Joshua 1:1-9
Introduction
The name
“Joshua” means “The Lord or the Savior.”
This was the Hebrew name for Jesus.
The author of the book is Joshua as stated in Joshua 24:26.
The date of the writing of Joshua is 1406-1386 B.C. and covers twenty
years. 1386 B.C. would coincide
with the death of Joshua. The theme
of the book is the conquest and inheritance of the land of Canaan which God
promised to Israel. Joshua is known
as one of the historical books. The
battles which Joshua led were in about a 12 year span.
Joshua 21:45 states that all the promises the Lord made to Abraham and to
Israel concerning the land were now fulfilled.
It was now up to the Israelites to remain faithful to the Lord if they
were to hold on to the land.
Jos 1:1
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it
came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister,
saying,
Moses had died on the other side of Jordan, in the land
of Moab, because he was disobedient to the Lord at the waters of Meribah when he
struck the rock twice.
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron,
Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of
Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I
have given them. (Numbers 20:12)
There was also another reason that Moses could not go into the promised
land. Moses represented the law and
Canaan represented Heaven and no person can ever get to Heaven by keeping the
law. Just as Joshua led the nation
of Israel to cross Jordan and enter the promised land, we enter the promised
land of Heaven only through Christ.
Then the LORD speaks to Joshua about his upcoming responsibilities.
Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim and was originally named Hoshea but
Moses called him Jehoshua.
These
are the names of the men which
Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
(Numbers 13:16) After the days
of mourning for Moses was expired, the LORD now appointed Joshua as leader.
Jos 1:2
Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over
this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them,
even to the children of Israel.
Joshua knew that Moses was dead but here God is
emphasizing the fact that Moses was dead and is no longer leading the people of
Israel. That is now the
responsibility of Joshua to take command and lead them into the promised land.
They would now cross the Jordan and then enter into the promised land
which God would partition out to the twelve tribes according to his plan.
However, the conquest of Canaan would not be easy as there were many
pagan tribes and people groups living there that had to be displaced by force as
they would not relinquish their homes to another people.
Jos 1:3
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon,
that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
God now states to Joshua that the land of Canaan that
they will be occupying has basically already been planned out by God as to where
they are going to live. We can see
that in the wording of the verse “have I given unto you.”
God was basically telling them that wherever their foot was on the land,
they would have it.
Jos 1:4
From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great
river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea
toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
Here God reiterates his promise that he made to Moses.
Every place whereon the soles of
your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the
river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
(Deuteronomy 11:24) The
wilderness would have been the wilderness of Sin and Kadesh.
The northern border would have been Lebanon. The Euphrates river was the
east border. The Hittites were a
formidable foe as they had the sons of Anakim among them which were giants.
It is believed that Goliath was a descendant of the Anakim. The Great Sea
is the Mediterranean Sea which was the western border.
Unfortunately owing to their rank disobedience of God, they never
completely occupied the entire land.
Jos 1:5
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all
the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will
not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
There shall no
man be able to stand before you: for
the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the
land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you. (Deuteronomy 11:25)
The great promise made to the people is here given specifically to
Joshua. God makes a promise to
Joshua that he will be with him in all the battles that he will fight, God would
not fail him in any aspect of the upcoming battles for the land and neither
would Joshua be alone in the battles because God himself will not forsake them.
These promises were not made just for a short time but were made for
Joshua extending all the period of his life.
These three promises are all for the true believer too.
Let your conversation
be without covetousness;
and be content with such things
as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
(Hebrews 13:5)
Jos 1:6
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people
shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers
to give them.
Here God counsels Joshua to be strong, that is, to be
valiant and to have the courage to bring the people over into the land and to
have the courage to face the enemy since God is the one who will fight for
Israel. If they would have been
strong and courageous coming out of Egypt, they would not have wandered for
forty years but here God does not want a repeat of that situation of fear which
caused them to face the judgment of God.
Here God also states that the land will be divided among the tribes once
they are across the Jordan. Since
God had sworn that he would give them the land, it was as good as a done deal.
For when God made promise to
Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, (Hebrews
6:13)
Jos 1:7
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded
thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou
mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Here God is connecting the strength and courage of
Joshua to his observance of the law which Moses gave them.
This is also a principle which Christians must follow.
Our spiritual strength is tied to our obedience of the Scriptures.
Whenever we deviate from what God says, we will find ourselves becoming
weaker in our walk making us prone to accept worldly and satanic ideas.
Probably one of the best examples of biblical adherence is found in Luke
19.
And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus
shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. (Luke 19:31)
Jesus sent his disciples to get a specific colt which
was tied up and he wanted them to bring the colt to him.
If the owner of the colt questioned their removal of the colt, they were
to tell them that the “Lord hath need of him.”
Well the owner of the colt had asked what they were doing with that colt.
And they said, The Lord hath need of him. (Luke 19:34)
The disciples then took the colt and said to the owner
exactly what the Lord told them to say.
They did not go to the right hand or left hand but spoke the words
exactly as the Lord told them. This
is why it is dangerous to change the word of the Bible around because it causes
us to go to the right hand or the left hand, thus getting us in trouble.
The weakest Christians are the ones who know little of the Scriptures.
Going to church once a week should only be supplemental and not primary
to your growth in the Scriptures.
Jos 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Here God once again emphasizing the fact that Joshua’s
success is linked to his obedience to the Scriptures.
First, Joshua is to embrace the law of God.
The fact that it was not to depart out of his mouth means that the law of
God was to be his only guideline.
He was to know the law so when he made decisions or dealt with situations then
he would have the knowledge and wisdom of God immediately.
Then he was to meditate in the word, that is, to study and ponder the
word for all occasions which is what is meant by day and night.
It will be a constant source of strength and wisdom.
Then from his study and meditations of the Scriptures, he is to put into
practice all that he learned. Head
knowledge is never enough. We must
always include acting on the word of God as a great part of our lifestyle.
Once we instill the word of God into our lives, God promises that if we
obey properly, he will grant us prosperity and good success in our endeavors.
Please realize this is not the name it and claim it false gospel we see
on TV or hear on the radio. The
prosperity may be of a different kind such as God blessing our efforts to send
forth the gospel and allowing our work to have great success although the world
only counts success in material goods and financial wealth.
If we do what is written in the word of God, as God counsels Joshua to
do, then he will have success in his campaigns and we will have spiritual
success in our lives too.
Jos 1:9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good
courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is
with thee whithersoever thou goest.