Burunche’s Blog

Joshua 1:10 – 18 “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: “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 for your own.’”

But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, “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.’ Your 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, until 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.”

So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. Just 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. Anyone 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!”

Moses is dead and God has buried him. Now Joshua has to take over. God may have hidden Moses’ body so that Joshua would have no excuse for beginning to lead. Joshua is looking out over more than two million people camped on the east side of the Jordan River. Later in Joshua 3 we learn that the Jordan is in flood, overflowing its banks for miles. While Joshua is ordering the Israelites to make ready, some of the Israelites may be wandering down to that river and checking the water. Imagine what these guys are thinking, “We are going to cross THIS? HOW???”

Remember the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half – tribe of Manasseh? These people all had vast flocks and herds and when they saw the quality of the grazing land on the east side of the Jordan, they petitioned Moses for the opportunity to settle there, instead of driving their animals any further. This petition took place after the Israelites had defeated King Og and King Sihon and had taken away their land. The deal was that if these tribes settled on the east side of the Jordan, they would still assist their fellow Israelites in the conquest of the Promised Land and would then return to their families. One reason this bargain might have been important is that these tribes were brave enough to claim land where they would be separated from the rest of the Israelites by the Jordan River. It takes nerve to stay in a remote area and not lose heart. That bravery probably translated into their being fierce warriors.

“So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. Just 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. Anyone 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!” WOW! What an endorsement! This is the same bunch of people who have given Moses fits for 40 years, but now they are promising “obedience in all things?” Somebody has a very short memory. But they ARE promising that anyone who rebels against Joshua will die, and they are encouraging Joshua to be strong and courageous, the very same phrases that God has been using. What must God have been thinking when He heard them making all these promises?

APPLICATION: William Shakespeare once wrote, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.” While God created Joshua for greatness, Joshua probably felt as if it was being dumped upon him! Anyone who has ever found themselves suddenly taking over a managerial position can certainly identify. Even though Moses had been grooming Joshua to take over for some time, Joshua must have still been pretty anxious about the whole thing. What can we learn from Joshua?

1. Accept encouragement, but don’t rely on it. Later on, the Israelites revert to type, but right now they are encouraging Joshua. It’s so wonderful when those you are leading are willing to give encouragement, and it’s so demoralizing when you have someone secretly undermining you! Remember that the same people who shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” on Palm Sunday were screaming ”Crucify him!” the next Friday.    
2. Make sure people follow through on their commitments. Joshua insisted the three groups that had settled on the east side of the Jordan fulfill their assurances of support. Not only did the Israelites need the manpower, but it was critically important for Joshua to follow through. Had Joshua allowed these tribes to go back on their promises, none of the Israelites would have respected him.
3. Take your orders and your encouragement from God. Today people are praising you and cheering you on, but as soon as you have to enforce an unpopular requirement, you’ll encounter opposition. God is the only One who gives good counsel all of the time.
4. Remember that God is your Source of supply and not people. If COVID has taught us nothing else, it has taught us about supply chain problems. Those of us who work in remote areas know that if we see something desirable while we are shopping, we had better stock up. The next time we come into town, those items will be gone, never to return. There are so many times when we have had to beg God to multiply resources. At the moment, we are using oxygen bottles at our hospital. The round trip to fill those bottles takes more than six hours and a lot of fuel. I pray for God to multiply the oxygen on a regular basis!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to learn Your lessons of leadership. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on February 2, 2022 at 7:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.