None shall be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee; I will not leave thee, neither will I forsake thee.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Be strong and courageous, for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I have sworn unto their fathers to give them.
Israel is camped on the far side of the Jordan. Their leader is dead and the promised land lies ahead. God's first words to Joshua are not battle plans but a call to courage. That courage rests on something already settled: an oath sworn to the fathers. And Joshua's task is not only to conquer. He must hand the land out to the people.
The word "for" gives the reason: God has already sworn to give the land. His purpose is settled, yet the call to courage still comes.
But then we have another thing: "Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them." This is God's purpose, and He is going to carry out His purpose, but He tells us to be strong and courageous. Divine power is ours, but faith must lay hold of it.
God does not give this call once only. It runs through the opening chapter, and each time it rests on a different reason.
In this exhortation there are three calls to strength and courage. The first is because the possessions belong to God's people. The second is because obedience to the word makes success certain. The third is because the Lord Himself is with His people.
God speaks this word to Joshua, not to the crowd. That detail shows where the nation's strength lay — and where ours lies.
In verse 6 we find spiritual energy... it is worth noting that this energy is not to be found in us; for the people it is found in Joshua; it is in Christ for us... How many Christians there are who seek to discover strength in themselves, to feel themselves strong for the fight! Their search either ends in discouragement, or in something worth no more — self-satisfaction. Power is not there; it is in Christ, but in Christ for us.
Some believers hold back from this command. Bold confidence can look like arrogance. But the two differ at the root.
What is presumption, then, as distinguished from the courage of faith, and how are we to tell the difference?... Presumption is man's courage founded on self — on the first man. The strength and good courage of the Christian is founded only on Christ. The difference therefore is complete. We cannot be too great-hearted if Christ is the one source of our courage: we owe it to Him.
This courage rests on a promise, and it was not for Joshua's own sake.
Such a promise is a wonderful basis for faith to "be strong and courageous" (v. 6). Yet it is not a selfish courage, for Joshua was to divide the land as an inheritance for all the children of Israel. He was to be a leader whose concern was first for the glory of God, and that concern took in the children of Israel too.
Joshua's commission had two halves. The second half pictures the closing work of Christ. (Older translations read the phrase as "divide for an inheritance.")
Under this commission, he was not only to lead them into possession. By dividing the inheritance, he was also to give them secure possession of it. This pictured the closing act of our Lord, which He indicated on earth when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you." Joshua's service is not finished until this is done. So we should expect to find, in the second part of his history, the trials and difficulties that arise to hinder this settlement.
The inheritance is promised, but the foot still has to cover it. Knowing what is yours is not the same as holding it.
All is ours in Christ. But only the blessings we have gained by the Spirit's teaching are ours in our spiritual grasp. Real possession belongs to those who have won ground step by step, by personal struggle... Win in the strength God gives. Get it direct from Him. Avoid the second-hand knowledge that never helps in the day of difficulty or gives strength in the hour of conflict. "Foot"-possessors in the church of God are few in comparison. Many are geographers, who can map out the varied doctrines of the Bible. Few are travellers, who can describe what this or that blessing is, because they have found its preciousness themselves.
- Sworn first. God swore the land to the fathers before a single battle. Courage rests on what He has already settled, not on the odds ahead.
- Supplied, not summoned. Strength for the fight is not found in ourselves; it was in Joshua for the people, and it is in Christ for us.
- Tested by its root. Courage founded on self is presumption. Courage founded on Christ cannot be too great-hearted.
- Spent on others. Joshua's courage was for handing the inheritance to the tribes. His concern was God's glory first, and then the people.
- Taken by treading. Mapping the blessings is not owning them. Only the ground your foot has covered is really yours.