After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “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. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 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. 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. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 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. 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. 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 Assumes Command
And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, “Pass
through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your
provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go
in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ Your
wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land
that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among
you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord
your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your
possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded 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. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! Whoever
rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you
command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
Verse 1 establishes the context for our narrative. The word translated "now" is better rendered "and," directly connecting Joshua 1 to Deuteronomy 34. This is one continuous story. Moses has died, and now it's time for Joshua to take his place as Moses's successor. It's time for him to stand up and be the leader he has been called to be. This transition from Moses and the wilderness to Joshua and the Promise Land is highly symbolic. Albert Barnes says it well, "It is impossible to pass by the typical application of this verse. Moses, representing the law, is dead; Joshua, or as that name is written in Greek, Jesus, is now bidden by God to do what Moses could not--lead the people into the Promised Land." Jesus has done what the Law could not. He has led us into our rest.
In Verses 2-9, God commissions Joshua before the people. Moses had done this back in Deuteronomy 31, but God wanted to reinforce the authority of Joshua. He wanted to make sure they all knew that Joshua was His man.
In Verse 10-15, Joshua embraces his commission. He wastes no time. He is assertive and comes with a plan. He says, "Prepare yourself. In three days we're going across this Jordan."
In Verses 16-18, the people acknowledge Joshua's leadership and pledge allegiance to him. They go so far as to threaten death to anyone who would rebel. Remember, it was a rebellion against Moses that led to the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They wanted to make sure that wouldn't happen again.
In applying this passage, let's learn 5 things about Godly leaders.
#1: Godly leaders are servants. Verse 1 calls Joshua Moses's minister--his servant or assistant. 5 times in this passage Moses is called the servant of God. Leaders are instruments given by God to help the people; not the other way around. Leaders are tools God uses to accomplish His will in His people.
#2: Godly leaders rely on God (Verses 5, 6, and 9). They are fearless, not because of self-confidence, but because of God's presence with them and promises to them. They know that God's will is going to be accomplished. Being assured of victory, they can have sure confidence.
#3: Godly leaders are students of God's Word (Verses 7-8). As the civil and military leader of the people, Joshua had to know the Law. How could he lead the people in God's ways if he did not know those ways? Beyond knowing them, he had to personalize and love them. He had to commune with and love God. Jerry Fenter said, "God made it clear to Joshua that to be successful, Joshua had to stay in touch with his leader."
#4: Godly leaders instill confidence in their people (Verse 17). Godly people don't blindly follow their leaders into darkness. Godly people sense the presence of God in their leaders, and they follow their leaders so long as their leaders are following God. Paul echoes this in Philippians 3:17. He says, "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us." Leaders are supposed to give an example to follow. They are not a class unto themselves. They are supposed to give an example of Christ for others to follow.
#5: Godly leaders need encouragement. At the end of Verse 18, we see the people tell Joshua to be strong and courageous. God had just told Joshua this and Moses had told him this before his death, but Joshua was not above hearing it from his people. He needed to hear that they were right behind him. They had his back. We all need to encourage our leaders. We need to keep them accountable. We need to edify them and pray for them.
Remember, we are all called to be leaders. We are called to show the world the love and law of Christ. At one time in our lives we will all be called to lead in some way, whether as a parent, a boss, an elder, or some other role. We should all strive towards personalizing these leadership principles.
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