Joshua knew that he was not going to be with his brethren much longer. He calls Israel’s leaders, reminds them of the Lord’s mercy and grace and power shown to their ancestors and to them, encourages them to continue to trust the Lord through the dangers ahead, and points them to the written Word of the Lord for their instructions.
V.11 The key verse. They were to continue as a separated people to the Lord from the peoples who were around them. Their enjoyment of the Lord’s blessings, or their loss of His approval, would depend on their obedience, and on our joy too.
V.14 If you are going on with the Lord each day, with a good conscience in all you do and say, when you read this verse, you probably will say to yourself, “Oh how true ... the Lord has kept me today and He has never let me down once, though I don’t deserve a bit of all His loving kindness to me.”
In Acts 20:17-32 we see another faithful servant.