A PEP TALK FROM GOD - JOSHUA 1:1-9

Joshua 1:1
1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, NAS

Someone has said, “God buries His workers, but His work goes on!” This is true because God’s human leaders cannot lead forever, even the best of them. You see, there comes a time in every ministry when God calls for a new beginning with a new generation and new leadership, just as was the case with the nation of Israel.

Joshua 1:1 begins with the reminder that things change…..gone was Moses, “the servant of the Lord.” He had accomplished his task as the great deliverer and the great lawgiver – never again would there be another like him (Deut. 34:5-12). Gone also is the generation that came out of the bondage of Egypt with Moses….having perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief (the exception being Joshua and Caleb).

Now the burden of leading the people into the next phase of God’s plan has fallen on, “Joshua the son of Nun, Moses servant” (Num. 27:12-23; Deut. 31:1-8, 23). No doubt, as Joshua thought of the task ahead and the degree of responsibility he had been given, he wondered whether he was up to the task.

After all, hadn’t the people that he was about to lead spent thirty days weeping and mourning over Moses’ death (Deut. 34:8)? No doubt, questions flooded his thoughts.

§ Would the people accept him as their new leader?
§ Would they follow him as they went out into battle?
§ What if he failed?
§ What if the people rebelled against his leadership?


These were not the thoughts of someone who was lacking in self-confidence or faith in God, but these were questions based on experience (Num. 13-14). Even though he had been prepared over the last forty years for this role and even though he had been publicly commissioned as Moses’ successor – the sobering reality of the responsibility must have set in. This is why God gives him a “pep-talk” in v.1-9.

When it says that, “the Lord spoke to Joshua….” I believe that the Lord spoke to him directly to reassure him and encourage him. As Warren Wiersbe says, “What a new leader needs is not advice but encouragement” (Wiersbe, Be Strong, pp. 22).

Think about the awesome responsibility that Joshua faced and then you’ll understand why he needed reassurance.

Joshua’s fears are understandable. After all, he had been chosen to follow in
the footsteps of one of God’s greatest leaders of all time, if not the greatest
leader. And even though Joshua had proven himself again and again and had been
told on several occasions that he was going to take over Moses’ responsibility,
when the moment finally arrived it was an overwhelming experience. (Gene Getz,
Joshua: Defeat to Victory pp. 29)

I think that there may be another reason why Joshua needed this pep talk….and it has to do with the nature of the people he was called to lead.

How could he help but remember vividly the times the children of Israel rose up
against Moses, even threatening to kill him when he would not allow them to
return to Egypt. And how could he forget his own personal involvement when he
returned from spying out the land of Canaan and dared to confront those who
defied God and refused to go in and take the land immediately. There is no way
that Joshua could forget the many, many occasions when the unbelief of Israel
was almostunbelievable. (Getz, Joshua: Defeat to Victory, pp. 31)

Granted this was a new generation, but human nature is still the same (and we learn a lot from our parents). When the work of the Lord requires sacrifice and hard work and change, people tend to grumble and mumble rather than trust and follow and the focus of their grumbling is most often the leader (as it was with Moses).

Another thing, while this was a different generation than the one Moses led out of slavery in Egypt, this generation only knew the wilderness. Now they were being called to go out and claim what they had been promised (which required sacrifice and hard-work). Their existence will forever be different (which requires change). It is never easy to lead people into a new experience and Joshua understood this.

Over the years I’ve seen churches and parachurch ministries flounder and almost
destroy themselves in futile attempts to embalm the past and escape the future.
Their theme song was, ‘As it was in the beginning, so shall it ever be, world
without end.” Often I’ve prayed with and for godly Christian leaders who were
criticized, persecuted, and attacked simply because, like Joshua, they had a
divine commission to lead a ministry into new fields of conquest; but the people
would not follow. More than one pastor has been offered as a sacrificial lamb
because he dared to suggest that the church make some changes. (Wiersbe, Be
Strong, pp. 22)

Certainly God understood the human emotions that Joshua was facing, and that is why we have this pep-talk. In this pep-talk God gives Joshua both reassurance and encouragement by doing two things. He reaffirms His promises (v.2-6) and He reveals to Joshua the keys to being successful (v.7-9).

