Joshua 1:1-9 - Be Strong & Courageous

A New Season and a New Leader

Welcome to Midweek. It feels like a new season for us. Some of you are used to sitting in your own specific places, and you got a little disheveled tonight because things are shifting. We even have Ron sitting in the front row, which is a space he’s usually not in! We’ve got food trucks going, and we have kids in the house for the first time in a long time. When COVID hit, it was hard getting volunteers back engaged, so we couldn’t have kids’ ministry for a while. I am so grateful for those of you who have stepped up to rotate through. If Midweek is your home, I really want to encourage you to step up so we can provide a place for all these families. We want their kids to hear the gospel while the parents are being fed. We also have our women’s Bible study meeting tonight, which started as a small group and now feels like a small church with several hundred women gathering. There is a lot of life happening on this campus.

Two weeks ago, we introduced the book of Joshua, and last week we covered the context of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. If you take the high points of those messages, we covered what you call “theology proper”—the doctrine of God. We looked at His attributes: being all-knowing, sovereign, and omnipresent. They are terrifying, really, because we don’t have a category for that. But we also looked at His character: that He is good, faithful, and gracious. These two things held in tension are the story of our God.

We saw that God is faithful. As early as Genesis 12, He made a promise to a guy named Abraham. He promised land, descendants, and blessing. He promised that through Abraham, all nations would be blessed. That covenant was unilateral. Most covenants are “if-then” deals, like a business contract. But God put Abraham to sleep and passed through the pieces alone, as if to say, “It doesn’t matter what you do; I am promising this regardless of you.” From those descendants would come the one who would crush the serpent’s head—Jesus. Through the wilderness, God was teaching His people that because He is a faithful God, we are called to be a faithful people. Some lessons were learned easily; others required a session behind the woodshed. But now, we arrive at Joshua chapter one.

Joshua 1:1-5 (NASB)

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, ’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. ’Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. ’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. ’No man will [be able to] stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.

There is a clear leadership transition happening here. Moses, the servant of the Lord, is dead. Joshua is now taking this mantle upon his shoulders. But it’s important to note that God’s promise didn’t die with Moses. God tells Joshua, “Every place the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you.” God emphasizes to Joshua: “Don’t sweat it. As I was with him, I’m going to be with you.”

The Geography of a Faithful God

How vast is this land God promised? We see geographic markers: from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, from the Euphrates in the east to the Mediterranean in the west. This territory was much larger than modern-day Israel. It included parts of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. However, when you look at the map of what they actually conquered, they only took a portion of it. One of the things we’ll uncover in this book is that while we have a faithful God, we don’t always have a fully faithful people. Incomplete obedience is disobedience.

The issue with the unconquered lands wasn’t just the people; it was their gods. They worshiped gods like Chemosh and Molech by burning their children alive. God said, “Yeah, I’m not doing that. You need to conquer the land.”

You might wonder if this ancient geography has anything to do with modern conflicts. People often use the name “Palestine,” but that name didn’t come from the Philistines. It came from the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century. He was so frustrated with the Jewish revolts that he renamed Judea “Syria Palaestina” to disassociate the Jews from their homeland. I remember being in Syria in 2007 and talking to a student about Israel. He corrected me, calling it “occupied Palestine.” He didn’t see things the way I did. But historically and biblically, the claim to the land goes back to God’s promise to Abraham.

Strength in the Presence of Fear

Back in Exodus, Moses asked at the burning bush, “Who am I?” God replied, “It doesn’t matter who you are; I will be with you.” Now, God tells Joshua the same thing: “No man will be able to stand before you… I will not fail you or forsake you.”

This was a heavy assignment. Joshua was following Moses—arguably the most significant figure in the Old Testament. This is likely why God tells him three times in this passage to “be strong and courageous.” Why the repetition? Because Joshua was scared to death. He understood the weight of the task. God is reminding him, “It’s not about you; it’s about Me.”

Joshua 1:6 (NASB)

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

God says the victory is already decided. It’s an unconditional promise. But how is Joshua supposed to lead successfully?

