Joshua 1:1-2 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: (Now that the leader of God's people was dead, the Lord has selected Moses' apprentice and trainee to step into the position of intermediary between God and the Israelites and to actually lead them into the Promised Land. Like Joshua, we, too, are appointed to respond to the Lord's call, to act on God's word that has been given to us from Moses, to proceed into the life of promise the Lord has given us, and to serve as God's spokesperson to those around us.)
"Moses My servant is dead. (The Lord gave Moses the honored title of servant. As we align ourselves with our God Most High, as we faithfully and humbly receive His call, and as we take His Word to heart as Moses did, the Lord also gives us this high title of His servant.) Now then, you and all these people, (This command to Joshua is ours today as well. The Lord addresses us and all the people with whom we have influence.) get ready to cross the Jordan River (Like Joshua, we are commanded to prepare ourselves to enter new territory and to take on the challenge of engaging in what may be, humanly-speaking, an impassible and even treacherous barrier, the other side of which may present new situations we have not faced before.) into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites." (Moses was the man through whom the Lord gave the Law, but the Law could not take the people into the Promised Land. Joshua, as a type of Christ, was the one to whom the mantle of leadership passed and who would lead the people into the land of promise. The Lord has prepared Joshua, has mentored him through His Word, and now tells Joshua He has work for him to do, a mission for him to accomplish. Joshua is being given new territory that the people have not had before. Today, the Lord has work for us to do, a mission in which to engage, and new territory for us to enter and inhabit. For us to step into the life of promise the Lord has prepared for us, while we stand on the foundation of the Law, we have to proceed into its fulfillment through Jesus Christ as He completes that work of salvation in us and first shown to us in the Law. His leadership and redemption and salvation will guide us into His purposes for us today. As we follow the Lord's command to enter new situations, we can depend on His promise to give us possession and ownership. of the new land of our lives of promise in Him.)
