SERIES G --- THE PROMISED LAND --- LESSON 01

I WILL BE WITH YOU

MARCHING ORDERS

From Joshua 1

After the death of YHVH’s servant Moses, Adonai spoke to his assistant, Joshua the son of Nun. Moses is dead. I want you to take his place as the leader of Israel. You will guide My people across the Jordan River, into the land that I have promised them. I have given you all the land that you will occupy, just as I promised it to Moses; from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. As long as you live, no one will be able to rise up against you, for I will be with you. As I was with Moses, I will also be with you. I will never abandon you or fail you. Be brave and strong, for you will lead My people to conquer the land that I promised to them. Obey every Law that Moses gave you with great courage and strength; then you will be successful in all that you do. Day and night, meditate on these Laws, seeking always to obey them, sharing them with your people. Then you will succeed in all that you do. Yes, I am Commanding you to be brave and strong, fearless, never doubting, for I am with you wherever you go. When Adonai finished speaking to him, Joshua gave orders to the officers of Israel. Go through the camp and command the people to prepare to march, in three days we will cross the Jordan, to conquer the land which Adonai has given to us. These orders were given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Remember your agreement with Moses concerning a home on this side of the Jordan River. You may leave your families and cattle here, but you and your fighting men shall lead the others across the Jordan River to help them conquer the land. When you have finished conquering the land west of the Jordan, then you may return home and take possession of the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan River. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered Joshua, we will do everything you have commanded us. We will go wherever you send us. As we obeyed Moses completely, so we will also obey you. May YHVH be with you as He was with Moses. Whoever refuses to obey you will be put to death. Be strong and fearless!

COMMENTARY

THE JORDAN RIVER

Moses, the lawgiver, was dead. Now YHVH called Joshua to be Israel’s new leader. Joshua was a military man, who could lead in the coming battle for the Promised Land. [Be brave and strong,] YHVH commanded, [obey every Law that Moses gave you with great courage and strength.] Then YHVH gave Joshua a great promise. [I will be with you wherever you go.] When the Jordan River stopped flowing so the Israelites could cross, it was much wider than it is now. But the route it followed and the landscape along the shoreline remain much the same. The river’s origin is far from the place where the people of Israel crossed. Many miles north, near Dan and Mount Hermon, four streams unite and flow south through a valley and a mosquito-infested swamp, then goes through a black basalt gorge formed from volcanic lava. The Jordan then meets the Sea of Galilee at its northern end and emerges at the south. Below this stretches the rich beauty of the Jordan Valley. To the left lies a lush plain called the Zor. Usually full of wild animals, the plain is flooded by the Jordan every year, which drives the animals out; when the water recedes, it leaves masses of driftwood behind. Lying straight ahead is the Ghor valley. Surrounded by mountains, fed by many rivers and streams, the Jordan here becomes treacherously full of swirling rapids. Continuing south, the river then flows undisturbed on its own for many miles. As the Jordan approaches its end, the Mount of Olives becomes faintly visible to the west. Shallow and moving slowly, the river empties its silt into the lowest, saltiest body of water on earth; the Dead Sea. From its origin to this point, where it ends, the Jordan River has twisted back and forth for a total of two hundred miles -- but it has covered a distance of only seventy miles on land.