Brethren, if you'll take a copy of the scriptures and turn with me to the book of Joshua this evening, Joshua, chapter one, we're beginning our study tonight, working through the book of Joshua. And Cliff and I will be preaching this book to you over the next several months. I'm sure it'll take us to work through Joshua. We are excited about beginning this book with you and pray that God would bless our time. And this book, he was known to the Hebrews as the former prophets. We think of it as strictly historical book, and that's how we look at it. But we're transitioning out of the law into historical literature. So may God bless our study. Let's stand together for the reading of God's most holy word from Joshua one to chapter one, verses one to nine. Hear now the word of the Lord. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you. Just as I promised to Moses from the wilderness of this Lebanon, as far as the Great River, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life, just as I was with Moses. So I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 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 good success. Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous? Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go thus far. God's word. Let us pray together. Our Father in heaven, we know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from your mouth. So, Lord, as we read and study your holy word, we pray that you would teach us and you would feed us and you would cause us to see your grace and glory, even in this text, that we might understand how to live to your honor. For we do pray it in Jesus's name and all God's people said. Amen. Brethren, please be seated. As we turn the page from Deuteronomy to Joshua, one can only imagine the fears and the concerns of God's people as they contemplate life without Moses. The whole context of Joshua is set by the words in verse one after the death of Moses. Yet we can only grasp the significance of those words in that context by thinking of Moses's greatness. Moses led the confrontation against Pharaoh. Moses was Yahweh's instrument to bring the people out of Egypt. He ascended to Sinai's heights to receive the 10 words of the covenant. And when Israel stood on the brink of death because of the golden calf affair, Who mediated for them? Who interceded for their forgiveness? Who did so repeatedly in the wilderness? It was Moses. Moses had an unparalleled intimacy with Yahweh. He spoke to him face to face. No one was greater than Moses and no one would be until the coming of the greater Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ. But now this unprecedented leader who brought them to the edge of Canaan is dead. So how can God's people go on? How can they move a step farther without Moses? How can they face a raging river, fierce foes and take the land if Moses isn't with them? Well, those are significant questions. Yet we'll discover as we begin to study this book and particularly this text, that while Moses is dead, Yahweh is not. And the Lord has the answers to all their concerns and he's going to lay them out. How can we go on? Well, we'll see the Lord's answer to this question under two headings tonight. And the first is this, how can we go on because We are first sustained by God's care. We are sustained by God's care. And we're going to see this in verses one to five. If all hope was lost with Moses, well, then the story of God's people would come to an end with a book of Deuteronomy. But verse one of Joshua starts with a striking feature. The opening word of Joshua is the word and. Now, you don't see it in your ESV, but I promise you it's there in the Hebrew and it reads like this. And it was after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, or and it came about after the death of Moses. And this tells us that Moses's death is not the end of the story. What Yahweh was doing with his people in Genesis to Deuteronomy, or under Moses' leadership from Exodus to Deuteronomy, that hasn't stopped. Yahweh's purposes have not failed. Indeed, this crisis in leadership is not really a crisis at all, for Yahweh has already provided a new leader. Back in Deuteronomy, chapter 31, in the presence of all the people, Joshua was commissioned to lead Israel to possess the land. It was a natural transition for Joshua had been Moses's assistant for 40 years. Notice Exodus 24 sometime. So after Moses's death, verse one, the Lord says to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses's assistant, Moses, my servant, is dead now, therefore, arrives. Go over this Jordan, you and all this people into the land. I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. So the Lord is telling Joshua and Israel with these words, your hope cannot be cut off by death. It must be in the God whose faithfulness endures forever. We have this wretched tendency as humans to put our confidence in man and his abilities, and so the psalmist exhorts us in Psalm 146, verse three, for instance, put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. And we think as spiritual people, well, that's not really a problem for us. But when a mighty servant of God comes along, we fall victim to the same trap. And we think when that man's gone, well, the work of God can't possibly go on. George Mueller, a 19th century evangelist, most well known for his ministry to orphans. was once asked what Mr. Mueller will become of the orphan houses when you are removed. Mueller answered when the Lord shall have been pleased to remove me from my post, he will be pleased to prove that he was not dependent on me. and that he can easily raise up another servant of his to act on the same principles on which I have sought to carry out this work. God alone fails not, and he proves that in this text, that when he takes away the gifts of one man in death, he raises up another to do his bidding because his power is not tied to frail, frail creatures of the dust. God's unassailable Word doesn't die with sinful man. No power can overcome God's mighty promises, not even death, even through death. Yahweh's care continues. He provides. Now, brethren, is our hope in man who dies, in great leaders in the church, or is it in the Christ who builds the church? Jeremiah 17.5 tells us. Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, but blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, whose trust is Yahweh. May we be found clinging to the God who never fails. But not only does the Lord provide new leadership in his care under this first heading, we see that the Lord redirects our focus to his promise, his provision, and now his promise. Yahweh says to Joshua, verse two, Moses, my servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people into the land. I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you just as I promised to Moses. Now, the promise of God comes into clear focus with the verb to give. That verb is used three times in verses two to six, and the language should take us all the way back to Genesis 12, verse seven, where Yahweh said to Abram, To your offspring, I will give this land. The promise is repeated over 50 times in Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Lord says it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He says it to his children captive in Egypt. He says it to them again through Moses during the 40 years in the wilderness. And indeed, these exact words nearly are repeated in Deuteronomy 11, 23 and 24. So Yahweh is repeating his promise and he's telling them now is the time of fulfillment. Joshua, you and all this people cross this Jordan, verse two, and listen to the language, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. The promise has been made, but you Israelites haven't received the promise. So there's a sense in which we can say Yahweh is in the process of giving the land to his people. The promise is held out before them, but they must now exercise faith and obedience. They must trust that the Lord has given this treasure to them and they must go and take hold of it. Indeed, a promise of confirmation comes in verse three, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon. I have given to you just as I promised Moses. Now, in the ancient Near East, a king would walk through the land to demonstrate the fact that he owned it and every place where he put his foot. He said he had authority and it was his. Well, we see that figurative concept here in verse three. But now the Lord says not I'm in the process of giving you the land, but notice the language. Verse three, I have given it to you. The promise is so certain it can be spoken of as if it's in the past tense, for God is the king and he has the power to sovereignly grant Israel this gift. Now, we should say, now, wait a minute. They don't deserve this gift. Look at their history. They are a recalcitrant, sinful bunch. And Moses told them explicitly back in Deuteronomy 9, verse 4, Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust the nations out before you, it is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in. to possess the land. No, it's emphatically not because of your righteousness that you possess the land, because the Lord says you are a stubborn people. And then all throughout Deuteronomy 9 and in the chapter 10, he reminds them of a litany of their sins. So why is Yahweh given them this gift? Well, the answer comes in Deuteronomy 10, 15. He tells them the Lord has set His heart in love upon your fathers and chose their offspring after them as you are this day. So he then commands them in response, circumcise, therefore, your hearts and be no longer stubborn. See the kindness of God in giving you a gift and respond to him. This land is before you because of Yahweh's love. Because of his faithfulness, he's given a gift of grace. He's been kind. And now we know as they enter into the land, there's a present condition upon the people. And that is obedient. They must love Yahweh. They must serve him. And that's hinted at in verse three, just as I promised to Moses. Moses made the blessings and the curses clear. Disobedience will mean a cutting off from the land. But this whole section is meant to encourage the people. This large swath of land mentioned in verse four. which they've been frightened to enter before now, Yahweh presses them to see is His gift He's already given it to them. And now they must believe his promise. They must take hold of it by faith and they must move forward. They must put away their unbelief. They must subdue their fears and they must press forward to take hold of what God has given to them. The word is saying to them, see my liberal heart, my kindness in giving you this gift. See how expensive my kindness is to you and let my kindness lead you to repentance. Cling to me in hope, rest in my goodness and embrace the word of my promise. And brethren, we, too, have words of promise from a God who extends to us kindness that we do not deserve. And we see the expression of his liberal heart, as Jesus says to us in John 640. This is the will of my father, that everyone who looks on