August 6 - Be Strong and Courageous

August 6 - Joshua 1:1-18 - Be Strong and Courageous

Moses has died and the yoke of leadership has passed to Joshua. It is up to him to take the people of Israel through the final leg of their journey. Those who sinned so greatly against the Lord have all died, and new generations of Israelites are ready to enter the Promised Land. They had been hearing about this promise their entire lives. Fear and excitement filled every family as they approached the Jordan River.

The Lord's response to Joshua is indicative of His response to us when we face uncertainty. He begins by telling Joshua what to do (Joshua 1:2), then He tells Joshua what He will do for them (Joshua 1:3-4). He follows this by assuring Joshua that He (the Lord) would always be with him and would never leave or forsake him (Joshua 1:5).

Now the phrase that gets the most attention from this chapter shows up in Joshua 1:6, "Be strong and courageous." This is spoken 4 times in this chapter alone.

Moses had been such a powerful, strong leader. The Lord had assured Moses that He would always be with him when He called him from the burning bush on Mt. Sinai. After all of Moses' fears and doubts had been laid to rest, all that was left was the assurance that God would never leave His side. Through the years of travel, the sin, the excitement, the depression, the sense of loss, the new things they had seen, the Lord had never left Moses. And Moses went from being the cowering fool that was afraid to speak in public, to the man standing before the tribes of Israel in Deuteronomy 33, blessing them with glorious words.

This is a lot for Joshua to live up to. Before Moses died, he laid his hands on Joshua and the spirit of wisdom had filled the young man. (Deut. 34:9). But, read the words from Deut. 4:10-12 to understand the shoes that Joshua had to fill!

"Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt - to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of Israel." (Deut. 4:10-12)

Now, Joshua was to lead an entire nation of God's children into the Promised Land. These people had followed Moses for 40 years. No wonder God assured him and encouraged him with the words, "Be strong and courageous."

God says it again in Joshua 1:7 and then again in Joshua 1:9. He reminds Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and very courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

After the third command from God, Joshua begins delivering orders to the people to gather their supplies and prepare to cross the Jordan in three days. It is time to take possession of the land that the Lord God had given to them.

Because the Lord was with Joshua and he spoke with the authority that comes from knowing where his strength lay, the people responded.

In Joshua 1:16-18, they answer him by saying that they will follow him and do what it is that he asks of them. As they obeyed Moses, they will obey him.

Their final words as a community to Joshua were, "Only be strong and courageous."

These people knew that with God anything was possible, but sometimes their leader might forget that. The only way to walk with God and do His will is to be strong and courageous. We sometimes forget that God calls us to do things that might terrify us or be firmly outside our realm of understanding. Four times Joshua heard those words ... how many times will it take for these words to sink in for us.

"Be strong and courageous."