And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
God has just charged Joshua personally. Joshua says nothing about his own fears. He turns straight to the ordering of the camp and starts the nation moving. The order runs down a chain: Joshua, the officers, every family. And his first command is not weapons but food.
The charge God gave to one man does not stay with one man. Joshua hands it on, and the same authority travels with it.
When Christ by the Spirit stirs the souls of His people, He does so through His appointed leaders. Joshua passed on to the officers what God had urged on him. So the authority of God's command reached every one in the ranks of the Lord's army. God, by His Spirit, worked through leaders when He established Christianity on earth. He did the same at the Reformation, when in His grace He revived the great truth of justification by faith. He did it again in the days of Whitefield and Wesley, when He kindled a burning love for souls in His saints' hearts. First the truth of the word grips the overseers of His people, and then, through them, it grips the people. In the scene before us, the word of God ran through the chosen channels. It ran on until the whole camp was alive with the energy it had first produced in Joshua's soul.
The rank is not a title handed out once. A man keeps it only while the truth he passes on still shapes him.
When the truth produces a clear energy in a Christian soldier's life and ways, he becomes, in greater or less degree, an "officer" in the Lord's army. As the Spirit works in him unhindered, he is a captain of a hundred or of a thousand, and the power of Christ within him influences other Christians in the ways of the Lord. Remember: only as the word of God keeps influencing the believer can he rightly influence others in the things of the Lord. True godly influence comes from the Christian being in communion with Christ. Many a man who was once an "officer" in the "host" has let his soul fall out of dependence on Christ and become a false leader of God's people. The wider the influence for good once was, the wider the influence for evil becomes.
Telling hungry people to eat sounds unnecessary. Applied to the soul, it turns out to be the most necessary order of all.
Next come the leader's own words to the people. His first word is that they should prepare food for themselves, for within three days they are to cross the river. You might think such an instruction was needless. But the people of God undergo far too many willing fasts from spiritual food. Such fasts never strengthen them; they only weaken them.
Joshua had believed this promise for years. When the moment came he neither hung back nor rushed ahead.
Joshua, years before, had believed that God could and would bring them in. He is now living out the faith he had so long enjoyed, and he is not lazy in it. There is neither slowness nor reckless haste in entering on what God had called him to. "Prepare your provisions," he says. They were to take the road ahead calmly and ready, but with a whole heart, and we may add, in holiness. "Consecrate yourselves," says Joshua, "for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."
A pause has value. Excitement about new truth is not the same thing as strength to act on it.
The Christian soldier who hears his Lord's words needs to be ready. We have to learn that human energy cannot cross rivers of death. It cannot break down the walls of this world's strongholds. And if we are stirred to follow the Lord, it must be in His own way. Impulse is not faith. Going forward on knowledge picked up by human means is not being led by the Spirit. God would not have His people act in the excitement of new knowledge. It would often be far better to wait, as it were, three days, instead of pushing on in the rush of new truth. That wait gives time to digest the truth, so that by the power of God's Spirit it becomes fully part of the new man.
Commentators differ on the "three days." Some read them as pure design; F. W. Grant allows that Joshua may simply not have foreseen the delay caused by the spies, adding that "gleams of resurrection break out through all these scenes, for it is by resurrection power alone that we can cross the river of death into our inheritance."
- Word. God's charge to Joshua did not stop with Joshua. It ran through the officers until the whole camp was alive with it.
- Officer. Anyone in whom the truth produces real energy becomes an officer in the Lord's army. He stays one only while he stays in communion with Christ.
- Food. The first command before the crossing is to eat. God's people take far too many willing fasts from spiritual food, and such fasts only weaken them.
- Pace. Neither slowness nor reckless haste. Israel was to take the road calmly, ready, with a whole heart, and in holiness.
- Passage. Impulse is not faith. The three days give time to digest truth, and only resurrection power carries us across the river into our inheritance.
