Joshua 1 5-9 – Your Prosperous Pathway
Today I will discuss Joshua 1:5-9, and how it can benefit you today as a Christian. This scripture provides practical insights and encouragement to help you navigate your daily life. This passage will give you confidence, and build your faith in God.
In this post, as I break down each verse, I hope to cover things like:
- Understanding Joshua 1:5-9 (historically, but also practically for you).
- Living Life with Confidence in God.
- How to Build Mental Strength through God’s Word.
- How Regular Reminders of God’s Faithfulness Is Essential to your Success.
So I hope you’re excited to join me on a journey on what I am calling Your Prosperous Pathway.
Understanding Joshua 1:5
The first verse of Joshua I will cover highlights a powerful message still relevant for Christians today. I know this can be loaded, and I hope to Biblically breakdown any fears or concerns you may have. God promised Joshua that no man could stand against him and the same promise applies to us as well.
As a Christian, you should remember that you’re empowered by the Holy Spirit. And this means nobody can defeat you when you align with God.
Comparing Joshua 1:5 to the New Testament
The reason for this series is not to isolate any piece of text. But to show you, this is a repeated theme covering all of the Bible. When you feel like a loser, and told you are a loser on a regular basis, you get use to losing. but Joshua was told with God you will win all the time.
Joshua was encouraged he would win, and this winning mentality is also found in the New Testament writings too.
The message of Joshua 1:5 is echoed in other parts of the Bible like Romans 8. The Apostle Paul asks a powerful question you should ask yourself daily…
If God is for us, who can be against us? You should take comfort in knowing God is always on your side. And God has given you the power to overcome any challenge (when you are with him). This is why winning should always be on your mind.
Remind Yourself Daily
You should remind yourself daily of what Joshua 1:5 says, and what Romans 8 echoes. And also the other parts of the Bible as I’m showing throughout this series. By aligning ourselves with God and His promises, we can face any challenge with confidence and strength.
But let’s continue the next part I want to highlight from this verse. And this involves the time period of victory as a child of God.
How long does he say this is for? He says all the days of your life.
Notice I just said a moment ago, we’re supposed to be doing this on a daily basis. Why?
Because I want to consistently remind myself mentally, who I am as a child of God.
If I continue to do the things God wants me to do. And if you continue to do things God wants you to do, there will be nobody able to stand against you! But not just for today, not just for tomorrow, (by God’s grace). This is for every single day on Earth, God Graces you with.
There will be nobody to be able to stand in front of you and defeat you…Why? Because God is the one that is with you! I’m reminded right now of Paul. He said in 2 Timothy the Lord will deliver him out of every evil work (2 Timothy 4:18). Paul is saying God would help him overcome every time. I’m not telling you it will be easy, but God is undefeated.
God Will Never Leave
God promises Joshua that He will be with him just as He was with Moses.
This promise is for all of God’s children, including you (Hebrews 13:5). No matter what you are going through, God is always with you.
Understanding Joshua 1:6
In Joshua 1:6, God speaks to Joshua about entering the promise land (and dividing it). I’m not saying you will be dividing land. Because in it’s historical context, this was Joshua’s mission. But we’ll speak about this more in a moment.
In this passage, God encourages Joshua to be strong and courageous.
But why does this short passage in Joshua 1 repeat this encouragement four times (6, 7, 9, 18)? Let’s dive deeper!
Overcoming “Resistance“
When you try to do what God wants, you will face obstacles that try to stop you. But according to the Word of God, no one can defeat you if you follow God’s path. Even if you think of all the times you’ve lost before, some were not loses. But other times, were you aligned with God?
God’s children can never truly lose when they follow him, because God never loses. He wants you to realise, being close to Him is the best place to be. That’s why you should remind yourself to be strong and courageous. You may feel like you’re not a winner, or you may have a lot of confidence in yourself. It’s better though, to have confidence in what God says, and your confidence will grow every day by God’s grace.
A Real Life Example
One of my favourite verses I talk about all the time is 2nd Timothy 1:7. It’s one of my favourite verses to quote and meditate on in times of fear. It says God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but he’s given us a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. When you align yourself with God’s word, you can have confidence that you will never lose.
The Devil always wans you to do the opposite. Think about those 3 traits
- Powerful.
- Loving.
- Sound/Wise.
The Devil wants you to be weak, to hate, and to be foolish. Because when you do these three three things, you’re going lose, and you’re going to lose and you’re going to continue to lose.
But God wants the opposite for you.
And when you start becoming powerful with the Spirit of God…When you start becoming even more loving by the Spirit of God. And when you start becoming more wise by the Spirit of God, what do you think is going to happen?
You’re going to win mentally, you’re going to win physically, you’re going to win Spiritually, and you are going to win socially.
You can bank on that. But not because I’m special, or I’m some some Guru. Because of the things God says in his Word consistently throughout His Word. He wants you to be powerful, loving, and wise. And when you focus on what God wants you to do, you will win mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.
God’s Special Mission in Joshua
God has a specific plan for each and every person, just like He did for Joshua. In the Bible, God told Joshua that he would divide the land and inherit it. This was God’s plan for him, and it encouraged Joshua to fulfil his mission.