God Encourages Joshua by Reaffirming His Promises to Israel – v.2-6
The Promise of the Land – v.2-4
2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun, will be your territory. NAS

Joshua was told by the Lord to……therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel (v.2b). Then in verse 3 He says….. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. Then in verse 6 He says.....Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

If his task was to lead the people into the Promised Land, Joshua needed to be reminded that the land was there for the taking (because God had given it to them). Note the tenses that God uses,

v.2 – “I am giving”
v.3 – “I have given”
v.6 – “to give them”

In one sense God was still in process of giving Israel the land. After all,
Israel had not yet even crossed the Jordan River, and only the land east of the
Jordan actually had been taken by Israel. Most of the land remained to be taken.
But in another sense God has already given Israel the land. It is as though
Israel already possessed legal title to the land (ever since Abraham’s day), but
they were awaiting God’s timing for the actual possession. In Gen 15:16 God
promised Abraham that it would be several generations before his descendants
would actually possess the land, since “the sin of the Amorites [i.e.,
Canaanites] has not yet reached its full measure. (David M. Howard, Jr., Joshua:
The New American Commentary, pp. 76)

Since God had already given them the land; it was their responsibility now to step out by faith and claim it. In verse 4, the Lord even gives Joshua the dimensions of the land, to emphasize its extent (the description is meant to be general – giving the various borders / boundaries).

“from the wilderness” – This phrase marks the southern border and probably refers to the uncultivated land from the Wilderness of Zin (Sanai Peninsula) in the southwest to the Transjordan area (south and southeast of the Dead Sea).

“this Lebanon” – This phrase marks the northern border and likely refers to what is roughly present day Lebanon and parts of Syria.

“the great river, the river Euphrates” – This phrase marks the eastern border. The Euphrates is in modern day Iraq.

“as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun” – This phrase marks the western border and of course is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea

“all the land of the Hittites” – This phrase could be either the land of Canaan itself near the Jordan or the land east of the Jordan or the land northeast of Palestine – scholars disagree. What is interesting about the “Hittites” (mentioned over 40 times in Scripture) is that prior to 1906 there was no evidence outside of the Bible that these people actually existed! In the past, critics used this fact to assert that there were errors in the Bible. But,

In 1906 Professor Hugo Winckler of Berlin discovered some 10,000 clay tablets at
Boghazkeui (modern Turkey), which turned out to be the ancient Hittite
capital. “This vast store of inscriptional material revealed the Hittites to be
not only an important people of the ancient world, but a people of an extended
empire.” The Hittite empire, which existed from 1900 B.C. to 1200 B.C., was an
enormous territory, ranging from south of the Black Sea eastward to the
Euphrates River (Paul P. Enns, BSC: Joshua, pp. 23).

You may be thinking, “That’s great Jim but how does that information serve to encourage Joshua?” Well, I am glad you asked.

To Joshua’s left was the distant southern boundary, “the wilderness” or
“desert,” the region west and south of the Dead Sea which formed a natural
boundary between Canaan and the Sinai Peninsula. Then Joshua’s eyes were turned
to the distant peaks of the northern limits, “the Lebanon,” the mountain range
far north-northwest of the Sea of Galilee. Behind Joshua, to the east, lay the
eastern boundary, the Euphrates; while in the direction of the setting sun,
under the skyline of the Judean hills, spread the western limit, “the great
sea.” In between the four extremities described was Canaan itself, here
represented by one of the major peoples then occupying it, the Hittites. (Irving
L. Jensen, Joshua: Rest Land Won, pp. 31)

This was the land that God had given to them – now it was time for Joshua to be “strong and of courageous.” It was time for him to arise with the people and to prepare to cross the Jordan and to enter the land. If the promise of the land wasn’t enough, God reaffirmed the promise of His victory (v.5).

The Promise of Victory – v.5a

This promise comes because the land still needed to be conquered, those dwelling in it still needed to be defeated. What a promise this verse makes. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. These words are identical to the ones that God spoke to Moses in Deuteronomy 7:17-24 and to the people in general – Deuteronomy 11:22-25

The Promise of Presence and Protection – v.5b
“Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”
The reason that no one will be able to stand against Joshua was because God would be with Him. When God is with us – who can be against us? God’s people can always move forward in God’s will and be assured of God’s presence. In fact, this promise especially applies to us today.

