Lowly Day 15 Possessors Of The Promise: Digging Deeper
December 27, 2024
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Joshua 1:1-9
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance. 7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. 9 Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Original Intent
1) Why did God emphasize to Joshua that His presence would be the same for him as it had been for Moses, Israel’s previous leader? (verse 5)
In Joshua 1:5, the Lord commanded Joshua to take the Israelites into the Promised Land (Genesis 12:7) assuring him, “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.” One reason the Lord emphasized His promise to be with Joshua as He’d been with Moses was to encourage Joshua’s faith.
Joshua witnessed God’s faithfulness to Moses (Exodus 34:5-7) and it encouraged him to know that God would do for Joshua as He’d done for his predecessor. God called Joshua to do a difficult thing, but He wanted Joshua to know he wouldn’t be working alone; the God of Moses would be the God of Joshua.
David Guzik notes, “Israel was assured of success, but not because Joshua was a great leader, or because Israel was a great nation. They would triumph because God is a great God, and He promised Joshua, I will be with you. This is enough for anyone who seeks to do God’s will.”
God assured Joshua that no matter who was leading God’s people, God was still in control. Marshall Segal asserts, “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.”
No matter who God named as Israel’s leader, “the continuity of the nation and of its high purpose was not broken by the choice of person and situation” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
When God calls a new leader or makes an alternate way, it is always part of His great, continuous plan, ever under His watchful eye. (Isaiah 46:10)
The Everyday Application
1) Why did God emphasize to Joshua that His presence would be the same for him as it had been for Moses, Israel’s previous leader? (verse 5)
I recently went with a young family of 6 kids to a children’s museum dedicated to bringing the pages of classic children’s books to life with interactive, larger than life depictions of scenes from the books. I had my picture taken with the Tawny Scrawny Lion and sat at Sal’s table filled with jars of blueberry jam and said “goodnight” to the moon in a very peaceful red and green bedroom.
Kids ran from one exhibit to another playing and laughing, but they were also sitting on benches and giant toad stools reading with their adults. It comforted and encouraged my teacher-librarian-bibliophile heart to see so many books I had cherished as a child, and mother, enchanting a new generation of children.
Joshua was also comforted by something familiar from his past, the truth of God’s faithfulness shown to Moses being promised to him as well. (Joshua 1:5) The Lord was transitioning the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua, but His promises and His faithful character remained unchanged. The power and presence of God was available to Joshua just as it had been for Moses.
Marshall Segal notes, “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 […].” Joshua was their leader, but God was their faithful strength and constant hope. (Psalm 28:7)
Just as God had been with Moses and Joshua, so we can be comforted that the very same God now offers the promise of His constant presence to all who call on Him through genuine faith. (Romans 8:14-17) The same God who led Israel to possess the Promised Land, now leads believers to see (John 3:3) and enter (John 3:5) the Kingdom of God!
The Original Intent
2) Why did God command the “book of instruction must not depart” from Joshua’s mouth? (verse 8)
When God told Joshua to lead His people into the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:8), He commanded Joshua to follow His Word, “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.” (Joshua 1:8)
The phrase “from your mouth” in Hebrew (the original language of Deuteronomy) refers to the custom of muttering while studying or reflecting. This was an ancient practice of reading aloud to oneself for the purpose of memorization. (Preceptaustin.org)
God wanted His Word to be well known to Joshua because Joshua’s success depended on his obedience to God’s Word. It wasn’t good enough to rely solely on his own judgment or cleverness. Joshua saw what happened when leaders took matters into their own hands rather than following God’s instructions, and it carried a high price tag. (Numbers 27:12-14).
To get God’s promised outcome of prosperity and success, Joshua needed to submit Himself entirely to following God’s Word, which would require him to know it intimately. Marshall Segal suggests, “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. But 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.”
