Joshua 1

Joshua 1:1-18

JOSHUA’S CALL AND Jos_1:1-18.IT is not our intention to give an elaborate discussion to each chapter of this Book, and yet, so richly suggestive are its pages, that none of them should be passed over lightly. We propose, therefore, a combination of homiletical outlines for certain portions, with fuller emphasis upon a few points.This first chapter comprehends Joshua’s call and commission, and we propose this very brief treatment from that viewpoint.JOSHUA’S CALL“Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister” (Joshua 1:1).Sometimes a single sentence contains a sermon. This verse is a case in point.Moses’ death was the occasion of Joshua’s call. The Lord’s servants are not immortal. The mightiest men crumble before the arrow of the last enemy, but God’s cause never rests wholly with one individual. Men die, but God lives to appoint their successors.

Every New Testament prophet perished, but Christianity continued. It was in the foreknowledge of that fact that Christ said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.Joshua’s relationship to Moses determined his call.

He was Moses’ minister, or servant. In a sense, he measured up to the New Testament suggestion. “Whosoever will he great among you, let him be your minister”. Joshua may have been the second man while Moses lived, but when Moses died, Joshua succeeded to first place. He went there, not because he happened to be the one man who waited on Moses, but because he was evidently the best man associated with him.Office is not commonly a matter of accident. Honors are not determined by a mere wheel of fortune. Merit both demands and secures attention, and ability is always in the line of blessing.The call, itself, was clearly from the Lord.

The Lord spake to Joshua. Whether He spake to him in audible tones, as He seems to have done with Moses, or whether by Urim and Thummim (Numbers 27:21), we are not told; we do not need to know!Curiosity demands an explanation of every jot and tittle of Divine procedure.

Confidence accepts the clear statement as sufficient. God talks to men, and those who have ears to hear understand what He says, and determine their life and conduct by the same.JOSHUA IS “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the Children of Israel.“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.“From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:2-9).He is commissioned to conquer Canaan. The Hittite was Israel’s dreaded enemy. There is but one thing to do with the dangerous enemy, and that is, dispose of him; destroy him. You cannot live with an enemy, ‘fellowship with an enemy, and compromise with an enemy and have conquest at the same time. The man who keeps a bottle of liquor on the pantry shelf will likely fall a victim to intemperance, and the man who entertains the thought of lechery will go down before lust.

There are some enemies against which a fight must be waged to the point of their extinction, or else safety can never be our experience.He was promised a universal conquest. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses” (Joshua 1:3).The promise was made to Moses (Deuteronomy 11:24-25; Deuteronomy 31:6-8), but now it is repeated to Joshua. The promise is made to Prophets and Apostles, but potent for the believing people of the present.

The wonderful thing about God’s promises is that whenever the conditions upon which they rest are met, He makes them good, no matter who is the man, what the time, or where the country. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:3).Joshua is required to be both studious and courageous. It is strange how these two qualities are mixed, one with the other. In verses six and seven he is told to be courageous, strong, uncompromising. In verse eight he is told to study the Book of the Law, to meditate therein day and night, to do all according to all that is written therein, and promised upon that condition a prosperous way of good success. But in verse nine, he turns back to repeat a demand for strength and courage, and to rest both on the only adequate basis, “For the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”.JOSHUA TAKES COMMAND“Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,“Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.“And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.“Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;“Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as He hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.“And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.“According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the Lord thy God be with thee, as He was with Moses.“Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall he put to death: only he strong and he of a good courage” (Joshua 1:10-18).He gives his first orders to the officers. The true commander will always have his aids—men with whom he will share his honors—men he can take into his counsels, and yet men who will and must receive his commands.

A pure democracy in which one man holds as much authority as another, and in which there are no known superiors and inferiors, would prove a fool’s paradise, and shortly be plunged into a fool’s purgatory.Beyond all question, there is a disposition on the part of some to overlordship, and often this overlordship is the spirit of incompetent egotists. But these facts, to the contrary, notwithstanding, it remains certain there must be recognized leaders, commanding officials, controlling spirits.

The wise will seek them out and willingly surrender to their domination.He gave specific orders to the east-side men of war.“And to the Reuhenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.“Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;“Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as He hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising” (Joshua 1:12-15).Men are never equally located. Advantages are always falling out to a few. The recipients of them should not make them an escape from true responsibilities, but rather an occasion for greater tasks. The fortunate man is not to live a life of ease, but to make his fortune the basis of brotherly assistance.Joshua met a willing and loyal allegiance.“And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.“According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the Lord thy God be with thee, as He was with Moses.“Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and be of a good courage” (Joshua 1:16-18).The answer is wonderful: “All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go Jesus is our Joshua. How beautiful when men can say to him, “It may not be on the mountain’s height, Or over the stormy sea;It may not be at the battle’s front, My Lord will have need of me;But if by a still small voice He calls To paths that I do not know,I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine, I’ll go where You want me to go.”“According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the Lord thy God be with thee, as He was with Moses” (Joshua 1:17).When men are convinced that the Lord leads their leader, they have little hesitation in following and will not even draw back from any sacrifice that he may demand; and in addition to their personal loyalty, they will justly demand that of their believing brethren, and yet, in their hearts will hope that this leadership will never weaken, nor by his discouragement, superinduce defeat.