Can I Know The Will Of God? Pt. 26 Be Strong, Be Courageous, Be Obedient!

We are moving ahead in an overview of seeing the will of God revealed in the scriptures. We now come to the book of Joshua. 

You may recall that Joshua was selected by God to minister to Moses in preparation for assuming the mantle of leadership. God permitted Moses to see the promised land and then Moses died and God buried him. 

Joshua received instruction from God about conquering the promised land and the book bearing his name is the account of his leadership.

Joshua and Caleb were the only two spies who brought back a good report of the promised land, urging the people to rise up and take it. 

God's charge to Joshua. 

Joshua 1:1-9  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, saying, 2)  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. 3)  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4)  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. 5)  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. 6)  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. 7)  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. 8)  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. 9)  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 

Jehovah spoke to Joshua and revealed His will for the Hebrew people. God reminded Joshua of the covenant promise to give this land to Abraham's seed and He told His servant about borders, from the wilderness of Lebanon, to the Mediterranean sea and to the Euphrates river.    

Jehovah promised Joshua that He would be with him just as He was with Moses. He promised to never leave Joshua and that all Israel's enemies would not be able to stand before them as they took the land. 

Jehovah exhorted Joshua to be strong and of good courage three times. He wanted Joshua to be a strong leader who was committed to obeying Jehovah, like Moses was.

God's will? Be strong, courageous and divide the inheritance.

Joshua 1:6  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.

Israel was finally going to inherit this good land promised by God more than 450 years earlier. The idea of dividing the land refers to a portion that would be allotted to each of the twelve tribes of Israel, based upon God's promise. 

God commanded Joshua to be strong and of good courage. The word "strong" means to harden your resolve in order to accomplish a specific task, or to achieve a specific outcome.

It means to become rigid and determined, so that there is no deviation from the task at hand, which is a military conquest of the promised land.

The words "good courage" means to have a stout heart that does not faint or become afraid in battle. 

Israel was going to have to be strong and courageous because they had to expel seven nations from the land of Canaan. Most of these people groups had experienced armies, but Jehovah would fight for Israel.

God's will? Be strong, courageous and keep God's law. 

Joshua 1:7  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.

Jehovah instructed Joshua to be strong and courageous so that he would do all that the law of God commanded. 

Strength was needed because the people had a tendency to deviate from God's righteous standard. Courage was needed because they were going to encounter fierce idolatry and immorality. 

Therefore, God commanded Joshua not to deviate from keeping the law. He was not to turn to the right hand or to the left hand. 

"Turning" to the right or the left always described people departing from the right ways of God. 

God's will? Be anchored to my word and be blessed.

Joshua 1:8  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. 

Jehovah gave Joshua the basis for his hope and future blessing. All the good things God had for them (and us) are connected to His Word. 

We are to read, study, and think about God's Word. We are to talk about it with other people, like our family, friends and neighbors. We are to listen to God speak and obey His voice. We are to hear and heed His instruction for us. 

This is the path of blessing from God to us. It is always found by exercising simple faith and obeying what God says to do. The word "prosperous" means that as we go about doing what God has for us to do, we will make spiritual progress. 

Achieving "good success" comes from understanding and obeying God's Word. "Good success" means having wisdom from God to guide our actions. 

God's will? Fear not for I am with thee. 

Joshua 1:9  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 

Jehovah told Joshua not to be afraid of Israel's enemies and not to have his courage shattered when he saw the walled cities and great armies that Israel would fight against.

Likewise, Christians are commanded to put on the whole armor of God in order to stand against the Devil's attacks. We are not to be discouraged because greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). 

Thoughts to Ponder...

God's will for us? Rightly divide His Word.

2 Timothy 2:14-16  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15)  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16)  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 

Does God's instruction to Joshua have any application for believers today? Yes, it does. We are to be strong and divide out our inheritance in Christ. 

This is why Paul told Timothy to rightly divide the word of God. Literally, it means to cut it straight and correctly. 

There are false teachers who preach using words that have no power to change our hearts. They subvert or undermine the faith of believers who hear them speak. 

Instead, we must be strong to dig in to the scriptures, to work at understanding them and learning how God would change us through them. 

We must be strong to rightly divide the word of truth. This means exhorting other Christians to continue in sound doctrine. 

We must be strong to teach sound doctrine to every person. It means giving each believer their portion of meat (spiritual sustenance from the Word) in due season. 

We must diligently give the milk of God's word to babes in Christ so that they may grow spiritually. We must provide the strong meat of God's Word to feed maturing believers. 

We must be strong to comfort the comfortless in their afflictions. We must be strong to reprove the careless Christians and show them the right path of God.  

We must be strong to offer the correction from God's Word so that they can stay on the God pleasing path (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

Consider Paul's exhortation for believers. We are to be strong in the Lord, in His power and might. Why? Because we are in spiritual warfare against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Eph 6:10-12  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11)  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Paul reminded us that we are also soldiers in the army of our Lord Jesus Christ. God miraculously translated us from the David domain and placed us in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 

We used to be enemies of God but now, believers in Christ are Satan's enemies. Thus, Paul reminds us we are soldiers who must put on the armor of God.

Just as Jehovah instructed Joshua to be strong and of good courage, so we are to endure warfare as battle hardened soldiers, marching on for Christ's kingdom.

2 Timothy 2:1-4  Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2)  And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3)  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4)  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 

Bob