Be Strong and Courageous

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: Now I will tell you what I told your new leader Joshua, so that you may all be encouraged and take heart. Your own eyes have seen everything the Lord your God has done to these two Amorite kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. 00:00:24 Speaker 3: Do not be afraid of them. 00:00:26 Speaker 2: For the Lord your God fights for you. 00:00:29 Speaker 3: Now tell me, do you believe it? 00:00:33 Speaker 1: The crowd erupted in cheers. After such a recounting of their history, Israel was stirred and determined. It took them several moments to settle down before Moses could continue. 00:00:48 Speaker 4: This is the land I promised Abraham, I seek, and Jacob, and how you will fulfill that promise by giving it to your people, your descendants of my servant Abraham. 00:01:02 Speaker 1: Moses dropped to his knees and bowed low before the Lord. Breathless, he struggled to express his gratitude of being granted access to this invigorating vision. 00:01:14 Speaker 3: I have made loss for words. Thank you, thank you, regret me this remis. 00:01:23 Speaker 1: Moses felt the Lord's compassionate and merciful acknowledgment. He then gently spoke again to this servant. 00:01:31 Speaker 4: I have known that you see it with your own eyes, and you know you will not cross him to it. I have also appointed Joshua, Son of Love to lead my people in your stern. I have placed some of your authority on him so that my people will obey him. I have even filled him with my spirit of wisdom. I have delivered my Lord to my people and my priests, or teaching them by ways might husk for you is now complete. Come now rest with your fathers, and come to be with me. For it as well you below. 00:02:15 Speaker 1: He released his grip on life and fell into the loving embrace of the God who had called him by name a lifetime ago. 00:02:25 Speaker 3: That's all any of us could do. Be faithful to what's in front of us without the guarantee of what is to come next. 00:02:38 Speaker 5: Fear is loud, but courage. Courage listens for the quiet voice of God calling you forward. Shallo, my friends, from here in the holy land of Israel, I'm l Extein with international fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. With the wilderness behind them and the Jordan River ahead, the Chosen People are without their great leader. Moses is gone, Joshua is now the one called to lead. Imagine the weight of expectation, the fear of failure, stepping into the shoes of the man who parted, sees, who spoke with God, and mountain taps. Would you be ready? Would you be strong enough? Courageous enough? But this story is more than history. It actually asks each one of us, are we ready to cross our own Jordan rivers. 00:03:41 Speaker 1: Joshua and Caleb let the fire burn down to crackling embers as the first rays of the sunrise warmed their faces and chased away the chill from the night. They had both fallen into an awed silence. As the sun steadily illuminated the sky, it was as if the light was marking the significance of this strange changing of the guard. The sun set on Moses, and now here it was rising on Joshua. A nagging sense of duty was crouching in the back of Joshua's mind. Once he returned to camp, there would be half a dozen things to do and get into order, but he wasn't quite ready to leave this moment, not yet. Caleb sensed Joshua's reluctance rekindled the embers in the fire with the end of a stick and struck up a new conversation to ease Joshua's restless mind. 00:04:39 Speaker 6: I remember the day, Maia, my father died, surprisingly considering it was well over sixty years ago when he died, I as about the age you wore when when we met. 00:04:57 Speaker 1: Joshua gave Caleb a sidelong look. He had a feeling he knew where Caleb was headed with this. 00:05:03 Speaker 3: This doesn't feel anything like that. I barely knew my father. I was raised by my siblings more than I. 00:05:09 Speaker 6: Was him, and by Moses most of all. 00:05:13 Speaker 1: Joshua couldn't help but smile at that. 00:05:16 Speaker 3: Yes, by Moses most of all. 00:05:18 Speaker 1: Caleb let that sentiment linger for a moment before he continued, never looking away from the glowing embers of the resurrected fire. 00:05:27 Speaker 6: Jeff Andy, there can sites my father preferred the styling of his chosen name over our tribe name. He was a stubborn old goat. 00:05:40 Speaker 1: Joshua nodded and wondered where this was going. Caleb did not often talk about his ancestry. The Kennziites inhabited the land of Canaan at the time of Abraham, long before Israel was ever enslaved in Egypt, as far as Joshua knew, they had either died out or assimilated it entirely into other nations. 