Joshua must have felt it a tremendous responsibility to take over from Moses as the leader of the Children of Israel. But the God who appointed Joshua did not leave him without encouragement as he was taking up his duties; He told his servant: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee” (Josh 1:5). It was obvious to Joshua that the Lord had never forsaken Moses. While Moses and Aaron were going before Pharaoh with directions from the Most High to let Israel go from the bondage in which he was keeping them, God had never forsaken these two brothers. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt and they realised that the Egyptian army was behind them, the Red Sea in front of them and hills on each side of them, the Lord did not fail them. Instead He opened up the sea for them and brought them safely through to the other side. All through the 40 years of wilderness wanderings, with all the difficulties that had to be faced, the Lord had been with Moses; He had not forsaken His servant.
Now that Moses had been taken home to glory, Joshua must take his place. It was now the younger man’s responsibility to conquer Canaan and take possession of it as the place that God had promised to His people Israel as their homeland. No doubt Joshua could envisage many difficulties; there would certainly be strong opposition and hard-fought battles; perhaps he could imagine repetitions of the unbelief that overwhelmed the spies who were sent to Canaan with Joshua and Caleb 39 years previously – unbelief which affected the whole nation. But the Lord had a purpose to bring Israel into the land, a purpose that He had revealed to them through Moses, as He had revealed it previously to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Joshua and Caleb, the only faithful men among the spies, believed that promise and acted accordingly. No doubt Joshua’s faith in God’s promise was still strong, but God in His kindness saw fit to give him fresh encouragement: He would be with Joshua as He had been with Moses. And He added, “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”.
All God’s children have their responsibilities, even although they may be far less demanding than Joshua’s; they too can see difficulties ahead of them, though not all these difficulties will actually occur. But God is giving them the same encouragement as He gave to Joshua: “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”. The substance of these words are repeated more than once in Scripture; in particular, they are thus addressed to the Hebrew believers: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5); so we can take these words as a promise for all God’s children till the end of time. He assures them that He will be with them during their whole pilgrimage through this world and that He will bring them to the promised land, heaven itself, of which Canaan was a type.
Yet we are not to assume that the believer’s life will be free from trouble. Neither Moses or Joshua experienced a trouble-free life. Moses had to face many difficulties and trials, not least when, on his way down from Mount Sinai, he found the Israelites worshipping the golden calf. Joshua’s troubles included having to deal with the consequences of Achan’s sin, among them the defeat at Ai. Yet God was with each of these godly men throughout their time on the narrow way through life; He never failed them nor forsook them; He brought them on step by step to their final destination in eternal glory. Every trial they experienced made them stronger, so that, by God’s grace, they were able to face further difficulties more trustingly. Besides, these trials contributed to their sanctification, for “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28).
Let each of God’s children receive the encouragement that they are intended to take from the reassuring words that God spoke to Joshua and others. This assurance will be proved true, not because of the believer’s faithfulness to God, but because of His faithfulness to all His covenant promises. And all the blessings God bestows on His children are for the sake of Christ and what He did on their behalf in this world.
Further, let them remember that Christ is continually making intercession for them before the throne of God. We have an example of that intercession in John 17, where He speaks of those whom the Father had given Him: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me”. That intercession is ongoing, in every generation – in this generation, in particular – as He presents, before His Father, the merits of His work in this world.
So we can believe that the Saviour intercedes for believers today in these terms: “I pray . . . that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil”. God fulfills His promise to be with them, as Christ makes intercession for their protection; and so they will be preserved from the evil that surrounds them. Again the glorified Saviour intercedes for them: “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth”. He asks for the work of grace to be continued by making them increasingly holy, through the appointed instrument: the Scriptures both as they are read and preached. The work of sanctification will be continued in believers until it is complete and they are brought to heaven – at whatever time God has appointed – according to Christ’s further intercession: “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with me where I am; that they may behold My glory”. So none of them can be lost, any more than Moses and Joshua could be lost.
The Lord further told Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage”. Weakness and fear do not mark out a successful leader, but Joshua was not being directed to summon up whatever natural strength of character he possessed. His strength and courage must come from the Lord; he must look away from himself to the One who, as Paul expressed it, “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20). Joshua had to look to the Lord for inward strength to persevere in the responsibilities that had been laid upon him. If the Lord had sent him to bring Israel across the Jordan and to lead them into battle against all the tribes that would resist their progress, he had every reason to trust in the Lord that He would go with him, to strengthen him and give him courage in all these duties.
Paul puts the question: “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?” (1 Cor 9:7). His point is that everyone who is sent out to serve as a soldier can expect to be provided with all he needs during the campaign. In the same way, the Lord sends no one out, whether to preach the gospel or to live a consistently Christian life in this ungodly generation, without making provision for all His servants’ needs. They have every encouragement to go trustingly before the throne of grace, seeking His help and His protection, looking to Him for strength and courage, every moment of every day, whether their responsibilities are new or old.
If the believer experiences particular difficulties, there are particular encouragements for such occasions: for instance, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Is 43:1,2). Matthew Henry comments, “Those that have God for them need not fear who or what can be against them”. How vital to have God for us! And He will be for us if we are looking away from ourselves and trusting in Christ as the one Saviour who has been provided for sinners like us. God still calls, “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Is 26:4). He commands this ongoing exercise of faith; and He has endless resources.