Joshua 1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. 5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
What do these verses mean to me, you, or us? First, it is an account informing us of a specific time in history concerning the Jewish people after the death of Moses, according to verse 1. God is now speaking to Joshua son of Nun. Next we are told that God instructed Joshua on what to do. This involves several things: (A) Cross the Jordan and take the land God promised to the Israelites fathers, v.8. (B1) Joshua is instructed to “Only be strong and very courageous” joined with the instruction to “be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.”; (B2) God further explains how to and what to do concerning the Law; “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night”; (B3) This section tells us why: “so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it;”, v. 8. (C) Now we have a promise from God to Joshua as follows in verse 8: “for then you will make your way prosperous, and they you will have success.” (D) The last statements God makes in this section of Scripture is encouragement, “Have I not commanded you?” “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
What have I done above: I read the text and I observed what it said, who was speaking and to whom God spoke and what specifically God said Joshua was to do and where he was to find what he was to do and lastly an encouragement. What it says is what it means so what does it mean? It means what it says which is that Joshua was to follow God’s instruction to cross the Jordan and take the land and in doing so he was to meditate on the law day and night, ALL OF THE LAW, “all that is written in it” See Leviticus and the Deuteronomy to discover “all that is written in it.” And the admonition was that if you do this you will be rewarded with success, in other words you will live in peace in the land and you will be able to defeat the present dwellers of the land and take it for yours because God gave it to them and they would be able to possess it as long as they followed the LAW, see again Leviticus.
What application does this have for the Christian? First, the keeping of the law does not apply to us. Second, the crossing a river and taking the land from others does not apply to us, this is a physical promise to the Israelites, not to Christians. This promise is still applicable to the Israelites and will be completely fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom following the Second coming of Christ which follows the 7 year tribulation which follows the rapture of the church. Third, the word meditate on the Law day and night does not apply to us. Why? In context the Law consist of over 600 plus rules, laws, regulations designed specifically for the Israelites and this law does not apply to the Christian, we do not keep the Law of Moses, the law spoken of in the text above. Is there any application we can gain from these verses, yes there is, but not the same as it was for Israel in keeping the law? The idea of meditating on what God has instructed them which is for them not us, also applies to us as Christians regarding the instructions to the Church found only in the Letters to the Church. To know what we are to meditate correctly in God's word we look to the letters to discover what we are to do and why?
If you want to really, I mean really understand the difference then study Galatians inside out, outside in, reread it and take it apart and put it back together, meditate on it and let it tell you how you as a Believer in Christ should understand the difference between Law and Grace. Quoting a verse from the O. T. and not making the correct application does mislead others who are not discerning of the difference between Law and Grace. As a believer if we want to learn how to be a Christian we are to take our instruction from the letters and yes all scripture is profitable. Do you see the value of the verses above in the correct context and understanding now? If you take it any other way you take it out of its intended context and meaning and application which is not for the Christian. The important part of the historical factual occasion of these passages is that Joshua the leader was to set the example and thus lead his followers, the Israelites to meditate in the Law and obey it. We are not commanded to follow this injunction, no our marching orders are found in the letters to the church for they explain to us as Believers how we are to think and act, the letters is our commentary on the Old Testament and the Gospels, the letters is our instruction Manuel. Be a student of the letters and filter all the Old Testament through it and the Gospels too. If you want correct theology you must do it this way, refuse to do it this way and you will find yourself in error more often and not.
Note that when the verses above were written they, the first five books of the bible was the only bible they had and they did not all have copies of it, there may have only be a few, we really don’t know how many copies existed at the time of this historical setting. Now we did not the book of Joshua all the way to Revelation, get that fixed in your mind. But now we do have all the rest and we have the letters to the Churches that instruct us Christians as to how we are to think and live. Notice how we are to deal with the literature written to us, all scripture has it place and is profitable, for teaching, correction, and instructions in righteousness, as long as we apply it CORRECTLY.
