The covenant continues

Joshua 1:1–11

Four decades have passed since God’s people were liberated from slavery in Egypt, but Joshua and Caleb are the lone survivors of the exodus. Forty years earlier the 12 spies sent by Moses into the Promised Land brought back glowing reports, but 10 of them expressed fears that the inhabitants were too strong. Only Joshua and Caleb counseled bold action based on trust in God. When the people chose fear over trust, God condemned them to wander in the desert 40 years until all but Joshua and Caleb had died, including Moses, their leader.

As these descendants of enslaved people prepare to cross the river into the Promised Land, the torch is passed from Moses to Joshua. In Joshua 1:1, Joshua is identified as Moses’ “assistant” or “helper.” (See also Numbers 27:18–23 for the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua.) Moses is frequently referred to as “the servant of the Lord.” By the end of the book of Joshua and the time of his death, Joshua, too, will be called “the servant of the Lord” (Joshua 24:29).

God draws a verbal map of the lands that the people will enter and possess: “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory” (Joshua 1:3–4). Joshua’s task is to lead the people in this endeavor to receive God’s gift of land.

God promises no one will be able to oppose them, and that God will be present, as with Moses. In the face of this daunting task the Lord charges Joshua three times to be strong and courageous as he carries on in place of Moses (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9).

Strong and courageous

We might ask, Is this a way of reinforcing God’s encouragement or does it demonstrate a lack of confidence in Joshua? Why does God have to encourage Joshua to be strong and courageous? Perhaps because Moses was a true giant (“Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,” Deuteronomy 34:10), while Joshua seems to be a more human figure. The heroes of the past, every bit as human as us, can sometimes seem superhuman, while we look on ourselves as all too human and frail.

How will the Lord equip Joshua for this task? Interestingly, God does not offer Joshua a military manual. Instead, he provides him with a book called the Torah, a Hebrew word that can be translated “law” or “instruction.”

We can think of the Torah as “the Way,” because it guides the way through life. While the term would later refer to the first five books of our Bible, the complete first five books were likely not in existence at that point. In the time of Joshua, the “book of the law” (NRSVue) or “instruction scroll” (CEB) may have referred to the Ten Commandments, an early version of Deuteronomy, or to some collection of written instruction the community had come to observe.

Joshua was commanded to “meditate” on the Torah day and night (Joshua 1:8). It is not entirely clear what Joshua is supposed to do. Some English versions say he is to “recite” the Torah day and night. Meditation, like reading and reciting, was an oral activity. When used of animals, the Hebrew word hagah can refer to the “growling” of lions (Isaiah 31:4) or the “moaning” or “cooing” of doves (Isaiah 59:11). When Joshua meditates, he was to speak and act. Bible study results in action.

The chapter concludes with the reminder to the two and a half tribes who had already settled down on the far side of the Jordan that they still had obligations to the larger body, and must assist the other tribes in the taking of the land. Yet though they promise to fulfill their obligations, I wonder if it troubled Joshua that they too chimed in with: “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:18). Did they harbor doubts about their leader?

Passing the torch

In his 1961 inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy announced that “the torch has been passed to a new generation.” But a scant three years later the torch was passed again to Lyndon Johnson. Many dismissed him as a southern racist; nevertheless as president he signed major bills ending segregation in public places and employment, guaranteeing voting rights, and prohibiting discrimination in housing. The fact is, the torch is constantly being passed from one generation to another—in nations, in families, and in churches.

My guess is that many of us taking part in this study had the torch passed to us, or perhaps are now considering how to pass the torch to another generation. Some of us may have felt intimidated by giants from the past, or else now we’re uncertain about those who will follow us.

In addition, we may be struggling with a legacy that’s alternately glorious, shameful, purposeful, or purposeless. We have inherited the actions of ancestors on both sides of the border separating the United States and Canada. When European immigrants claimed the land on this continent, First Nations and Native Americans lost land, a way of life, and life itself.

Some of us have inherited both histories. I, for instance, am Hispanic, and my ancestors include both Spanish military officers and campesinos largely descended from the conquered native populations. Being partly the latter doesn’t take away any inherited guilt for descent from the former. There’s a responsibility that comes with pillage and plunder, a privilege that gives some an unacknowledged head start.

On top of all that, historians and sociologists talk about a radical change in society and the church that seems to happen every 500 years or so, which works out to right about now. The drop in attendance, loss of younger families, and feelings of uncertainty that have only been exacerbated and sped along by the COVID-19 pandemic are all part of that.

So let me put a (temporary) Band-Aid on this struggle.

Be strong and courageous. And stick to the Word. It was good enough for Joshua so it ought to be good enough for us.