part one
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 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.
Joshua 1:1-2
Moses my servant is dead.
This is a very solemn way to start a book. It gets straight to the point. Life on this earth is full of uncertainty and transition. In fact, one thing we can be sure of is that nothing stays the same. Only God never changes. James tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17 is telling us that God, who never changes, desires to bless us with good and perfect gifts.
Joshua was about to face a great transition in the story of the children of Israel. Moses had died. He assumed leadership of the nation. God reassures Joshua that even in uncertain times and through this major transition he was facing, there was an unchanging plan to bring Israel into prosperity and blessing.
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Joshua 1:3-5
God desires to bless us as well
He blesses us with the Power of His Word
As children of God, we also have a great heritage of blessing that has been passed down to us from generation to generation. It is the heritage of the blessing of the Word of God. God told Joshua, “I have given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” God gave His Word to Moses and promised the same Word to Joshua. So we also have a more sure word of testimony and we would do well to take heed to that word as a light that shines in a dark place (2 Peter 1:19).
He blesses us with His Presence
We also have the promise of the presence of God. God is with us. He told Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Standing at the border of the land of promise, with so many obstacles to overcome, Joshua may have felt overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility that he had been given. God gently reminds Joshua that He is for him and is willing to bless him and go with him into the battle. In a similar sense, Jesus gave the daunting task to evangelize the world to a small group of believers making up the body of His church. But Jesus does not leave us to fulfill this task in our own power. He blesses us with the indwelling power of the Spirit and promises that, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
He blesses us with His Provision
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:31-33
God has promised to take care of us. When we seek Him first, He provides our needs. Fulfill your role in His Kingdom. He is a good Father and a gracious King who cares for all who serve Him. He wants you to be blessed and He wants you to shine as light in the world that the world may “see you good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The measure of influence that you have as a Christian must be used to bring people into a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. God truly has blessed us to be a blessing.
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Joshua 1:6
In part two we will discover how Israel missed a great blessing and why. Learning from biblical history will edify and encourage us to avoid the same mistakes. We don’t want to miss God’s blessing.