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,
2 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.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
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: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.
12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
15 Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

1 Nowe after the death of Moses the seruant of the Lord, it came to passe, that the Lord spake vnto Ioshua the sonne of Nun, Moses minister, saying,

2 Moses my seruant is dead: now therefore arise, goe ouer this Iordan, thou, and all this people, vnto the land which I doe giue to them, euen to the children of Israel.

3 Euery place that the sole of your foote shall tread vpon, that haue I giuen vnto you, as I said vnto Moses.

4 From the wildernesse and this Lebanon, euen vnto the great Riuer, the riuer Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and vnto the great sea, toward the going downe of the Sunne, shalbe your coast.

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the dayes of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not faile thee, nor forsake thee.

6 Bee strong, and of a good courage: for vnto this people shalt thou diuide for an inheritance the land which I sware vnto their fathers to giue them.

7 Onely bee thou strong, and very courageous, that thou mayest obserue to doe according to all the Law, which Moses my seruant commaunded thee: turne not from it to the right hand, or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whither soeuer thou goest.

8 This booke of the Law shal not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest obserue to doe according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt haue good successe.

9 Haue not I commanded thee? be strong, and of a good courage, bee not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee, whither soeuer thou goest.

10 Then Ioshua commanded the Officers of the people, saying,

11 Passe through the hoste, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals: for within three dayes ye shal passe ouer this Iordan, to goe in to possesse the land which the Lord your God giueth you, to possesse it.

12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to halfe the tribe of Manasseh, spake Ioshua, saying,

13 Remember the word which Moses the seruant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath giuen you rest, and hath giuen you this land:

14 Your wiues, your litle ones, and your cattell shall remaine in the lande which Moses gaue you on this side Iordan; but ye shall passe before your brethren armed, all the mightie men of valour, and helpe them:

15 Untill the Lord haue giuen your brethren rest, as he hath giuen you, and they also haue possessed the lande which the Lord your God giueth them: then yee shall returne vnto the land of your possession, and enioy it, which Moses the Lords seruant gaue you on this side Iordan toward the Sunne rising.

16 And they answered Ioshua, saying, All that thou commandest vs, we will doe, and whither soeuer thou sendest vs, we will goe.

17 According as we hearkened vnto Moses in all things, so will we hearken vnto thee: onely the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.

18 Whosoeuer he be that doth rebell against thy commandement, and will not hearken vnto thy words, in all that thou commandest him, he shall bee put to death: onely be strong, and of a good courage.

I == Ex 24:13 ; Deut 1:38

II == Deut 34:5

 

 

 

III == Deut 34:5

 

IV == Gen 15:18 ; Ex 23:312 ; Num 34:3-12

 

 

V == Ex 3:12 ; Deut 7:24 ; 31:6 , 8 , 23 ; Josh 1:9 , 17 ; 3:7 ; 6:27 ; Isa 43:2 , 5 ; Heb 13:5

VI == Deut 31:7 , 23

 

VII == Num 27:23 ; Deut 5:32 ; 28:14 ; 31:7 ; Josh 11:15

 

 

VIII == Deut 17:18-19 ; Ps 1:2

 

 

 

 

IX == Deut 31:7-8 , 23 ; Ps 27:1 ; Jer 1:8

 

 

 

XI == Deut 9:1 ; 11:31 ; Josh 3:2

 

 

 

 

XIII == Num 32:20-28 ; Josh 22:2-4

 

 

 

 

 

 

XV == Josh 22:4-6

 

 

 

 

 

XVII == Josh 1:5 ; 1st Sam 20:13 ; 1st Kings 1:37

 

 

1 After Moses, the servant of the LORD, had died, the LORD said to Moses' aide Joshua, son of Nun:

2 "My servant Moses is dead. So prepare to cross the Jordan here, with all the people into the land I will give the Israelites.

3 As I promised Moses, I will deliver to you every place where you set foot.

4 Your domain is to be all the land of the Hittites, from the desert and from Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea.