Everyone is Special in God’s Eyes
Just like Joshua, you too are special in God’s eyes. You are made in His image, just like every other human being (Genesis 1:26-27). This means God created you individually, and has a specific plan for you as well.
In 1 Corinthians 12, the same point is made. Paul reminds us the whole of the body of Christ is beneficial. You might feel like you can’t do it alone, or you’re not good enough. But when you focus on what God says about you and your calling, you will gain confidence and strength. God is not assigning something to you, you cannot complete. God wants light to shine through you, to overcome the darkness that is around you.
The best decision you can make in your life, if you are saved, is to regularly meditate on and follow God’s Word.
Understanding Joshua 1:7
In verse 7 God says to him “Only be thou strong and very courageous“.
There’s that phrase again.
“that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you turn not from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper where so ever you go“
These are some powerful verses. God says to him a second time now be strong and very courageous.
Why do you think we need to remind ourselves? And why do you think we need to consistently go back to God’s Word to remind ourselves to be strong and very courageous?
Because we are flooded daily with the opposite messaging by the Devil. And the Devil infiltrates different Industries, and he is enticing us daily to consume different things encouraging us not to be strong and courageous. But encouraging us to be weak, and to be hateful, and to be foolish.
Another Practical Example (In The New Testament)
In Acts the disciples prayed for boldness. And then the Bible says they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and were able to speak with boldness. They were able to complete the mission God had set up for them in boldness!
Why? Because they were aligned in the right direction with what God wanted them to do.
So when I align myself with God’s will for my life, and I begin to do it and do it and do it and do it, that gives me boldness. And this makes me stronger, because I know, I’m believing and thinking daily, this is where the Lord wants me to be. So it’s going to be successful…It has to be! As long as I continue to do what God wants me to do, it has to be successful…Because God never loses!
I remind myself about this every single day as much as possible:
Israel remember God does not lose
So if I don’t want to lose, and I like to win, I want to win as much as possible, learning, thinking about, and acting upon God’s Word is the best decision I can make as a Christian.
All of God’s Word
Notice what it says in the middle of verse 7. God says to him observe to do according to all the law.
There’s a couple of powerful things we can glean from this. But notice even in Joshua’s day, Joshua had the Word of God in his possession. He had from Genesis to Deuteronomy, what we call the Torah today.
And God was encouraging him to observe it, look at it, and study it. But notice how much…Not just some of Genesis, or Exodus, not just some of the places he liked…All the law! Observe all of it, all of it’s significant.
I will speak more about this in later parts of the series.
Why this Matters To You As A Christian
This is important for us as Christians today because we have the entire Bible to learn from. We have Genesis to Revelation. But the Devil wants us to only focus on certain parts of the Bible. And we should really be focusing on all of it. Because every part has something to teach us.
A book like Joshua as you can see today is beneficial for you. And even a book like Deuteronomy like I showed you previously, has something to help you on your journey to win in everything you do.
Staying Focused
God says don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left.
Because God desires tunnel vision. And when you turn to the right and when you turn to the left you are off course. But when you focus straight ahead this is where God is. God is saying go forward, take my Word and move forward and what’s going to happen as you take God’s Word, as you speak God’s Word? You are going to win!
But the Devil wants you to turn to the right and turn to the left. And I spoke about this earlier. Because when you lose focus, now you’re in the position to lose.
Prosper Everywhere
God desires us to be prosperous and successful in every area of our lives. But to achieve this, we need to follow His Word. This is such an important concept to grasp and then believe.
Is God ever unsuccessful? Questions always help me think things through. And that is why I ask you is God ever unsuccessful. Because you should answer no. And begin to realise, God has factored in even setbacks, because he’s all-knowing.
This is why Job can say “Thou He slay me, yet will I trust in Him”. Job knew, even if God killed him, it would be the right thing to do. And it would bring God most glory, and Job would reap the benefits.
But before I get side-tracked any further, let’s go back to the verse.
Follow God’s Word to Prosper
God told Joshua if he followed His Word, he would prosper wherever he went. Prosperity in this context means having wisdom and skill to succeed in every area of our lives. And this is clear from looking at the Hebrew word. But there is prosperity in the way most people think of coming real soon. We will cover it shortly.
Tap Into The Source of Eternal Skill
The skill and wisdom we need to prosper comes from God. Overconsuming Netflix, YouTube, or the NBA will not provide it. But by immersing yourself in God’s Word daily, you can become more successful.
Understanding Joshua 1:8
God says “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth but you shall meditate therein day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein for then you shall make your way prosperous and then you shall have good success“
The Importance of Speaking God’s Word
The first thing I want to highlight is God’s Command to Joshua. God tells Joshua in verse 8 that the book of the law should not depart from his mouth. This means Joshua should consistently speak God’s Word.
God is telling Joshua to speak His Word consistently because it’s powerful. You should also speak God’s Word over your life throughout the day (like the example I shared personally earlier). When you face situations making you afraid or uncertain, use God’s Word to strengthen and encourage yourself.