the son and believes in him should have eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. What kindness of our God to say, look at him and live. Have you embraced the son? Do you cling to Christ? Do you look at the love of God displayed in his crucified son? And do you hang on to Jesus for life? And for those who hope in Jesus, we who come to Christ for rest, we recognize that as we have our eyes set on that city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God, we must run the race to the end. And yet our confidence is not in us, it's in the God who promises. We persevere, we strive, we run, we fight, we kill sin, we put off sin, we put on grace. But we do all these things knowing that God keeps us to the end. So it is his promise that gives us hope. So put off your unbelief, put off your doubts and fears and trust your God. Hold fast to his word and the promise that is set before you and cling to the Lord Jesus Christ. Press on with the eyes of faith because God's word doesn't fail. That's what's being set before the people and it's what's being set before you. Endure to the end because the promise of God won't fail you. Do you believe it? But not only do we see his provision and his promise, we also see the fearful Israelites have his presence. Verse five, and this word is particularly for Joshua. God tells him no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life, just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. In Exodus three. Moses saw this bush that was burning, he remembered, and the Lord called him to be the one to confront Pharaoh and lead the people out of Egypt. And while Moses was trying to come up with every excuse under the sun why he couldn't possibly go to Pharaoh, it was a promise given to him. Certainly, God said, I will be with you. And then God revealed his name, I am who I am. or Yahweh. Now, rivers of ink have been spilled over the significance of that name, God's personal name. It embodies the ideas of sovereignty, self-sufficiency, independence, might, faithfulness. But alongside all those other things, Yahweh also means ever present. It means ever present. Moses is told, I will be with you. And God confirms that message with what Ralph Davis calls a theological shorthand. To impress the message upon Moses's heart that God will be with him all along the way. So significant is that message to Moses that after the golden calf fiasco, Moses pleads for Yahweh's presence. In Exodus 33, Moses says, if your presence doesn't go with me, do not bring us up from here. The fact that it could even be possible that the Lord would not accompany his people is crushing to Moses. Moses and Israel would be lost. But now that Moses is dead, will God's presence abandon his people? Will he leave now that there's a new leader? And he's telling Joshua, no, the situation has changed, but Yahweh hasn't changed. He remains the ever present God. That's who he is. So he'll be with Joshua to help him, to empower him, to enable him to overcome those stronger than he. Joshua in this chapter is not called to cowboy up. that he might cross the Jordan, lead men and kill giants. The courage he's called to momentarily isn't a worldly courage, some display of brute force. He is to be strong because Yahweh is with him. Indeed, Yahweh promises, verse 5, I will not leave you or forsake you. Now, as we read that assurance that Joshua could have, We may say, well, that's a wonderful for Joshua. But what about me? The individual Christian, can I have that assurance? And the answer is yes, Hebrews 13 to Christians suffering in Rome, the author of Hebrews wrote these words, chapter five and six, I mean, chapter versus five and six, chapter 13, as those Christians were being mistreated maligned, persecuted on the verge of possibly having their property confiscated and maybe even shedding their blood. Listen, these words. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? The cure for your covetousness, for your discontentment, for your fears. It's not more stuff. It's not a different situation. It's not a better security system. It's in the God who is ever present with his people. is in Jesus Christ who never leaves His people. He will care for you. He will supply your needs. He will defend you. He will keep you. He rides the heavens to the help of His people. And has not your Father proven what He will do in order that you would never be abandoned? He has forsaken His own Son so that you would never Be forsaken. Oh, Christian, how could you possibly think there could be a time when he would cast you aside, when he let hell come upon his son so that you would never be left alone? God says, I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you. That's my promise to you. It's not just to Joshua. It's to every believer. God cares for his people. He provides, He promises, He's present. Take it to heart. That's how we can endure. The second we see with me. How can we go on? Because we're ruled by God's Word. Because we're ruled by God's Word. Verses six to nine. In view of the Lord's presence and promise, Joshua is now commanded, be strong and courageous. For you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their father to give them. Now, the Lord has made it clear the land is promised and it's before Israel for the taking, but they have to go forward in faith. And that's Joshua's task as leader, assured of his call. He must banish unbelieving cowardice or sluggishness and motivate the people to perform their duty. God's grace extended does not encourage hesitation or half