Be Strong and Courageous
Devotional for September 28 · Joshua 1:9 · 13-minute read
1Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, 2“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, you and all these people, and cross over the Jordan into the land that I am giving to the children of Israel. 3I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses. 4Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea. 5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them. 7Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. 8This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do. 9Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: 11“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’” 12But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13“Remember what Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’ 14Your wives, your young children, and your livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers and help them, 15until the LORD gives them rest as He has done for you, and your brothers also possess the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you may return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the east side of the Jordan.” 16So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. 17Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words, all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!”
Context
Joshua 1 opens with news of loss: “Moses My servant is dead” (v. 2). For forty years Moses had led Israel out of Egypt. Joshua son of Nun had been his assistant and one of the spies who trusted God when the others were afraid (Num 14:6-9). Now he inherits the leadership of a large people, on the banks of the Jordan River, facing a land occupied by fortified cities. The date is uncertain, probably between the fifteenth and thirteenth centuries BC.
The chapter is almost entirely speech. First God speaks to Joshua (v. 1-9), then Joshua speaks to the officers and to the tribes that had already received land on the other side of the Jordan (v. 10-15), and finally the people respond (v. 16-18). The command “Be strong and courageous” appears several times and even closes the people's speech. It is not a motivational speech: it is tied to a promise, God's presence, and to a task, obeying the law given through Moses.
What the text says
- v. 5: The basis of courage is a promise: “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- v. 7-8: The courage asked for is also moral: to “observe all the law” and to meditate on it “day and night.” The success promised is tied to obedience, not to a guarantee that things will be easy.
- v. 9: The command is repeated together with its foundation: “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Reflection
Joshua had reasons to be afraid. The leader he had served for decades had just died, and he was inheriting a people with a history of grumbling, facing a river to cross and cities to confront. It is significant that God repeats three times, in just a few verses, the command to be strong and courageous (v. 6, 7, and 9). No one says that three times to someone who is not afraid. The text does not treat fear as sin; it treats it as a reality that must be faced with a greater word.
Notice where the courage comes from. It does not come from self-confidence or favorable numbers. It comes from one sentence: “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you.” Joshua had seen what God did in Moses' time: the parted sea, the manna, the water in the desert. The presence that sustained the previous leader did not die with him. In the Bible, courage is, above all, remembering who is with us.
There is a detail that often goes unnoticed. The courage asked for in v. 7 and 8 is not only military; it is the courage to obey. God tells Joshua not to turn from the law “to the right or to the left” and to meditate on it “day and night.” Sometimes the bravest decision is not to charge ahead at something, but to remain faithful when it would be easier to compromise on principles. The success promised in v. 8 is not wealth or the absence of struggle; it is the path of someone who does what God commanded.
The promise never to leave nor forsake was not limited to Joshua. The letter to the Hebrews takes it up and applies it to Christians (Heb 13:5), in a context of contentment and trust. And Jesus, when he sent out his disciples, promised to be with them always, to the end of the age (Matt 28:20). The Christian reads Joshua 1 in the light of that presence, without turning every detail of the conquest of Canaan into a personal promise.
Maybe you are standing before your own Jordan: a new start after a loss, a responsibility bigger than you feel able to carry, a right decision that comes at a high cost. This text does not promise that you will not feel fear, or that everything will be easy. It promises companionship. And it asks for a next step: prepare your provisions, as Joshua told the people to do (v. 11), and cross over when the time comes. You do not go forward alone.
Connections
- Hebrews 13:5 (stated in the text): The promise never to leave nor forsake is quoted and applied to Christians.
- Deuteronomy 31:6-8 (cross-reference): Moses had already passed on to Joshua, before the people, the same command to be strong and courageous and the same promise of presence.
- Matthew 28:20 (editorial reading): Our own thematic link: like Joshua, the disciples receive a mission accompanied by the promise of Jesus' presence.
To apply
- Heart: where has fear been paralyzing me, and what changes if I remember that God is with me there?
- Relationships: who in my life is taking on a new responsibility and needs to hear a word of courage?
- Today: choose one right decision you have been putting off out of fear and take the first concrete step in it.
Prayer
Lord, you are faithful from generation to generation. You were with Moses, you were with Joshua, and you promised to be with your people to the end. I confess that fear often speaks louder than your word, and I draw back from what you have called me to do. Forgive my unbelief. Give me courage to obey, firmness not to turn aside, and the constant reminder that you go with me wherever I go. In Jesus' name, Amen.
To memorize: Joshua 1:9
Today's step: In the next 24 hours, take the first practical step in a task that fear has been postponing, reading Joshua 1:9 before you begin.
To go deeper: read Joshua 1–3 and get to know Joshua.