Joshua 1:1-9
Being used in God’s ministry is God’s prerogative. If God chooses not to use any person in the world, He can do it. God can execute His purposes and missions without the help of man. Have you ever thought about that? God does not need any human here on earth to accomplish His plans. Why did I say that? Because I know He is a very powerful or should I say the All-powerful God!
But according to the history of God’s record, He decided to work hand in hand with man because He made us according to His image. It means we are a special and unique creation. He made us to commune with Him and worship Him. Therefore, He wants to work with us.
In our passage in this discussion, God chose to use Joshua to succeed Moses in leading His people to conquer the promised land. Our focus in this meditation is upon God, not on Joshua. Let us see how powerful the God of Joshua is. There are two things in the passage that tells of God’s mighty power.
I. His promises
Do you know that all children of God are all claimants of all these promises? Do you know how many promises we have from God in His word? Let us enumerate His promises from this passage alone.
The promised land/a territory v. 2-3
God said that Joshua and all His people would cross the Jordan to the land which God is giving to them. That’s the promise! God further said in verse 3 that every place where Joshua set his foot will be given to them. Wow, that is something else! Look at verse 4, God gave the extent of the territory, “From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and as far as the great sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.” If God can do those things, then He must be a mighty God.
The presence of God v. 5, 9
There is nothing that will ever give us great comfort other than the presence of God in our everyday lives. Let us see the details of the promise in verse 5. “No man will be able to stand before you in all the days of your life, Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”Now think about that, if a mighty God says that He will never leave you nor forsake you, how would you feel or react? Now let us read verse 9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Wow! What a promise! Now, if God can make all those promises, then He must be a very powerful God!
Prosperity and success v. 8b
“. . For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
God also promises prosperity and success. But this promise of prosperity and success cannot be separated from the obedience of God’s commands. That will be dealt with in the second point. Regardless, God still promises prosperity and success. But we need to understand this. Sometimes we equate success and prosperity only in having power, influence, and acquiring material wealth. That is just a small part, or I should say a result of genuine prosperity and success. It should be within the context of obedience, which will be part of God’s commands. Now, if God can make His promise of prosperity and success a reality in our lives as we obey Him, then He must be a powerful God!
These are just a few of the many promises of God in the Bible. But you might react, “Hey Nonie, these are promises of God specifically for the yet to be Israelite, how would they apply to me right now?” Well, I would like to say that there are general truths in the Bible, which means the principle applies to the original audience and continues to apply to all succeeding generations, including ours’ and the future. And there are local truths that apply only to that specific situation and for Israelite’s culture.
Since we are talking about application, how are we going to appropriate these promises in our current situation? Let’s take the promise of land or a territory. This is a literal land territory for the 12 tribes of Jacob. You see, if they are to be a nation, they need land or a territory. This is an example of a local truth, which is only valid to Israel. We cannot generalize this promise. Do not claim something like this from God because you might not receive what you’re asking. Then when you do not receive it, you might say, “Oh, I thought God is powerful enough to give what I’m asking!”
How about the promise of God’s presence? This is an example of a general truth. From the time they came out of Egypt to the wilderness wandering, God’s presence was with Moses and the entire people of God. Now that Moses is gone, God’s presence will be with Joshua too. Let us fast forward, When Jesus was about to leave, he told the disciples In Matthew 28:20, “. . .. and lo I am with you always even to the end of the earth.” That will be true with us, and with the future disciples of Jesus Christ.
How about prosperity and success? Yes, that’s also a general truth that applies to the future disciples and us as well. Again, prosperity here may not always refer to material things or wealth. It could refer to the things that the faithful disciple is doing. God prospers him or her in everything he/she does because it’s following God’s will.
God is so powerful that He can fulfill all these promises for us. But like what I’ve said, there must be something on our part that we should do to see the fulfillment of those promises. We will discuss that in the next part of this conversation-The God of Joshua 2.
