Digging a Little Deeper…

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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.

Joshua 1:8

The words of the Lord to Joshua in chapter one of his OT book are some of the most famous in history. While you may not recognize verse 8 above too quickly, I'm sure you recognize the verse that follows: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9, NIV).

One thing I try not to do too often (or am trying to undo, rather) is memorize and meditate on singular verses of the Bible without exploring the context in which they were written. It's easy for us to do. Verses like John 3:16, Psalm 46:1, and Philippians 4:13, just to name a few, are often quoted but rarely explored further than face value. While some verses are very straight to the point and can stand alone, there is so much depth and further meaning that can be drawn out of them if we take the chance to dig a little deeper.

For example, for those who haven't read the first chapter of the book of Joshua recently, they might wonder why verse 9 begins with "Have I not commanded you?" These words portray that God has spoken the following command to the Israelites before, but if we read the verses leading up to His question, we can see why it was worded in this way:

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses's aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates - all the Hittite country - to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors 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. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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 afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:1-9)

Not once, not twice, but three times in the Lord's dialogue with Joshua, He commands him to "be strong and courageous." While this sentiment is one that we would all benefit from hearing on a normal day, God thought it important to impress upon Joshua more than once because Joshua was finally going to lead the Israelites into the promised land after 40 years of wandering! If I were in Joshua's sandals at that moment, I'm sure my mind would be flashing back to 40 years earlier when Moses had the Israelites positioned in the exact same place, poised to take their land. However, because of the fearmongering of a few men, Moses decided not to enter, despite God's assurances that He would be with them.

In telling Joshua three times to be strong and courageous, God is trying to save Joshua from making the same mistake Moses did. Repetition is used often in the Bible, and repeating something three times has been known to signify completeness. In Matthew 26:36-45, Jesus prays to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane, seeking help and courage to do His Will. Jesus knew the implications of what was ahead. He knew He must experience God's wrath in becoming a curse so that He could take away the curse of our sin. While God was telling Joshua to be strong and courageous, Jesus was in turn asking God for this same strength and courage.

While it can be heartbreaking to remember what Jesus's next hours entailed, there is also so much beauty to be found in the symmetry between the Old and New Testaments here. Joshua and Jesus were being asked to do something big and scary to fulfill God's purposes. They both had people around them that needed to be reassured of what must take place. And if that's not enough, knowing that the name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua alone makes me want to see how many other places their stories share parallels.

All of this circles back to why I have chosen Joshua 1:8 as my highlighted verse today: "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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." God commanded the Israelites to be mindful of the Word they had been given as they began their new lives in the promised land. If they kept it, they would prosper. When Jesus came to the earth, He demonstrated how knowledge of the Word can equip us to handle any foe in our paths (Matthew 4:1-11). When we combine these two examples, it should light a desire within us to stay in God's Word, committing it to memory, letting it feed our decision-making and funnel responses to the enemy's festering.

So during your quiet time with the Lord in the coming days, I challenge you, friend, to dig into a favorite memory verse of yours. Find out what was happening when the words were written or spoken. See if you can find a similar verse in another testament of the Bible. Let God reveal to you why this verse has always stuck with you, or let Him shine some light on a verse you've not thought much about before. It is so amazing, the treasures to be found in His Word!