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In Joshua 1
● relish the simple directness of God’s opening declaration to Joshua- name-role-condition- “Moses by servant is dead” (2),
● marvel at the continuing economy: “Now therefore arise, go” (2),
● collect the parts, the extension as God elaborates territorially about the promised land (2-4) and as he rehearses his own actions: “I am giving (2) … I have given (3) … I promised (3) … I swore (6),”
● notice in this astonishing act of commissioning Joshua that the three-fold exhortation to be “strong and courageous” (6, 7, 9) is directed personally to Joshua himself,
● ponder the elaboration of what it meant to have strength and courage: being “careful to do” (7) all the law that Moses had commanded and not to “turn” (7) from it to the right or to the left,
● notice that “careful to do” (8) returns and that this pursuit of precise practice emerges from Joshua having the Book of the Law continually in his mouth by meditating (in a kind of heart-prompted murmuring rehearsal) on it day and night (8),
● ponder also the exhortations in verse 9 not to be frightened or dismayed (perhaps an inability to accept what is happening), seeing how either response might cripple Joshua’s will to do the commands straight without turn,
● see how Joshua takes command by issuing commands by delegation (relatively briefly) to “officers” (10) and by direct statement (more extensively) to particular tribes with special circumstances (12-15), and
● register the response of the people who heard Joshua as they promise to “do” (16), “go” (16), and “obey” (17) and as they, too, call on Joshua to “be strong and courageous” (18).
Thank you,

Randy Tumlinson