The book of Joshua starts with the inevitable destination for all men: death. The LORD told Joshua that Moses was dead and commanded him to lead the Israelites to cross Jordan to the land that He promised (Josh 1:2). The book of Joshua starts with death and a new mission for the Isrealites. 

Mortal Man and Immortal God

However great they may be, all leaders die at some point. The work of God continues, however. God assigns and raises up a new leader. Although Moses made multiple requests before God to allow him to enter the land of Canaan, the LORD placed a hard stop on Moses. Moses passed away on top of the mountain and the LORD God Himself buried him in the valley in the land of Moab (Deut 34:6). 

However extraordinary Moses was – whom the LORD knew face to face (Duet 34:10) – he died, but the work of God never stops. The work of God to redeem His people from the world began right at the moment when Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3. This work was carried out by Moses, and to be handed over to Joshua. 

Repeated Verse: “Be strong and very courageous”

The command “be strong and courageous” is repeated three times in the first chapter. The same command and encouragement were given to Joshua twice prior to this chapter directly by Moses (Deut 31:7) and God (Deut 31:23). The LORD began to instill His encouragement to Josua before the start of the actual conquest. Repeating a phrase three times is held an important value in the Hebrew language, and what can we say about five times? These five repetitions were to remind Joshua of the LORD’s wholeheartedly support of Joshua’s leadership for the conquest of the land of Canaan. 

God’s Partnership with His People: Simply Amazing

Let’s take a brief moment to meditate on Joshua 1:6: 

“….YOU shall give this people possession of the land which I [the LORD God] swore to their forefathers to give them [emphasis added]”

“You” in this verse was Joshua. Although God was the ultimate leader of this conquest and the all the redemptive work, God was telling Joshua that Joshua would give this people possession of the land. This is simply amazing. God, who is sufficient and perfect, wants to work with His people. God desires to have deep fellowship and partnership with us in accomplishing His work! This attribute of God gives us the followers of Christ immense comfort and encouragement.

As soon as Joshua was empowered by the LORD, he took swift action to speak with the officers of the people for preparation.

Virtuous Cycle

The last three verses of this chapter, from verse 16 to 18, highlight the importance of oneness in the LORD within the community. 

The leaders of Israel spoke back to Joshua to be strong and courageous (Josh 1:18). Where did this statement originally come from? Let’s follow the flow of communication in this chapter. 

The message flowed from God to Joshua, then from Joshua to the officers of the Israelites, then from the Israelites back to Joshua. The original message of God was the encouragement to be strong and courageous. Then, Joshua received this back from the officers of the Israelites. What was flowing among the Israelite community was a virtuous cycle, essential for living out the promise of God.