Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
This is part of the final address by Joshua to the people of Israel. The most well-known verse of the chapter is earlier, verse 15: And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The people respond by saying they will serve the Lord. Throughout this book we have seen numerous piles of stones as memorials to God's power and their promises. Here there is one stone - another reminder and witness of their promises. That stone would stay there and "remember" for them. What promises have we made, heard by the walls, the sky, other people, and especially, God? Have we kept them? Have we forgotten them, intentionally or by accident?
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