The Courage Not to Drift
The Cutting Room Floor: Jeremiah 1:1-9
Every once in a while, I share illustrations or exegetical details that didn’t make it into a sermon. I’ve named this series The Cutting Room Floor, as a nod to the filmmaking editing process.
This last week, I preached on Joshua 1:1-9— words of encouragement from God to Joshua as Joshua prepares to lead Israel into the promised land— in a sermon titled, “Confusing Courage.” Today, I’d like to reflect on a few interesting details that did not quite fit the purpose and flow of the message.
Joshua 1:1-9 (CSB)
After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant: 2“Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. 3I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. 4Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.
6“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance. 7Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 8This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. 9Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Be Strong and Courageous
One of the key phrases in this passage is “Be strong and courageous.” It is repeated three times, and then Joshua echoes the call to the Israelites at the end of the chapter (1:18). But this actually isn’t the first time it is used. Moses says the same phrase to Israel when he is preparing them for what is to come (Deuteronomy 31:6). In fact, much of Joshua 1 is quite similar to Deuteronomy 31.
This phrase was used in military settings as a sort of “pep talk” for an army about to go to battle.1 And at first, we anticipate this will be the case as we read Joshua 1. But then God clarifies where Joshua should direct his strength and courage: faithfulness. He must obey God’s ways well. God subverts expectations in an amazing way!
Right or Left?
God calls for Joshua to obey his instructions, telling him to “not turn from it to the right or the left.” This is the idea of complete obedience, of “wholehearted commitment to study the law that leads to right action that eventuates in success.”2 But this phrase is also used in other contexts. Most notably, God’s expectation of kings was the same:
Deuteronomy 17:18-20: 18When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. 20Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years in Israel.
The leaders of Israel were called to not stray to the right or the left, but instead they were to completely obey God’s law. Joshua is held to the highest standard of leadership in Israel!
And from 1 Samuel to 2 Chronicles, the authors give summary statements when a king reigns— usually, these statements reflect on legacy and faithfulness. And although many kings were considered “good” kings who followed God, none of the kings is said to have “not turned from God’s commands to the right or the left.” Not even David, who is often referenced as a positive example, gets this commendation! He gets close, but with a qualifier: “he did not turn aside anything he [Yahweh] had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hethite” (1 Kings 15:5).
None of the kings fulfill the expectation in Deuteronomy until the reign of Josiah:
2 Kings 22:1-2: 1Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2He did what was right in the LORD’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or the left.
Kenneth A. Mathews, Joshua, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016), 14.
Lissa M. Wray Beal, Joshua, ed. Tremper Longman III, The Story of God Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2019), 62.