Go through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying, Prepare yourselves victuals, for in three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, that ye may enter in to take possession of the land which Jehovah your God giveth you to possess it.
reason: passive, long opening sentences
Joshua does not keep God's charge to himself. He hands it to the officers, and through them the whole camp moves. One writer sees here the pattern God follows with His people.
When Christ by the Spirit stirs the souls of His people, He does so through His appointed leaders. Joshua passed the result of God's charge on to the officers. So the authority of God's command reached each one in the ranks of the Lord's army... First the truth of the word grips the overseers of His people, and then, through them, it grips the people.
The order to prepare food sounds too obvious to need saying. One writer says it is needed because God's people so often go without.
The first word is to prepare food for themselves, for within three days they are to cross the river. One might think such an instruction was hardly needed. But the people of God go through far too many willing fasts from spiritual food. Such fasts never strengthen them; they weaken them.
Joshua sets a three-day interval — not immediate departure, not an open-ended wait. His own faith sets the pace.
Joshua, years before, had believed that God could and would bring them in... But he is now living out the faith he had held so long, and he is not idle in it. He announces to the officers, "Within three days you are to pass over this Jordan." There is neither delay nor reckless haste in setting out on what God had called him to. "Prepare your provisions," he says. They were to take the path ahead calmly and in readiness, but with the whole heart, and we may add, in holiness.
The pause is not wasted time. It is the difference between hearing a truth and making it your own.
The Christian soldier who hears his Lord's words must be ready. We have to learn that human energy cannot cross rivers of death or break down the walls of this world's strongholds. And if we are stirred to follow the Lord, it must be in His own way. Impulse is not faith... God would not have His people act in the excitement of newly-gained knowledge. Instead of pushing on in the rush of freshly-learned truth, it would often be better to pause three days, as it were, and digest it.
Crossing the Jordan meant more than a river. One writer reads the whole scene in the light of resurrection.
Gleams of resurrection break out through all these scenes, for it is by resurrection power alone that we can cross the river of death into our inheritance.
Most of Israel has nothing holding it back. One writer draws a sharp contrast with the two and a half tribes who settled short of the river.
They were unencumbered, in travelling order, and had only to know the hour of departure. Like Noah, they were ready for the voyage that would land them in another world. They needed only to get into the vessel. But the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh were not so free. Joshua feels towards them as towards a heavy piece of luggage in this hour of packing up.
God calls the land a gift, yet Israel must still go in and take it.
Their inheritance was a pure gift of the grace of God... God gave them the title to it. But for the people it was a question not only of possession, but of entering into possession. So it is with us spiritually. We have all these things, but we cannot enter into them except by having passed through death with Christ, and entering by the power of His Spirit where He is. We lay hold of each one of our blessings, and prove their heavenly reality, as we occupy ourselves with these things and enter into them ourselves, with diligence. In a word, the Christian must take them as his own by faith to enjoy them. Otherwise he would be like a poor king, ill and living abroad, who had never travelled in his own kingdom.
- Word moves. God stirs the leader. The leader stirs the officers. They stir the camp, and the same command reaches the last person in the ranks.
- Word feeds. "Prepare your provisions" is not just filler. God's people grow weak through willing fasts from spiritual food.
- Word paces. Three days: no dragging, no rushing. Impulse is not faith. And the three days point to resurrection, the only power that crosses the river of death.
- Word travels light. Those free of baggage need only the hour of departure; those tied to the wrong side of the river slow everyone down.
- Word gives, then sends. The land is already a gift — and still a country you must walk into, or you are a king who never saw his own kingdom.
And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to half the tribe of Manasseh spoke Joshua, saying,
Joshua is about to lead Israel across the Jordan. Here he turns to three groups in particular — Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh — the tribes who had already settled on the near side of the river.
Joshua does not argue with these tribes or negotiate. He points them back to something already spoken and already binding.
Joshua appealed to divine authority in Joshua 1:12-15: "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you." If Joshua acts by divine authority, there can be no conflict with what Moses appointed. God is not divided against Himself. The word given by Moses is binding. The Reubenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh submitted to that same divine authority.
