GOD’S PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO JOSHUA

Part 32

Joshua 1:6-8

Morning Meditation 12/3/16

Verses 6-9 says, “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. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”

The LORD gave Joshua a reason for great assurance in verse five. Everyone sent by the Lord needs to have the assurance that the Lord is with him. Now the Lord speaks to Joshua about his mental attitude as a leader and some of the reasons he needs that assurance.

One of the first things the LORD says to Joshua is “Be strong and of a good courage . . .” The word strong has to do with the ability to prevail. Joshua is to show strength in the face of doubters and the enemy. The words “good courage” have to do with fearlessness in the face of the enemy. These are qualities that the people need to see in Joshua. If you are going to follow a man in battle, you need to believe he believes he can win. Otherwise, it is suicide! The LORD promises Joshua that no man would be able to stand before him. The strength and courage that the LORD talks about here is an attitude that can be seen in one who believes what God has said.

The LORD said, “. . . for unto this people thou shalt divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.” It will take strength and courage to do this. It is not an easy job to deal with people about an inheritance. I have been dismayed over the attitude of families toward one another over the distribution of money and property at the death of a loved one. Israel has been waiting for a long time to possess their possessions. Abraham was given the land but he did not possess it in this sense. God said I have given them the land but you will divide it and this will take strength and courage.

Then the LORD adds in verse 7, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee . . .” The word “observe” means “to keep, to guard and to give heed to.” The words “to do” means “to fashion” and has the idea here of a right application of the Word of God to life. It takes courage to do this. It takes a leader with strength. I am afraid we have leaders with the wrong kind of strength. The average training institution for young preachers majors in psychology. If you are a psychologist and you read this, there is nothing personal meant by this statement. God made the mind. The credentials for counseling are a knowledge of the Bible. I read a statement one time and I think it was good. It went something like, “Psychology is a science that can be used for diagnostic purposes but it offers no real remedy. It is always the Bible that has the answer for the problems.” The person who said that is a professional counselor and a committed Christian to the Lord and His Word.

The best counseling that you can get is to sit in a Bible class and be taught the Word verse by verse. It will not be long before your particular need will be met and you don’t have to expose the problem to everyone. It is between you and the Lord. If correcting the problem goes beyond confession and receiving forgiveness of the Lord, and there is a need to get right with a brother or sister, one can do this privately. It is not always in the best interest of the church or you for the spiritually immature and carnal Christians to hear about your personal problems. Let me make one thing clear. Where the Bible says that public confession is required, I believe it should be done exactly like the Bible says.

The idea that everyone needs to hear about one’s sins comes out of instances of revival in the Local church where the power of God was so present that for the most part the revived attitude of the people was so heightened that public confession was drowned in a sea of glory! But public confession was not the cause of revival. It was the result of it. Zealous preachers in pursuit of revival have at times tried to produce revival by applying the results of revival as a cause. It won’t work, I’ve tried it!!! Incidentally, most of what I say in these meditations, I’m saying to myself. I just share them with you for what ever benefit you can derive from it. And I just ran a rabbit but it was a good rabbit.

The words, “ . . . which Moses my servant commanded thee . . .” refers to personal instructions given Joshua by Moses. It stood as instructions from the Lord. When God’s man speaks and what he says is God’s Word, it stands as God’s eternal, inerrant truth before the throne of God and to which those who hear will have to give account in the day of judgment. Jesus said in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” The same principle applies to the man of God who faithfully proclaims His Word. Our interpretations of the Word are not necessarily binding or honored by the Lord. It is the Word itself to which all will give an account. It amazes me when I hear someone use a verse of Scripture and say, “This is what it means . . .” I’m sitting there listening to him with an open Bible and there is nothing in the verse that remotely resembles the interpretation that is being given. Let me give you a rule to go by. God did not write His Word to hide the truth, but to reveal truth. The New Testament was written originally in the Koine Greek which was the common language of the day. Not the classical Greek but the common Greek. The Lord wanted the man on the street, the shepherd, the man in the army, etc., to understand what He said. The Lord has gone to a lot of trouble to see that the average man can understand what He has revealed to mankind in His Word. So, when you hear a man read a verse of Scripture and his comment is not relevant to the text, just take you ecclesiastical shovel and dump it over your shoulder.

Then the LORD says, “ . . . turn not from it to the right hand or to the left . . .” There is no room for departure from the Word. A straight path is what is being spoken of. The man of God and all Christians have to watch the temptation to go to the right or left and not walk a straight path, when the application of the Scripture to the situation becomes difficult. The LORD knows the weakness in man’s nature to compromise. So the LORD covers this problem by these special instructions. Paul is speaking of this same thing in his instructions to Timothy when he tells him, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). The words, “rightly dividing” are the translation of “orthotomeo” and mean “to proceed on straight paths, hold a straight course, to cut straight.” It means to preach the Word, and don’t cut around the edges of the problem, but straight through.

The words “that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest” describe the secret of success from God’s point of view. Joshua’s prosperity will be a God given prosperity. And God is only committed to His Word in us. If we obey, He prospers us. If we disobey and change His Word, He backs off. He does not honor our departure from His Word. Amen.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White