Joshua 24

Jehovah

And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. Joshua 24:2–13

Jehovah speaks for Himself through Joshua: He called Abraham, sent Moses, covered the Egyptians in the sea, and gave Israel a land they did not work for. Latter-day Saints know this God of Abraham and of the Exodus as the premortal Jesus Christ.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4) · the verse itself names Him · another scripture interprets it of Him · the chapter heading names Him

• interpreted by 1 Nephi 19:10 — 'the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' who led Israel out of Egypt 'yieldeth himself ... to be crucified' - names the speaker of this history as Christ
• interpreted by 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 — 'they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ' - the God of the Exodus is Christ
• the same event in Exodus 14:19-20 — the cloud that 'came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel' - the event v. 7 recounts

Jehovah

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 flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. Joshua 24:14–15

Joshua asks Israel to choose Jehovah - the premortal Jesus Christ - over every other god, and puts his own household on the line first. Choosing whom you will serve is still a daily decision.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4) · the verse itself names Him · another scripture interprets it of Him · the chapter heading names Him

• quoted by Alma 30:8 — 'For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve' - Alma cites this verse as scripture

Jehovah

And Joshua said unto 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

Joshua warns that Jehovah is holy and jealous - He will not accept half-hearted service or wink at sin left unrepented. That holiness is exactly why Israel needed a covenant and a Redeemer.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · a footnote points to Him · another scripture interprets it of Him

• alludes to Exodus 20:5 — 'I the LORD thy God am a jealous God' - the Church footnote note19_b makes this link

Jehovah

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Joshua 24:22–25

The people become their own witnesses that they have chosen Jehovah, promise to obey His voice, and enter a covenant with statute and ordinance. Covenants with the Lord have always been made this way: freely chosen, publicly witnessed.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4) · the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · another scripture interprets it of Him

Joshua as a Type of Christ

Joshua (Yehoshua) - 'Jehovah saves'; the same name rendered Iesous, Jesus, in Greek

And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. Joshua 24:29

Joshua carries the very name of Jesus. He is the one who brought Israel across Jordan into the promised land and its rest - which Moses, who represents the law, could not do - and he dies honoured as 'the servant of the LORD'.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · a traditional type, cited

• alluded to by Hebrews 4:8 — 'For if Jesus had given them rest' - the KJV calls Joshua 'Jesus' and reads his rest as pointing to a greater one
• alluded to by Acts 7:45 — Stephen: the fathers 'brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles' - Joshua again named 'Jesus'
• a parallel account in Judges 2:8 — the same death notice, word for word: 'Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old'