Their story starts earlier, in Numbers 32. There these tribes asked Moses for the eastern pastures.
There we read how these tribes "saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that behold, the place was a place for cattle" (v. 1). So they said to Moses, "If we have found favour in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan" (v. 5). In plain language, they did not want to enter the inheritance the rest of Israel was facing and hoping for. Instead they were set on staying in the rich pastures of Moab. To settle on the eastern side of the river and build cities there was to fall short of God's purpose for Israel's blessing.
They were not refusing God's battles. Their choice was about where to live.
Like many Christians today, they were ready to fight the Lord's battles, but they did not want to live where the Lord had set His Name. They were content to have their inheritance in a place that suited their possessions on earth. But they fell short of God's thoughts for the good of His people.
One writer describes that eastern settlement as a real spiritual position — not a return to Egypt, but not Canaan either.
There are Christians (I cannot say approved of God) who take their place on this side of the Jordan — that is, on this side of the power of death and resurrection applied to the soul by the Spirit of God. The place where they settle is not Egypt. It lies beyond the Red Sea. It is inside Israel's possessions outside Egypt, on this side of the Euphrates, the river of Babylon. But it is not Canaan. It is a land they have chosen for their cattle and their possessions, and they settle their children and their wives there.
They kept their land. They did not keep an exemption from war.
They had made their choice and had found rest on this side of the Jordan. But they were not exempt from the coming warfare. They were commanded to help their brothers by crossing the Jordan with them. Then, after their brothers had found rest, they were to return to their own rest. They could not escape the conflict, though they had no reward in the land itself.
That arrangement held the whole nation together.
Not until all Israel were settled in peace in the land were these warriors to return to their possessions east of the Jordan (v. 15). This was to be an effective testimony to the unity of Israel. We too should have such concern for the blessing of all the children of God.
Their fighting men crossed the river. Their families and cattle stayed behind, and one writer takes that as the truer measure of them.
Gilead was their home, and a Christian is in his life what he is at home. He may go out at times on the warpath, but the real test of his spiritual condition is the character of his inner life. All through the wars in Canaan, these forty thousand were fighting for others, not for themselves. It is a very solemn thing when Christians in spiritual warfare are only support troops... "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle," east of the river, were the true witnesses of where the forty thousand lived.
One writer follows that choice to its end.
God by grace has made secure in Christ to all His people all spiritual blessings; but none the less does every man reap what he sows. The two and a half tribes proved the truth of this. They were determined to fall short of the land to be won, and they were the first to go into captivity.
- Word. Joshua gives no order of his own. He recalls what Moses commanded, and God does not contradict Himself.
- Want. The tribes saw good pasture for their cattle. They asked Moses not to take them over the Jordan, and so fell short of God's purpose.
- War. Their choice did not release them from the fight. They had to cross the river and stay until the rest of Israel had rest.
- Witness. Their crossing held the nation together. The same concern for the blessing of all God's people belongs to believers now.
- Wages. Their home stayed east of the river. They fought as helpers, not settlers, and they were the first to go into captivity.
Remember the word that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, saying, Jehovah your God has given you rest and has given you this land.
Joshua tells the whole nation to get ready to cross the river. He then turns to Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh, who already had rest on the near side, and reminds them of what Moses settled: rest does not excuse them from the war.
Joshua does not give a new command. He points these tribes back to a word already spoken and still binding.
Joshua appealed to divine authority in Joshua 1:12-15: "Remember the word that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you." If Joshua acts by divine authority, there can be no conflict with what Moses appointed. God is not divided against Himself. The word given by Moses is binding. The Reubenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh submitted to divine authority.
The rest named here was real, and it was theirs. It did not release them from the campaign.
They had made their choice and had found rest on this side of Jordan. But they were not excused from the coming war. They had orders to cross the Jordan and help their brothers. Then, after their brothers had found rest, they were to return to their own rest. They could not escape the conflict, though they had no reward in the land itself.
The same rule holds for anyone who wants rest without the fight.
