I Will Be With You

As the Israelites 40 years in the desert came to a close, God told Moses it was time for him to die and to anoint Joshua as the next leader (see Numbers 27:12–22). I imagine Joshua was rather hesitant about this. Yet, He had been Moses’ right hand man, so to speak, for over 40 years (he served Moses during the 10 plagues in Egypt too). I have no doubt their relationship had great depth. I can almost hear Joshua saying, “How can I follow in this man’s footsteps?”

God did not leave Joshua without an answer!

Let’s turn to Joshua 1:3,5: “I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you…No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.”

When we have a word from the Lord, we can be assured and confident that He will perform what He’s said. I have a quote in the front of my Bible: “He will do what He says He will because the very thought of not doing it would not ever occur to Him.” (I wish I knew whom to credit.)

God would be with Joshua like He was with Moses. Nonetheless, the Lord gave Joshua more encouragement. No doubt the devil was bombarding his mind with thoughts of inadequacy and more. Four times in Joshua 1, God tells him to “be strong and courageous.”

In addition to this initial instruction, there are 2 particular items I never noticed until recently that I want to bring to the forefront. These were things God did that showed He was with Joshua just as He was with Moses.

Holy Ground Instruction

In Exodus 3, Moses encounters God in the burning bush. “‘Do not come any closer,’ the LORD warned. ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.’”

Now let’s look at Joshua 5:14–15. Joshua has encountered a man and asks if he is friend or foe.

“‘Neither one,’ he replied. ‘I am the commander of the LORD’s army.’ At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. ‘I am at your command,’ Joshua said. ‘What do you want your servant to do?’ The commander of the LORD’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did as he was told.”

Joshua was in the physical presence of Jesus. He recognized this and fell to the ground in reverence. Without doubt, Joshua also recognized the similarities between his experience and Moses’.

Moses and Joshua both stood on holy ground in the presence of God as He delivered His instructions to them.

Moses claimed his inadequacy to accomplish God’s task so many times that the Lord got angry (see Exodus 3 & 4). But I love the way Joshua responded. “I am at your command. What do you want your servant to do?”

Joshua understood God’s authority and his place under that authority.

Those verses became rhema (spoken word) to me the morning I read them. God was telling me to have the same attitude. As a former Marine, I immediately understood, but my flesh also got in the way. Who likes being ordered around? I also reminded myself that God has only His best for me. Orders from God aren’t like orders from men.

Victory in the Battle

In Exodus 17, the Israelites have gone out to do battle with the Amalekites and Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill that gave them a view of the battle below.

“As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle” (Exodus 17:11–13).

Now, let’s turn to Joshua 8 and see how God once again showed Joshua that He was with him in the same way as Moses.

“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Point the spear in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the town over to you.’ Joshua did as he was commanded.…So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day—12,000 in all. For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed” (Joshua 8:18,25,26).

While there might have been 40 years in between these two events, there’s no way Joshua could have missed God’s message for Him. Joshua needed confidence to lead the Israelites and conquer the Promised Land. God said He would be with him as He was with Moses, and He gave Joshua irrefutable proof.

And God is with you! Not in the same way He was with Moses and Joshua, but in a better way. If you are a born again believer, God resides within you. That is something Moses and Joshua never had.

We can stand in faith that God will perform the promises of His Word because “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” (Numbers 23:19). “Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true” (Joshua 21:45). “God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23).

Be encouraged today and stand in faith that God keeps His promises.

(All verses from the New Living Translation)

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