Revealing a New Beginning

This is an excerpt from Joshua Bible Study by Lifeway Adults.

Many Americans have a fascination with George Lucas’s Star Wars. 1983’s Return of the Jedi left many fans waiting for a new beginning proposed by a cliffhanger when Darth Vader gave a dying message to Luke Skywalker for Luke’s sister, Leia. It would be thirty-two years before a new film finally revealed what happened next. But in the meantime, we were left waiting, wanting to know the details of the new beginning.

The book of Joshua begins with a similar scenario. God delivered a cataclysmic announcement which had a catastrophic impact on the minds and hearts of the Israelites: “Moses my servant is dead” (Joshua 1:2).

This was like a tsunami sweeping over the psychological and emotional surface of the nation. Moses, the great leader of Israel for the past forty years, was dead. Moses, the great mediator of the chosen people of God, was dead. Moses, through whom God worked miracles on behalf of Israel, was dead. Moses, who delivered and taught the Ten Commandments to the nation, was dead. The undeniable questions—possibly so devastating that some did not dare speak the words—were, “Where do we go from here? What do we do now?” William Shakespeare, the great English playwright, wrote for the character Jacques in As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”

Humans are allowed to stand on the stage, perform our acts, and verbalize our speech. Once our performance is over, the lights are turned off, the curtains are dropped, and we make our exit. For the next scene, lights on the stage come on, the curtain is lifted, and new actors perform their roles and play their parts. The play continues. 

Moses played his part on the stage of Israel for forty years. After that, God, who is faithful to reveal our new beginnings, told His people their leader had died. Moses exited the stage in the presence of God alone (Deuteronomy 34:1-7). There was not another human leader to tell the story, to alert Israel that it was time to proceed without their leader or to give details of their new beginning. This is God’s role, and He is faithful to do His part.  

 The word that follows “dead” in Joshua 1:2 is “now.”

“Now” suggests immediacy. Deuteronomy 34:8 states that the Israelites mourned the death of Moses for thirty days.

God said now it is time to move on and cross the Jordan River to claim the land inheritance God promised Abraham over five hundred years earlier. There is a time for mourning—mourning is real and needed. But there is also a time for moving. After the death of a loved one, the death of a relationship, the death of a dream, or the death of a hope, it is natural and necessary to mourn. But God wants to turn our mourning into morning. The difference in the spelling of these words is the presence or absence of the letter u. Conditions and contexts may not change, but God can change you so that you can successfully and triumphantly handle the unchanging situations and contexts.  

 God told Joshua now is the time to move from the east side, the wilderness of Palestine, across the Jordan River to the west side of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. God would fulfill His five-hundred-year-old promise, but to receive the promise, Israel would need to participate in possessing it. Joshua was the new Moses, and yet he was uniquely Joshua.  

After the transference of leadership, Joshua had to take the reins handed to and crafted for him by the God of all creation and confidently lead the Israelites into the promised land. God admonished Joshua to fearlessly lead in accordance to what he had seen and heard (Joshua 1:6-7,9). God gave Joshua trinitarian instructions in verses 6-7 and 9.  

He told Joshua to be strong and very courageous three times. When God says something once, you know it is important. When He says it twice, you know it is really important. Put yourself in Joshua’s shoes and imagine how Joshua felt hearing these instructions from God Almighty a third time. 

Perhaps you have faced the frustration of a parent who has had to repeat instructions more than once. When this happened in my family, my father’s voice seemed to change. We knew to obey quickly if he had to repeat the instruction a third time. God ensured Joshua knew to be strong and courageous. Why would God tell Joshua to be strong and courageous three times? Perhaps God was really telling Joshua to remember his strength came from God. Maybe Joshua did not have natural strength or inherited strength. Maybe he had a measure of strength, but God knew he would need much more to complete his assignment to lead the people of Israel. God gave Joshua what he needed because God is faithful to reveal a new beginning. With this trinitarian instruction, God promised to be with Joshua as He was with Moses.