Those who seek their rest without the conflict in the heavenly places must go to war just the same.
They chose this land themselves. The reason was practical: the ground suited what they owned.
These tribes do not refuse to enter the land. The previous generation had refused, when the spies made their hearts melt. Instead, these tribes join their brothers in the front rank of the fighters — but not to take possession of the land. Their portion is on the other side of Jordan. Their circumstances led them to choose it. They had much cattle, and "the place was a place for cattle," which suited them.
Moses' first reaction to that choice was anger. It did not stay that way.
The two and a half tribes picture those who lower Christianity to a life of faith about the earthly circumstances they pass through. They make their life consist in these things. "They had much cattle." Moses is angry at first, but later he bears with them. He sees that their faith was weak, but it was still faith, and that these earthly ties did not cut them off from their brothers.
Their families and herds stayed behind. So every battle they fought in Canaan gained them nothing.
All through their wars in Canaan, these forty thousand were fighting for others, not for themselves. It is a most solemn thing when Christians in spiritual warfare are only support troops. "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle," on the east of the river, were the true witnesses of where the forty thousand lived.
Yet the plan had a good purpose. It held the tribes together across the river.
These warriors were not to return to their possessions east of Jordan until all Israel were settled in peace in the land (v. 15). This was to be an effective testimony to the unity of Israel. We too should have such concern for the blessing of all the children of God.
Their rest was real, but it lay in Gilead, on the near side of the river. So where does God give His people rest?
If He leads us through this world, it is not here that He gives us rest. The green pastures and the still waters are not the fields, nor the sheepfolds, nor the cities of Gilead, but the rich pastures of the land of Canaan.
- Remember — Joshua points back to Moses' word, and behind Moses stands God. The command binds because God is not divided against Himself.
- Rest given — the land east of the river was theirs before a single battle in Canaan.
- War still owed — rest did not cancel the call to arms. Those who want rest without conflict must still go to war.
- Rest misplaced — they picked their portion for their cattle. That is a picture of faith shrunk to the size of daily needs — weak, yet still faith.
- Rest completed — they could go home only when their brothers had rest too. That bond held Israel together, and it points true rest past Gilead to the land beyond the river.
Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall abide in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan, but ye, all the valiant men, shall go over in array before your brethren and help them,
Joshua now turns from the whole nation to three tribes with a different history. Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh had already settled east of the Jordan, and their families and herds would stay there. The verse holds two things together — a home already secured, and a war not yet fought for anyone else.
Joshua does not invent new terms for these tribes. He points them back to an arrangement already made and already binding.
Joshua appealed to divine authority in Joshua 1:12-15: "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you." If Joshua acts by divine authority, there can be no conflict with what Moses has appointed. God is not divided against Himself. The word given by Moses is binding. The Reubenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh submitted to that same divine authority.
Translations differ here. Some read "beyond the Jordan," others "on this side of the Jordan." Which side did Joshua mean?
Both readings are possible. The Hebrew word can rightly be translated "on this side," or "on that side." By itself it does not settle anything about the location, east or west, of Jordan. In Joshua 1:14-15 the word describes the east side of Jordan, where Joshua stood when he spoke to the children of Reuben, of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh. In chapter 5:1 it describes the west side of the river.
Joshua chooses his words with care. It is the land Moses gave them, not the land the Lord gave them.
When Joshua encouraged Israel to go and take the land which the Lord gave them (Joshua 1), he has a different word for these wrongdoers. He speaks of their land as the land Moses gave them. And these cross the Jordan — that is, their warriors, since their wives and children remain behind — to keep their promise to Moses. The nine and a half tribes go to the war on the ground of God's promise to Israel. God's promise on the one hand, man's promise on the other. What a difference!
The word translated "armed" does not picture a rushing crowd. It means men drawn up in order.
The same word, chamushim, is translated "armed" when it describes how the Israelites crossed the Jordan. They had plenty of time to arrange themselves in proper order (Joshua 1:14; Joshua 4:12)… From this we gather that the Israelites did not travel in disorder. The heads of each tribe would have control over it, and could arrange its march.
