by Rev. Neil M. Ross, Retiring Moderator
This sermon, which is somewhat abridged from the original, was preached at the opening of the meeting of Synod in Inverness on Tuesday, 23rd May, 1995
“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest,” Joshua 1:7.
IT is especially this exhortation, “Be thou strong and very courageous,” given by God to Joshua, to which I wish to draw your attention, the Lord helping me. The exhortation to be strong and courageous is found in several other places in Scripture. In this chapter alone we read in verses six and nine that God said to Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage;” and in the last verse we find the people saying to him, “Only be strong and of a good courage.” Moses gave this same exhortation to both Joshua and the Israelites. To the Israelites he said, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them.” He then “called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage.” Joshua himself similarly addressed the people, saying, “Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage.” King David, not long before he died, said to his son Solomon, who was charged with the enormous task of building the temple, “Be strong and of good courage; dread not nor be dismayed.” When Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrians, King Hezekiah said to his people, “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him.”
Now, this exhortation, “Be strong and very courageous,” is being addressed to ourselves also by the Lord, when we gather as a Synod this evening in order to attend to business pertaining to His kingdom.
Let us now consider three matters about being strong and courageous.
First, we will think about the persons who are exhorted, “Be strong and very courageous,” that is, not only Joshua but ourselves also.
Secondly, some reasons why we must be strong and courageous; not least, because of the onerous and solemn duties laid upon us.
Thirdly, the encouragements to be strong and courageous, which are found both in the immediate context and other parts of God’s word.
First, with regard to the persons who are exhorted to be strong and very courageous, it is Joshua, of course, who is addressed in the first instance. In looking at Joshua’s history we see that he left Egypt in the exodus, possibly when he was about thirty years old, and that he had the great honour and responsibility of being “Moses’ minister” or “the servant of Moses”. Therefore, being the principal assistant and deputy of Moses, he had much authority invested in him; and also he gained much experience during the forty years which elapsed from their departure from Egypt until they reached the border of Canaan. You will remember that it was Joshua who accompanied Moses part of the way up Mount Sinai, and who then faithfully waited forty days until Moses descended from the mount. Again, Joshua was one of the spies who went to search out the land of Canaan, and one of the two who came back with a good report. He was grieved at the rebellion of the people in wanting to go back to Egypt instead of going on to possess the land, and he actually risked his life in remonstrating with them. However, despite all the authority and experience which Joshua had, it was necessary that he be exhorted to be strong and courageous. And so the Lord’s servants also in every age have to be similarly exhorted. It matters not how much useful they have been to the cause of Christ in the past, nor how much experience they have had, they must still be exhorted, “Be strong and very courageous.”
Another fact about Joshua is that he was courageous above many, and also very successful in time of war. We read that “Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword;” and undoubtedly he played a leading role in the conquest of Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, King of Bashan. Yet it was necessary still to say to him, “Be strong and very courageous.” The Lord’s servants today are enabled to fight the good fight of faith and are overcoming various spiritual enemies, but they know that however many victories they have had they continue to need this exhortation.
We see also that Joshua had been highly honoured in the past; honoured by his name being changed from Oshea, meaning salvation, to Jehoshua, meaning salvation is of God; honoured also by being installed as Moses’ successor. We read that “the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him… and thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.” Nevertheless, it was necessary to exhort him, “Be strong and very courageous.” The Lord’s servants today are certain that it matters not how much the Lord has favoured them in the past or honoured them by blessing their labours, they have to be exhorted again and again to be strong and courageous.
Not only Joshua but the people of Israel also were so exhorted. We read in Numbers 21 that Moses, having exhorted Joshua, then “spake these words unto all Israel… Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them.” Well, it is clear that today God speaks in this manner to His people and to His church. This is confirmed in Hebrews, chapter 13, where the promise of the Divine presence which Joshua received when he was told to be strong and courageous, is applied to believers: “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; so that we” (that is, believers) “may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.” To you, believer, the Lord is saying, “Be strong and very courageous.” To the church in this dark day and degenerate age the Lord is saying, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” To us, as a branch of His church, He is saying at this time, “Be strong and very courageous.”
