"Be Strong and Courageous"

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.

5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you.

Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Big Idea: The word of God reveals God’s will for his people, and his presence enables them to achieve his purposes.

Introduction

Joshua had massive shoes to fill. The man — Moses — who had led Israel out of slavery and to the very edge of the Promised Land had handed him the reigns, and then up and died. It was a crisis moment in the life of God’s people.

Moses was the one who confronted the evil and powerful Pharaoh,

who brought the awesome and terrifying plagues against Egypt,

who parted the giant Red Sea so that they could walk across,

who called down bread from heaven when they were hungry,

and who received the word of God on Mount Sinai.

When Moses died, a whole nation was terrified.

What is the first statement God makes to them? “Moses my servant is dead” (Joshua 1:2).

He reminds them of what they feared the most: stepping out in faith, into a foreign land, against massive armies, without Moses.

God doesn’t avoid reality, or try to distract his people with something else. He addresses the hard truth with honesty.

We know God’s people were afraid,

because he says to Joshua three times in four verses, “Be strong and courageous. . . . Only be strong and very courageous. . . . Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6–9).

Maybe you can feel their fear in these words. That makes this passage a kind of field manual for the anxiety and fears we face.

But God means for his people to hear waterfalls of comfort and confidence in those five words. He calls him, “Moses my servant.”

Yes, Moses is dead, but he was only a servant sent by your God — and your God will not die.

And his promises will never expire. He says, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them.” Moses may be gone, but God’s promises still live.

No matter how bleak the moment, God will never forsake his word to them — or to you.

God does not bring good news that downplays

or ignores harsh realities.

The news he brings is good enough to confront and overcome the worst threats his children face, like death and war and whatever haunts you.

Never once did God leave them alone, to themselves.

And just as he had spoken to Moses for the sake of Israel, he now spoke to Joshua.

Joshua stood with Israel before the land of Canaan, just a Jordan away from God’s promise,

but they also knew they were on the brink of war.

It was an exciting and frightening moment

And God’s words for these weak and chosen people are found in Joshua 1.

The main point of the Text

Joshua must maintain firm faith and fixed focus, leaving fear and despair no place.

The basis for his faith and focus also reiterates a theme in v. 5b—God’s constant, never-ending presence with him (“the Lord … will be with you”). And the twofold repetition of “wherever you go” (vv. 7, 9) underscores that his presence knows no territorial boundaries.

Joshua need never wonder whether he may unwittingly wander into realms where Yahweh cannot go and is powerless to conquer. On the contrary, wherever Joshua’s mandate takes him, no human can stop him (v. 5a), and his obedience to the law guarantees success (vv. 7b, 8b). With God he is unstoppable.[1]

Nothing in life ever happens apart from courage.

What does Courage Look Like?

1. Joshua was to know God’s Word

Joshua 1:7,8 (ESV)

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

He was to read it and study the Word with eager, focused study free of distractions.

The reader’s posture pictures the text’s importance: the reader hunches over it, eyes riveted on every syllable in order not to miss any detail.

The posture also mirrors how critical is the law’s guidance; only rigorous reflection can mine its depths.

To “skim” the law is to imperil one’s future by missing something crucial. Indeed, it is not enough simply to read it, think about it, or even talk about it. Joshua must “be careful to act” on it.

—to put Moses’ instructions into practice, live it out, and give it feet in the real world. Only “doing” the law will give Joshua success,[2]

Joshua was to read the book. I cannot doubt that Joshua had picked up the importance of the Law from Moses during the years of his association with him.

If Moses had spent much of the preceding thirty-eight years working on these written documents (as he undoubtedly had),

Joshua must have been a witness to that labor, have come to value that Law, and know it to some extent.

In other words, he must already have been a student of the Word, even before God commissioned him to his new responsibilities.[3]

Another way to view that is in 1 Corinthians 16:13, we read this, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” “Act like men, be strong.” Now that’s addressed not only to men but to women, and not only to adult men and women but to everybody in the body of Christ in the family of God. Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, unwavering, uncompromising, faithful to what you know, what you believe about which you hold convictions and find a developing affection. Stand firm in the faith and act like men.[5]

The hope of Israel wasn’t in their own ability to defeat their enemies and capture the land of Canaan. No, their hope was in the power of God to fulfill his promise to them.

2. Joshua was to talk about God’s Word.

The text says, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth” (Josh. 1:8)

Joshua was to be conversing about the Bible in his normal day-by-day contacts with family, soldiers, friends, and others who were part of the nation.

Is this contrary to what passes for Christianity in many places today. Contemporary people are quite tolerant of religious folk in some ways. It is considered enlightened to respect others’ practice of religion—as long as it is in its place (in church or synagogue on Sunday or Saturday) and does not affect the remainder of life. But let a follower of God begin to talk about God’s Word at work or while out to dinner with friends or while golfing at the club, and suddenly tolerance begins to fade away. “This is not the place to talk about religion,” the person is told. If the practice continues, the believer very likely finds himself or herself looking for new friends.[6]

3. Joshua was to obey God’s Word in its entirety.

The last element in this list of requirements is the most important.

Not only was Joshua to know,

speak about,

and meditate on the law of Moses

, he was also and chiefly to obey it

. God said, “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left.… Be careful to do everything written in it” (Josh. 1:7–8).

As we read the Bible, we get information. You come to understand what it says.

Then as you continue to read the Word of God, that information becomes belief.

And then that belief becomes conviction.

And then conviction is what I firmly believe that it controls my life.

And then conviction ultimately becomes affection.

And that’s when you say with David, “O how I love Your Law.”