Having a possession already did not buy them out of the fighting.
They had made their choice and had found rest east of the Jordan. But they were not to be excused from the coming war. They are commanded to help their brothers by crossing the Jordan with them. Then, once their brothers had found rest, they were to return to their own rest. They could not escape the conflict, though they had no reward in the land itself.
Another writer states the principle in one line:
Those who seek their rest without the conflict in the heavenly places must go to the war just the same.
The men crossed over; their wives, little ones and livestock stayed behind. That detail shows where their home truly was.
All through their wars in Canaan, these forty thousand were fighting for others, not for themselves. It is a most solemn thing when Christians in spiritual warfare are, in effect, only support troops… "Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock," on the east of the river, were the true witnesses of where the forty thousand actually lived. Sooner or later these warriors would return home, and not one of them was a soldier across the Jordan for life.
Commentators differ on how harshly to judge these tribes. One writer sees Moses guarding against a future split:
Moses guards, as far as possible, against any future split between the tribes. He also guards against these tribes failing to grasp the reality that their inheritance is one with the rest of Israel. So he demands that they bear their full share of the warfare, and enjoy their eastward possessions only after the rest of Israel is settled in the land.
Another writer turns it into a lesson for us:
This was to be an effective testimony to the unity of Israel. We too should have such concern for the blessing of all the children of God.
- Remember — Joshua gives no new order. He recalls the word Moses gave, and that word still carries God's authority.
- Ranked — "armed" means drawn up in order, not a disorderly crowd. God's people move under leadership.
- Cross — a home east of Jordan excused nobody. Those who seek rest without the conflict must still go to war.
- Help — they fought for other tribes' inheritance, not their own; their families and livestock stayed behind in the east.
- Return — only when their brothers had rest could they go back. The terms kept Israel one, and kept every tribe concerned for the blessing of all.
until Jehovah give your brethren rest as to you, and they also take possession of the land which Jehovah your God giveth them; then shall ye return into the land of your possession and possess it, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sun-rising.
Joshua speaks here to Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh, the tribes already settled east of the Jordan. Their homes will wait for them, but only until their brothers enjoy the same rest they have.
The verse puts their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, yet Joshua stood on that same east bank as he spoke. One Hebrew word lies behind the phrase, and it can point either way.
Either rendering is acceptable, because the Hebrew word can be translated "on this side" or "on that side." By itself it settles nothing about the place, east or west of the Jordan. For proof I would point to the book of Joshua. Joshua 1:14-15 uses the word of the east side of the Jordan, where Joshua stood when he spoke to the children of Reuben, of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh. Chapter 5:1 uses it of the west side of the river.
Settling short of Canaan bought them ease at home, but it did not buy them out of the war.
They had made their choice and had found rest on this side of the Jordan. But that did not excuse them from the coming war. They must help their brothers by crossing the Jordan with them. Then, after their brothers had found rest, they were to return to their rest. They could not escape the conflict, though they had no reward in the land itself.
The word "until" fixes the date of their return. Their own comfort does not decide it; the rest of the whole nation does.
These warriors were not to return to their possessions east of the Jordan until all Israel rested in peace in the land (v. 15). This was to be an effective testimony to the unity of Israel. We too should have such concern for the blessing of all the children of God.
Joshua describes their inheritance with care: it is what Moses gave them. One writer sets that beside what Joshua says to the other tribes.
When Joshua encouraged Israel to go and take the land which the Lord gave them (Joshua 1), he has a different word for these offenders. He speaks of their land as the land Moses gave them. And these go through the Jordan to keep their promise to Moses. Only their warriors go, for their wives and children stay behind. The nine and a half go to the war on the ground of God's promise to Israel. God's promise on the one hand, man's promise on the other. What a difference!
Their home lay behind them in Gilead, east of the river. So every battle they fought was for someone else, and it had an end date.