Let us go on to notice, secondly, some reasons why we must be strong and very courageous. Joshua had to be resolute and brave in order to lead the people. Moses said to him, “Thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.” Moses was now gone, and Joshua is commanded by God, “Go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them.” What an awesome responsibility was laid upon Joshua. That burden was great because the people not only were numerous but also most difficult and fractious. They were a people who had rebelled repeatedly in Moses’ day — a people who, as the Psalm tells us, were “unsteadfast and perfidious.” So Joshua had great need of being strong and courageous to undertake this tremendous task.
Within the church of God today, ministers and elders, having the solemn responsibility of exercising spiritual rule and leadership, have to say, “Who is sufficient for these things?” When they have to exercise church discipline, for example, they may meet with strong opposition, and perhaps be misrepresented and maligned. We can be certain of this: as surely as God is the God of order, so the evil one, Satan, is engineering opposition and confusion to cause disorder and division in the church. When the Lord’s servants meet with opposition and feel their insufficiency they must heed this strengthening word: “Be strong and very courageous.”
It is instructive to note in the last verse of the chapter that many of the Israelites encouraged Joshua to exercise rule and discipline in dealing with rebels. They said to him, “Only be strong and of a good courage.” In the church today, there are those who, in seeking the good of Zion, and in praying for its peace and prosperity, are similarly encouraging the Lord’s servants. What a great blessing it is to have people in a congregation and denomination who are prayerfully saying to the Lord’s servants, as they seek to faithfully discharge their duties, “Be strong and courageous.”
Again, Joshua and the people had to be strong and courageous because they had to go in to possess the land. We read in Deuteronomy 1:18 that God, having said to Israel, “Behold, I have set the land before you,” then said, “go in and possess the land.” Now, in this first chapter of Joshua, the command is repeated: “Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them.” It was a land to which they were given a full right and title, as we see in verse three, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you;” and again in verse six, “Unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give them.”
Although the land was granted to them by God, they could not simply walk into it and take immediate possession. There were obstacles in their path. There was the River Jordan. God commanded them, “Go over this Jordan,” even although the river was in full flood at that time. There were also enemies to be overcome. When God promised, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee,” the implication was that they would be confronted and opposed by enemies. So Joshua and the people, in going forward to take possession of the land, were engaging in a perilous undertaking. Therefore the Lord exhorts them, “Be strong and very courageous.”
Now, the Lord is saying to His church today that it is to press forward to possess the land: the ultimate land of the “better country, that is, an heavenly.” The heavenly inheritance which is promised to the Lord’s spiritual Israel will surely be possessed by them; but between them and the possessing of it there are many obstacles and powerful enemies. So it is imperative that they engage in battle. The church of Christ must be, and is, the church militant. She is engaged in that holy war to which her Leader and Commander calls her, and in which He leads her. Only by courageously engaging in that war will the church militant ultimately become the church triumphant, and possess the heavenly Canaan of which the Lord says, “I will give it you.”
There is another land to possess. The church of Christ must go out to possess the “world that lieth in wickedness”. Christ commanded His disciples when he sent them out, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” So the church is called to go forth with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and possess the kingdoms of this world, so that they will become “the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” Now, the promise given by the Lord to His church is that the land, in this sense, will surely be possessed. In other words, all the ends of the earth shall turn unto the Lord, all peoples shall worship him and all nations shall do homage unto Him. “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth,” and the knowledge of His glory will cover the earth. His promise is that His spiritual Jerusalem, whose walls are very much broken down in this “day of small things”, will yet be built up again and be a praise in the earth. It is clear that this will not take place apart from the church engaging in battle. The church, in going to possess the land must be contending for the faith. It must wrestle “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” How much, therefore, it needs to be exhorted, “Be strong and very courageous. Quit yourselves like men, be strong.”
Again, Joshua had to be strong and courageous because he was bereaved. Joshua and the people were mourning the death of Moses, as the previous chapter says: “And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.” Their sorrow was great, and the sorrow of Joshua would have been especially great. Close indeed was the relationship between Joshua and Moses, and much did Joshua depend on Moses for guidance and instruction. It is likely that Joshua was thinking, “The prayers of Moses, the man of God, are now ended. His prayers for me and for the people have ceased.” Joshua undoubtedly was sorrowful and lonely, but the Lord graciously draws near to him with this strengthening word, “Be strong and of a good courage.” It was as if the Lord were saying to him, “The taking away of my servant should not make you despair but rather make you more earnest in doing the work to which I have called you.” No doubt also Joshua would be feeling very inferior in comparison to that eminently able and faithful servant of God, but the Lord was showing Joshua that He was to continue His work among His people although His aged servant was now gone, and that He would carry out His work even with weak instruments.