The first gospel opens with “Immanuel…God with us” and closes with Jesus saying, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 1:23; 28:20). The writer of Hebrews quotes Joshua 1:5 and applies it to Christians in Hebrews 13:5-6.

5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"

6 so that we confidently say,
"The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What shall man do to me?"NAS

The Promise of Possession – v.6

“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.”

Notice the tone of God’s promise, be strong and courageous, for you shall. This was God’s trustworthy word of assurance that they would possess the land, because God will keep His word – which I swore to their fathers to give them (Hebrews 6:13-18a).

The book of Joshua records the fulfillment of these three promises (victory, presence, possession) in Joshua 23:14.

14 "Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. NAS

By reaffirming these promises God is telling Joshua, it is time to go out and possess your possessions and take the land. It is time for you to trust my promises of victory and presence and possession….Trust My word!

God Encourages Joshua by Revealing to Him the Key to Success – v.7-9
7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have 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 success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." NAS

Israel’s success in the land and Joshua’s success as leader were contingent and conditioned on their obedience to the word of God. When it comes to obedience to the word the key factors are firmness and resoluteness. Obedience requires discipline, determination and desire.

The phrase “be strong and very courageous” comes from two Hebrew verbs that have similar meanings. They both have the idea of being strong, firm, stout or resolute. The phrase could be just as well translated, “Be strong and resolute.”

Why did Joshua need to be strong and resolute? So that he would be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you.

The term the law is one that is used in a variety of ways in Scripture. For example, it is used (1) to designate the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17); (2) to speak comprehensively of the ordinances, statutes and judgments issued by God (Luke 10:26), i.e. the totality of God’s commands; (3) to refer to the first five books of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 31:9) i.e. the Pentateuch. All three uses could fit here but likely the third use is the right one (cf. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law”)

Warren Wiersbe writes,

During the years of his leadership, Moses kept a written record of God’s words
and acts and committed this record to the care of the priests (Deut. 31:9). He
wrote in it a reminder to Joshua to wipe out the Amalekites (Ex. 17:14). Among
other things, the “Book of the Law” included “the Book of the Covenant” (Ex.
24:4, 7), a record of the journeys of the people from Egypt to Canaan (Num.
33:2), special regulations dealing with inheritance (Num. 36:13), and the song
that Moses taught the people (Deut. 31:19). Moses kept adding material to this
record until it included everything God wanted in it (v.24). We have reason to
believe the entire five books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) comprised
“the Book of the Law,” the greatest legacy Moses could leave to his successor
(Be Strong, pp. 27).

Joshua needed to be strong and resolute so that he could be careful to keep all of the law so that there was to be no deviation from it, “do not turn from it to the right or to the left.”

The key to carefully obeying the law involved internalizing and verbalizing it, “this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.” The word meditate has a different connotation today than it did in Joshua’s time. Meditation today has the idea of emptying the mind and concentrating on only yourself or nothing at all! However, the Old Testament concept of meditation involved rumination on God and His word – and doing it out loud.

In fact, the word meditation here literally means to mutter. It has the idea of reciting something in an undertone. When one continually mutters Gods’ word to himself, he is constantly thinking about it. This is why God told Joshua this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth…so that (purpose / reason) you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.

Notice also the blessings that come from careful obedience to the law.

v.7b – so that you may have success wherever you go
v.8b – for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success

There is a general principle in Scripture that promises blessings with obedience and faithfulness.
Psalms 1:3
3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Psalms 34:10
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
Psalms 37:25
25 I have been young, and now I am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Or his descendants begging bread.
Proverbs 10:15
15 The rich man's wealth is his fortress,
The ruin of the poor is their poverty.
Proverbs 16:3
3 Commit your works to the LORD,
And your plans will be established.
Job 36:11
11 "If they hear and serve Him,
They shall end their days in prosperity,
And their years in pleasures.
However, we must be careful that we don’t misinterpret the meaning of success and prosperity in the Bible. The mistake that many contemporary Christian’s make is that they measure prosperity and success by the world’s standards. Specifically, I am talking about the evil of the prosperity gospel (faith teachers). These false preachers teach,