hearted efforts. His sovereign power and promise does not provoke laziness and fear. It demands our utmost exertions and repeated displays of strength and resilience. Just as an aside, Revelation 21, eight says the first. who will have their part in the lake that burns with fire, along with murderers and sexually immoral and idolaters, are the cowardly. God calls His people, having received the promise, to animate our faith with bold effort. And we can apply that principle in so many ways. We could think about evangelism or parenting. Applying faith with bold effort. That's what God calls us to do in the promise must be coupled with exertion and exertion. Notice even Joshua in verses six and nine receives three commands from God to be strong and courageous. There must be lively engagement and encouragement, even when you're assured of what you're supposed to do, assured of your call. We need to be urged on in our duty because our weakness is great and our fierce enemy is relentless. So we need to be spurred on by the word of God. That's another reason why you need to be preached to. You need to keep being told what you need to do, because the promise by itself, without exhortation, isn't enough. Even God is telling Joshua to be strong and courageous alongside the promise. Even he is exhorting along with the promise. So you need to hear the word exhorting you and reminding you of what you're called to do. But Joshua's manly energy, his strength and constancy is to be directed unto one aim, and it's not getting ripped. Strength and courage isn't found by putting on some muscle and simply slaying enemies. His courage is to be manifested in a meticulous obedience. This text is greatly abused. OK, his courage, his strength is to be manifested by a meticulous obedience. Look at the text. Verse seven, only be strong and very correct, courageous, being careful to do. According to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you, do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. If Joshua is going to exercise true courage and strength, he must be a man ruled by God's word. There are going to be complex matters of leadership before Joshua. How's he to know what to do? How will he be directed? How can he guard himself against arrogant audacity, which will lead to failure only by careful attention to the word of God? Now, obviously, Joshua, as a leader of God's people, has to be thoroughly familiar with the law of Moses. So we should look at this command in a similar way to the instructions given for a future king in Israel. Joshua is not a king. But the point is still striking the parallel striking. Moses said back in Deuteronomy 17, 18 and 19. That a king was to write for himself a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh, his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them. Well, the same is true for Joshua. Joshua clearly must consult God's word frequently, study it. and make sure he guards all of his ways. Now, how is he to exercise this great care and obedience, making sure he doesn't turn from the right hand or to the left away from the law? Well, the Lord gets very specific in telling him the how. Verse eight. 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. Joshua's words are to be governed by God's words as Joshua instructs, as he gives orders, as he has conversations, the word of God is to shape what he says and how he says it. Just as a father from a heart that is consumed with love to God teaches his children when he sits down, when he walks by the way, when he lies down, when he rises up, So Joshua's tongue must overflow with the knowledge of God. And how can it overflow with the knowledge of God if the law of Yahweh is not in his heart? So the Lord tells him further, you shall meditate on it. And that verb to meditate literally is to mutter, to mutter over it. The word means to talk out loud That's the sense to quietly mull over out loud, say the word of God to yourself, ponder it to yourself, open God's word, read it, engage your senses as you get the word of God inside of you. Now, Matthew Henry rightly asks or says, if ever a man's business might have excused him from meditation, one would think that Joshua's might at this time. Let me think about it. Joshua is leading a people into the land and an army into battle. And the care of it were enough to fill him if he had ten souls. And yet he has to find time for thoughts and meditation. Why? Because as Jesus tells Martha, there's one thing That's necessary. There are many distractions. Many busy things you can be doing in your life. But there's one thing that's necessary. Knowing your God and delighting in Him. Do you believe that? Is it something you're doing? And look at the purpose of meditation. So that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, in the book of the law. How is Joshua to know Yahweh's word in order to obey it if he doesn't mull over it with painstaking thought? How can he honor God if he's not thoroughly acquainted with the scriptures? Well, he can't. He's going to slip up. He'll violate the law. A lack of study will lead to a failure to obey it. And he's leading God's people and therefore he'll lead them into disaster. He can't do that. He's responsible for giving careful direction to God's people. And the only way of safety is the way of obedience. Now, elders and deacons and fathers. We better pay attention to this principle, how can you lead well? Only by careful obedience to the word of God. And the point here is, if you study poorly, you will lead poorly. If you study