After Joshua lead the Israelite nation across the Jordan after a forty year wait you can only imagine the trepidation felt among the people, particularly with Joshua. Here they are, a nation with minimal military experience, about to engage some of the most ruthless warriors of that time in battle to take their land and inhabit it as their own. This would strike fear in the hearts of any normal people. However, I have always been struck by God’s statement to Joshua as they begin their journey:
“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” (Joshua 1:5-7).
Yes they would be foreigners on other men’s land but they forgot one thing – God had already made that land their own. Later in verse thirteen Joshua reminds the officers among the people that God had given them this land. In other words He had reserved this land for their use and all that was necessary was for them go up and possess it. However, never should the people have been under the impression that they would be on their own in such an endeavor. Before his death Moses reminded Joshua of a promise God has previously given him to instill faith as they entered the land to take it:
“Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).
God’s promise was that if the people would trust in Him then He would be with them and they would be victorious in their endeavors. While that was true in a unique way for the Israelites as they captured their new homeland it is generally true for us all today. We have a marvelous inheritance awaiting us. In fact, Peter called it “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). But in order to obtain it we must know that God is with us and develop the courage to stand!
-Andy Brewer