Joshua 24:16

16 And the people answered and said, "God forbid that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

Joshua 24:16 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:16

And the people answered and said
To Joshua, upon his proposal to them, the option he gave them to serve the Lord or idols, and which was only done to try them:

God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
they speak with the utmost abhorrence of idolatry, as a thing far from their hearts and thoughts, as the most abominable and execrable that could be thought or spoken of; to forsake the word, and worship, and ordinances of God, and serve the idols of the Gentiles, strange gods, whether more ancient or more recent, such as their fathers worshipped in former times, or the inhabitants of the land they now dwelt in, for which they were spewed out of it.

Joshua 24:16 In-Context

14 "Now therefore, fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve ye the LORD.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

16 And the people answered and said, "God forbid that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

17 for the LORD our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went and among all the people through whom we passed.

18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore will we also serve the LORD, for He is our God."