Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

Joshua 1

God commissions Joshua to lead Israel into the promised land, grounding his courage in divine presence and obedience to the law.

Moses has died, and YHWH commands Joshua, Moses’ servant, to lead Israel across the Jordan into the land promised to their fathers. God pledges his presence and charges Joshua to keep the law Moses gave him. Joshua then orders preparations for the crossing. He calls on the tribes with land east of the Jordan to help their fellow Israelites possess their inheritance. They pledge obedience to Joshua and repeat the call to be strong and courageous.

leadership weightfear for the futuresermon or Bible study notes
Read
1Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying,
2“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel.
3I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will tread on, as I told Moses.
4From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
5No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
6“Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
8This 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.
9Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
11“Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess.’”
13“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.
14Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall live in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you shall pass over before your brothers armed, all the mighty men of valor, and shall help them
15until the LORD has given your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they have also possessed the land which the LORD your God gives them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and possess it, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.’”
16They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses.
18Whoever rebels against your commandment, and doesn’t listen to your words in all that you command him shall himself be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Joshua 1:9God grounds the command to be courageous in his presence with Joshua as he leads Israel across the Jordan.
Joshua 1:5The promise that God will remain with Joshua establishes continuity with Moses despite the change in leadership.
Joshua 1:7Joshua’s charge joins courage to careful obedience, placing Israel’s new leader under the law given through Moses.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis records the land promise to Israel’s ancestors, while Deuteronomy shares Joshua’s commission, the command for courage, and the eastern tribes’ duty to help their brothers. Hebrews takes up the assurance that God will never forsake his people and discusses the rest associated with Joshua.

Joshua 1's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does the repeated command to be courageous change as you read God’s charge and the tribes’ response?

Write on this

What stands out about the eastern tribes’ duty to help their brothers before returning to their own land?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Joshua 1

What does Joshua 1:9 mean by being strong and courageous?

God commands Joshua to lead Israel across the Jordan and into the promised land after Moses’ death. Courage belongs to that task and rests on God’s promised presence. The surrounding verses also connect courage with keeping Moses’ law, so the command includes resolve to obey God.

Does Joshua 1:8 promise wealth and success?

The verse connects prosperity and success with Joshua’s attention to the law and obedience to it. Its setting is his commission to lead Israel into the land God promised. The passage gives no blanket guarantee of wealth or an easy life to every person who reads Scripture.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on Joshua 1. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

Joshua · 24 chapters
123456789101112131415161718192021222324
What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).