It's About Relationship: What Joshua 22-24 Teaches About Covenant

Our daily lives can feel like an endless stream of transactions. We do what our employer tells us, and they pay us. We do a favor for someone, and they owe us one. We buy, we sell, we exchange. Some days it seems like transactions tell the whole story of how we interact with other people.

But if you stop and think about it, and if you are honest with yourself, you will realize that deep down we desire to interact with people through relationships, not just transactions.

Where does that desire come from? Because we were made in the image of God. And a transaction alone is never enough with God. God desires relationship, first and foremost.

As the book of Joshua draws to a close, this becomes the dominant theme. Joshua is going to make sure the people of Israel realize, and do not forget, that more than anything else, they are special because God chose to have a close, personal relationship with them. Everything God did for them up to that point was because of this relationship. Everything He desired for them going forward was about this relationship.

The same is true for us today. God desires a relationship with us, not a transaction.

A Big Misunderstanding

Read Joshua 22:1-6, 10-16, 21-23, 30-31 (ESV)

After years of fighting alongside their brothers on the west side of the Jordan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh finally received permission to go home. Joshua commended them for their faithfulness. They had done everything Moses and Joshua asked. They had not deserted the other tribes. Now it was time to return to the land Moses had given them on the east side of the Jordan River.

But before they crossed back, they stopped and built a large, imposing altar near the Jordan.

When the western tribes heard about it, they immediately prepared for war. They assumed the eastern tribes were rebelling against God, setting up their own place of worship, starting their own religion. The accusation was sharp: “How could you turn away from the Lord and build an altar for yourselves in rebellion against him?”

Thankfully, they sent a delegation first. And the eastern tribes responded with passion and clarity: “The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! He knows the truth, and may Israel know it, too! We have not built the altar in treacherous rebellion against the Lord.”

It turned out the altar was a memorial. The eastern tribes built it so the western tribes would never forget that they were family, that the eastern tribes had been there for them and always would be. It was an act of devotion, not rebellion.

When the delegation heard the explanation, they were satisfied. Crisis averted. But the misunderstanding itself reveals something important.

Why did the western tribes jump so quickly to the worst conclusion? Look at verse 18: “If you rebel against the Lord today, he will be angry with all of us tomorrow.” They were so fixated on the transactional nature of their interaction with God (if we do this, God does that; if we fail, God punishes) that they forgot about relationship. They forgot about their own family. Their obsession with consequences blinded them from seeing that their fellow tribes might have had good intentions.

When we view God purely through a transactional lens, we start viewing everyone else through that lens too. We assume the worst. We see rebellion where there is devotion. We prepare for war when a conversation would have been enough.

Discussion

Have you ever jumped to a wrong conclusion about someone’s motives, only to discover their intentions were good? What drove the assumption?
How does a transactional view of God affect the way we treat other people, especially other believers?

Key Takeaways

Assumptions rooted in fear lead to conflict. The western tribes almost went to war over a misunderstanding because they assumed the worst.
A transactional view of God distorts how we see others. When we focus only on rules and consequences, we lose sight of people’s hearts.
Talk before you act. The delegation that went to ask questions prevented a civil war. Conversation before confrontation is wisdom.

It’s About Relationship

Read Joshua 23:1-4, 6-9, 11-13, 16 (ESV)

Joshua is now very old. The years have passed. The battles are behind him. And he gathers the leaders of Israel for a farewell address.

He begins where you would expect: God has kept His promises. He fought for you. He drove out nations. He gave you the land. God made good on His end of the deal.

Then Joshua reminds the people of their responsibilities. Verse 6: “Be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.” Rules. Obedience. The law.

But look more carefully. Joshua is asking for something far deeper than rule-following.

Do not associate with the nations around you. Do not swear by their gods. Do not serve them. Do not worship them. Cling tightly to the Lord your God. Be very careful to love the Lord your God.

Do you hear the language? Associate. Swear by. Serve. Worship. Cling. Love. These are relationship words.

God cares about the rules. He cares that the people uphold the law. But the law was never an end in itself. The law existed for a purpose: to enable and protect a relationship between God and His people.

Think of it like a parent and a child. Because the child cannot see and understand everything the parent does, it is sometimes necessary for the parent to set rules and exert authority. That is part of loving them. The rules serve the relationship. They are not a substitute for it.

There was certainly something transactional about the interaction between God and the people of Israel. The Old Testament is full of “if this, then that.” And to some extent, there is a transactional dimension to our walk with God today. Even though a Christian’s sins are forgiven, sin still has consequences.

However, Joshua 23:16 reminds us there was a specific covenant between God and Israel that no longer applies. The purpose of that covenant was to show all of humanity that a law-based system of overcoming the sin barrier between God and people does not work. We live under a New Covenant. Jesus brought it into the world. We cannot achieve sufficient holiness to have a relationship with God simply by repressing sin. That holiness is only possible through an act of sacrifice by God, and our decision to accept that act.

Discussion

What is the difference between following rules for God and clinging to God? How can you tell which one you are doing?
Joshua tells the people to “love the Lord your God.” Why is love a command here, and what does it look like practically?