poorly, you will lead poorly. Are you studying well? Are you absorbing the word of God? Are you taking that word in? How can you possibly exercise godly leadership if you don't know God in his word? Are you meeting with the Lord that you might lead well? You're responsible and you need to meet with God in his word. But believer, this principle about meditating over the word of God, making God's word the center of your life, is that only something that Joshua should do? Are only something that leaders should do. No, Psalm chapter one, verse two tells us every believer should meditate on the law day and night and that the blessed man delights in the law. So, brethren, is the law of God your delight? Do you treasure it as a lamp for your feet? Does it thrill your soul that the living God should reveal himself to you, that he should make his ways known to you? that he should speak and you get to read it, that he should tell you that you're a sinner and that there's a Savior and it's for you and show you the way of salvation in Jesus Christ, that he should tell you what he hates and what he loves and leads you in the way. Should we not delight to read this book and to ponder over it, to study it, Should it not be consulted in our decision? Should it not be part of our conversations? Should it not be pondered and rehearsed and obeyed? Because Jesus says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. How can we keep them and exercise our love for Christ if we don't know what he says? Let us be people who pay attention to this word. But there's a promise attached to the command given Joshua, and we see it in the middle of verse eight. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. Now, this is emphatically not a promise for material prosperity and worldly success in context. Yahweh is plainly speaking about a mission to inherit the land through obeying his law and the condition of gaining possession. Joshua's entire focus must be on obedience. So the principle here is the Lord blesses holiness. And someone teaches all of us the same principle, our diligent study of the word of God reaching toward us is success, not according to worldly ambition, is fruitfulness. As we give ourselves to God's word and heart committed study and obedience, faith will spring forth. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of Christ. So as we hear well, our faith will prosper and grow and we will find the endeavor of our souls. Holiness after the likeness of our father is truly coming about. Is that what we long for? To be like unto Christ Jesus and Joshua is to seek this kind of prosperity, holiness after God. But lest we think this is some kind of godly endeavor by pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Verse nine reminds us in closing that this is promise driven endeavor. God says, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. God's presence is attending Joshua along the way, and therefore he's assured of success. God's not commanding some kind of self-help system. Do your memory verses, obey these commands in your power, and then all will be well. No, God is saying, seek me first. And I will bless you. That's what he's saying. And because we struggle to accept that, let me leave you with an illustration. to demonstrate the point. In Daniel six, you remember Daniel's enemies hated him. They couldn't find a fault in him. So they wanted to oust him from leadership and they concocted this plan. Let's have everybody pray to the king and let's bring Darius in on this, of course. Make a law that you can only pray to the king because we know that Daniel won't stop doing what he's doing. If you pray someone else, you get cast into the lion's den. Well, Daniel did as he always did. He went in his house and prayed and they brought him, therefore, before Darius. The king was in great distress because of his love of Daniel, who didn't want to throw him into the lion's den. But the law of the Medes and Persians can't be revoked. Well, the next morning after a restless night, Darius came to the den and said, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions? Daniel answered, O King, live forever. My God sent his angel, God's presence, and shut the lion's mouth and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him. Obedience. The Lord was with Daniel, the obedient servant, and Daniel's enemies met their end in the bottom of that lion's den. Thus, we read at the conclusion of Daniel six. So this Daniel prospered. Same verb as in Joshua one nine during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus, the Persian. How did Daniel prosper? Because the Lord was with him. And the Lord was with him, because Daniel was a holy man. This is what Joshua is to be. And brethren, it's what we are to be. Our lives are to commend the blessing of God. It's yours. It's yours. May we be like unto our Savior, because a love of the Savior drives us to live in such a way. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, We thank you that you extend promises to us as your people. And those promises are also coupled with your presence, that you will never leave us or forsake us. What grace you have set before us. And yet you call us, O Father, to be obedient to you in response. Your grace makes demands upon our lives. And Lord, we pray that out of love, affection, and desire to obey you. We would heed your voice, for we know that the people of Christ, the sheep of our shepherd, heed Jesus' voice. So let us be found walking in the steps of our Savior. For we pray it in Jesus' name, Amen.