Book by Book · Old Testament
The book where Israel finally crosses over, and a new leader learns to lead.
Joshua picks up after the death of Moses, with the people camped at the edge of the land they have been promised but never entered. Moses led them out of Egypt and through forty years in the wilderness; now it falls to Joshua to take them in. The book follows that crossing — over the Jordan, into Canaan, through the campaigns that settle them in the land, and finally the dividing of that land among the tribes. It is a story about stepping into something the previous generation only saw from a distance.
Running underneath the marches and the maps is a quieter concern: courage, and where it comes from. The land is real and the obstacles are real, and the book is honest that the people do not always get it right. But again and again the encouragement to Joshua is not "you are strong enough" but "I am with you."
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
— Joshua 1:9 (ESV)
It is worth noticing what the courage rests on. Joshua is not told the way will be easy or that he will not be afraid. He is told to go anyway, because he does not go alone. The strength asked of him is the strength to keep moving forward into unknown ground while holding onto something steadier than his own nerve.
That has stayed with us while building something new. New technology around the church carries a real temptation to charge ahead because we can, fast and unafraid, certain it will all work out. We would rather move into new ground carefully — testing what we build, admitting what it cannot do, and remembering that the people on the other side of the screen are the point, not the technology.
Courage to step forward, and care about how you step. The book holds both.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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