Chapter 1
God Calls Joshua to Lead the People of Israel
1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “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.
Due to his disobedience, Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land and he died shortly before the Israelites were allowed to enter the land. God, who buried Moses (see Deuteronomy 34:1-8), tells Joshua that Moses was dead and it was now time to cross the Jordan River and enter into the land that He was giving them. There is no mention as to how God was speaking to Joshua, some believe that Joshua was Moses’ replacement and that he assumed the same role, as we study this book we will see that was not true, but Joshua was not “just the next guy,” we see that God had been preparing him: 1) He led the battle against the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:9-14); 2) Accompanied Moses to the mountain of God (see Exodus 24:13; 32:17); 3) Assisted Moses from his youth (see Numbers 11:28); 4) Moses changed his name from Hosea meaning 'salvation' to Joshua meaning 'the Lord saves' (sew Numbers 13:16); 5) Along with Caleb, spied out the land of Canaan with ten other representatives and only those two urged the Israelites to enter and possess the land (see Numbers 14:6-38); 6) He was indwelt by the Holy Spirit (see Numbers 27:18); 7) He was commissioned for service to God to assist Moses (see Numbers 27:18–23); 8) He followed the LORD God fully (see Numbers 32:12); 9) He was commissioned a second time, to replace Moses (see Deuteronomy 31:23); and 10) He was filled with the spirit of wisdom (see Deuteronomy 34:9).[1]
1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 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.
There are several locations in the Bible where the Promised Land is located by its boundaries (for example see Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23:31; Numbers 34:1-15; Deuteronomy 1:6-8; 11:24). Here the boundaries are described as from the Negeb wilderness in the south (according to Genesis 15:18 the southern border extends to the “River of Egypt” some believe that to be a reference to the Nile River) to Lebanon (per Numbers 34:7 this is a reference to the mountains of Lebanon) to the north. And the Euphrates River to the east to the Mediterranean Sea on the west, including all of the land of the Hittites (believed to be representative of each of the people groups that were in the land at that time as listed in Genesis 15:19-20). The most comprehensive description of the boundaries is found in Numbers 34:1-15, but since it references ancient location names that are mostly unknown the actual boundaries of the Promised Land remain a mystery, but we know the Israelites to date have never fully occupied the land, regarding that, J. Vernon McGee wrote:
God gave Israel 300,000 square miles of land and the most they ever claimed was 30,000 square miles. They did not do very well, did they? They took possession of about one-tenth of what God had given them.[2]
Does that mean that God lied or changed His mind regarding the boundaries? No, God cannot lie (see Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Psalm 89:34; Malachi 3:6; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18; James 1:17) and is not capricious and will not change His mind, especially since He is omniscient and would know beforehand how much of the land the Israelites would occupy. So, what does this mean? It would require a time yet future where this promise could be fulfilled. The question that is highly debated is when (see Considerations below).
1:5 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. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 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.
God tells Joshua that no person will be able to stand before him. The wording is a little awkward in the English, perhaps the best rendering would be that no one can stand against him, as the Hebrew yiṯ·yǎṣēḇ’ refers to taking a stand. God further tells Joshua that He will be with him like He was with Moses and promises that He will never leave or forsake him. He encourages Joshua to be strong (Hebrew ḥǎzǎq’, to overpower, be hardened, same word used when expressing the ‘hardening’ of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus) and courageous as he will lead the people of Israel into and inherit the land that God swore to their fathers to give them. But only be strong and courageous (same words used in verse six) being careful to follow God’s law with no exceptions, and as a result Joshua will have success wherever he goes.
1:8 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 good success. 9 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.”
What Book (scroll) of the Law? Although we have seen several verses where instructions were given to write the law (for example see Exodus 24:4; 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 27:8; 31:9), what those book (or books) contained is often debated. Some of the opinions include: 1) all five Books of Moses; 2) the first four books (some believe that Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings were written as a single document called “Deuteronomistic History” that were composed during the Babylonian exile); or 3) just the Ten Commandments. Likely it is number one, all five books, which meant that Joshua needed to have access to the law and undoubtedly studied it as often as possible. As God told Joshua that the Book of the Law was never to depart from his mouth and that he was to meditate (Hebrew hā·ḡî’·ṯā, to growl, to groan, to speak, used figuratively to ponder, to think it through) on it day and night, so that he would be careful to do everything according to the law. If the law is followed, then God will bless him with prosperity and success. God repeats, that Joshua is to be strong and courageous and not be frightened or dismayed. God makes a curious statement, “Have I not commanded you?” He is saying that the Creator of all things, the God Almighty, said these things, there is no doubt of it not happening, period! He then promises that the LORD (the Tetragrammaton, the name of God, see below), Joshua’s God will be with him wherever he goes.
