Joshua 1

Today we are going to look at Joshua 1. This is a pivotal moment in the history of Israel, the long awaited moment where the Israelites take possession of the promised land.

But first lets get some context about the situation.

In Genesis 16 God calls Abram to go from his country to a “land God will show him” and promises that he will “make of Abram a great nation”, and a great name and a blessing to all the families of the earth.

So Abram goes out with his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot to Canaan. Stuff happens, some good, some bad.

Abram gets involved in a battle of nine kings, in order to rescue his nephew Lot who got captured, and after Abram’s side is victorious, one of the kings that Abram fights along side offers him plunder. Abram rejects this, saying he has made an oath to God that he would not accept any plunder so no man could say “I made Abram rich”. And God responds telling Abram that his reward will be great. Abram asks God how will my reward be great since I have no heir?

God says to him that his descendants will outnumber the stars in the sky.

“And Abram believes the Lord, and God counts it to him as righteousness.”

So God makes a covenant with Abram, God tells him that to his offspring God will give the land, Cannon.

The covenant is marked with a physical sign, circumcision, and Abram is given a new name, Abraham because God has made him a father of many nations. Sarai is given a new name Sarah, for she shall become nations; kings of peoples will come from her.

More stuff happens, some good, some bad.

Finally, in her old age, Sarah gives birth to Issac, her only child, but later God asks Abraham to take Issac up on a mountain and sacrifice him.

And in probably Abraham’s greatest moment, he obeys God, and when getting ready to sacrifice Issac God intercedes and stops him from killing his son and instead provides a ram for the sacrifice. Because Abraham believed God could fulfill his promise, God tells Abraham indeed his offspring will be numerous, also promising what God said when he originally called Abram, that through his offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

This is a very brief picture of God’s promises to Abraham, and his covenant. His descendants will possess the promised land, and through his descendants the nations and families of the earth will be blessed.

Next Isaac has Jacob who becomes Israel, they go to Egypt. 400 years pass, the descendants of Israel become numerous and are called the Israelites and become oppressed by Pharaoh. God raises up Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt and they travel to Mt Sinai. They spend a year at Mt Sinai, they get the 10 commandments and the rest of the law, build the tabernacle, and then they set out for the promised land. Then God tells Moses to send 12 spies into Canaan and report back on the land.

Joshua is one of these spies. Ten of the spies report negatively, that they cannot overcome the people of Canaan, while Caleb and Joshua report “let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the people of Israel try to rebel, wanting to return to Egypt instead, and God then as a result of this rebellion, declares this generation will not enter the promised land apart from Joshua and Caleb.

So Israel wanders for another 40 years, the generation that rebelled dies out in the wilderness, and now they have come to banks of the Jordan.

Moses gives this new generation a speech here, which is the book of Deuteronomy. The book reflects on the failures of the past generation and challenges this new generation to be different and respond to Gods grace with Love and Obedience. Moses gives them this prayer in Deut 6.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (ESV)

4“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 

5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Then Moses repeats, explains, and expands on the laws to this new generation, and near the end Moses says he sets before them a a blessing and a curse, life or death, and implores Israel to choose life by following God and his commands.

Deuteronomy 30:19–20 (ESV)

19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 

20loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

I especially love the term “hold fast” here. It gives me a sailor vibe. The hebrew word here, dabaq, is the same word as used in Gen 2:24, “a man shall leave his father and “hold fast” to his wife.” Moses is calling Israel to cleave to God, to marry God, the source of live.

So now Moses has handed off leadership to Joshua, and has now died. This is the setting for Joshua, at the banks of the Jordan, a new generation of Israelites, ready to enter the promised land.

Arise and Go

Joshua 1:1–2 (ESV)

1After 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.

This is a call to action, finally, go! God has promised that the long awaited land will be given, and now is the time to receive the fulfillment of that promise. This is an opportunity to trust God. When trusting God, often we are made to wait for God’s timing. It is often not easy, but it is critical to remember that we need God on our side to expect any success. When you find yourself having a difficult time waiting on something, ask yourself what exactly are you following? Are you following the Lord, waiting for his timing and trusting him, or are you following your own desires, thinking that maybe you can achieve your desires yourself.

And then, after waiting on God, when he calls, the other part of following God is not just believing with your mouth that you trust that God can fulfill his promise, but actually trusting with your heart and feet and hands. To actually go out when you hear the call trusting that God will fulfill his promise.

Here the Israelites have been waiting for a long time to see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, and now God is telling Joshua, arise and go.

Joshua 1:3–5 (ESV)

3Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 

4From 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. 

5No 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.

The bible is written using repeated patterns and texts and here the author repeating what Moses recorded in Deut 11:24-25. Here the intention is for the reader to recall Moses retelling the covenant that the Lord formed with Israel at Mt Sinai. He tells them to keeps his commandments, consider his mighty works! He calls for his people to devote themselves to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 11:22–25 (ESV)

22For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 

23then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 

24Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 

25No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.