Joshua 1:7 (NASB)

’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.

If you want to be a successful leader, understand God’s Word and do what it says. Don’t twist it to the right or the left. God says what He means and means what He says. When we follow His Word, that’s where life, joy, and success are found.

The Good Life in the Ancient Ways

God tells Joshua that the Book of the Law—Genesis through Deuteronomy—should not depart from his mouth.

Joshua 1:8 (NASB)

’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.

He is told to meditate on it day and night. Now, biblical meditation isn’t like Eastern meditation where you empty your mind. Biblical meditation is filling your mind. It’s like a cow chewing its cud—which is gross, I know—but that’s the concept. You bring the Word up, you chew on it, you process it, you swallow it, and you bring it back up again. You don’t just read “God so loved the world” and move on. You stop and ask, “What does it mean that God so loved? What does it mean He loved the world?”

Human flourishing is found in keeping God’s Word. We live in a culture that says, “Well, the Bible was written so long ago, surely it doesn’t apply.” And yet, look at the world—people have lost their minds. New is not necessarily better. Why don’t we find the ancient ways where the good life is?

Proverbs 13:13 (NASB)

The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

Knowledge alone makes us arrogant; it’s the application that changes us. James tells us not to just be hearers who look in a mirror and forget what we look like, but to be doers.

James 1:22-25 (NASB)

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for [once] he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the [law] of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

This doesn’t promise worldly prosperity. Godly people still go broke sometimes. But true success is seeking first His kingdom.

Proverbs 16:20 (NASB)

He who gives attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

Practical Steps into the Word

God gives Joshua one more reminder because he’s still trembling.

Joshua 1:9 (NASB)

‘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.’

Those words “tremble” and “dismayed” describe an internal earthquake—a panic attack. God is saying, “Don’t crack, don’t break, because I am with you.” Courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting in the presence of fear because your source of strength is God.

Have you ever felt that trembling? Maybe God is asking you to take a step of faith, or maybe tragedy has struck and you’re wondering if you can go on. It’s like being caught in the waves at Pismo Beach—you’re tumbling, your head is in the sand, and you don’t know which way is up. The only way to find your bearings is to find God in His Word.

So, how do we do that practically?

First, Read the Bible. It sounds simple, but it transforms you.

Romans 12:2 (NASB)

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Second, Meditate on the Bible. Take a verse and think about it throughout the day.

Third, Memorize the Bible.

Psalms 119:11 (NASB)

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

I’m just a “simpleton defensive lineman,” so I need a system. I have a document with sections for Daily, Weekly, and Monthly. I quote a verse every day until it’s word-perfect, then move it to Weekly, then Monthly, then “Lockdown.” If Jesus used Scripture to fight temptation, how much more do I need it?

Fourth, Study the Bible. Dig a little deeper. Use a map or a dictionary.

Finally, Discuss the Bible. That’s why we have Life Groups. Talk about it when you sit down and when you walk along the way.

Finding God in the Turbulence

Jesus told the religious leaders that they searched the Scriptures thinking they’d find eternal life, but the Scriptures actually point to Him.

John 5:39 (NASB)

’You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;

It’s not about the book itself; it’s about the God you meet in the book. That’s where the gold is. God was faithful to Abraham, Moses, and Joshua, and He will be faithful to you. He will meet you in the turbulence. When you find the Lord, everything else comes into place. It doesn’t mean life becomes easy, but you can say, “At least my God is with me.”

Psalms 130:5-6 (NASB)

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul [waits] for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; [Indeed, more than] the watchmen for the morning.

Let’s Pray.

God, I’m so grateful for Your Word and this reminder to Joshua. He was terrified, yet You invited him into the richness of Your truth. Lord, as a culture, we are looking for success in all the wrong places. As we read, meditate, and study, may we not just fall in love with concepts, but may we find You. We have our own giants and our own fears. Meet us in the “awful” we are experiencing. Help us to be a people of the Book. In Jesus’ name, Amen.