…these and other passages as guarantees that all Christians will (or should!) succeed in every venture they undertake and that they will prosper financially if they are truly following God. Christians who do not succeed, or who are not financially well off, are condemned as living in some persistent sin or lacking in proper faith. (David M. Howard, Jr., Joshua: The New American Commentary, pp. 87)

David M Howard a commentator well versed in the Hebrew addresses the issue very clearly and pointedly when he says,

The two words we find here in our passage in Joshua (1:7-8) speaking of
prosperity and success are almost never used in the Old Testament to speak of
financial success. Rather, they speak of succeeding in life’s proper endeavors.
This happens when people’s lives are focused entirely on God and obedience to
him. The focus of people’s endeavors is not to be prosperity and success but
rather holiness and obedience. A believer’s consuming obsession should be
holiness, for God himself is holy (Lev 11:45; 19:2, etc.), to love God with
one’s entire being (Deut 6:5), to keep his word with the same fervor (Deut 6:6;
2 Kgs 23:25; Ezra 7:10; etc.), and to “fear God and keep his commandments” (Eccl
12:13). When this happens, then God does bless (usually!), although not always
in exactly the ways we might like him to. In this, the Old Testament has the
same message that Jesus spoke when he said, “Seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things [food, drink, clothing] will be given to you
as well” (Matt 6:33). Our priority is to seek God. (Joshua: The New American
Commentary, pp. 88)

The word “prosper” speaks of a success that comes from God’s gracious ever present hand.

For example, Abraham’s servant was given success by God in his mission to find a
wife for Isaac (Gen 24:12,40,42,56). Joseph succeeded in Potiphar’s
household because God was with him (Gen 39:2,3,23). The Messiah himself,
when he was bruised, nevertheless would cause God’s will to “prosper” in his
hand (Isa 53:10). Jeremiah spoke several times of the wicked not succeeding in
their evil intents (Jer 2:37; 5:28; 13:10; 22:30[2x]; 32:5). Daniel and his
friends succeeded in their efforts in exile in Babylon, with God’s help (Dan
3:30; 6:28[Hb. 29]. The people’s efforts in Ezra and Nehemiah also succeeded
because of God’s good hand upon them (Ezra 5:8; 6:14; Neh 1:11; 2:20). Solomon
succeeded as king and as builder (1 Chr 22:11,13; 29:23; 2 Chr 7:11). (Howard,
Joshua: The New American Commentary, pp. 88-89)

The word “success” means to have insight, understanding, to be wise. What better success is there than going through life with the understanding and wisdom of God? Warren Wiersbe writes,

These blessings are the by-products of a life devoted to God and His Word. If
you set out on your own to become prosperous and successful, you may achieve
your goal and live to regret. “In whatever man does without God,” wrote Scottish novelist George MacDonald, “he must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably.” The questions God’s people need to ask are: Did we obey the will of God? Were we
empowered by the Spirit of God? Did we serve to the glory of God? If we can answer yes to these questions, then our ministry had been successful in God’s eyes, nomatter what people may think (Be Strong, pp. 28).

Scripture sums up the proper attitude toward worldly success.

Proverbs 23:4-5
4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it.
5 When you set your eyes on it, it
is gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings,
Like an eagle that
flies toward the heavens.
Proverbs 3:7-9
7 Do not be wise
in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
8 It will be
healing to your body,
And refreshment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD
from your wealth,
And from the first of all your produce;
Verse 9 summarizes God’s pep-talk to Joshua. Have I not commanded you? Positively – to be strong and courageous? Negatively – Do not tremble or be dismayed?

How can Joshua be strong and courageous? Why should he not tremble nor
be dismayed? For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. In the years to
come whenever Joshua faced an enemy and was tempted to be afraid he could
remember God’s word and obey. Whenever he was tempted to be discouraged he could
recall God’s great promises.

How can we apply this to our lives?

Whenever you find yourself in need of a “pep-talk” from the Lord,
whenever you need His encouragement and reassurance, do these three things.

(1) Listen to God’s voice
(2) Trust God’s promises
(3) Obey God’s commands

Where do you find God’s voice, God’s promises and God’s commands? In His Word!