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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Joshua 1:1 - 1:9
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Joshua Formally Commissioned
v. 1. Now, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, after the completion of the thirty days' mourning for this great prophet whom the Lord so signally distinguished, Num_12:7-8; Deu_34:5-8, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, not his servant, but his assistant, who had been pointed out some 'time before as the successor of Moses, Num_27:15-23, had been expressly designated as such by Moses, Deu_31:7, and had appeared before the people in that capacity, saying,
v. 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, for Canaan proper was always spoken of as including the territory west of the Jordan only. These words were not spoken to Joshua through the high priest's Urim and Thummim, upon which he had been told to rely in case of difficult questions, Num_27:21, but were an immediate Revelation of the divine will, in the same way in which the Lord had communicated with Moses.
v. 3. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses, Deu_11:24.
v. 4. From the wilderness, the Desert of Arabia on the south and southeast, and this Lebanon, the mountain range in the north, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, who apparently had been overlords of this entire region at one time and were still occupying the country northwest of the Sea of Chinnereth, afterward that of Galilee, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, the Mediterranean Sea, shall be your coast. Cf Deu_11:24-25.
v. 5. There shall not any man, namely, of the kings and inhabitants of the country, be able to stand before thee, withstand him successfully, all the days of thy life, Deu_31:8. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, let him sink down in helplessness by withdrawing his hand, nor forsake thee.
v. 6. Be strong, firm, mighty in the trust of Jehovah, and of a good courage, altogether undismayed; he must lay hold boldly and with a strong hand, and when he has done so, allow nothing to drive him from his position of firm adherence to Jehovah; for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Cf Deu_31:7-23. This condition is still further expanded.
v. 7. Only be thou strong and very courageous, said with greater emphasis than in v. 6, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the Law which Moses, My servant, commanded thee, for the leader of the people must be an example to all his followers. Turn not from it, namely, from the roll of the written Law as it was preserved in the Ark of the Covenant, to the right hand or to the left, as the slightest deviation was a transgression, that thou mayest prosper, make use of the proper wisdom and thus be successful, whithersoever thou goest.
v. 8. This book of the Law, as it had been written by Moses and delivered into the hands of the priests, Deu_31:26, shall not depart out of thy mouth, he should teach it, study it, discuss it; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, trying to penetrate ever more deeply into its scope and meaning, and thus becoming qualified to speak more clearly, pointedly, and powerfully to the people, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, namely, in the thoughts of the heart and in the deeds of the hands; for then thou shall make thy way prosperous, make headway on the path of duty before him, and then thou shalt have good success, because of the application of practical wisdom given by the Lord. The Lord now summarizes His charge to Joshua, introducing it by a rhetorical question for the sake of greater effect.
v. 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. Thus the assurance gains in strength when to the positive command to be courageous is added the negative to lay aside all fear, as in Deu_31:6-8. We Christians have a similar promise of victory over all our enemies and the eventual enjoyment of the heavenly happiness. But we also have the command of God to read, study, and hear the Word of God to arrange our whole life in accordance with its precepts. Then we also shall have success in the things we undertake under the guidance of God.