“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]
That command to be strong and courageous was given twice to Joshua at the command of God in Deuteronomy. [31:6, 23]
It was given to Joshua three times by the LORD in the opening chapter of the Book of Joshua and echoed once by the people back to him. In Joshua 1:7, God even added the adjective ‘very.’ “Be strong and very courageous.” [1:6, 7, 9, 18]
They were at the border of the Promised Land. Moses was dead. Those who had experienced the power of God in the Exodus from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army were dead. Joshua knew the kinds of people (giants) that were across that border. He was one of the 12 spies sent there earlier to survey the land, and 1 of only 2 who brought back a favorable report. Caleb was the other.
Now they had arrived and the job to take the land … without the power of Moses behind him … was all Joshua’s. God wanted Joshua to know with a certainty that while Moses wasn’t there, He was. “….for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God wanted Joshua to understand that what made Moses the powerful man of God that he was, was the Presence of the LORD God with him. Now that same Presence was with Joshua to enable him to also be that powerful man of God.
And what did Jesus say to us? “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matt 28:20 NKJV]
Be strong, church, and very courageous. We are in a land of giants!
