Be strong and courageous, fear them not, neither be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God, he it is that goeth with thee; he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Komentarz do tego wersetu
The Setting
As Moses stands on the edge of the Jordan, knowing his ministry is ending and that Israel is about to face the giants of Canaan without him, he does not leave them with strategies but with the assurance of a Person — Jehovah Himself going before them. The heart of the verse lies in two pillars: the call to "be strong and of a good courage," and the ground for that courage, "He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
The Tenderness of Moses' Final Words
Moses' last public words are not bitter at being shut out of Canaan but full of love for the people who had so often grieved him. He sets their eyes on the unchanging God who will outlast his own life and labour.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe final words of Moses to the people are full of tenderness and affection. There he stood, an hundred and twenty years old, a witness to the grace of His God... He encouraged the people to trust in the Lord and assured them that the Lord would give them victory. "He it is who doth go with thee; He will not fail thee nor forsake thee." Precious words these! And the same Jehovah is on our side, never to leave nor forsake His people. May we walk in the obedience of faith and find that His promise is true.
True Courage Versus Presumption
The "good courage" Moses commands is not the loud self-confidence of the flesh; it is a settled trust in God that walks calmly into real difficulty. Believers often miss this and either shrink back or charge forward in mere audacity.
William KellyNot a few sincere Christians err greatly here. They confound good courage with presumption; that assurance in the Lord with the lowest, basest, proudest feeling of the flesh; mere thoughtless audacity without an atom of believing confidence in God. From presumption may every child of God be kept! On the other hand, God forbid that a child of His should be cheated out of the good courage and single-eyed confidence due to God by that which defames them. No, my brethren; we are called to be strong and of a good courage.
Courage Rests on Doing God's Will
The strength of the command lies in its source — God Himself ordering the path. Once a believer is sure he is in the will of God, the size of the obstacle ceases to matter, because divine power is committed to divine commands.
J. N. DarbyNothing gives greater confidence than this. "We ought to obey God," says Peter. If I am even going right, but do not surely know that I am doing God's will, the least difficulty casts all into doubt, and all my courage is destroyed. When I know that I am doing God's will, difficulties are no matter, I meet them on the road. But for obedience to God's will, God's power is there; and the heart, knowing that it is doing God's will, has no distrust.
Strength is the Knowledge that He is With Us
The whole secret of Moses' charge is the little phrase, "for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee." Strength is not produced by looking at our resources or our enemies, but at Him.
Edward DennettIt is, "Be strong;" and the source of their strength is the knowledge of the fact that He is with them. It is so everywhere in the Scriptures... It is indeed impossible but that the assurance of the Lord's presence should inspire His people with fortitude and courage. If He is with us, resting confidently in what He is for us, we measure our foes and difficulties, not by what we are, or by our own resources, but by what He is in all His own omnipotence.
A Promise That Reaches Into the New Testament
The very words Moses uses are taken up by the Spirit in Hebrews 13:5 and applied to the Christian walking through this world. The unchanging God who pledged Himself to Israel pledges Himself to us in the same terms.
J. N. DarbyOur conduct is to be without avarice, contented with what we have; for God will be true to His word of unfailing care, even as to these things; so that we say boldly, "The Lord is my helper and I will not fear. What shall man do to me?"
Summary
- Tender farewell. Moses' parting word is not warning but assurance — a 120-year-old witness pointing Israel away from himself to the Jehovah who outlives every servant.
- Real courage. "Be strong and of a good courage" is neither cowardice nor brashness; it is settled, single-eyed confidence in God that refuses both fear and presumption.
- Obedience first. The believer's boldness rests on knowing he is in the path God has commanded; once that is sure, difficulties only become roads to walk along.
- His presence. The strength of the verse is not in the command but in the Person — "He it is that doth go with thee" — so we measure trouble by what He is, not by what we are.
- Still ours. The same promise Moses gave Israel the Spirit gives the church in Hebrews 13:5, so today we may "boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear."