Joshua 1:6-9 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Bible seems virtually redundant on the theme of courage. More than 125 exhortations for God’s people facing overwhelming trials and dilemmas, resound against fear, notwithstanding how natural that response may seem. Courage based on faith is the universal attitude for saints in all situations. Our omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere) Father says, and repeats, “Fear not! Be of good courage! Be strong and courageous!”
Preparing Joshua, Israel’s general, for the conquest of the Promised Land, the Lord repeated this command three times in four verses, (and four times in the chapter). Having personally witnessed the giants in the land of Canaan 40 years earlier, Joshua had every natural reason to be concerned about the massive creatures aligned against his diminutive tribe.
Yet even during his first encounter with the enemy as a spy in Canaan, Joshua had distinguished himself along with Caleb, as a man of faith and exemplary courage. “The Lord is with us, do not fear them!” he pleaded and boldly proclaimed, even tearing his clothes; [Numbers 14:6-9] The man had a different spirit.
Yet, YHVH even knowing Joshua as a young spy who had himself preached faith and courage, apparently understood the possibility that 40 years of aging and wandering could necessitate another personal exhortation. And so the Lord gave it to him, and He assured Joshua of His unrelenting presence.
Whether walking in wilderness wanderings or on some Promised Land frontier filled with giants, there is never a time when “Be strong and take courage!” is an irrelevant or redundant message. The message of courage bears repeating again and again. “Be strong and very courageous! Do not be frightened or dismayed!” Our eyes love to play tricks on us, but we walk by faith, and not by sight…and it’s faith that inspires courage, for our God is an awesome God!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A few years ago, I was in a debate with an atheist who had a legal background, and the Lord gave me a revelation about the tactics of the enemy. At Yeshua’s first coming, his tactic was to destroy the infant before He could grow up; [Revelation 12:4-5]. After the Lord’s death and resurrection, Satan continued his direct assault by attacking the church through persecution, which lasted through the first three centuries. The tactics of the enemy were to destroy any “eyewitnesses” of God’s goodness.
An interesting parallel exists between these two passages of scripture: Isaiah 53:9 and Acts 3:15. Isaiah renders the “death” of the messiah in the plural form, “deaths” (“motav”). Acts renders the life of the Prince of Life as “lives” (“chaim”). Some scholars suggest that the plurality of the word death indicates a violent death this servant would suffer, and that making the noun plural is a way of emphasizing the terrible intensity of his experience. Jewish counter-missionaries suggest that the “death” in plural shows that the suffering servant is not an individual man, but a group of people, specifically the nation of Israel, thus denying that the passage refers to an individual messianic figure.
Proverbs says the “highway of the upright is to depart from evil”. It’s a highway — a way of life so to speak. And this proverb coincides with the central teaching of Yeshua (Jesus) — “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” What does it mean to repent? The Greek Word is “metanoia” which simply means to change your mind about sin or to depart from evil.
D.L. Moody has been influential in my personal life as I study and read about his life and ministry in the 1800’s. I remember reading a story about how D.L. Moody was preparing to lead a revival throughout England to which an elderly pastor protested and said, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”
If these really are the “Days of Noah,” we would expect to see a world filled with increasing violence. The Hebrew for “violence” is , by coincidence, the name of the terrorist organization Israel has been fighting for decades. And simply perusing my news briefs in recent years gives abundant evidence for the conclusion that this terrible season is well underway. Noah’s day was filled with violence and also false witness, which is a second meaning for the word “Hamas” [e.g., ; ]; violence and lies, then and now…
As Israel braces for retaliation from Iran, Hezbollah, and its terrorist proxies following the assassinations of two terrorist leaders in Tehran and Beirut last week, many are praying through these tense times as Tisha B’Av begins tonight (Monday night).
Tonight, Jewish people around the world will mourn through Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the fifth month on the Hebrew calendar. This day has been marked by numerous tragic events throughout history. It began with the spies returned with an evil report of Canaan, the Promised Land, as recounted in Numbers 13 and 14. This day marks the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, which occurred on the same date, separated by hundreds of years. The Crusades were launched on Tisha B’Av in 1095. In 1290, Jews were expelled from England, and in 1492, they were expelled again from Spain and Portugal on this very day. In the modern era, World War I began on the 9th of Av, and the call for the “Final Solution,” which led to the Holocaust, was announced on this date. To say that Tisha B’Av commemorates a series of horrific events is an understatement.
The Bible tells us that the last days would be like the days of Noah. As the mass of humanity witnesses the signs of increasing violence and evil manifesting in ways that seemed incomprehensible even just a decade ago, we are focusing on the peace that faith brings through the present storm. Though the ark he built for the flood was perhaps not the most luxurious boat ever made, Noah and his family were able to abide in God’s rest through the most terrible weather in human history.