Joshua 1
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
He then tells Joshua to “Be strong and courageous.” Which implies that He already knows it will be difficult and Josh is afraid. He even tells him why he should be strong and courageous. It’s because God is doing a major work and He wants Joshua to be a part of it. (Note that He doesn’t say “I need your help.” As if Joshua has something to offer.) Again He instructs Joshua to be strong and very courageous. Which goes back to God knowing exactly how scared Josh is and He even knows that he isn’t exactly sure how he’s going to do it all. So God makes it clear to him that to succeed, he must obey all the laws. I even think the be strong and very courageous has to do with the fact that he has to follow all the laws, because that’s no easy task.
Sigh, lots to think about. Praise God.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
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Joshua’s leader, his teacher, and probably his friend has just died. The people are mourning because their leader (who spoke directly to and actually saw God) is dead. But they’re also excited, Joshua’s excited, they know a big step is coming. God has chosen Joshua to ready the people and lead them across the river into THE Promised Land. The Land they’ve been wandering for and searching for. Keep in mind that the people who are entering into the Promised Land, including Joshua, were kids when they left Egypt. God promised the adults that they wouldn’t get in (except for two men) because they were disobedient, so the people who are adults at this time were young (or unborn) when they left Egypt. Everyone’s been dreaming about this since they were kids and some of these people were even born in the wilderness. They have made families whilst wandering and they and their kiddos have no idea what it’s like to have a permanent home with established borders.So anyway, it’s a big deal. I’m sure there are LOTS of different emotions from lots of people. Some people doubt Joshua; some are excited because they know him better and they think Moses was too distanced and old; some are tired and don’t care who takes them, they just want to get there.
Amidst all of this, God’s talking to Joshua. First, He lets Joshua know that He realizes Moses, His servant, is dead. He lets Joshua know that this means he’s in charge now. Next He tells Joshua he needs to get literally THOUSANDS of people ready to cross a river. This isn’t the first time the Israelites have crossed a body of water, but it has been quite a long time since they did it. It's kind of appropriate that they left Egypt through water and they will enter their land through water. God tells Joshua where they’re going to go and He makes it clear that He’s going to keep all of His promises. He also tells Joshua that they’re moving into OTHER PEOPLE’S land (the Hittites were not pleased with the Israelite invasion).
At this point I think Joshua is getting a little nauseous. God must be aware that Josh is a unsure about all this because of what He says next. He tells Josh that “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses (the man who saw God, spoke directly with Him, and wrote down what He said), so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God’s telling Joshua (in the words of The Pretenders) “I’ll stand by you, won’t let nobody hurt you, I’ll stand by you.”
He then tells Joshua to “Be strong and courageous.” Which implies that He already knows it will be difficult and Josh is afraid. He even tells him why he should be strong and courageous. It’s because God is doing a major work and He wants Joshua to be a part of it. (Note that He doesn’t say “I need your help.” As if Joshua has something to offer.) Again He instructs Joshua to be strong and very courageous. Which goes back to God knowing exactly how scared Josh is and He even knows that he isn’t exactly sure how he’s going to do it all. So God makes it clear to him that to succeed, he must obey all the laws. I even think the be strong and very courageous has to do with the fact that he has to follow all the laws, because that’s no easy task.
God tells Joshua (and all of us) how to follow the law. He says to talk about the Book all the time and to think about it all day and all night. He also says to “be careful” twice. To be careful means to be really intentional and precise about what you’re doing. So Joshua is (and we are) supposed to be very purposeful and aware in life and leadership. We should always take great care to live our lives pleasing to God because He is watching but we should also remember that many people watch us live and pay attention to our decisions. Once again, God reiterates that doing this hard thing that requires courage will result in success and prosperity. It’s for Joshua’s benefit to fully obey- he will ultimately get good things.
Lastly, God makes it clear that this is a command. It is completely, fully, and 100% God’s will for Joshua to be strong and courageous. Josh is not to be afraid and he is not to be discouraged, because God is with him. His creator, comforter, defender, supporter, protector, and friend is always with him. It is not optional for him to do this in a hesitant, reluctant, sissy way- when you’re leading thousands of people, none of those attributes are good. God knows exactly how afraid he is, He knows how hard it is going to be, but He also knows that in the end, it’s gonna be good. Really good. So good, Joshua can’t even imagine, he just needs to obey.
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This makes me think, what about me? What is God calling me to do that I’m afraid of? Is He asking me to go somewhere I don’t want to go? Does He want me to do something hard over a long period of time so that other people in my life can see it and know about it and glorify Him? This may apply to a literal location or maybe it’s just a conversation or confrontation that I’m afraid of. Notice that God never once asks us to do things with the promise that others will like us; it’s always so His name will be known and He will be glorified. Sigh, lots to think about. Praise God.
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