Gilead was their home, and a Christian is in his life what he is at home. All through their wars in Canaan, these forty thousand were fighting for others, not for themselves. It is a very serious thing when Christians in spiritual warfare are only support troops. Genuine Christian soldiers are very rare. They are soldiers for life… Their wives, their little ones and their livestock, on the east of the river, were the true witnesses of where the forty thousand really lived. Sooner or later these warriors would return home. Not one of them was a soldier across the Jordan for his lifetime.
Joshua promises them a real return. One writer traces what became of the land they returned to.
However, the tribes promised to go forward with the others until they had taken the land. So he grants what they ask and settles them there, along with the half tribe of Manasseh. Even so, the history in the holy book shows us that these tribes were the first to suffer, and the first to fall into the hands of the Gentiles. Happy are those who wait for the blessings of God until they have crossed the Jordan, and who meanwhile take patience as their portion instead of the blessings on this side. Such things are the gifts of God's providence, yet they are less secure.
- Choice. These tribes had already picked their ground east of the river. Joshua uses a different phrase for it: the land Moses gave them, not the land God promised.
- Obligation. The choice did not release them from the war. They had to fight in Canaan without gaining anything in Canaan.
- Measure. Their "until" was their brothers' rest. No man went home until all Israel rested in peace — a public witness to the unity of the people.
- Return. With home behind them, they fought as helpers, not as soldiers for life. The wives, children and livestock left behind showed where they really lived.
- Risk. Their land was a real gift, but the less secure one. These tribes were the first to fall to their enemies.
And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou hast commanded us will we do, and whither thou shalt send us will we go.
Joshua has just given his orders at the edge of the Jordan. The answer comes back at once, with no conditions attached. But who speaks it, and whether the pledge rises from faith or from confidence in themselves, is where commentators part company.
Joshua had just spoken to the tribes who settled east of the river. But "they" may cover far more than those tribes:
Some take it that the courageous answer recorded in verses 16 and 18 of chapter 1 is the answer of Israel as a whole, given through their captains to their leader. On that reading, "and they" means not just the forty thousand of the two and a half tribes, but the whole people, who replied to Joshua's words along with these forty thousand. If that is the case, it is the great, the strong, answer of faith. It is the response of the nation stirred to go out to the wars of the Lord.
God had told Joshua to be strong and courageous. Joshua now hears God's own words come back from the people:
Still, even from these, carried along by their present enthusiasm, there comes back an encouraging response. And Joshua would know this was not mere excitement, since their answer echoes back the Lord's own words. "We will listen to you as we listened to Moses," is their reply: "May the LORD be with you, as He was with Moses; … only be strong and courageous."
Others read the same words as a warning. The people measure their new pledge by their obedience under Moses. That comparison does not survive a look at the record:
The people have not yet learnt what they themselves are, and so they have confidence in themselves. Indeed, they even boast of their obedience to Moses… Like all self-righteous men, unaware of any fault, they are quick to pronounce the sentence of death on the disobedient. Yet their disobedience had been so great that Moses said, "You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you." (Deut. 9:24.) So the word of God gives, in a few brief touches, the portrait of man, and without comment leaves it to tell its own tale.
The men who gave this answer had homes east of the river, and their families stayed there. The gap between where they fought and where they lived matters:
All through their wars in Canaan, these forty thousand were fighting for others, not for themselves. It is a very serious thing when Christians in spiritual warfare are only helpers in someone else's fight. Real Christian soldiers are very rare. They are soldiers for life… "Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle," on the east of the river, were the true sign of where the forty thousand lived.
Their faith was real, but weak. That weakness shaped the life they settled for:
The two and a half tribes picture those who lower Christianity to a life of faith for the earthly circumstances they pass through. They make their life consist in these things. "They had much cattle." Moses is indignant at first, but later he bears with them. He sees that their faith was weak, but it was still faith, and that these earthly ties did not separate them from their brothers.
