And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
Then Joshua said to all the people, 'Look at this stone! It will serve as a witness against us, because it has heard all the words the LORD spoke to us. So it will be a witness against you, in case you ever deny your God.'
Joshua is setting up a stone as a permanent reminder of the promises the people made to God, so they can't later claim they forgot or deny what happened.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs at the end of Joshua's life as he gathers all the tribes of Israel at Shechem for a covenant renewal ceremony. The Israelites had just promised to serve the Lord and put away foreign gods. Joshua set up a large stone under an oak tree as a physical memorial of this sacred commitment, following the ancient practice of using stones to mark important spiritual moments.
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