Meditate On and Be Guided By God's Word

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. 
— Joshua 1:8

With the death of Moses, Joshua prepared the children of Israel to enter Canaan. God counseled Joshua by telling him to be strong and courageous, to meditated on God's commands and to do them.

The people knew Joshua was the right man to lead them. In the past, Joshua had proven his trust in God. When Israel's twelve spies were sent to quietly explore Canaan prior to the Israelites' entry, most of the spies were afraid the Canaanites would defeat them, even going so far as to describe the inhabitants as giants. Only Joshua and Caleb expressed confidence that God would assure their success in taking the land (see Numbers 13-14). All of Israel must have remembered the trust of Joshua and Caleb on that day, because their presence afterward was a constant reminder. After forty years in the wilderness, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones from their generation that God permitted to live and to enter the promised land.

But as God passed the mantel of leadership to Joshua. Joshua must have had doubts in his own leadership skills. He must have worried whether he would always do the right thing. God bucked him up, reminding Joshua to be strong. But more importantly, God directed Joshua to the foundation on which he must build everything that came after—God's very words.

Don't let the wording in your Bible translation mislead you. This passage is not a prediction of what is to come. Rather, it is a command from God to Joshua of what he must do and what will result if he does it. Think of the passage like this.

“Do not, for one minute, let My words, out of your speech or your actions. Meditate and reflect on them day and night. Base all that you do on all I have given you. If you do, you will prosper and have success.”

Joshua took seriously God's advice and he was successful because of it, leading the Israelites to take the land God had promised to Abraham. God's advice to Joshua is also excellent advice for us. Do you want to prosper and have success? Meditate on and be guided by God's Word.

-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lamentations 3:22-23 – Even Through the Bad, God is Faithful

Image
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. --Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB The most significant thing about this wonderful passage is where we find it in the Bible. The Book of Lamentations tells of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which took place over 587 and 586 BC when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar overran the city. The surviving inhabitants either fled to other countries, were carried away to Babylon as slaves or remained under the brutal rule of an occupying force. Lamentations does not name its author, but it is generally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. For many years Jeremiah had warned the people and their leaders about their unfaithfulness to God. Jeremiah knew that being chosen by God did not translate to a free pass. He knew that actions had consequences. If God's people were not faithful to God's instructions, bad things would happen. But even
Read more

The Abomination and the Tribulation

Jesus continued to answer the disciples' questions about the destruction of the temple, the signs of His coming, and the end of the age. “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and you see standing in the holy place—where it should not be—the ‘abomination of desolation,’ as described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), you will know that Jerusalem’s desolation is near. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. And let no one in the field return for their cloak. Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from their house. For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. “How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against these people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the
Read more

When Will These Things Happen?

Jesus and His disciples arrived at the Mount of Olives. And Jesus sat down opposite the temple. His disciples had not stopped thinking about what Jesus had said about the temple—that the time would come when one stone would not be left upon another. And so, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to Jesus privately. “Teacher, they asked, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ They will deceive many. But do not follow them.” “You will hear of wars, rumors of wars, and rebellions. But do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Then He told them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven. All these are the beginning
Read more