They had settled for less, yet they fought in Canaan with the rest. And they end the chapter by urging courage on their leader:
There may be, and there are, saints who stop short of their proper blessing. But God's mind is that all His people should enter in. So there is particular care to single out these Reubenites and Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh. They are so impressed with the word of God, and with the task Joshua was about to begin, that they now take the place of exhorting him: "Only be strong and courageous."
- Command answered. God told Joshua to be strong. The people hand His own words straight back to him.
- Command tested. Commentators differ on the pledge. Some hear the grand answer of faith. Others hear men boasting of an obedience their record denies.
- Command half kept. They will go anywhere Joshua sends them. Yet their wives, children and cattle stay east of the river. Where a person lives tells you more than where he fights.
- Command shrunk. Their circumstances chose their portion. Faith that reaches only as far as daily needs is still faith, but it settles short.
- Command for all. God excuses no one from the crossing or the fight. His mind is that all His people enter in.
According as we hearkened to Moses in all things, so will we hearken to thee; only may Jehovah thy God be with thee as he was with Moses.
Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh promise Joshua total obedience, then add one condition that is really a prayer. Commentators hear both real loyalty in it and the self-confidence of people who did not yet know themselves.
This promise is not from the whole nation. It comes from the tribes whose portion lay on the other side of the Jordan. They fight for the land without taking any of it for themselves.
The word of God speaks to us (verses 10-18) of those who are called to enter in. They include the people, and also the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. These last do not refuse to enter, as the earlier generation had done when the spies made their hearts melt. On the contrary, they join themselves to their brothers, and are in the front rank of the fighters, but not to take possession of the land. Their portion is on the other side of the Jordan.
They speak to a leader who does not fully trust them. Moses had held them in the same doubt, and Joshua now warns them as the fighting begins.
And now Joshua holds these same people in the same fear and suspicion. He calls them to him and speaks to them with a special word of exhortation and warning, now that the time of action in the camp of God was beginning.
What they give back is not resentment but the same wholehearted answer they had once given Moses.
Again, however, they answer Joshua with zeal and integrity, as they had answered Moses. "As we obeyed Moses," they say to him now, "so we will obey you: only may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses."
Other commentators hear self-confidence in the promise. The people claim they obeyed Moses in everything, but Moses said the opposite of them.
The people have not yet learned what they are themselves, and so they have confidence in themselves — indeed, they even boast of their obedience to Moses. Like all self-righteous men, unaware of any fault, they readily pronounce the sentence of death on the disobedient. Yet their disobedience had been so great that Moses said, "You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you." (Deut. 9:24.) So the word of God gives, in a few brief touches, the portrait of man, and without comment leaves it to tell its own tale.
Their words echo what the Lord had already said to Joshua. That echo shows this is more than a rush of excitement.
Still, even from these, in the flood-tide of present enthusiasm, there comes back an encouraging response. Joshua would surely realise this was not mere excitement, since their answer echoes the Lord's own words. "We will obey you as we obeyed Moses," is their reply: "May the LORD be with you, as He was with Moses; … only be strong and courageous."
That one word "only" makes everything depend on God going with them. Without Him, no service and no battle can succeed.
It is added, "For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." In the same way, the Lord charged His disciples to go and teach all nations. To support them He said, "and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Moses grasped how absolutely necessary this is when he cried, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here." We are taught, then, that in all our service and conflicts it is useless — worse than useless — to go ahead unless the Lord is with us. It is not too much to say that all the defeats of the people of God can be traced back to the lack of this one thing needed for success. Let us learn the lesson well: the Lord cannot be with us unless we are in the right state and condition, and unless His will is governing what we do.
The people commit their leader to God before he goes out to fight. One writer sees Jesus going out to His own warfare in the same spirit.
The people in this spirit commended Joshua to God's care as he was going out to his battles. (Joshua 1:17-18) And according to the divine order, when Israel went out to battle they were to encourage themselves in God, and not be afraid of the crowds of the enemy, or of their chariots and horses. (See Deut. 20:1) Jesus, as one fully obedient to this order, here goes out to the warfare in this spirit.
- Presence promised. God had already promised Joshua His presence. The people's "only" asks for the one thing everything depends on.