This evening we are very conscious of the sad fact that since we last met as a Synod the Lord has taken away from us by death those who were most useful to His cause. We mourn their passing away. They have been taken away to the rest which remaineth for the people of God, and unspeakably great is their gain, but, oh, how great is our loss. Also, others of our number who have been so useful hitherto are presently laid aside in sickness and weakness, and some of them are not likely to be actively useful to the cause again. When we mourn the loss of those who have been taken away, and are concerned about the diminished usefulness of others, we are to heed the Lord saying to us, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”
Joshua no doubt had to be exhorted for this reason also: he was probably feeling that he was not as strong as he once was, being now about 70. Today, some of the Lord’s servants are in advancing years and saying with the Psalmist, “I have been young and now am old.” Although they are conscious of declining strength and may have to say with Asaph, “My flesh and heart doth faint and fail,” they are being encouraged by the Lord Himself to be strong and courageous in what remains to them of their labours. While they say, “My flesh and heart doth faint and fail,” they must add, as Asaph did, “but God doth fail me never.”
The main reason why we are to be strong and courageous is that we have to be obedient to God’s word. “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee.” Now, the law that they were to observe was the Word of God — as much of it as they had then. It consisted, first, of the moral law, summed up in the Ten Commandments and by the great commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart;” secondly, the ceremonial law, with its regulations and rites for the worship of God, and its revelation of the provision that was to be made in the Messiah for the redemption of transgressors; and thirdly, the civil law for maintaining order in the nation. To “do according to all the law” was simply to be obedient to the Word of the Lord. Now, God commands us today to observe to do according to His Word. When he sent His disciples to preach the gospel He told them also to teach the people “to observe all things whatsoever I command you”, that is, to observe them in the fullest sense by being doers of His word.
We are required not only to keep the Word of God, but also to keep it fully. “Observe and do according to all the law,” or as the Saviour said, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you.” Many in the visible church are only partial doers of the word. They are like King Jehoiakim who cut the pages, piece by piece, from the scroll of the Word of God and cast them into the fire. Some who profess to be Christians do away with this or that part of the Scriptures. Some say, for instance, “This part about keeping the Sabbath holy is not really for us but for the Jews;” so they cut that piece out. Let us then be heeding these exhortations: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. Observe and do according to all the law.”
The Word of God must be followed not only in its entirety but also without deviating from it. “Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left,” Joshua was told. Now, this is precisely what is being said to us today. The same instruction is found in Proverbs: “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” We must guard against going to the extreme, on the one hand, of thinking that we can relax our endeavours because God is the God of grace, or, on the other hand, of relying on our own endeavours. We are to take care lest we be righteous overmuch, or on the other hand, lest we compromise the world or with branches of the church which have deviated from Scriptural doctrine, worship and practice. With regard to doctrine we must not turn to the extreme of the Arminian who says that man has some innate ability in the matter of his own salvation; nor are we to go to the other extreme of saying that man has no responsibility to obey Christ’s command, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” With regard to the profound doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture, we have to guard against the extreme of thinking (as many in the visible church do) that the Scriptures are basically the product of men; but let us not swing to the other extreme of speaking so as to suggest that the holy men of old whom God used to record His fully inspired and absolutely inerrant word, were impersonal machines. This, then, is God’s call to us: “Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left.”
Now, it is essential that we have holy resolve and gracious courage in order to observe and do what the Lord requires, and to follow the example of, say, godly King Josiah, who “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left.” True, it is not easy to go straight on without deviating, especially when hostile opposition tries to make us swerve aside, but the Lord is repeatedly encouraging us to be strong and very courageous.
Let us then consider, in the third place, some of the encouragements to be strong and very courageous. The teaching of our text is that if one resolutely follows the Word of God, he will have prosperity and success. “Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.” The next verse says, “Observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” When a person or a church is obedient to God’s will, as revealed in His Word, God will surely give prosperity and success, both spiritual and temporal, to that person or church. The prescription for spiritual prosperity is this: Adhere to the old paths. “Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein; and ye shall find rest for your souls.” If we compromise and deviate, then we shall not have prosperity but barrenness. If we fail to resolutely and courageously adhere to the doctrine, worship and practice prescribed by God in His word, then we will be on a downward course. The straight path we are to follow is a raised path, like a path on an embankment. It is a way that is raised above the world that lieth in wickedness. Now, if we deviate from this path we cannot but slide down into worldliness and wickedness. Some would have us believe that to adhere to the old path, and to keep on this narrow way is counter-productive and reactionary, but let us be sure that the old path and the good way prescribed by the Lord is the only way, and the highway, to spiritual prosperity and success.