And we see that term dabaq, hold fast again in vs 22 there. When the Hebrew readers would read this section of Joshua, they were meant to think back to Deuteronomy and think of covenant, of keeping all the commandment, and to dabaq the Lord your God who will lead you to paradise.

Vs 5 in Joshua 1 also repeats a section in Deut 7:24, intending that the reader remember Moses challenging this new generation, “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I, How can I dispossess them?’” Israels is not be be afraid of them, to think on how God delivered Israel out of Egypt, think of The Lord’s mighty works, and trust him.

God has promised this land to these people, this section of the passage is meant to remind the reader that God has promised this land to them, and that the people are to hold fast to their God, who is strong and able to defeat the nations before them.

Three calls

The next 4 verses involve 3 calls to Joshua to be “Strong and Courageous”.

Strong

The Hebrew word that is translated “strong” in ESV is “hazaq”. This word means to grow firm, strong, strengthen. I initially read this and automatically interpreted this as God telling Joshua to be physically strong, but given the context, I prefer think of this as a command to be strongly firm in the Lord. A physically strong person might be confident in his own strength, but Joshua is getting ready to fight battles impossible for his strength, he needs to follow the Lord who goes before him.

In Deut 11:8, hazaq is used to describe the result when we keep the whole of his commandments:

Deuteronomy 11:8 (ESV)

8“You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess,

Hazaq is similar to dabaq, both referring to strength, but hazaq is more active, conveying more of an idea of establishing strength and firmness, where dabaq is to stay attached.

We are called to hold fast (dabaq) to God, to stay cleaved, and here God is telling Joshua to hazaq, to grow strong and firm, keeping his commands, to be firmly planted in him,

Psalm 1 gives the image of a tree planted by the water.

Psalm 1:1–3 (ESV)

1Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 

2but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 

3He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Courageous

And the second word, courageous, is translated from the hebrew word ames (amatz). The meaning of this word is be stout, strong, bold, alert.

In the fulfillment of Gods promises, Joshua needs to be bold in his faith, a strong leader for the people of Israel, but he also needs to be alert, his mind needs to be ready. The Israelites have a history of turning to other gods, or creating their own gods. When things get uncomfortable, they struggle with grumbling and the temptation to turn back and return to Egypt. Sometimes Israel tries to go do things on their own and fails. Israel will continue to struggle with this.

Joshua needs to be strong and alert, keeping himself and Israel firmly planted in and devoted to the Lord.

God is calling Joshua, Israel, and us, to strongly cling to him, to love the Lord your God with all of our heart, our soul, and our might. With bold strength, to be alert for anything that can hinder that.

Calls to Be Strong and Courageous

God will keep his promise

Joshua 1:6 (ESV)

6Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

The first call to be strong and courageous, is yet another reminder of the covenant that God made with Israel. The theme here is clinging to God, devotion to his commands, and being on guard from foreign gods, because the Lord is going to keep his promise.

Keep God’s Law

Joshua 1:7–8 (ESV)

7Only 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. 

8This 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.

The second call emphasizes that Joshua should be very courageous (amas). To follow God’s commands, Joshua is told he needs to be exceedingly bold and alert in his resolve. “Do not deviate from the right hand or the left” reminds readers when Moses recounts Israel receiving the ten commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:32 (ESV)

32You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

And throughout the Torah, God has called on Israel to meditate on his word.

Deuteronomy 11:18 ““You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Psalm 119:105-107 gives the image of God’s word lighting the path ahead

Psalm 119:105–107 (ESV)

105Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 

106I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. 

107I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!

If I am walking a path at night, I am alert, and I am being very diligent to follow my source of light, to protect it and not lose it.

Do not be frightened

Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

9Have 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.”

The third strong and courageous call to Joshua is to not be frightened or dismayed. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

As we learn more about who God really is, when we meditate on how he is the God who created everything, who put everything in its place and order, the only thing to be afraid of really is God himself. We need to cling to our God strongly and diligently guard against temptations to trust in our own strength, instead meditating on the strength of the God that goes before us.

Joshua was one of 12 spies that 40 years prior infiltrated Canaan to bring back a report. Ten of the spies said that the people of this land were too strong for them, but Joshua and Caleb reported “let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” They were not afraid of the obstacles ahead of them, they knew the Lord was stronger.

There have been many trials in my life where I was tempted to despair. But as I look back on my life, I see time after time after time of God providing. When I think on my my life I see the real life that I experience when I trust the God that has provided, who currently provides, and will continue to provide. He delights in prospering us.

James says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

If we meditate on who God is, what his law says about him, we see we have nothing to fear if we are following God.

