11 And it cometh to pass after the death of Moses, servant of Jehovah, that Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua son of Nun, minister of Moses, saying, 2 'Moses my servant is dead, and now, rise, pass over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 'Every place on which the sole of your foot treadeth, to you I have given it, as I have spoken unto Moses. 4 From this wilderness and Lebanon, and unto the great river, the river Phrath, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great Sea—the going in of the sun—is your border. 5 'No man doth station himself before thee all days of thy life; as I have been with Moses, I am with thee, I do not fail thee, nor forsake thee; 6 be strong and courageous, for thou—thou dost cause this people to inherit the land which I have sworn to their fathers to give to them. 7 'Only, be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded thee; thou dost not turn aside from it right or left, so that thou dost act wisely in every 'place' whither thou goest; 8 the book of this law doth not depart out of thy mouth, and thou hast meditated in it by day and by night, so that thou dost observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then thou dost cause thy way to prosper, and then thou dost act wisely. 9 'Have not I commanded thee? be strong and courageous; be not terrified nor affrighted, for with thee 'is' Jehovah thy God in every 'place' whither thou goest.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Joshua 1:1-9
Commentary on Joshua 1:1-4
(Read Joshua 1:1-4)
Joshua had attended upon Moses. He who was called to honour, had been long used to business. Our Lord Jesus took upon him the form of a servant. Joshua was trained up under command. Those are fittest to rule, who have learned to obey. The removal of useful men should quicken survivors to be the more diligent in doing good. Arise, go over Jordan. At this place and at this time the banks were overflowed. Joshua had no bridge or boats, and yet he must believe that God, having ordered the people over, would open a way.
Commentary on Joshua 1:5-9
(Read Joshua 1:5-9)
Joshua is to make the law of God his rule. He is charged to meditate therein day and night, that he might understand it. Whatever affairs of this world we have to mind, we must not neglect the one thing needful. All his orders to the people, and his judgments, must be according to the law of God. Joshua must himself be under command; no man's dignity or dominion sets him above the law of God. He is to encourage himself with the promise and presence of God. Let not the sense of thine own infirmities dishearten thee; God is all-sufficient. I have commanded, called, and commissioned thee to do it, and will be sure to bear thee out in it. When we are in the way of duty, we have reason to be strong and very bold. Our Lord Jesus, as Joshua here, was borne up under his sufferings by a regard to the will of God, and the commandment from his Father.