Key Takeaways

The law serves the relationship, not the other way around. God gave rules to protect closeness with His people, not to replace it.
Relational language fills Joshua’s farewell. Cling. Love. Do not associate. These are the words of someone who knows what God truly wants.
The Old Covenant revealed a problem. The New Covenant provided the solution. Law-keeping alone cannot bridge the gap between God and people. Only Jesus can.

Love Takes Action

Read Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-24 (ESV)

In his final address, Joshua takes the people through a detailed history of everything God has done for Israel. Why? Because God’s actions demonstrate His love. Love is not a feeling. It is a decision followed by action.

It is not enough to just feel love for someone. They cannot feel what you feel. It is not enough to just tell someone you love them. The power of words has limits. We show people we love them through action. And love demonstrated by action is the very thing that gives our words weight when we later say, “I love you.”

Then Joshua issues the challenge: “Choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

One word jumps out again and again in this chapter: serve. Why is that word so important? Because serving is one of the most beautiful ways to put love into action. We serve out of love for the person we are serving. Not obligation. Not guilt. Not fear of what people will think if we do not show up. Love.

The people responded enthusiastically: “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”

But there is a subtle warning in their answer. Joshua had told them, “Turn your hearts to the Lord.” And the people responded with, “We will obey.” To them, serving was about rules, not hearts. They promised obedience, but missed the deeper invitation to love.

And as the book of Judges reveals, they were not able to keep even that promise.

The good news for us is that we live in a different time under a different covenant. Though it is not possible for a person to truly serve the Lord with all their heart through their own effort alone, what is impossible with people is possible with God. God gives us what we need to love and serve Him through the Holy Spirit, when we choose to accept His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and give our lives to Him. And when we learn to love and serve God with all our hearts, we also learn how to love and serve other people selflessly.

Discussion

What is the difference between serving God out of obligation and serving God out of love? How do you know which one is driving you?
Joshua says, “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” What does it look like to make that kind of declaration in your own household?
The people promised to serve and obey, but missed the call to turn their hearts. Where might that same gap exist in your own walk with God?

Key Takeaways

Love is a decision followed by action. God demonstrated His love through what He did, not just what He said. We are called to do the same.
Serving is love in action. The word “serve” fills this chapter because it describes how love becomes real and visible.
Obedience without heart change is not enough. The people promised to obey but missed the invitation to love. God wants our hearts, not just our compliance.
The Holy Spirit makes heart-level devotion possible. What Israel could not sustain on their own, God provides through Christ and the Spirit.

Something to Sit With

The book of Joshua ends where it began: with a God who keeps His promises and a people who must decide how to respond.

God demonstrated His love through action. He fulfilled every promise. He drove out nations. He gave them the land. He asked one thing in return: relationship. Not transaction. Not compliance. Not ritual. Relationship.

Joshua saw it clearly. The people heard it. But they could not sustain it.

We can. Not because we are stronger. Because the Spirit living in us is.

A few honest questions:

Is your walk with God mostly transactional, or is it truly relational? How would you know the difference?
Where are you “obeying” God but not really loving Him? What would it take to close that gap?
When was the last time you demonstrated love for God through action, not just words or feelings?
Joshua made a public declaration: “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” What would your version of that look like this week?

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15, ESV)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the altar controversy in Joshua 22?

When the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned to the east side of the Jordan River, they built a large altar near the crossing. The western tribes assumed it was an act of rebellion against God and prepared for war. But the eastern tribes explained the altar was a memorial, a reminder that they belonged to the same family and served the same God. The conflict was resolved through conversation, not war.

What does “choose this day whom you will serve” mean in Joshua 24?

In his farewell address, Joshua challenged the people of Israel to make a clear decision about who they would follow. He presented the choice plainly: the gods of their ancestors, the gods of the surrounding nations, or the Lord. Joshua declared his own household’s commitment and called the people to do the same. It is a call to decisive, whole-hearted devotion rather than passive drift.

What is the difference between a transactional and relational view of God?

A transactional view treats God primarily in terms of exchange: I obey, God blesses; I sin, God punishes. A relational view recognizes that God desires closeness, love, and trust, not merely compliance. Joshua 22-24 consistently pushes beyond rules and consequences to the language of love, clinging, and serving from the heart. Both obedience and relationship matter, but relationship is the foundation.

How does Joshua 24 connect to the New Covenant?

Joshua warned the people that they would not be able to serve the Lord on their own (Joshua 24:19). History proved him right. The people failed repeatedly in the period of the Judges. This failure demonstrated the need for a new covenant, one in which God would write His law on people’s hearts through the Holy Spirit. Jesus fulfilled this promise, making heart-level devotion to God possible in a way that law-keeping alone never could.

Why does the word “serve” appear so often in Joshua 24?

The word “serve” appears repeatedly because it captures the heart of what God desires. Serving is love expressed through action. Joshua used this word to call the people beyond intellectual agreement or verbal commitment and into lived, active devotion. True service flows from love, not from obligation, guilt, or fear.

This lesson is part of the Encouraged by What’s Ahead series.