MONDAY 07 March 2022 “Joshua day one” Joshua 1:1-9

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Good Monday morning to you my “Walking with Jesus”,

Well, I wonder how this new work week will begin for you? No matter where you live or what is on your schedule for today, I doubt it comes anywhere near to what Joshua’s first day on the job was like! Come with me… let’s take a look. Yesterday, we closed the book called Deuteronomy, and with Joshua and more than 1 million Hebrews, who had spent the past 40 years following Moses in the desert, we entered into a 30 day period of mourning for Moses, and wondering what the future would be, with Joshua.

I can’t tell you when or exactly where it happened, but it was likely sometime very near the end of those 30 days of mourning that Joshua had a visitation from God, much as he had watched Moses have, many times. Joshua records it this way: “After the death of Moses, the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide, ‘Moses My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan river into the land I am about to give them. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses… as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:1-5) Now pause here my friends, and take that in. Of all the things Joshua could have heard in this encounter with God, can you think of ANYTHING which would have been more significant, more empowering? I suspect God paused, maybe for a long time, and just let those words sink in, penetrate Joshua’s mind and heart.

These words would sustain, and guide, and strengthen Joshua for the remainder of his life, especially when he faced frightening or very complex situations, as he lived the challenges of being the senior leader of the people of Israel, leading them into the promised land. May I urge you to read that statement from God to Joshua again, and maybe even a third time? What hope and confidence should this commissioning promise from God have awakened in Joshua? Have you ever taken a huge step of faith in following God’s calling on your life, God’s leading in your life and have you claimed these or similar words as God’s promises for you?

Let’s pause right here for a moment. History is being made. A huge, huge leadership transition is being accomplished. Joshua is moving from being “Moses’ aide”, to being Moses’ successor, as the God chosen, God appointed leader of the people Moses had led for 40 years. For the first time in his life Joshua is receiving leadership guidance from God! And the power in those first words from God is staggering! “Moses My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people get ready…”. God is not in any way diminishing Moses’ great value, nor urging Joshua and the people to forget Moses. But God is issuing a clear directive: do not linger in the valley of mourning longer than is appropriate. The story God was wanting to write does NOT come to an end with Moses’ death. The story is bigger than Moses, bigger than any one generation of Hebrews. The story must continue and time is important… it’s time to prepare to leave the desert behind and move, once and for all, into Canaan!

We’ve probably all been there. A dear family member or a friend has died, or a major change has occurred that brings to an end an era. We linger, we reflect, we mourn, and often, without God’s help in finding purpose for the next step, we can find ourselves lost without direction or purpose. God did not want that to happen here, neither did God want the people to rush too quickly ahead, forgetting all that had transpired under Moses’ leadership. But the time had come to move forward. So God challenged Joshua to prepare himself, and the people, for Joshua’s leadership in something Moses never had done… cross that Jordan river and claim the land of Canaan, the land of God’s promise!

Have you noticed this is what God often does in leadership transitions? God empowers and calls the new leader to new things, new horizons, beyond what God had been doing with the previous leader. Have you ever been part of that? Not since leaving Egypt with those miraculous plagues, and crossing the Red Sea through the God provided ‘water tunnel’, had Joshua or Caleb, or anyone else who might be old enough to remember those things, ever experienced what God was calling them to prepare for: “Get ready to cross the Jordan river into the land I am about to give you…”. But God had said “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” No words could be more assuring or empowering for Joshua. Do you notice God’s long held plan for His people to enter and conquer the promised land had NOT died in the 500 years since He first promised that land to Abraham. God is eternal and His eternal plans for our human race do not end simply with the death of a leader or even a generation! Hold on to that my friends… what God had in HIS mind for you long before you were born, is still His great plan, no matter what hard things have happened in your life!

But God was not finished with Joshua yet. This, God’s first message to Joshua, the new leader, continued: “Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers…” If before, Joshua was not nearly overwhelmed with the responsibility of leadership he had inherited from Moses, most certainly he is now, after hearing these words from God! I imagine God paused, and let Joshua reflect. What had Joshua learned through more than 40 years at Moses’ side, watching Moses trust and depend on God for ALL things?

God knew exactly what Joshua was thinking and feeling, so God continued, with some careful instructions for accomplishing what seemed to be an impossible task: “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you, do not turn from it to the left or to the right, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. THEN you will be prosperous and successful…” (Joshua 1:7,8)

Now put yourself in Joshua’s leadership boots. God had just told him to prepare himself and the people for crossing the Jordan river and then entering and conquering Canaan. Those are marching orders requiring LOTS of very practical, complex work, and even military battles! If you were Joshua, would you be tempted to say something like this to God: ‘Yes, God, I know, I’ve heard you many times tell us we need to pay close attention to your commands and laws, but God the task before us is not spiritual, this is now very serious practical work. We need engineering to figure out how to cross this river. Have you noticed God, it’s not a stream, it’s a raging, flooded river! (Joshua 3:15) And have you noticed God, there are no bridges here and we are more than 1 MILLION people, with all our belongings and animals, our young children and old people. And then God we need military strategists and commanders of warriors! This is a complex logistical challenge, beyond anything I’ve ever seen! Where, God, are the engineers, and the bridge builders, the military leaders, and the really smart people to help us figure out how to do this?’

Now friends, WHY do you suppose God’s instructions to Joshua were a restatement of the importance, the priority, of all the commands and instructions God had given to the people through Moses about living as a God honoring people in relationship with each other and with God? Because what would need to happen next for these people is TRUST! Absolute trust in God and hearts filled with love for God, and willingness to follow God forward into Canaan, but always and only doing it God’s Way! Their hearts and minds needed to be riveted, focused on discerning God’s leading and following God at all times, in all ways. Again God said to Joshua: “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged; for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) Joshua had his first very important leadership decision to make. HOW would he lead the people in understanding God’s instructions and faithfully following those instructions, when faced with the opportunity and challenge to do something none of them had ever done before?

Let’s pause right here and consider how those first words from God to Joshua fit with your life and what you are facing in these days. What are your priorities when you are facing very complex challenges? And here’s a song to help us apply God’s words to Joshua, to our lives…

Today’s Scripture is Joshua 1:1-9.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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