- Presence pledged to. The tribes with no share in the land still take the front rank of the fighters and pledge full obedience to the new leader.
- Presence and self-confidence. They boast that they obeyed Moses in everything. Moses had called them rebels from the day he knew them.
- Presence prayed for. Commending the leader to God before battle is how Israel was to go out — encouraged in God, not afraid of the enemy's numbers.
- Presence or defeat. Every defeat of God's people traces back to going forward without Him, and He is not with those outside the path of His will.
Every one that is rebellious against thy commandment and hearkeneth not to thy words in everything that thou commandest us, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.
The tribes who chose land east of the Jordan answer Joshua with more than agreement: they set death as the penalty for rebellion, and they hand him back the words God had spoken to him. Was this the strong response of faith, or a promise larger than the people who made it?
The last words of the reply are not new. God had said them to Joshua at the start of the chapter, and the people give them back to him.
Still, even from these, while enthusiasm is running high, there comes back an encouraging response. And Joshua would surely realise it was not mere excitement, since their answer re-echoes the Lord's words. "We will listen to you as we listened to Moses," is their reply: "May the LORD be with you, as He was with Moses; … only be strong and courageous."
The encouragement comes from the tribes who stopped short of their full blessing. They are the last people you would expect to urge their leader on.
It might have been thought that it was not for them to speak. They had been eager to seize the good land for their flocks and herds on the other side; but even so, they cross the Jordan with the rest. There are saints who stop short of their proper blessing; but God's mind is that all His people should enter in. So there is particular care to single out these Reubenites and Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh. They were so impressed with the word of God, and with the task Joshua was about to take up, that they themselves now take the place of encouraging him: "Only be strong and courageous."
The people set the death penalty themselves. Did that go beyond what God had said? One writer answers that the real question was a simpler one.
Possibly so; but what was required was absolute obedience and submission to Joshua, so it was just a question of faithfulness.
Commentators differ on how to hear this. One reading takes it as the whole nation's response, and hears real faith in it.
If that is so, it is the great, strong answer of faith. It is the response of the nation, stirred to go out to the wars of the Lord. Israel was the army of God appointed for the destruction of Jericho. Israel came into Canaan to sweep its wicked inhabitants from the land, and to do this work of judgment in the strength of the LORD. Their faith responded to the encouragement of their God, and echoed back these grand words — "only be strong and courageous."
Another reading weighs the promise against the record of the people making it.
There is no condition, however favoured, where man responds to the goodness of God. There is no confidence in God, however lavishly He gives His benefits. The people have not yet learnt what they are themselves, and so they have confidence in themselves — they even boast of their obedience to Moses. "All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you." (Joshua 1:16-17.) Like all self-righteous men, unaware of fault, they readily pronounce sentence of death on the disobedient. Yet their own disobedience had been so great that Moses said, "You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you." (Deut. 9:24.)
The reply ends by calling Joshua to be strong. Where does that strength come from, and what is it for?
It is worth noting that this spiritual energy is not found in us. For the people it is found in Joshua; for us it is in Christ… How many Christians try to find strength in themselves, to feel strong for the battle! Their search either ends in discouragement, or in something no better — self-satisfaction. Power is not there, it is in Christ, but in Christ for us. And why is it given to us? To make us great in our own eyes, or to puff us up? Far from it — it is to lead us into the path of obedience. It is little children who learn to obey. Strength makes us small.
- Echo. God's charge to Joshua comes back to him from the people's own mouths — the same words, now spoken by those he is to lead.
- Echoed by the half-hearted. The words come back from tribes who stopped short of their blessing. Scripture names them with care, because God's mind is that all His people enter in.
- Echo without weight. They set death as the penalty for rebels. Yet Moses had called them rebellious from the day he knew them.
- Echo tested by obedience. The moment called for full obedience and submission to Joshua. It was a question of faithfulness.
- Echo answered in Christ. We never find that strength in ourselves. It is in Christ for us, and it makes us small enough to obey.