As Joshua faces his new position as the leader of Israel, the Lord speaks directly to him confirming the promise and covenant to drive out the inhabitants of this land before them and give it as an inheritance to Israel. The region is well defined and all of it is to be theirs, not Joshua’s, but the children of Israel in Joshua 1:3–4 “Every place that the soles of your feet will tread, I have given it to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and the Lebanon, up to the great river, the river Euphrates, all of the land of the Hittites, and up to the great sea in the west, will be your territory.” God promises to be with Joshua in Joshua 1:5 “No one will stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you, and I will not forsake you” but Joshua has his part, to be “strong and couragous” and to “observe diligently the whole law”. Then, as they move toward Jericho and the ark of the covenant reaches the Jordan, the waters part before them just as in Joshua 3:10–11 Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is in your midst”.
Every Place The Soles of Your Feet Will Tread
Joshua 1:1–9
There are and have always been boundaries for people to dwell in and those boundaries are set by Gog. God didn’t say to Moses, I am giving you the whole earth and he didn’t say to Moses I am giving you all the land you want. And, God didn’t say to Moses, I am giving you the land. The Lord repeats to Joshua what he had said to Moses as a command now for Joshua “into the land I am giving them” in
Joshua 1:2 “My servant Moses is dead. Get up and cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites.
Now, if we read the next statements, we find God is giving Joshua a very personal authority and a very specific region that “will be your territory” in
Joshua 1:3–4 Every place that the soles of your feet will tread, I have given it to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and the Lebanon, up to the great river, the river Euphrates, all of the land of the Hittites, and up to the great sea in the west, will be your territory.
Within this territory, every place he steps belongs to him. And the Lord also gives Joshua another personal promise, God is not just giving him the authority, but the protection and provision to carry it out saying. Joshua had seen Moses stand before Pharaoh and his armies and all of the Israelites that had been afraid to move forward so he understood Gods promise when he said “just as I was with Moses” in
Joshua 1:5 No one will stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you, and I will not forsake you.
But Joshua has his part in this being successful and twice the Lord says to him “strong and courageous” and one more time he says “strong and very courageous” in Joshua 1:6-9. And, the Lord also tells him in these verses to “observe diligently the whole law” and “meditate on it day and night” and hold his tongue so that “this law will not depart from your mouth”. And, there is one more thing the Lord tells Joshua. His promise to Joshua is not for his personal benefit, although Joshua is certainly blessed as he takes on this charge, the Lord says “you will give the people this land as an inheritance” in
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and courageous, for you will give the people this land as an inheritance that I swore to their ancestors to give them.
Being a leader in God’s hands is the greatest honour, and also requires the greatest ability to give. Joshua stood between the opposition in the world and God’s promise to his people as a conduit of God’s provision. Even Jesus said in
Matthew 26:39 And going forward a little he fell down on his face, praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Only Be Strong and Courageous
Yahweh Your God is God
Joshua 2:1–11
This land that God has promised is occupied and God had commanded the children of Israel to remove the people and cleanse the land in Deuteronomy 7. So, as all of Israel camped in the forest, “Acacia Grove” where they were unnoticed, Joshua prepares to move into the land and the first city, Jericho, where he sends two men in
Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Acacia Grove as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there.
It may seem odd that these men would go to the house of a prostitute, but understand the culture of the day. This was a walled and guarded city and there were no public hotels for visitors. Rahab’s house was likely the only place for these visitors to maintain some anonymity. But it is also a place where men of the city might go talking about their lives. Rahab likely knew what was going on in the city. And, it is interesting that when the king heard about spies, he called for her in
Joshua 2:2–3 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some men from the Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 And the king of Jericho sent for Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who came to you, the ones who have entered your house, for they have come to search out the whole land.”
Rahab protected the men and sent the King’s soldiers searching in another direction in Joshua 2:4-7. Then Rahab came to Joshua’s spies in
Joshua 2:9 and said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away in fear because of your presence.
then she gave them an account of the great miracles God had done for them “how Yahweh dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you” in Joshua 2:10 and also told them that the people were all afraid because “Yahweh your God is God” in
Joshua 2:11 We heard this, and our hearts melted, and no courage was left in anyone because of your presence. For Yahweh your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.
Gather Your Whole Family to Your House
Joshua 2:12–24
Tomorrow Yahweh Will Do Wonders
The Living God Is In Your Midst
Joshua 3:10–17
God uses the very miracle that Rahab mentioned, the parting of the water, to demonstrate his power as Israel entered their promised land. And Joshua declares this sign as God’s promise to deliver in
Joshua 3:10–11 Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is in your midst, and he will certainly drive out the Canaanites from before you, and the Hittites, Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is about to cross over ahead of you into the Jordan.
Joshua spoke God’s promise and told the people what would happen and then it did. This reminds me of something Jesus said in
Mark 11:23–24 Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be done for you.
While some readers may balk at this connection, and, sadly, there are respected commentary’s that deny the power of God saying, “we need not assume that the Jordan was crossed by supernatural means”, I choose to accept the account as given here. God was with them. God does speak things through a man before he moves and as Joshua finished speaking and the priests went forward and reached the edge of the water with the ark, the waters parted in
Joshua 3:15–16 When those carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the priests carrying the ark dipped their feet in the edge of the water (the Jordan was flowing over its banks during all the days of harvest), 16 the waters flowing down from above stood still; they stood up in one heap very far from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
If you have ever seen a river “flowing over its banks” and when the water flow is stopped, flood waters spread back upstream. Here, it says to the city Adam, some eighteen miles away and Zarethan, miles further and nothing going the nine or so miles downstream to the dead sea in
Joshua 3:16 the waters flowing down from above stood still; they stood up in one heap very far from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
If the king of Jericho had not found the encampment of Israel East of the Jordan in the “Acacia Grove” in Joshua 3:1, everyone around them now knows Israel is on the move.
These Stones Will Be As A Memorial
Joshua 4:1–12
Study Verses
- Joshua 1:1–9 Every Place The Soles of Your Feet Will Tread
- Joshua 2:1–11 Yahweh Your God is God
- Joshua 3:10–17 The Living God Is In Your Midst
Today’s Reading
- Joshua 1:1-18
- Joshua 2:1-24
- Joshua 3:1-17
- Joshua 4:1-12