Be strong and courageous

Joshua 1:6-9 - "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their fathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

I wonder what Joshua was most afraid of. He obviously needed a lot of encouragement from God himself right at the start of his "rule." Three times in one short conversation God tells him to be strong and courageous -- very courageous, even. On top of that...don't be terrified or discouraged!

Was Joshua afraid of fighting a battle? I doubt that was his biggest fear. He probably wouldn't even have to arm himself if he didn't want to. He could play the role of the 5-star general back at HQ barking out the orders to his lieutenants and other subordinates.

I think he might have been more afraid of having to lead the Israelites in the ways of the LORD, teaching them by word and example all that was in the Book of the Law that Moses had recently finished writing -- Genesis through Deuteronomy. That was a daunting task! Sure, he had the assistance of the elders, priests, and Levites, but he also knew what a pain these people could be at times.

Failure in battle versus failure in believing, keeping, and teaching God's word. Bewteen a rock and a hard place if you had to choose? Not really. Failure related to believing God's word has far more devastating results than losing a physical battle or war.

Some of Joshua's leaders echoed God's words: "Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous." It seems they too knew what a huge task Joshua had been given. I wonder if they realized how fitting their first comments would have been had they been spoken to God himself.