Joshua 24:17

17 For the LORD our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us throughout our journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.

Joshua 24:17 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:17

For the Lord our God, he [it is] that brought us up and our
fathers, out of the land of Egypt
When Pharaoh, the king of it, refused to let them go, yet he wrought such wonders in it and inflicted such plagues on it, as obliged Pharaoh and his people to dismiss them:

from the house of bondage:
where they were held in the greatest thraldom and slavery, and their lives made bitter and miserable:

and which did those great signs in our sight;
meaning the wonders and marvellous things wrought before Pharaoh and his people, and in the sight of Israel, ( Psalms 78:11 Psalms 78:43 ) ; though Abarbinel is of opinion it refers to what had been done in their sight of late in the land of Canaan, as the dividing of the waters of Jordan, the fall of the walls of Jericho, the standing still of the sun in Gibeon; but this seems not so well to agree with what follows:

and preserved us in all the way wherein we went:
in the wilderness from serpents and scorpions, and beasts of prey, and from all dangers from every quarter:

and among all the people through whom we passed;
through whose borders they passed, as the Edomites, Moabites, and Amorites; though the above writer seems to understand it of preservation from the dangers of their enemies in the land of Canaan.

Joshua 24:17 In-Context

15 But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

16 The people replied, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!

17 For the LORD our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us throughout our journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.

18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because He is our God!”

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.