Be Strong and Courageous

Introduction

The name Joshua means the “Yahweh is salvation.” Another way of saying this is “the Lord saves.” As Christians with access to the Bible, we see that Joshua was a person who was the successor to Moses as the leader of the Israelites. We also see that Joshua was a book in God’s Word. The book is about the story of God’s redemption of His people from unholiness and how He used the leader Joshua to overcome. The time frame is about 1390 BC. Why is it it important for us to study such an old manuscript? God was present with Israel in the days of Joshua and led His people to the Promised Land. He is even more present with us today through Christ and the Holy Spirit and will ultimately lead us to our heavenly promised land. We also see in Joshua that God demanded obedience and faithfulness for His people. He still demands that for us today. Ultimately, we see in Joshua the gift of victorious rest for God’s people. That promise for us today is also available through the redemption of Christ. Today as we study this first chapter of Joshua, I want to encourage you to see God’s promise, God’s plan, God’s protection and ultimately God’s peace.

Joshua 1:1–18 NIV84

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 Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up 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 forefathers 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 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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 terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’ ” 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

The Promise (vs.1-3)

The first thing I see in this great passage is the reminder of God’s Promise. The word promise is not mentioned here but there is a continuation of the fulfilment of the promise from long ago.

Exodus 3:17 NIV84

17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Because of sin, Moses could not enter that land. His successor has been named to take the people into the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey.

The Calling

The Lord spoke to Joshua and assigned to him the calling of a lifetime. You see, for 39 years, Joshua was an assistant to Moses. God had orchestrated this over the years.

Deuteronomy 1:37–40 NIV84

37 Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, “You shall not enter it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

Years before Moses died, Joshua was called by God to fulfill His mission. Many of us today are called by God to fulfill His mission, yet are not obedient to do so. I want to encourage you to accept the call of God as you will always be better off in doing so!

The Commissioning

We see not only the calling of Joshua but we see the commissioning of him. In Deuteronomy 3:28

Deuteronomy 3:28 NIV84

28 But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

Moses was to commission, encourage and strengthen Joshua. He did so and now in this first chapter of the Book ofJoshua, Joshua’s commissioning is certified with God’s instructions. God tells Joshua to cross the Jordan River into a territory of which God has promised. As Joshua is called and commissioned, God also tells him of His commitment.

The Commitment

We see in verse 3 that God commits to giving Joshua and the Israelites to give every place where they set foot. In verse 5, we see the commitment of God that is the most reassuring promise of all: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” By the way, that promise is still prevalent today. God is with us. God will not leave us. God will not forsake us! God is faithful to His word. He completes His promise. He calls each of us like Joshua. He commissions each of us like Joshua. He is committed to us like He was to Joshua. The promise of God is everlasting.

The Plan (vs. 2-5)

One of the characteristics of God is that He is a God of order. In order to be of order, one has to have a plan. God provides a plan for the Israelites and He also has a plan for you and me.

The Crossing

The first part of the plan is for the Israelites to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. You and I have a crossing to do as well. We must cross over from the old way of life in sin to the new way of life in Christ. John 5:24

John 5:24 NIV84

24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

The Conquest

God told Joshua a plan of conquest. He outlines a territory and establishes a new order that is victorious and unconquerable. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we too are victorious and unconquerable. 1 Corinthians 15:55-58

1 Corinthians 15:55–58 NIV84

55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The Character

The plan God gives to Joshua also evokes character of God. Remember, Joshua had seen the character of God when he was with Moses. He had seen His faithfulness. I wonder as Joshua listened to God’s plan if he did not break out in a time of worship.

Psalm 89:8 NIV84

8 O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

I am reminded that the character of God compels me to shun away from unholiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:7

1 Thessalonians 4:7 NIV84

7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

I love how God’s word shows us truth that was relevant 4000 years ago and very relevant to us today. In this first chapter of Joshua, we see that the promise of God and the plan of God also gives us the protection of God.

The Protection (vs. 6-15)

Three times in four verses, 6-9, we see the words, “Be strong and courageous.”

Strong and Courageous

Joshua knew that the promise and plan of God offered him protection. Joshua also knew that it was not because he obeyed the law that God was with him, rather because God was with him, therefore he could obey the law. We have the ability to be strong and courageous because God is with us as well.

Philippians 4:13 NIV84

13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

God’s plan of protection starts by reminding us of His strength which enables us to be strong and courageous. It also helps us to be successful.

Successful

Verse 8 gives us the formula.

Joshua 1:8 NIV84

8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.

Study God’s word.

Meditate on it.

Do it. Scripture tells us with this formula that will make us prosperous and successful. By the way, our society has a compulsion with prosperity. We tend to make it all about money. That is not the definition here. The Hebrew word for the phrase “be prosperous” is tsalach and it means to advance or make progress. The word for “successful” is sakal and it means to wisely understand or prudent.

So in essence, this verse is saying to us, Study God’s word. Meditate on it. Do it. And you will make progress in wisely understanding the things of God and His ways. If we are doing this, then we are removing doubt, fear, anxiety, worry, and a host of other aspects of negativity that cloud our minds. Do you see how God is providing protection here? When we are strong and courageous, we will become prosperous and successful. Guess what we get next? We get to rest.

Rest

Joshua 1:13 NIV84

13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’

What worries you at night when you lay your head down? What fear is in charge of you? If we are not resting, we do not have peace.

The Peace (vs. 16-18)

This is worth reading again:

Joshua 1:16–18 NIV84

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

Whatever

Whatever you have commanded. We need to be at the place in our walk as Christians that whatever God is leading us to do, we can trust Him enough to do it. God gives peace in whatever He calls you to do.

Wherever

Wherever You send us, we will go. We don’t have to go to some foreign land to do the work of God. We can make that happen in our neighborhoods. Some of you are doing that well. Others of us don’t even know our neighbor’s names and some of us don’t even know what they look like! Sometimes churches think that the wherever is some foreign land. It could be. But even the model Christ gave and the apostles followed started in their own backyard.

Acts 1:8 NIV84

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

God gives peace in wherever He tells you to go.

Whoever

We also see a strong word for those that rebels against the word of God. Disobedience is not tolerated with God. Sometimes we rebel. Sometimes others rebel the teaching of God’s word we might be sharing. There is no room in the Christian’s life for either. The Bible says here that death is the result. God’s final word is summarized in the response of the people: “Only be strong and courageous.”

I do not know how this came about as the Bible said “they answered Joshua.” Was it in unison? Was it people saying one after another in agreement? I am not sure. But I do know this, when we say out loud and repeat the Word of the Lord together, it becomes a rallying point and an oath to declare. It also reminds me that I am not alone in my walk with Christ. I am encouraged and I am stronger!

The promise found in this passage is that our God has a desire to be in a relationship with each one of us. His plan is for you and me to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Until we get there, He has a way for us to be protected by enabling us to be strong and courageous, prosperous and successful, and the ability to rest from this life’s worries. So therefore, whatever He needs us to do, we can do it. Wherever He leads we will go. And whoever leads us to rebel, is dead to us!

Only Be Strong and Courageous.