Considerations
Does your eschatology include a period of time for unfulfilled promises to be fulfilled?
This is an intriguing question as most readers probably would never considered this issue. The problem is twofold. First, if God knew that the Israelites were not going to occupy the full extent of the Promised Land before they were ousted by Him then why the extended boundaries? Second, if God’s plan was to fulfill the promise at a later time wouldn’t He also have known of the Jew’s future rejection of Jesus as their Messiah? So, why is this important? There are several ‘Christian’ eschatologies (the study of the end times) that claim that due to the Jew’s rejection of Jesus that God has permanently rejected them and the nation of Israel (many believe that all of the blessings originally promised to Israel have been given to the church, Click here for more information). This is not what the Bible teaches, God is not done with the Jews or Israel, in fact they play a major role in Biblical eschatology. So we are brought back to the question, if God intends to fulfill the promise of their return (for a few examples see Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 24:6-7; 30:3; Ezekiel 37:1-28; Zechariah 1:3; Matthew 23:37-39) and experience the larger territory, when will that occur? The best accommodating eschatologies are those that include the Millennial Kingdom (Click here for more information).
Never Leave nor Forsake
The Bible records this statement (or similar) a number of times (see Genesis 28:15; Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). When God gives a promise He will not forget or not fulfill the promise. When He says things like, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b, ESV) He will always be there. If you feel a gap growing between you and God, it’s not Him who is moving away. During those times we need to remember the remedy James wrote about, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” (James 4:8, NLT)
Tetragrammaton
The word essentially means a four-letter word, but in Judeo-Christian theology it refers to the four-letter name of God. The name is represented by the Hebrew letters ‘yod’ (Y), ‘he’ (H), ‘waw’ (W) and ‘he’ (H) and is first seen in Genesis 2:4. Since the ancient Hebrew alphabet did not have any vowels (all 22 letters being consonants, a form of abjad writing), the vowel sounds were never written, so no one knows how to properly pronounce the name (the language now includes vowel markers to aid in understanding and vocalization). Scholars through the years have developed several pronunciations of the name including ‘Jehovah’, ‘Yehovah’, ‘Yahweh’, ‘Yehōyāh’, etc. The name can be found nearly 7,000 times in the Old Testament. However, most English language Bibles simply use the word ‘LORD’ in all capital letters instead of attempting to translate or transliterate His proper name. Click here for more information.
Joshua Assumes Command
1:10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “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.’ ”
Upon receiving his commission from God, Joshua immediately proceeds to command the officers of the people to pass on a message to the people. Undoubtedly much-anticipated, the message was simple, prepare provisions now and be ready to enter into and take possession of the Promised Land, as they will be crossing the Jordan River in three days.
1:12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “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.’ 14 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, 15 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.”
Per their request (see Numbers 32:1-15) the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh desired to be allocated land on the east side of the Jordan River which was granted with the understanding that their men of valor (those that were twenty years old or older that were able to go to war, see Numbers 1:3) would fight in the battles to eliminate those that currently possessed the land (see Numbers 32:16-42). Here Joshua is reminding them of the commitment they all agreed to. The men will cross over, but their wives, children, and livestock would remain on the east side. The men will remain there, “until the LORD gives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. Only then may you return and settle here on the east side of the Jordan River in the land that Moses, the servant of the LORD, assigned to you.” (Joshua 1:15, NLT) Since the time frame required for the conquering was unknown at this time this was a significant commitment.
1:16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 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! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
The men of valor from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh all agreed and pledged their allegiance to Joshua. They exuberantly bless Joshua by saying, “may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses!” And then add that if anyone rebels and does not follow Joshua’s commands or otherwise disobeys him, they are to be put to death, so be strong and courageous.
Considerations
Mourning for Moses
Some readers may wonder why this chapter seems to jump from Moses’ death to Joshua receiving his commission as the new leader followed by God’s order for the people to get ready to cross the Jordan without recognizing or mourning Moses. Since this book picks up where Deuteronomy leaves off, we can look back and see that Moses was indeed mourned as recorded in Deuteronomy, “And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.” Deuteronomy 34:8, ESV)
Beyond the Jordan
Whenever the Bible references “beyond the Jordan” or “across the Jordan,” it is always a reference to the east side of the Jordan River (regardless of direction of travel). Even though God allowed the Israelites to settle and claim territory east of the Jordan River, the land was not considered part of the Promised Land.
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[1] Adapted from list published in The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 305). MacArthur, J., Jr., ed. (1997). Word Pub.
[2] McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed., Vol. 2, p. 4). Thomas Nelson.