Daily Prayer

The Lord’s Charge to Joshua

(or, "You want me to do what?!?)

 After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said,2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Josh 1:1-9 (NLT)

(God) said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites …” Oh, how I wish I could have been there to hear Joshua’s reply. 

He had been with these folks ever since they had left their slavery in Egypt (or at least for a good part of the journey). For forty years, or most of it, he had heard their bitter complaints, and their demands upon Moses to get them out of this desert mess. Joshua had also observed countless times the acts that Moses performed, and heard the motivational speeches he gave, to try to prove to these pretty dense sojourners that their God was real, and was watching over and protecting them even now. 

Having witnessed it all, Joshua probably wondered how in the world God could have come up with the idea that he, the son of Nun, should take charge over this wandering band of complainers. Truth be told, if it had been me, I would have probably have lost the position before the first day on the job, as the response I would have had to God’s promotion of me to such a preposterous leadership role.

Yet, the truth was told: but this time, by God. “I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you,” was how God started. And then, seeing the doubt written all over Joshua’s forehead, God added, “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous.” (Probably with an emphasis on “courageous”).

The next bit of God’s commencement speech was directed, I can’t help but believe, not only to Joshua, but to everyone in this nomadic band of grumblers: “Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.” And that is really the heart of God’s homily that day.

God is present and is watching over and protecting all of us on our wilderness journey’s – then and now. But, like anything else we desire in life, we must be continually open to the source of those desires. To feel loved, we must be open to the source of love in our lives. To feel ourselves as a connected member of the communities around us, we need to be open to all others, and what they have to offer us in the form of friendship, companionship and love, and what we have to give to them of ourselves. And so God is actually giving the people the very essence of what they need and long for (whether they know it or not). God gives God’s-self, as intimately shared through the scriptures of their time. God’s greatest yearnings were expressed through their scriptures, their Book of Instruction, which God called upon them to meditate on both day and night.

Trust the word, and the stories, of God’s travel with them only, and do not turn away from that truth to depend upon only ourselves, our efforts, our politics, our own positions of place or wealth. Israel’s entire future lay before them: a future of security (which is something we all seek), if only they would live in devoted trust in God, and not turn aside from God’s provisions.

Well, I certainly cannot speak for the masses then or for all of us now, but Joshua got the message. As the story goes: he accepted the job, and led this bickering band of Israelites into the new future that God had promised them. A new future which God still promises us even today.

My Lord, my God; I simply pray this day that I may always long for your presence and Word in my life, that I may lead, honor and care for others, just as you reach out to me today in loving provision and leading.

Amen.

Rev. Michael Kirchhoff