“But Joshua said to the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.”
(Joshua 24:19)
What a solemn scene we’re invited to observe in this text. Joshua stands before the people of God at Shechem to deliver what would be his final sermon. In it, he exhorts the people to obey the covenant of the LORD, reminding them of His gracious dealings and calling them to full-hearted devotion. And yet, amid the covenant renewal comes this staggering pronouncement: “Ye cannot serve the LORD.”
Joshua wasn’t trying to stir their emotion with this statement; he said it because it was true. The LORD is holy. He is jealous. He will not overlook rebellion. Unlike the gods of Egypt or the idols of Canaan, God demands heart-holiness, covenant fidelity, and complete obedience. And no natural man is capable of this level of faithfulness.
Joshua reminded the people of the LORD’s past faithfulness (Joshua 24:2-13), exhorted them to sincerity and truth (v. 14), warned them of the curse of disobedience (v. 20), and charged them to witness their own vow (v. 22). But then he pierced through all their religious eagerness with divine realism: “Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God.”
The Hebrew expression here is striking. Joshua uses the plural, Elohim Kedhoshim — “He is the Holy Gods,” a plural form for God and holy, showing not polytheism, but the fullness and majesty of the one true Triune God. Daniel 4:8 uses the same: “in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.” This majestic plural points to the reality echoed by Isaiah and John: “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). The Father is holy. The Son is holy. The Spirit is holy. And man, in his fallen state, is wholly unholy.
This is why Joshua says, “Ye cannot serve the LORD.” It is not a matter of weakness, but of wickedness. The natural man has no spiritual life, no desire for holiness, no power to keep covenant. He may make promises, he may participate in ceremonies, but he has no heart to truly follow a holy God.
Jonathan Edwards notes this as a point of worship: the plural holiness aligns with the thrice-declared “Holy, holy, holy” of the angelic praise.[1] The Triune God is so holy that neither angels nor men may draw near without trembling, such that if He were not also merciful, none could stand.
Joshua’s words remind us that no amount of resolve or religion can bridge the gap, for man is spiritually dead. Only the grace of God through the Mediator, Jesus Christ, can reconcile us to a holy God. Until God Himself intervenes—regenerating the heart, imputing righteousness, and granting faith—we cannot serve Him. We may try, but we will always fall short.
And yet, in Christ, the call to holiness is not only possible but effectual. Christ fulfilled the covenant, obeyed the Law, bore the curse, and secured righteousness. And in Him, God gives a new heart, with new affections, new strength, and new desires to follow the LORD in sincerity and truth.
So Joshua’s thunderous declaration is not the end of the matter; it is the beginning, because it drives us to the only hope: the holiness of God satisfied by the blood of Christ.
Contemplations:
- God’s Holy Law. Lord, in all my dealings with You I must look through the glasses of Your pure and holy Law. Help me set You before my face as David did (Psalm 16:8). Help me consider what a God You are, the Holy God whom I am in a covenantal relationship with.
- Christ My Mediator. I think about how I serve You, Lord, and I am saddened by my inadequacies. But I am so thankful that Christ redeemed me and covered me by His blood, so that I may worship and adore You through Him. I humble myself in Your sight and under Your mighty hand (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). Continually remind me that I cannot hide from You, for Your eye sees me and Your hand reaches me.
- Fear and Majesty. Lord, Your majesty and glory are dreadful even to the angels (Isaiah 6:2). You are the great God, and therefore greatly to be feared (Psalm 89:6–7).
- Holy and Just. You are holy, Lord, and eminently glorious (Exodus 15:11), so holy that You cannot be served adequately by man (Joshua 24:19). You are also jealous of Your name and will execute justice on Your enemies, because vengeance belongs to You alone, and You will not be mocked or provoked (Nahum 1:2).
- Merciful and Good. At the same time, You are perfect mercy and goodness, Lord. This goodness, seen both in Scripture and evidenced in life, should lead me to repentance (Hosea 3:5; Romans 2:4). Such considerations humbled the holiest of men: Moses was afraid to look on God, Job abhors himself, Elijah hides his face in a mantle, Isaiah cries out a curse on himself, Ezra cannot stand before You, and Peter bids Christ depart from him because he was a sinful man.
Prayer (Thanksgiving):
Holy Father, I thank You that though You are the thrice-holy God, fearful in majesty and jealous for Your glory, You have made a way for unworthy sinners to approach You through the blood of the covenant. I thank You that You have not left me to perish in my own inability, nor condemned me in my insufficiency, but have sent Your Son as both Surety and Savior.
You are right to declare that I cannot serve You in my strength—for I am flesh, prone to wander, slow to learn, and quick to transgress. But I thank You for Jesus Christ, who served You perfectly in my place. I thank You that He fulfilled the Law I could not keep, bore the wrath I could not endure, and opened the way I could not find.
I thank You for the Spirit of holiness, sent by the risen Lord, who convicts, cleanses, and comforts. Without Him I would never know the truth about myself, and I would never love the truth about You. But You have poured Him out, and by His work in me I can now fear You with joy and love You with trembling.
Thank You, Lord, for the holy covenant ratified by better blood than Abel’s. Thank You that, though my flesh is weak, Your grace is sufficient. Thank You for the warnings of Joshua, which drive me to cling more tightly to Christ. Thank You that Your jealousy is not the jealousy of man, but the holy protection of a faithful Husband who has pledged Himself to a wayward bride.
Make me thankful every day for the righteousness of Christ, the mercy of the covenant, the aid of the Spirit, and the promise of final sanctification. Let all my thanksgiving rise to You not in presumption, but in reverent awe—because You are holy.
In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.
Further References for Joshua 24:19:
Leviticus 19:2; Psalm 99:9; 1 Samuel 6:20; Psalm 99:5; Deuteronomy 29:20; 1 Corinthians 10:22.
[1] Jonathan Edwards, “God’s Excellencies,” in Jonathan Edwards Sermons, ed. Wilson H. Kimnach (New Haven, CT: The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, 1722–1723), Ps 89:6.