Remain faithful to your biblical convictions. Don’t be hypocritical. Don’t be double-minded. Don’t be duplicitous.

The keys to safety and prosperity are found in the precious words of our God.

Our hearts are prone to trust in other gods, to try and manufacture protection and success on our own.

God is calling Israel — and us — to seek and obey him in his word, knowing that he is all-wise, all-loving, and always faithful.

He knows what’s best for us. He really does. And he wants to lead us into life, if we’re willing to look and look and look at his book — day and night — and are careful to walk in it.

4. Joshua was Commanded to Be Strong and of Good Courage

Joshua 1:6,7,9 (ESV)

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

A. God Commands Fearlessness

Be strong. Be courageous — those are positives. And two negatives: Don’t be frightened. Don’t be dismayed.

God doesn’t send them into the fight alone but allows his presence to go with them.

He says to them — to us — “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).[7]

B. The God who makes promises and gives instructions is always with us.

He didn’t lay down his law and then leave.

The love of God and the power of God live day-by-day with his people.

He doesn’t send them into the fight alone, but allows his presence to go with them.

He says to them — to us — “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

When the road was difficult and the enemies intimidating and the battle raging, God was near to his children, standing by ready to help and protect and satisfy them.

He gave them his manual and then moved in with them. And his presence would overpower every obstacle and ultimately win.

We say with Moses, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). And God does go with his people, all who are in Christ, wherever we go.

This God is faithful. He has made great promises, and will keep every one. He has known the hearts and needs of his own, and given them a book of his holy, good, and trustworthy words. And he lives with his people — guiding, keeping, providing, equipping, delighting.

As God sent his people across the Jordan and into danger, he handed them a promise to carry them through the fires: the land is already yours. Yes, great armies await you, and hard battles remain to be won, but this land has already been taken for you.

God has promised us more in Christ, and with more evidence — at the cross, in the empty tomb, and with the Holy Spirit — and yet we’re often still afraid to trust him and step forward. We let fear silence the clear voice of God in Christ.

When you are afraid that you might drown in the river of your finances, or be burned in the fires of affliction, remember that God has said to you,

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:1–2).

What are the most important words God speaks to Israel’s fears?

“I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. . . . The Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:5, 9).

It’s a promise, but not just of land, or victory over enemies, or peace, or milk and honey. It is a promise from God of God. “I will be with you.”

If we really believe the God of the universe is with us — really with us — in whatever fears we face, they will not be so fearful.

Our God does everything he promises, in every circumstance, at all times. When life gets hard, he is wooing us to lean harder on his word.

Joshua’s puny strength is not going to be enough.

God will win these battles for them. The command to be strong, in view of the ground for I am with you means: Trust in the strength of God to meet your needs as you go to battle against the enemy.

If that’s true, then the next three follow from that faith and God’s promise to be strong for us. First, if I’m strong in the strength that God supplies, I can be courageous. If I’m strong in the strength that God supplies, I don’t need to be afraid. If I’m strong in the strength that God supplies, I don’t ever need to be dismayed.

We can’t simply tell our hearts to be strong or courageous, but God can.

If you want to find strength when you feel weak, or courage when you feel ashamed or afraid, meditate on what God has said — and do whatever he says. Let his promises, his commands, his works, and his ways wash over your fears and insecurities.

As you strive to know and carry out his will, strength and courage from outside of you will well up inside of you, by the power of his Spirit.

Never once has he abandoned us.

Never once has he forgotten his promises to us.

Never once has he let us walk alone.

Never once.

Marshall Segal

Conclusion

As you start 2023, thinking about how you view yourself in the future, remain faithful to biblical convictions, faithful to biblical truth. Know the Law of God. Believe the Law of God. Be convinced about the Word of God. Be faithful to the Word of God and develop a strong affection for the Word of God.[8]

Joshua was a good soldier, but he was no more brilliant as a commander than countless others who have swept across the battle plains of world history. Joshua was a leader of men, but he was no more gifted at that than many others. Joshua’s great secret was that he made it his job to know the law of God and do it.

In Deuteronomy 27 there are instructions for how the law was to be read from Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim after the people had entered and begun to possess the land. When Joshua got to that point in the unfolding of God’s plan, he did exactly that—to the tiniest detail. Joshua did not try to second-guess or improve on God’s instructions.

Moreover, when he reached the end of his life, this was still his overriding concern, for he instructed the people with very nearly the identical words God had originally given him: “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left” (Josh. 23:6).

What we need today: not increasingly clever methods, still less increasingly clever people, but obedience informed and motivated by the living and abiding Word of God.[9]

The State of the Church

There is an epidemic of weakness that is sweeping into the church. The culture is infiltrating the church leaving us compromised and weak. In too many of our lives there is a lack of commitment. I think some of us are discouraged because we have refused to do what God has told us to do, or we don’t know what he has told us to do because we aren’t in the Word.

[1]Hubbard, R. L., Jr. (2009). Joshua (p. 83). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [2]Hubbard, R. L., Jr. (2009). Joshua (pp. 82–83). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [3] Boice, J. M. (2005). Joshua (p. 16). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. [4]Hubbard, R. L., Jr. (2009). Joshua (pp. 82–83). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [5] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2014). John MacArthur Sermon Archive. Panorama City, CA: Grace to You. [6] Boice, J. M. (2005). Joshua (pp. 16–17). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. [7]Piper, J. (2014). Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014). Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God. [8]MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2014). John MacArthur Sermon Archive. Panorama City, CA: Grace to You. [9]Boice, J. M. (2005). Joshua (p. 18). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

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