Joshua 1:9–"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."
Context: Moses has just died and the second generation of post-Exodus Israelites are looking across the Jordan at the soon-to-be-entered Promised Land. From their camp across the river the Israelites can see that the land, the land promised to be theirs from God, is clearly inhabited. Furthermore, they can see that the cities are well-fortified and the inhabitants are militarily-strong. Add to this that their leader, the prophet who faithfully led them through the wilderness for forty years, has just passed away after delivering one of the most stirring theologically-convicting sermons in all of history (see Deuteronomy). Perhaps given the circumstance the Israelites were facing they might have just cause for fear, cowardice, and dismay.
But God, knowing the hearts of His children and hearing their cries, chooses a new leader, Joshua, and through Joshua sets His heart on comforting His people.
He turns to them and says this: "Have I not commanded you?"
In other words, God is saying, "Look guys, I know you're scared and terrified of what lies before you across the Jordan, but didn't I tell you that I will take care of you? Didn't I say that I will not forsake you? Didn't I say that the nations will be laid waste before you for I am fighting for you? Didn't I pull you through the Red Sea and save you from the hand of the Egyptians? Now trust me."
Every Christian and at many times in our lives has had a moment like this, when we're looking across the rivers in front of us and trembling in fear. In these moments, when it appears that we are at our weakest state and terrified of the foes that stand before us that God simply asks: "Aren't you mine?"
This verse is about dependence. The Israelites were at a crossroads. As soon as they crossed the Jordan and began to claim the Promised Land, they had to accept the horrific truth: if God doesn't do what He promised we will be destroyed. My prayer is that we would each recognize that this same thing is set before each one of us. We want to be so recklessly-dependent upon the Lord that if He does not do what He promises we will be likewise destroyed. But praise be to God! For when we are in that state He turns to us and says: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Monday, March 4, 2013
Be Strong & Courageous
Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
We humans are so prone to fear. We have such an innate proclivity toward worry and anxiety, such a natural bent to be afraid. Most of this, to be sure, comes from our desire to control our conditions but we are always powerless to the scenarios and circumstances of life. But in Joshua, God speaks quite plainly, commanding us to trust fully in the Lord and rely upon Him for our strength, for our relief, and for our courage. Ask yourself today: how well are you obeying this commandment? Are you strong and courageous in the Lord? If not, let us seek after Him for our courage and for our strength!
We humans are so prone to fear. We have such an innate proclivity toward worry and anxiety, such a natural bent to be afraid. Most of this, to be sure, comes from our desire to control our conditions but we are always powerless to the scenarios and circumstances of life. But in Joshua, God speaks quite plainly, commanding us to trust fully in the Lord and rely upon Him for our strength, for our relief, and for our courage. Ask yourself today: how well are you obeying this commandment? Are you strong and courageous in the Lord? If not, let us seek after Him for our courage and for our strength!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Intro to the Book of Judges
The book of Judges is one of the richest books of the Bible. However, aside from the story of Samson, many of the books more prominent characters are largely unknown if not outright neglected. Yet, as it is apart of the canon of Scripture because of God's will and design, and therefore, it warrants as equally an energetic examination as the epistles of Paul.
At the onset, the book of Judges comes after the book of Joshua, both canonically and chronologically. This is the relavant starting place because the book of Joshua sets the stage for the events of Judges, which set the context for the coming of Samuel, Saul, and David. Therefore, a basic understanding of the events of Joshua are in order so as to prepare us for thinking about the world of Judges.
Following Moses' death (Deut. 34:5-7), the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, began to disposess the Canaanites and inhabit the land. God gave the Israelites very specific instructions in that regard, instructions that can seem harsh if we read our 21st century context into them. God commanded the Israelites, uneqivocally, to utterly destroy the peoples that lived in the Promised Land. They were not to let anyone live. They weren't to make any treaty with the people and they were certainly not to marry with them.
However, despite the Lord's explicit instructions for the Israelites to sieze the Promised Land, they failed in almost every regard. They did intermarry, they did let some live, they did make treaties, et al. And as a result of such blatant disobedience on the part of God, who always knows what He is talking about and always has reasons for His instructions to people, the previous inhabitants of Canaan continually led the Israelites into ever-increasing debauchery and paganism.
Thus, they did not receive the fulness of the Promised Land and certainly not the Promised Rest that was to accompany the Land. The net effect was that the Israelites had whole generations that were far more pagan than they were Hebrew in their faith, meaning that they did not believe in the true and living God who had brought them out of Egypt by the power of His mighty outstreched hand, but they fell into Canaanite paganism and turned away from the God who is.
This is the historical context that we find ourselves in as we open the book of Judges and read, following the death of Joshua and his generation, "And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work He had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger (Judges 2:10-12)."
This is the context when we look at the book of Judges and should serve as the starting point for our continued examination into the major characters of the book. The major things to take from this are: when God commands to do something, do it utterly without swerving. But praise be to God who is to be glorified at every turn!
At the onset, the book of Judges comes after the book of Joshua, both canonically and chronologically. This is the relavant starting place because the book of Joshua sets the stage for the events of Judges, which set the context for the coming of Samuel, Saul, and David. Therefore, a basic understanding of the events of Joshua are in order so as to prepare us for thinking about the world of Judges.
Following Moses' death (Deut. 34:5-7), the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, began to disposess the Canaanites and inhabit the land. God gave the Israelites very specific instructions in that regard, instructions that can seem harsh if we read our 21st century context into them. God commanded the Israelites, uneqivocally, to utterly destroy the peoples that lived in the Promised Land. They were not to let anyone live. They weren't to make any treaty with the people and they were certainly not to marry with them.
However, despite the Lord's explicit instructions for the Israelites to sieze the Promised Land, they failed in almost every regard. They did intermarry, they did let some live, they did make treaties, et al. And as a result of such blatant disobedience on the part of God, who always knows what He is talking about and always has reasons for His instructions to people, the previous inhabitants of Canaan continually led the Israelites into ever-increasing debauchery and paganism.
Thus, they did not receive the fulness of the Promised Land and certainly not the Promised Rest that was to accompany the Land. The net effect was that the Israelites had whole generations that were far more pagan than they were Hebrew in their faith, meaning that they did not believe in the true and living God who had brought them out of Egypt by the power of His mighty outstreched hand, but they fell into Canaanite paganism and turned away from the God who is.
This is the historical context that we find ourselves in as we open the book of Judges and read, following the death of Joshua and his generation, "And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work He had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger (Judges 2:10-12)."
This is the context when we look at the book of Judges and should serve as the starting point for our continued examination into the major characters of the book. The major things to take from this are: when God commands to do something, do it utterly without swerving. But praise be to God who is to be glorified at every turn!
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