God wants us to be familiar with His Word as well, desiring us to memorize it, meditate on it (Psalm 119:15-16), treasure it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), and put it into action (James 1:22). Whoever aligns themselves with God’s Word, coming in humble submission to His rule and reign, will prosper and succeed!
The Everyday Application
2) Why did God command the “book of instruction must not depart” from Joshua’s mouth? (verse 8)
If you ever saw me preparing to speak in front of a group of people, you might question my sanity, because I always practice my speech out loud a ridiculous number of times. I painstakingly write out my remarks and read them silently over and over again. I then proceed to read my comments aloud, before moving on to giving the speech in the mirror, trying not to look at my notes. I practice so I know it backwards and forwards in case my nerves get the better of me and my brain freezes, at least my heart will know!
My methods might not seem so crazy, though, if I employed them in the study of Scripture. God instructs Joshua that His Word “must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.” (Joshua 1:8) According to Preceptaustin.org, “This image is of soaking in the Scriptures—intense, regular, personal engagement with the Scriptures—with the desire not just to gain information for its own sake, but to be guided and directed and controlled by God’s revelation.”
When God’s Word is in us, known to us so well that we can recite it, it becomes part of how we think, talk, and act. God’s powerful Word is living and effective, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12) while equipping us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
If we read and memorize Scripture, interacting with His Word daily in meaningful and memorable ways, His Spirit will change our lives and our hearts through His Word, empowering us to grow the Kingdom of God around us!
The Original Intent
3) Why did God issue the reminder to “be strong and courageous”? (verse 9)
In Joshua 1:9, God reminded Joshua, “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” This statement echoed God’s instruction for Joshua in verses 6 and 7, and what He would reiterate in verse 18, which, according to David Guzik “suggests that Joshua needed this strong encouragement. He would need God’s strength and courage to conquer Canaan and divide the land as an inheritance to Israel.”
God planned to use Joshua to fulfill His ancient promise to bring Israel into the land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 14:8), but it would not be easy. Joshua knew this first hand from scouting out the land years before. (Numbers 14:6) God knew Joshua would need the encouragement to be strong and the reminder to be courageous because God promised to be with him, and Joshua could trust in the promise of God.
Marshall Segal asserts, “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.”
Not only did Joshua need the emboldening to be strong and courageous, but the Pulpit Commentary notes that “repetition is a remarkable feature of Hebrew composition, as we may observe from the second chapter of Genesis onward, and is designed to give emphasis to what is commanded or related.”
The information is repeated because it is necessarily important for Joshua. Likewise, it’s also essential that we remember to be strong and courageous because God is with us too!
The Everyday Application
3) Why did God issue the reminder to “be strong and courageous”? (verse 9)
I’ve always had a good memory, but not so stellar that I don’t need reinforcements to remember everything. Back in the day, I used the effective if not streamlined post-it-note system, wherein I wrote every reminder on a post it note and stuck them on my computer screen, mirror, or dresser to help me remember my tasks and appointments.
Today I occasionally post myself a paper reminder, but more often than not I have alarms and reminders on my phone that chime to alert me of my upcoming responsibilities. Joshua apparently needed a lot of reminders to be strong and courageous in the Bible, because God reminded him at least 3 times in the first 9 verses of Joshua 1.
God knew the work He was calling Joshua to accomplish would be daunting, discouraging, and would provide temptation to fall into fear. It was imperative for the Lord Himself to remind Joshua of the strength available to him from God.
David Guzik notes, “As Paul would later explain in Ephesians 6:10, Joshua was to be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might. This is a pattern for believers, to find their strength in God and not in self.”
Whenever Joshua’s fears arose, he could remember to rely on God’s strength to do the task God gave him. The same is true for us.
Rachel Spier Weaver remarks, “God gives us courage. As much as we try to summon it, bravery doesn’t come from our own will . . . courage comes from the Almighty, who faced the cross. The enemy cowers before the Father, who gives you courage.”
May we remember that every battle we face, we take on with strength and courage from the Lord, who is always right beside us!
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