Introduction: I want to start our time together this morning with the following question: Who is God? Often we think about what God does for us. He gives us rain, food, shelter. He provides, Jesus the Son died on the cross to give us salvation. All are great things. But they’re not who God is. In our prayer life, we often highlight what God does for us. But what about the who? Surely God desires us to worship Him for who He is, rather than what He does. And often we come to the Bible to read and learn about God. But we bring and read our own ideas into the text. But this morning I want our focus to be on seeking to learn about God’s character. We know He is love, we know He is also a consuming fire. But as we gather around His word today, what will God teach and show us about Himself?
“1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:1-9 ESV.
Three times in the text we read the following: Be strong and courageous. Many people have this up on their wall somewhere. It’s a great idea, highly motivational. Be strong and courageous. You might have others up on your wall: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” from this same passage. Or, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. That’s from Joshua 24. Or perhaps “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” from Philippians. I don’t think Paul was telling us we can eat 14 Bunnings sausages through Jesus’ strength. These are all great encouragements, but we need context to ensure we get the right message. So to be strong and courageous, what did God mean here?
Context: Let’s take a deep dive into the context of this passage.It’s important to get our minds in the right frame here. Well before the time of Jesus, well before the people of Israel had a place to call home, they were enslaved in Egypt. They spent many years here in slavery, until God called Moses to lead the people to the Promised Land. God used many mighty miracles to draw the people from their bondage, including passing through the Red Sea. Moses was unequivocally the leader of the people, they looked to him to intercede on their behalf with God. And for the major part, this worked. As the people journeyed through the wilderness toward the Promised Land, 12 spies were sent into Canaan to check out the land. They returned with large fruit and tales about the milk and honey that was flowing. It was a beautiful land! But these spies also came with a warning, the land was filled with strong nations and groups of people. 10 of the spies convinced the people of Israel to refrain from taking the land as God commanded. And consequently, the people spent 40 years wandering the desert until that entire generation had passed away – aside from the two spies who remained faithful, being Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb. I imagine that the next 40 years of Joshua’s life were disheartening. Slowly but surely, he watched every member of his generation pass away, until all that remained were Moses, Joshua and Caleb. Hanging out with young people, I feel old. I can only imagine how old these three men felt! But then we come to Mount Nebo. There Moses climbed to view the Promised Land. But he was not permitted to enter, and there, he breathed his last. So, Israel’s leader of over 40 years, of whom they depended, was no more. I imagine there would have been great mourning from the people. And we don’t know how long they mourned for, but we come to the text today.
The Call to Go: “1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.” I imagine there was a deep time of mourning of the loss of Moses. We don’t know how long this may have been, whether it was instantaneous, or weeks after. But here God called the people out of despair and into the Promise that God had laid in store for them. He may do the same for you, He may not. This is specific to this time and place, so we can’t take this as normative behaviour. What we can be sure of, is that God is faithful to fulfil His promises to us. God is faithful. And He calls the people to rise, go over the Jordan, into the land He is giving them.
The Promised Land: “3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.” All this land that God’s people travel upon, will become theirs. The text tells us the promise of this land was from God to Moses. But it originates back to Abraham, Israel’s grandfather. We read the following in Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So, the land the Israelites are about to receive, is intended to be used as a blessing upon the whole earth. The land will be a home, a place to rest for the people. But most importantly, it will be used as a blessing to all of humanity. And certainly, we see through through Christ.
I am With You: “5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” Joshua is being called to undertake a massive task. He is to lead the Israelite people into the Promised Land, where God will drive out the people before them. This task will take incredible faith on Joshua’s part. And I imagine, he had plenty of reservations and doubts. He’s seen the dissent of the people. He’s seen them desert their leaders in the past. He’s seen them build idols within weeks of seeing God’s miraculous signs and wonders. But here God encourages Joshua, He seeks to build up His servant. For the days of Joshua’s life, just as God was with Moses, He will also be with Joshua. God will not let Joshua down, His presence is with him tangibly. So God encourages him to be strong, to be courageous, because through Joshua, God will fulfil His promise to the people of Israel.
An Important Caveat: “7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” And Joshua knows the battle is the Lord’s. He knows that without God, he won’t succeed. But he has faith. He knows God will provide. He spent 40 odd years serving by Moses’ side. He saw God’s provision first hand. But he also saw the deep seeded issue within humanity: our rebellion. The people of Israel sway so regularly from God’s leading. All it takes is for one person to stray and disaster would be upon the people. And that’s not an indictment on God. He’s not quick to anger. But when we as people step outside of God’s plan for us, when we walk away from the light, we’re no longer in His protection. So God is imploring him, be careful to do according to all the law that Moses commanded you. Don’t sway from it, so that you may have success.
How do we Follow the Law? Some scholars suggest there is 613 laws in the Pentateuch – the first five books of the Bible. And they will be what God is referring to here. 613, all very unique, with their different nuances. The more important are the Ten Commandments, and a lot of the others flesh out the ideas within. Others provide a bit of context as to how Israelite culture ought to function. All important there. And of course, to follow these laws, you must be aware of them. So God encourages Joshua: “8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” As Joshua and the Israelites moved into the land, there were varying moments of success and failure. Each was dependent upon how the people followed God. So, God implores Joshua: study my word. May it light your path forward. In Psalms we read the following: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (119:105). We can’t walk follow the path forward if we’re in darkness. We need a light, more specifically, we need the light of Christ to guide us. Jesus, fully man, fully God, fulfilled the law. So for us today, the message of Joshua is to meditate on God’s word. To strengthen and depend upon Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our faith. And when we do this, we remain in God’s plan. He does not give us more than we can handle when we’re in Christ. And that’s the key, holding on and remaining in step with Jesus, under the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Be Strong and Courageous: “9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” What lay before Joshua was a daunting task. He knew the danger and pain that lay ahead. But he also knew the promise of God. The land was to be theirs and God was to bless the world through them. And God brings the point home with His third be strong and courageous statement. Joshua, be strong, be courageous. Meditate on my word daily. Hold onto it with a firm grasp. Step out into your calling. Step out into what lay ahead, knowing that God is with you.
Our Calling: We are all called to different things. God may have revealed to some of us a little about what lay ahead. We may know our calling. Many also don’t. There can be a lot of unknown, especially when we consider the future and what lay ahead. Collectively, here at Kingsthorpe Church, we believe we are called to “Shine God’s light and bringing new life to our region”. We believe we are called to shift and shape this region in the light of Jesus Christ. And I’m encouraged to be here, to minister with you all, especially in the space of youth and young adults. I don’t know what lay ahead, but I trust that God is in control. I trust that as we move forward, meditating on God’s Word, that He will be faithful and just. That He will fulfil His purposes here and we will live out our calling to shine God’s light in this region. Whatever lay before you, whether you know your calling or not, be strong, be courageous. Hold fast to God’s Word, hold fast to his Spirit’s leading and guiding. Perhaps, it’ll be a little easier to answer that question you might hear on the street: Who is God?
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