00:06:02 Speaker 6: When I was young, all I wanted to be known as was a tribe of Judah man anything to be liked, to be accepted. Are the men whose lineages were more purer than mine. 00:06:20 Speaker 3: But you are liked. I can't think of anyone more beloved than you, Caleb. 00:06:24 Speaker 1: Caleb leaned his shoulder into Joshua's playfully and rolled his eyes. 00:06:31 Speaker 6: Yes, but what I'm saying is that it was all by design. I worked hard for my position. But what I came to learn as I grew into a man was why my father held on to our ancestral heritage. He didn't want us to forget where we came from, and, more importantly, the choice we made. He wanted people to remember how his people showed the God of Abraham. What I perceived in my youth to be my father's clinging to the glory of some distant, irrelevant heritage was actually a reminder of the power of choice. We choose our families and our faith, and it's faith that truly defines us. Your lineage. Your past doesn't shape you as much as your faith does. Moses chose you, Joshua, the mighty and faithful. Moses recognize the mighty faith in you. Moses, who was a prophet of the Lord, we will never see the likes of again. A man who spoke to the Lord is one. What a friend hm hm, The performer of signs and wonders of our God in Egypt and in the wilderness, all that, all that, and he was not the man chosen by God to lead us into the promised land. 00:08:26 Speaker 3: You are no pressure, right Haha? 00:08:31 Speaker 6: No, there's definitely pressure. Ha. The mountain's worth of pressure is on your shoulders, my friend. I I don't envy you. But such was the weight of Abraham when he ventured from his father's home. Such was the weight of Jacob when he wrestled with his destiny. To be chosen is to choose. 00:09:00 Speaker 3: Me. 00:09:01 Speaker 6: Let me ask you, Joshua, God chose you, Moses chose you. But what will you choose? 00:09:13 Speaker 1: Joshua could not deny the lingering doubts lurking in the corners of his heart and in the pit of his stomach. He carefully selected one of them and quietly confessed it to his friend. 00:09:25 Speaker 3: Did you know I've never actually heard from God. I've been around people who have Moses, Aaron, the elders who prophesied. I believe God has chosen me. I feel his presence, I sense his wisdom, and I like I trust Moses. But how can I possibly live up to a man who could speak to God faced face? 00:09:48 Speaker 1: And finally he came to it the heart of his fear? 00:09:52 Speaker 3: How long will it take the people to repel against me? 00:09:55 Speaker 1: Caleb nodded, in understanding he was the only other person in the world world who understood the utter devastation and defeat of Israel's rebellions outside of the Lord himself. Caleb sighed and gave him an honest answer. 00:10:12 Speaker 6: I suppose that's a question neither of us can answer the people, and the people alone will choose whether or not they will have faith. 00:10:21 Speaker 1: Joshua nodded. He recognized the truth in Caleb's words and knew it to be true from within his own heart as well, but he had secretly hoped to hear something more encouraging, some sort of guarantee of the people's faithfulness. 00:10:36 Speaker 6: Well, I suppose we should head back to camp. Otherwise, there sound of my grumbling stomach will drown out any hope of further conversation. 00:10:47 Speaker 1: Both men chuckled at that, as Caleb stood and kicked sand into the modest firepit to douse the flames. 00:10:54 Speaker 3: Go ahead, I'm going to stay out just a bit longer. 00:10:57 Speaker 1: Caleb nodded and gave Joshua's shoulder gentle squeeze before he gathered up the blanket he had brought and headed back toward camp. Joshua watched him go, but then turned instinctively toward the river bank. A crisp breeze pushed urgently against his back, causing him to shiver. He looked back toward camp again. Perhaps he should not have let Caleb take that blanket with him. The breeze came again, pushing his face back toward the river. It was as if it was urging him to walk in its direction, as if in response. The breeze came again, more forcefully than the first two times, and it snatched at his cloak and rustled his hair. Joshua stood and stepped forward. The breeze practically sang in response. Its urgency was almost eager and jubilant. Joshua couldn't help but smile at its insistent prompting. Confidence and excitement steadily built in him as he moved toward the Jordan River. Joshua arrived at the river's edge, and the breeze seemed to cut out entirely. The world around him stilled, he looked around, wondering if something had happened to his hearing. The churning coursing river still rushed by, but was somehow muted. The chorus of birds and insects at the water's edge was suddenly silenced. 