Susan LaffertyJoshua receives the exhortation. “Be strong and courageous.” Hearing it loud and clear. Multiple times.
From the Lord. And from the people. (Joshua 1:6,7,9,18)
He’s stepping into leadership after one of the greatest leaders of all time. Moses.
Certainly not for the faint of heart, this. Leading the multitudes. And entering the Promised Land.
Then. At the end of his life. He delivers the exhortation.
The children ask, “What do these stones mean to you?”
So they hear stories of remembrance. About the journey to the Jordan.
And the precise moment priests stuck their toes in the river. While carrying the ark of the covenant.
Their elders say the water just stopped. And piled in a heap. During flood season. When the Jordan regularly overflows its banks.
And then the riverbed lay dry before them. Ready for their crossing.
Borders of inheritance. Precise allotments. Land portions, surveyed and described in detail.
Joshua sent a handful of scouts ahead. Into the promised land.
And they mapped out places for the tribes.
Then cast lots to decide who got what.
