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, 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. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.
12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 15 Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them:then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord' s servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee:only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death:
only be strong and of a good courage.
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Comments by Joan Boney
I see this commission to Joshua as being the same as the commission given by Jesus to us the New Testament churches.
In the book of Revelation, to the seven churches Jesus said:
Revelation 2 ...7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2 ... 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Revelation 2 ...17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Revelation 2 ... 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.
Revelation 3 ... 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3 ... 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God:and I will write upon him my new name.
Revelation 3 ... 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
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To Joshua, God said: 6 Be strong and of a good courage
Three times God said this to Joshua ...
We are strong in the Word of God as we make ourselves focus on that which God has said concerning the issues of this present life. We keep HIS word to us before us day and night for that gives us power to do what God has said for us to do.
Courage means:
- the ability to do something that frightens one
- strength in the face of pain or grief
- determination to achieve a goal in spite of opposition or interference
-stubborn persistence and unwillingness to acknowledge defeat
Courage is what makes someone capable of facing extreme danger and difficulty without retreating. It implies not only bravery and dauntless spirit but the ability to endure in times of adversity.
The apostle Paul said: 13 I can do all things through Christ (THE WORD) which strengtheneth me. Phil. 4
It is the Word which causes us to be able to go forward and overcome for when we have God's word on the matter, we have God with us and as the Word will not fail neither will we. We keep that Word given to us before us day and night as God told Joshua to do so we will be able to do what God has said to do. It is the Word that gives us the strength and power to go in the way of God in the issue at hand.
And we have a guarantee of success in all that we do when we go as God has told us to go ...
Joshua 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.
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.
9 Have not I (God) commanded thee?
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As a new Christian in 1975, I saw this scripture and I knew it applied to me and to all Christians.
All we had to do to succeed was to hear what God would say and do that daily.
Psalm 1 promises the same thing.
1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
It was very clear to me that this was the way to succeed in all things. And it is!