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Ch. 1 introduces most of the themes of the book. God’s sovereignty and initiative are highlighted. It was God who commanded Joshua to end thirty-eight years of Israelite inactivity by leading the people across the Jordan to possess the land. The beginning of the charge to Joshua contains three promises: (1) All the land will be theirs, (2) no enemy will withstand them, and (3) God will be with them and will not forsake them.
We should not spiritualize this historical narrative when we consider whether it offers anything of promise for God’s people after Joshua. We cannot conclude that because God promised all this to Joshua he promises a Christian today a particular house, spouse, or position. The transfer of a specific promise in a particular ancient context to a particular modern context is risky because the contexts usually are not parallel.
But we can make a legitimate transfer of promise or principle from the specific context of the ancient situation to the general human context in all ages. God gives Christians all the “land” of their experience for an eternal inheritance. Even though Christians may suffer reverses in this life, ultimately no enemy of the soul can stand before those who trust in God. No Christian ever awoke to find that God had forsaken him/her.
The land of Israel was always more than a physical entity; it was also a central part of the spiritual inheritance of Israel. If we err by spiritualizing the material or the temporal, we err equally by unspiritualizing them. God created the human race with one foot in the world of space, time, and matter and the other foot in the eternal world. The spiritual creature is also the material creature; for this life, at least, our material destiny is an important part of our spiritual destiny. While we are here, the two really cannot be separated. The spiritual importance of the land of Israel for the redemption of the human race is central in its Conquest and allotment.
God commanded Joshua three times (vv.6, 7, 9) to be strong and very courageous. Then, for good measure, the people said they would follow Joshua if he would be strong and courageous. Israel had failed to enter the land years before because they lacked the courage to trust in God. Failure to receive the good gifts God would give his people was not only Israel’s problem.
The command for care in keeping God’s laws (vv.7-8) is not works righteousness. The keeping of the law was the external evidence of Israel’s faithfulness to God. A right relationship with another person will show in actions and attitudes pleasing to that person.
The land as the promised rest for God’s people is also presented in this first chapter. What Israel had held in hope for many years was soon to be reality.