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Joshua followed Moses closely throughout his leadership of Israel through the exodus. He waited for him regularly outside the tabernacle and beneath the mountain of God. These periods of waiting and watching must have created in him a deep honour of the God who led them all. After Moses’ death God speaks to Joshua alone and encourages him to be strong and courageous because He would be with him as He was with Moses. What a reassurance for a new leader of so numerous a people with the huge task of leading them into the promised land and resettling them! Joshua never wavers in obeying God and it’s this obedience that set him apart from the crowd (along with Caleb son of Jephunneh).
One added instruction that God repeatedly gives Joshua is that the book of the Law shouldn’t depart from him. That command in itself is heavy because God had given Moses many commandments (apart from the Ten Commandments). These commands, if imbibed into one’s life through a relationship with God would be easy to live by. When we love someone we do what pleases them and it’s not a task. It’s no different in our walk with God. When we love Him with all that we have and are, obeying his word and living by his commands is not burdensome.
After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 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.”
In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome
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One Response
I love God with all my heart. I desire to feel closer to him. I am a work in progress as I seek his will and try and follow his ways. I have made progress but have a long way to go. I no longer have fear as I know my God goes before me and equips me with all I need for any of the battles I face
