God encourages His leader (Josh. 1:1–9)

Leaders don’t lead forever, even godly leaders like Moses. There comes a time in every ministry when God calls for a new beginning with a new generation and new leadership. Except for Joshua and Caleb, the old generation of Jews had perished during the nation’s wanderings in the wilderness; and Joshua was commissioned to lead the new generation into a new challenge: entering and conquering the Promised Land. “God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.” It was God who had chosen Joshua, and everybody in Israel knew that he was their new leader.

I. Encouragement from God’s commission (vv. 1–2)

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.

A. A wise leader doesn’t completely abandon the past.

A wise leader builds on the past as he or she moves toward the future. Moses is mentioned fifty-seven times in the Book of Joshua, evidence that Joshua respected Moses and what he had done for Israel.

Joshua worshiped the same God that Moses had worshiped, and he obeyed the same Word that Moses had given to the nation. There was continuity from one leader to the next, but there wasn’t always conformity; for each leader is different and must maintain his or her individuality. Twice in these verses Moses is called God’s servant, but Joshua was also the servant of God. The important thing is not the servant but the Master.

B. Joshua is called “Moses’ assistant”

Joshua learned how to obey as a servant before he commanded as a general; he was first a servant and then a ruler (Matt. 25:21). It has been said “He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.”

God commissioned Joshua to achieve three things: lead the people into the land, defeat the enemy, and claim the inheritance. God could have sent an angel to do this, but He chose to use a man and give him the power he needed to get the job done. As we have already seen, Joshua is a type of Jesus Christ, the Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10), who has won the victory and now shares His spiritual inheritance with us.

II. Encouragement from God’s promises (vv. 3–6)

3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and 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; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

A. God promised Joshua that Israel would enter the land.

Over the centuries God had reaffirmed this promise, from His first words to Abraham (Gen. 12) to His last words to Moses (Deut. 34:4). God would take them over the Jordan and into enemy territory. He then would enable them to claim for themselves the land that He had promised them.

God had already given them the land; it was their responsibility now to step out by faith and claim it. The lesson for God’s people today is clear: God has given us “all spiritual blessings … in Christ” (Eph. 1:3), and we must step out by faith and claim them. He has set before His church an open door that nobody can close (Rev. 3:8), and we must walk through that door by faith and claim new territory for the Lord.

B. God promised Joshua victory over the enemy.

The Lord told Abraham that other nations were inhabiting the Promised Land, and He repeated this fact to Moses. If Israel obeyed the Lord, He promised to help them defeat these nations. But He warned His people not to compromise with the enemy in any way. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. Since the Jews began to worship the gods of their pagan neighbors and adopt their evil practices, God had to chasten Israel in their land to bring them back to Himself.

What a promise God gave to Joshua! “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you.” But best of all, God has given this promise to His people today!

C. God’s promised Joshua that He would divide the land as an inheritance for the conquering tribes.

This was God’s assurance that the enemy would be defeated and that Israel would possess their land. God would keep His promise to Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land. Before God could fulfill His promises, however, Joshua had to exercise faith and “be strong and of good courage.”

Divine sovereignty is not a substitute for human responsibility. God’s sovereign Word is an encouragement to God’s servants to believe God and obey His commands.

III. Encouragement from God’s written Word and His commandment (vv. 7–9)

7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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 of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

A. Joshua’s strength and courage would come from meditating on the Word of God, believing its promises, and obeying its precepts.

During the years of his leadership, Moses kept a written record of God’s words and acts and committed this record to the care of the priests. He wrote in it a reminder to Joshua to wipe out the Amalekites. Among other things, the “Book of the Law” included “the Book of the Covenant”, a record of the journeys of the people from Egypt to Canaan, special regulations dealing with inheritance, and the song that Moses taught the people. Moses kept adding material to this record until it included everything God wanted in it.

But it wasn’t enough for the priests to carry and guard this precious book; Joshua had to take time to read it daily and make it a part of his inner person by meditating on it. In the life of the Christian believer, prosperity and success aren’t to be measured by the standards of the world. These blessings are the by-products of a life devoted to God and His Word. If you set out on your own to become prosperous and successful, you may achieve your goal and live to regret it. The questions God’s people need to ask are: Did we obey the will of God? Were we empowered by the Spirit of God? Did we serve to the glory of God? If we can answer yes to these questions, then our ministry has been successful in God’s eyes, no matter what people may think.

B. God’s commandments are still God’s enablements for those who obey Him by faith.

Gabriel’s words to Mary are as true today as when he spoke them in Nazareth: “For with God nothing shall be impossible”. The very word that God speaks has in it the power of fulfillment if we will but trust and obey!

In the years to come, whenever Joshua faced an enemy and was tempted to be afraid, he would remember that he was a man with a divine commission—and his fears would vanish. Whenever things went wrong and he was tempted to be dismayed, he would recall God’s command—and take new courage. Like Moses before him, and Samuel and David after him, Joshua had a divine mandate to serve the Lord and do His will—and that mandate was sufficient to carry him through.