Following God.

So thats it then? We just need to strongly and courageously cling to the word of God? This was the mindset of the religious rulers of Jesus time. They devoted themselves to God’s commands, and made some new ones, but their hearts were wrong.

When they asked Jesus what the greatest commandment of the Torah was, Jesus replied:

Matthew 22:37–40 (ESV)

37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 

38This is the great and first commandment. 

39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Many of the religious rulers were so focused on checking all the boxes, and making sure they had more boxes checked than others, they missed out on the heart of the law.

We looked at Psalm 119:107 earlier and heard the psalmists recognition of his state. “I am severely afflicted!” “Give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”

Calling out to God for Deliverance, that is what I love so much about the stories of David. Stories of how someone who is a man after God’s heart, he is Strong and Courageous, he trusts God, he loves his word, and still he fails. But when he fails he turns back to God and calls for his mercy.

We can’t perfectly follow God’s law, no matter how strong and courageous we are.

We do see in the Bible that when people keep God’s law they experience God’s blessings, and we see curses on when they do not, but there is no way to perfectly keep it. We need God to give us life.

Abraham believed

Abraham believed God. Abraham obeyed God. His obedience was not perfect, but possibly his greatest moment was when he willingly took Issac, his only son from Sarai, whom God had promised to bless and make his decendants more numerous than the stars, he took him up on the mountain to sacrifice him. God stopped Abraham and provided a ram to offer instead, but in that moment Abraham demonstrated a faith in God, a faith that God can and will fulfill his promises.

Romans 4:20–25 (ESV)

20No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 

21fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 

22That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 

23But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 

24but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 

25who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

God wants us to trust him. Just as Abraham believed the promise of God, we also believe the promise of God’s son.

We both believe that in God’s mercy, he provides a way.

The Apostle Paul reflects on the frustration of God’s perfect law, realizing that instead of bringing life, because of our sin it brings death.

Like David, like the psalmist calling out for God, we are all left calling out for God to give us life.

We cannot be justified by the law or our own adherence to the law, no matter how strong or courageous we are.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

But God calls on Joshua to be strong and courageous, trusting him to keep his promises. Trusting that God will provide a way.

And he does, and now our faith is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross for our sins, then was raised to life for our justification.

Romans 5:8–10 (ESV)

8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 

10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

So did the law just get put aside? Jesus said it does not.

Matthew 5:17–20 (ESV)

17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 

18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 

19Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

But Jesus, who was the word made flesh, fulfilled the law completely, perfectly obeying it.

Romans 5:18–21 (ESV)

18Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 

19For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 

20Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 

21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through Adam, sin and death entered the world. Through Jesus our King, by his grace and mercy, there is justification and life for all.

The way that Abraham and David believed would come, did come.

John’s gospel beautifully attests this.

John 1:1–5 (ESV)

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

2He was in the beginning with God. 

3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

4In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:9–14 (ESV)

9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 

10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 

11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 

12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 

13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 8:12 (ESV)

12Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 10:9 (ESV)

9I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 14:6 (ESV)

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

There is a pattern forming here…

And the most famous bible verse today:

John 3:16–17 (ESV)

16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes.

So we see the Law, condemning sinful man, but pointing the way to God’s deliverance. And that deliverance, that exodus from the slavery of our sin is done in the coming of his son Jesus Christ. The deliverance is a free, undeserved gift from God for those who just simply believe.

Back to Joshua

So how do we look at the commands in Joshua in light of what God does a thousand years later? What can we apply from these commands to Joshua and ancient Israel to ourselves today?

Tightly hold, hold fast, cleave, “hazaq” to Jesus Christ, our hope and salvation. To be strong and alert to not let the devil gain any foothold, for he is a prowling lion. Remember God’s promises, meditate on his teachings, and don’t be afraid.

Meditate on how, because of what God did for us out of his mercy and love, we are saved.

Romans 8:1–2 (ESV)

1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

The law that once condemned us, a law of sin and death, now is a law of the Spirit and life because of what God has done.

We are free to love God’s law, see it’s goodness, to meditate on it, and to rest knowing that we have peace with God. And when we trip, we know that we are still pure in God’s sight because of what Jesus did. We can still approach God with confidence.

Be Strong and Courageous.

I think Peter says it very well

1 Peter 1:13–16 (ESV)

13Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 

15but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 

16since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Also here:

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 

Be strongly cleaved to the word of God, be courageously, diligently alert. God has fulfilled his promises, and just as he delivered Israel from Egypt, he has delivered us from the oppression of our sin.

Perhaps we could paraphrase a version of the Be courageous calls in Joshua for us today at Fellowship Bible Church.

Be strong and courageous, setting your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful that as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Love the Lord your God with all your body, mind, and soul, and love one another.

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.

Let’s pray