And we should apply God’s Word to every area of our lives – mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.
You can find passages in the Bible addressing each of these areas. By speaking God’s Word consistently, we can gain wisdom and skill from God, and prosper in everything we do.
The Importance of Meditating On God’s Word
The next thing he commands Joshua is to meditate on the Word.
God says he should think deeply about it, day and night. This is what God wants you to do with His Word. It should be constantly on your mind, every day.
According to the Hebrew meaning of the word “Hagah“, it should be a daily practice. And I want to use this opportunity to quote a source which can help us segue to where I want us to go next. I want to highlight this commentary from Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary on the Old Testament.
They say: “הָגָה [Meditate] does not mean theoretical speculation about the law, such as the Pharisees indulged in, but a practical study of the law, for the purpose of observing it in thought and action, or carrying it out with the heart, the mouth, and the hand. Such a mode of employing it would be sure to be followed by blessings. “Then shalt thou make thy way prosperous,” i.e., succeed in all thine undertakings“[1]Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary on the Old Testament. Joshua 1:8
In simple terms…this isn’t something that’s supposed to stay in your mind. God wanted Joshua to read, think, believe, act, and then repeat.
The Pathway to Prosperity
So when the law doesn’t depart from your mouth, and it doesn’t depart from your mind. And you’re able to apply it, what happens then?
God said to Joshua “you shall make your way prosperous and then you shall have a good success“. And that word their prosperous is talking about prosperity as people today would think of it.
This is why I’m calling it your prosperous pathway, or your pathway to prosperity. Because the prosperity God wants for you mentally…When I’m talking about success and prosperity, I’m speaking about what God wants you to think in your mind. And when I’m talking about prosperity for you in your physical, that’s what God wants you to do physically, or how God wants you to look physically.
When I’m talking about Spiritual prosperity or Spiritual success, I’m talking about how God wants you to live your life. The Spiritual man that’s supposed to present itself and interact socially. And that is by you doing the things God wants you to do socially with other people, in order to glorify his name.
The prosperous pathway for you as a Christian arrives by speaking, thinking, meditating on, doing with your hand, and believing God’s Word.
And watch what happens.
Understanding Joshua 1:9
God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous for the third time.
As Christians, we should strive to be powerful, loving, and wise in everything we do. The Spirit of God lives in us, and by embodying these qualities, we represent the King in the best way possible. When we lose focus, we are presenting a false image of God. And this is how you can take the name of the Lord in vain.
Represent the king faithfully. Because when we are weak, hateful, or foolish, we are doing what the enemy wants us to do. These behaviours look bad from a worldly perspective. And cause us to take the name of the Lord in vain. Instead, we should focus on being strong, loving, and wise to honour God. And this is what brings him most glory.
Fear God, not man
And this is the same command God gives us…Don’t be afraid or dismayed in life. It’s important to remember we shouldn’t fear things God doesn’t want us to fear. Instead we should honour and respect what God wants us to honour.
It’s okay to have a healthy fear or reverence for God. But we shouldn’t be afraid of what people might think about us. Fear of man shouldn’t stop us from doing what God wants us to do. And as we become more honouring and reverential towards God, it becomes easier for us to stay on the right path and not be swayed by others.
Another Practical Example
By focusing on what God wants, we can walk confidently and not be turned away by distractions around us. And when we are more concerned with following God’s plan for our lives, we become less afraid of the opinions of others.
As I’m more honouring, and more reverential towards the Lord, as I’m more fearful of what the Lord can do to me, not necessarily what men or women can do to me, it’s easier for me to walk straight.
The Inclusio In Joshua 1:9
What happens in verse 9 is exciting…
This is what we call in scholarly terms an inclusio. It’s like starting at one place and going around the block and coming back to the same place. This is what God does with Joshua here.
He says: “be not afraid” but notice, “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”.
And this applies to you today as a Christian. Because what do we see in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew? The angel proclaims “he shall be called Immanuel”. Why? Because he’s with us. What do we see at the end of Matthew’s Gospel account?
The same messaging, the same thing God was saying to Joshua, Jesus is saying in the New Testament:
“Lo I am with you always until the end of the age”.
Jesus wanted his disciples (that includes you and me) to remember regularly that as we go about our mission, remember I am with you.
Before I wrap up, imagine if in your mind, in your physical life, in your Spiritual life, and in your social life, you remembered daily, God is with you. Imagine if you lived every single day mentally physically Spiritually and socially like God is with you, what would that look like?
Final thought on Joshua 1:5-9 And Practical Application
Today’s action step is for you to meditate on the fact God is with you in everything you do.
I want you to go about your day-to-day life, thinking “God is with me“. And when you start thinking certain things, just remember God is with you. When they start acting in a certain way, remember God is with you. And when it comes to Spiritual things, remember God is with you.
Finally, when it comes to social things, remember God is with you.
Bible Mastery is my goal for all Christians, and if you would like me to serve you on a deeper level click here to join Bible Master’s Academy today by becoming a partner. God bless.
References
| ↑1 | Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary on the Old Testament. Joshua 1:8 |
|---|
Recent Comments