There is also this encouragement to follow the truth: that in doing so we shall have prosperity in the further sense of being wise. The marginal note shows that the word “prosper” includes the idea of “doing or acting wisely”. Would you know the man who is truly wise? It is the man who adheres to the truth. Moses told the Israelites, “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this nation is a wise and understanding nation.” Oh, what do we have to say about our own nation? What wisdom is in us when we refuse to keep God’s Word, and when we are saying that the Word of God has no relevance for us? As a nation, we cannot be wise or do wisely when we turn from the truth. To disobey and depart from the Word of God is the height of folly — the height of madness — the height of wickedness.
We find another encouragement in the context: the promise of the Lord’s presence. The Lord said to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” What a great encouragement this was to Joshua. The same encouragement was given to Zerubbabel and others. “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts.” How great an encouragement this was to these servants of the Lord. The Lord is yet saying to His people and church that He is with them and will never leave them nor forsake them, and that therefore they are to take heart.
It follows that the church, because she has the Lord’s presence, will surely overcome her enemies. This was the guarantee given to Joshua. “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life.” Why? The Lord said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” The Lord’s people shall be more than conquerors because His presence shall go with them.
It also follows that the church, having the presence of the Lord, will surely have the Lord’s help. There is an inseparable connection between having the Lord’s gracious presence and having His help, as is shown by these words, “For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Therefore we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.”
And, of course, having the Lord’s presence means this also for the church: she will have blessed experience of the Lord’s faithfulness. When Joshua began his onerous work he received this promise from the Lord, “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” At the end of his days, when he was 110 years old, Joshua could testify, “There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel, all came to pass.” Let us be strong and courageous, for He is faithful that promised. “My flesh and heart doth faint and fail,” say the Lord’s people and the Lord’s servants, echoing the words of Asaph, but let them add, as Asaph did, “but God doth fail me never.”
Now, the last encouragement which we mention is this: strength and courage are graces as well as duties. The fact that it is a duty to be strong and courageous is clear from what the Lord said to Joshua: “Have not I commanded thee. Be strong and of a good courage.” Clearly, a duty is laid upon believers when they are directed thus, “Quit you like men, be strong,” and, “Be strong in the Lord.” The responsibility laid upon the Hebrew believers to whom Paul wrote was this, “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet.” So the church is commanded to be strong and courageous, but at the same time she is to take encouragement from the fact it is not only a duty but also a grace. “Be strong,” is the exhortation in 2 Timothy 2:1, but it continues thus: “in the grace that is in Christ Jesus;” that is, through or by the grace of Christ Jesus and by the gracious indwelling and influence of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Him. “Be strong,” is the exhortation in Ephesians 6:10, but it says further, “in the Lord” — not in yourself. “Be strong… in the power of his might” — not in your might. While the Lord is requiring us to be strong and courageous, he is also graciously promising grace, saying, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Now, when strength and courage are graces, the implication is that we must be waiting on the Lord at the throne of grace, that we may “find grace to help in time of need.” Therefore, we are counselled in Psalm 27,
“Wait on the Lord, and be thou strong,
and he shall strength afford
Unto thine heart; yea, do thou wait,
I say upon the Lord.”
The sure promise of the Lord is that “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Let us take courage from the truth that God is the God of all grace, and that in waiting on Him we will be made strong and courageous to do His will and walk in His ways, and also to overcome the opposition which confronts us.
Lastly, the church is encouraged to be strong and courageous by the promise that the Lord will yet come to raise her up from her low state. In Isaiah we have this precept: “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.” Then follows the promise, “Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.” Oh what a wonderful reviving is in store for the cause of the Lord. Let us then wait on Him for strength and courage to observe all things whatsoever He commands us. Sooner or later the church will have the Lord’s promised help and deliverance, and also that prosperity and success which He promises to those who are strong in His strength. Let us look to Him to fulfil His word to us, “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” so that we would be strong and very courageous. May He bless His Word to us.