Courage, Day 1 (Joshua 1:5-9)

Joshua 1:5 - 9
"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.

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.

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.

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.

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."

As I read this verse, it jumps out the number of times God says "you." It is clear that God is speaking to Joshua, equipping him to lead, and telling him (multiple times!) to be strong and courageous. It is humbling how much pressure this might put on him. "...because you will cause these people to inherit the land..." Studying the King James Version (above is the NIV, the original study I did with the Amplified) gives some further light to which "you" (as in plural vs singular, in this case, all of Israel vs just Joshua). It becomes apparent Joshua, as the leader, is responsible for Israel as a whole!

As it is very clear that God promises to go before them and that they are to be "very courageous," one must also recognize that there must be a reason behind this warning. God wouldn't say "be courageous" if there wasn't going to be the temptation to fear and turn back.

Perhaps what jumps out at me the most is in the middle where God directs Joshua to follow "all the law" (pursue uncompromising righteousness), and that he was to continually speak it and meditate on it. Contingent on this is that his way would be made prosperous and with good success (v 8 - 9). Interestingly enough, this theme appears throughout the entire Bible. Reliance upon God's word in conjunction with the sincere pursuit of righteousness leads to a divine favor and blessing (though one must be very conscientious of the orientation of one's heart -- if one pursues righteousness for the sake of blessing, rather than for God's glory, they've been deceived and completely missed the point. We glorify God with blessing as consequence, rather than glorifying God as a means to an end of receiving blessing. A subtle, but very crucial difference).

As one continues through the book of Joshua, we see that Israel is met with success and divinely blessed (though there are some painful lessons to be learned -- e.g. their defeat at Ai -- which looked like failures at the time). When we get to Joshua 8:32, 34-35 we see that Joshua had been faithful in knowing and applying the law. It says he was able to read the Law of Moses in front of all of Israel and then write it down. Cultural studies have shown that at this time period, this would have been done from memory, indicating he would have had to study it extensively, spending long hours repeating it.

So, same quck takeaways:
1. Be Courageous and don't fear! God is with you, always!
2. Other people may depend on you and your courage (as the Israelites depended upon Joshua).
3. Know and apply God's Word (it won't do you any good to hear it if you won't obey it)
4. Obedience to God and humbly living in a way that glorifies Him will lead to life of blessing and prosperity (is not necessarily related solely to finances -- God is so much bigger than the bottom line!)