Joshua 1 - Get Ready

Are you ready to cross into the Promised Land?

Joshua 1:1–9 

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 Mediterranean Sea in the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand 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 fathers 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 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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 afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Canons of Dordt

Point V Article 14: God’s Use of Means in Perseverance

Just as it has pleased God to begin this work of grace in us by the proclamation of the gospel, so he preserves, continues, and completes his work by the hearing and reading of the gospel, by meditation on it, by its exhortations, threats, and promises, and also by the use of the sacraments.

Summary

The book of Joshua begins on an ominous note: after the death of Moses. Moses has been leading Israel almost since their very inception as a people. The LORD worked His wonders through Moses, beginning with the plagues unleashed upon Egypt, their march to freedom through the opened Red Sea, and continual miracles through the wilderness wanderings, all of which originated with God and were worked through the hand or voice of Moses. Most critically, Moses served as the man in the middle, mediating between the holy God and His sinful, stubborn people. How could this 'movement' survive without Moses' leadership?

The LORD's announcement to Joshua is straightforward and to the point: Moses my servant is dead. But God doesn't even skip a beat. Now then, He instructs Joshua, keep the people moving forward. Nothing has changed; the promises God made to Moses - and to Jacob, Isaac and Abraham centuries before - would be fulfilled.

Nothing changes here for the Israelites because the LORD God never changes. He was the One who'd carried Israel to the banks of the Jordan, and He is the One who'd settle them in the Promised Land. Notice all of the first person promises He makes to Joshua: I will give you every place you set your foot, as I promised; As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Here's where it's important to see how the entire Bible fits together. These stories of the ancient Israelites being freed from slavery, wandering through the wilderness, and being brought safely into the Promised Land are most certainly historical narrative. These things happened. But at the same time it's a much bigger story that includes you. You've been freed from slavery to sin and protected from judgment under the blood of the Lamb; You're being shepherded into the Promised Land, and while that promise is certain, you're not quite to the banks of the Jordan yet. But you can be certain the LORD will be faithful to the promises He's made to you.

  Dig Deeper  

God here makes it clear that He will be the One who delivers Israel - not Joshua or even Moses. But in sovereignly working out salvation - for Israel then or us now - God works through people and ordinary means. He issues a series of imperatives that Joshua, the Israelites and us need to follow in order to be prosperous and successful as they enter the Promised Land:

• Get ready to cross the Jordan River into the Land - moving from the wilderness into the Promised Land requires preparation, focus and determination. Are you ready?
  

• Be strong and courageous - The LORD repeats this command three times. Meditate (chew on) these words today. Why do you think the LORD repeats them?
  

• Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left - Although we make difficult distinctions in God's Law in the light of Christ, God's expectations for us to obey it have not changed.
  

• Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it - That humble little word keep keeps showing up in critical places in the Bible, so pay attention to it! As you go through your day, meditate on scripture: read it, pray it, sing it, think about it, and discuss it.
  

• Do not be discouraged - Why not? Because the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the unchanging LORD God Almighty, who is bringing His people to the Promised Land;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be strong and very courageous as you keep God's Word on your lips and in your mind;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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