implore grace and strength from the Lord to assist them in it, and to depend upon that and not to lean to and trust in their own strength; as also to observe to them, that they could not serve him perfectly without any defect and failure in their service, for there is no man that does good and sins not; and therefore when a man has done all he can, he must not depend upon it for his justification before God; or consider it as his justifying righteousness, which was what that people were always prone to; some supply it, “you cannot serve the Lord with your images,” or along with them, so Vatablus: for he [is] an holy God : perfectly holy, so that the best of men, and the heat of their services, are impure and unholy before him and will not bear to be compared with him, and therefore by no means to be trusted in; and it requires much grace and spiritual strength to perform any service that may be acceptable to him through Christ. In the Hebrew text it is, “for the Holy Ones [are] he”: which may serve to illustrate and confirm the doctrine of the trinity of, persons in the unity of the divine Essence, or of the three divine holy Persons, holy Father, holy Son, holy Spirit, as the one God, (see Isaiah 6:3); he [is] a jealous God ; of his honour and glory, and of his worship, in which he will admit of no rival, of no graven images, or any idols to be worshipped with him, or besides him; nor will he suffer the idol of men’s righteousness to be set up in the room of, or in opposition to, the righteousness of God, even no services and works of men, be they ever so good, since they cannot be perfect before him: he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins ; even the transgressions and sins of such that forsake the worship and service of him, and fall into idolatry, or who seek for justification by their own services, these are both abominable to him; otherwise he is a God pardoning the iniquity, transgression, and sin, of all those who seek unto him and serve him, confess their sins, and renounce their own righteousness; (see Exodus 23:21).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 15-28 - It is essential that the service of God's people be performed with willing mind. For LOVE is the only genuine principle whence all acceptable service of God can spring. The Father seeks only such to worship him, as worship him in spirit and in truth. The carnal mind of man is enmity against God, therefore, is not capable of such spiritual worship. Hence the necessity of being born again. But numbers rest in mere forms, as tasks imposed upon them. Joshua puts them to their choice; but not as if it were indifferent whether they served God of not. Choose you whom ye will serve, now the matter is laid plainl before you. He resolves to do this, whatever others did. Those that ar bound for heaven, must be willing to swim against the stream. They mus not do as the most do, but as the best do. And no one can behav himself as he ought in any station, who does not deeply consider his religious duties in family relations. The Israelites agree with Joshua being influenced by the example of a man who had been so great blessing to them; We also will serve the Lord. See how much good grea men do, by their influence, if zealous in religion. Joshua brings the to express full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. They must com off from all confidence in their own sufficiency, else their purpose would be in vain. The service of God being made their deliberat choice, Joshua binds them to it by a solemn covenant. He set up monument of it. In this affecting manner Joshua took his last leave of them; if they perished, their blood would be upon their own heads Though the house of God, the Lord's table, and even the walls and tree before which we have uttered our solemn purposes of serving him, woul bear witness against us if we deny him, yet we may trust in him, tha he will put his fear into our hearts, that we shall not depart from him. God alone can give grace, yet he blesses our endeavours to engag men to his service.
Original Hebrew
ויאמר 559 יהושׁע 3091 אל 413 העם 5971 לא 3808 תוכלו 3201 לעבד 5647 את 853 יהוה 3068 כי 3588 אלהים 430 קדשׁים 6918 הוא 1931 אל 410 קנוא 7072 הוא 1931 לא 3808 ישׂא 5375 לפשׁעכם 6588 ולחטאותיכם׃ 2403
