Catholic Commentary on Joshua 1

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

The Book of Joshua

Joshua picks up directly from the death of Moses. God commissions Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan into the promised land, and the commission comes wrapped in the most repeated command in the book: be strong and courageous, be strong and very courageous, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or discouraged. The command recurs four times in the opening chapter because the task is genuinely terrifying: crossing a flooded river into hostile territory, with an untested leader replacing the incomparable Moses. The ground of the courage is not Joshua's own capability but the divine presence: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

God instructs Joshua to meditate on the Book of the Law day and night and to be careful to do everything written in it; then he will be prosperous and successful. The Catechism identifies this command as the foundational practice of Lectio Divina: the daily immersion in the word of God that produces the wisdom and strength needed for every task God assigns (CCC 2708). Joshua passes the commission to the people and the officers, and the people answer: just as we obeyed Moses in everything, so we will obey you. Only be strong and courageous.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, be strong and courageous. The command is given four times because once was not enough for Joshua and once is not enough for us. Name the specific crossing you are afraid of today, the Jordan that seems flooded and the territory that seems hostile. Then receive the command again: the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Not sometimes. Wherever.

Prayer

Lord God, you commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous because you would be with him wherever he went. Give us the same courage for our own crossings. Meditate your word in us day and night. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Joshua
1
God Instructs Joshua
(Deuteronomy 11:8-17)
1 Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, you and all these people, and cross over the Jordan into the land that I am giving to the children of Israel.
 
3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses. 4 Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates-all the land of the Hittites-and west as far as the Great Sea.* 1:4 That is, the Mediterranean Sea
 
5 No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.† 1:5 Cited in Hebrews 13:5
 
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them.
 
7 Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.
 
9 Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua Takes Charge
 
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
 
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember what Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your young children, and your livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers and help them, 15 until the LORD gives them rest as He has done for you, and your brothers also possess the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you may return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the east side of the Jordan.”
 
16 So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words, all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!”

*1:4 1:4 That is, the Mediterranean Sea

†1:5 1:5 Cited in Hebrews 13:5

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