Yehoshua 24:15

15 And if it seem rah unto you to serve Hashem, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the elohim which Avoteichem served that were on the other side of the River, or the elohei HaEmori, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my bais, we will serve Hashem.

Yehoshua 24:15 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:15

And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord
Irksome and troublesome, a burden, a weariness, and not a pleasure and delight:

choose you this day whom you will serve;
say if you have found a better master, and whose service will be more pleasant and profitable:

whether the gods your fathers served, that [were] on the other side of
the flood;
the river Euphrates; these may bid rid rest for antiquity, but then they were such their fathers had relinquished, and for which undoubtedly they had good reason; and to take up with the worship of these again was to impeach their wisdom, judgment, and good sense:

or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:
but then these were such as could not preserve their worshippers in the land, or the Israelites had not dwelt in it, and therefore no dependence could be had upon them for future security. The Amorites are only mentioned, because they were a principal nation, some of which dwelt on one side Jordan, and some on the other, and indeed there were of them in the several parts of the land:

but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord;
be your choice as it may be: this was the resolution of Joshua, and so far as he knew the sense of his family, or had influence over it, could and did speak for them; and which he observes as an example set for the Israelites to follow after; he full well knowing that the examples of great personages, such as governors, supreme and subordinate, have great influence over those that are under them,

Yehoshua 24:15 In-Context

13 So I have given you an Eretz for which ye did not toil, and towns which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; kramim and zetim (olive groves) which ye eat but did not plant.

14 Now therefore fear Hashem, serve Him batamim (completely) and in emes; put away the elohim which Avoteichem served on the other side of the [Euphrates] River, and in Mitzrayim; and serve ye Hashem.

15 And if it seem rah unto you to serve Hashem, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the elohim which Avoteichem served that were on the other side of the River, or the elohei HaEmori, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my bais, we will serve Hashem.

16 And the people answered and said, Chalilah lanu (far be it from us) that we should forsake Hashem, to serve elohim acharim;

17 For Hashem Eloheinu, He it is that brought us up and Avoteinu out of Eretz Mitzrayim, from the bais avadim, and which did those haotot hagedolot in our sight, and was shomer over us in kol HaDerech in which we went, and among Kol HaAmim through whom we passed;