Joshua 1:7-9 Complete Jewish Bible
7 Only be strong and very bold in taking care to follow all the Torah which Moshe my servant ordered you to follow; do not turn from it either to the right or to the left; then you will succeed wherever you go. 8 Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed. 9 Haven’t I ordered you, ‘Be strong, be bold’? So don’t be afraid or downhearted, because Adonai your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Moses had led Israel for forty long and sometimes difficult years (Joshua 5:6).
The people had known no other leader. Now they would be going into their new land without Moses to guide them. What would Joshua the new leadership do?
As God appoints Joshua, he does not say, “It’s time for fresh ideas; it’s time to do things differently than Moses did. Be creative.” Rather, God says the words of Moses are still 100% relevant. They were right for Israel’s life with God in the desert, and they will be right for the people’s life with God in the promised land.
It was not that Moses had such good ideas, but Moses had spoken the words which God Himself had given him to lead and teach Israel. To listen to Moses to the words of Moses in the desert was to hear the Word of God. And now, though Moses had died, God was promising that the Word of God would not pass away.
So God said to Joshua: “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you… Be strong and VERY courageous. Do not stray either to the right or to the left from the Word’s God gives you, by this you will be prosperous. Do not be afraid; nor be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
The setting of Joshua 1:7-9 was when Joshua was to succeed Moses as the leader of the Israelites to capture the promised land.
So what was God’s promise to Joshua and also to every believer?
It’s simple- the Book of the Law can only refer to one thing- God’s very own words recorded in the Bible.
The instruction for success in the Christian life is based on the Bible which has also been spelled out as “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”
How true it is.
Joshua was told to always put the Book of the Law seriously because it contains God’s very own words and that, obedience to the Bible guarantees long term success not with the world but with God.
It’s always Bible first before everything else- and seriously I want to be more consistent with it.
Everything else comes next, Bible comes first.
God commanded Joshua to really put the Bible in mind.
That is, to study the Bible diligently and to take it in context, not out of context.
It’s always about context.
This is similar to the command in 2 Timothy 2:15 saying, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
As said, the best way to study the Bible is to never let it out of mind.
However this does not mean that a person should be reading the Bible all the time without ceasing. The rather practical application is that one must always consider what the Bible says before doing anything else lest they fall into temptation.
As said, Ephesians 6:17 says, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:”
One must know the Scriptures as Jesus quoted Scriptures when He fought against the Devil who misused the Scriptures.
So what is the prosperity here?
It’s not about becoming ultra billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and so on, it’s not that kind of material prosperity.
No, this is not the prosperity gospel of the charismatics and conspiracy theorists.
This prosperity is based on the Bible.
Rather this is prosperity in doing what God wants to be done from good works to soulwinning.
When one by God’s grace prays to God to help him/her apply Scripture, they will succeed even when oppression, persecution comes and goes and comes again… it’s definitely a cycle that cannot be avoided.
A good example would be how the prophets and apostles withstood persecution and succeeded in doing what God asked them to do- whenever they were rooted upon the Word of God.
Now that’s real prosperity.
The money of the world will pass away, the money a Christian has is but merely entrusted but the riches of Heaven cannot compare because they are eternal.
Today the Lord God still promises to be with us—always. Jesus, the Son of God, came and fulfilled the law of Moses, and do not stray either to the right or to the left, now we know God through the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in our hearts.
The Spirit helps us understand, walk upon the straight and narrow, the words of Moses, all the rest of he Bible, which gives us the boldness and the courage, the truest Christian experience, proclaim true, trustworthy, the Word of God.
Except which one of us who calls themselves “Truly Christian” has the boldness and the very real courage to not stray to the left (liberal, progressive) or to the right (traditional, conservative) but to stay true and centered on the message of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – God loves everyone!
Get to know God as much as He knows us? (Psalm 139)
Get to know the Word of God as the Word of God knows us? (Hebrews 4:12)
Made an authentic, bold, concerted, courageous genuine effort to live into and out from the Word of God – Matthew 28:16-20?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 119:1-24 Complete Jewish Bible
א (Alef)
119 How happy are those whose way of life is blameless,
who live by the Torah of Adonai!
2 How happy are those who observe his instruction,
who seek him wholeheartedly!
3 They do nothing wrong
but live by his ways.
4 You laid down your precepts
for us to observe with care.
5 May my ways be steady
in observing your laws.
6 Then I will not be put to shame,
since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvot.
7 I thank you with a sincere heart
as I learn your righteous rulings.
8 I will observe your laws;
don’t completely abandon me!
ב (Bet)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.
ג (Gimel)
17 Deal generously with your servant;
then I will live and observe your word.
18 Open my eyes, so that I will see
wonders from your Torah.
19 Though I’m just a wanderer on the earth,
don’t hide your mitzvot from me.
20 I am continually consumed
with longing for your rulings.
21 You rebuke the proud, the cursed,
who stray from your mitzvot.
22 Remove scorn and contempt from me,
because I observe your instruction.
23 Even when princes sit and plot against me,
your servant meditates on your laws.
24 Also your instructions are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 