5 No one can withstand you while you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses: I will not leave you nor forsake you.

6 Be firm and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers I would give them.

7 Above all, be firm and steadfast, taking care to observe the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.

8 Keep this book of the law on your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may observe carefully all that is written in it; then you will successfully attain your goal.

9 I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go."

10 So Joshua commanded the officers of the people:

11 "Go through the camp and instruct the people, 'Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and take possession of the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.'"

12 Joshua reminded the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh:

13 "Remember what Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you when he said, 'The LORD, your God, will permit you to settle in this land.'

14 Your wives, your children, and your livestock shall remain in the land Moses gave you here beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you must cross over armed ahead of your kinsmen and you must help them

15 until the LORD has settled your kinsmen, and they like you possess the land which the LORD, your God, is giving them. Afterward you may return and occupy your own land, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, has given you east of the Jordan."

16 "We will do all you have commanded us," they answered Joshua, "and we will go wherever you send us. We will obey you as completely as we obeyed Moses.

17 But may the LORD, your God, be with you as he was with Moses.

18 If anyone rebels against your orders and does not obey every command you give him, he shall be put to death. But be firm and steadfast."

v 1. The thirty days mourning for Moses are over, and the Lord has given the call to Joshua to take his place. He is from the tribe of Ephraim and lived 110 years. Joshua fought against Amalek shortly after the Exodus. He went up on Mt. Sinai with Moses. He stayed in the tabernacle outside the camp until the big one was set up in the camp. He was a faithful spy with Caleb. Joshua means “Jehovah is Salvation”, in Greek it is “Jesus”, and he is a type of Christ.  Some of the major points are:
a. He comes after Moses, Jn. 1:17; Rom. 8:3-4; 10:4-5; Gal. 3:23-25.
b. He leads to victory, Rom. 8:37; 2 Cor. 1:10; 2;14.
c. He is our advocate when we have suffered defeat, 1 Jn. 2:1,2 cp. Josh. 7:5-9.
d. He allots our inheritance, Eph. 1:11-14; 4:7-11.

v 2-5. The Lord is giving them the land, but they must go in to possess it, and Joshua’s foot is to trod on all that is claimed. Salvation is free, but we must accept, or claim it. God promises His presence now as with Moses. He gives a brief description of the four boundaries, and mentions the land of the Hittites, meaning Canaan. Skeptics denied that Hittites ever existed, because they were never mentioned outside of the 48 times in the Bible. However, in my own life time, clay tablets have been found in Egyptian monuments, which among other things, tell of a military treaty made by the Egyptians and Hittites nearly thirteen centuries before the birth of Christ. The capitol of the Hittite Empire was in Asia Minor, east of Ankara, Turkey.

v 6-9. Three times in these verses God instructs Joshua to be strong and courageous:   1. For possessing the land 2. For keeping the law and 3. For freedom from fear. To achieve the success of verse 8, one must follow “do” the instructions of verses 6-8. It is not enough to casually read God’s word, but time must be spent in meditating, learning what it means for us, then obeying it.

v 10,11. Joshua must have sent the spies out immediately, and acts in faith as he tells the people they will cross the Jordan in three days. The spies were hidden for three days, 2:22, so unless they were sent out before the command was given to the people, their good news came just before the camp was to move forward. See 3:1,2 The daily manna had not ceased, but for this major undertaking, they would also take some captured provisions for themselves and their animals.

v 12-15. The tribes mentioned had promised Moses, Num. 32, that they would leave their cattle and families, and go over with the other Israelites to conquer the land. Joshua reminds them of this and requires that they follow through on their promise. He was only taking 40,000 soldiers, see Josh. 4:13, so older, younger and 60,000 other soldiers could defend the homes.

v 16-18. They respond with total commitment, pledging to obey him just as they had Moses. They go beyond that, pledging to kill anyone who rebels against Joshua. They also reinforce God’s command for Joshua to be strong and courageous.