00:12:23 Speaker 3: Then he heard. 00:12:25 Speaker 1: It, Joshua, a voice that rushed into Joshua's mind, like the coursing river, the Elohim, the creator of the heavens and the earth. His voice came from nowhere and everywhere inside Joshua's mind and reverberated in his very bones. Joshua fell to his knees and bowed before his God, awe struck and amazed by the all consuming, audible voice surrounding him. 00:12:54 Speaker 4: Joshua, my appointed leader, Moses, my servant is dead. 00:13:03 Speaker 1: Joshua's throat became thick, and his eyes moistened as he pressed his forehead further into the cool grass on the river bank. A warm, comforting breeze rushed to meet him where he was kneeling, slightly, easing his crushing grief. 00:13:18 Speaker 4: Now you and all the people will prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving you. Look up, Joshua, see the land before you across the river. 00:13:34 Speaker 1: Joshua obeyed the Lord, tears still brimming as he blinked them away to see the land before him. The rising sun cascaded over the plains, revealing the lush vegetation and distant palm trees. 00:13:48 Speaker 4: I have given you every place where the soul of your foot will tread, Just as I promised Moses, no one will stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you nor abandon you. 00:14:09 Speaker 1: This was the assurance Joshua had been seeking. The stark isolation that accompanied the burden of leadership, the mantle Moses bore for so long, was perhaps Joshua's greatest fear. As if sensing his thoughts, the Lord continued. 00:14:27 Speaker 4: To be strong and courageous, For you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors and give to them as an inheritance. Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction. My servant Moses commanded. You do not turn from it to the left or the right, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth. You are to meditate on it day and night, to carefully observe everything written in it, For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. 00:15:12 Speaker 1: Joshua nodded and whispered the hushed confirmation of moses last words to the crowds gathered around the tabernacle. 00:15:20 Speaker 3: Yes, with all the heart, soul, and strength, these are the words to be on our hearts. 00:15:26 Speaker 1: The breeze again swept up and surrounded him, Infectious and energizing. He continued to remember moses words, when. 00:15:35 Speaker 3: We walk along the road, lie down, and get up. 00:15:38 Speaker 1: There was so much to remind the people of such a legacy, to uphold, so much, to hold them accountable to Without their integrity, they would surely fail. Unbidden, the list of things Joshua would need to do when he returned sprang into his mind. So much to do, so much, to be to these people when he returned. But the Lord again responded to Joshua's mounting fears. 00:16:05 Speaker 4: Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go. 00:16:18 Speaker 3: Rakshasatamas, be strong and grageous. 00:16:22 Speaker 1: With that, the chatter in Joshua's anxious, racing thoughts ceased. The voice that felt everywhere and all consuming seemed to diminish, but settle in the back of Joshua's mind. He found it strangely comforting. It was different than the wisdom and authority feeling that Moses had transferred to him. Instead, this was a peaceful presence that reassured him that he was not alone. Joshua returned to camp with a renewed sense of purpose. Though all of Israel mourned for Moses for thirty days, the beckoning call beyond the Jordan River was not forgotten. They were on the edge of what Moses had prepared them for all their lives. They had been forged in wandering the wilderness, and now their destiny lay before them. When the thirty days of mourning came to pass, the pangs of grief for Moses were still there, but the words of his God gave Joshua the strength he needed to rally the people and prepare them for this next stage of their journey. He gathered all of Israel to hear and bear witness to his instructions to the elders and officers Israel. 00:17:41 Speaker 3: Within three days time, we will cross the Jordan River. 00:17:45 Speaker 7: Together we will take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving to you to inherit. 00:17:51 Speaker 1: The crowd let up a mighty cheer at that they were ready. Joshua scanned the crowd and found who he was looking for immediately, the representatives of tribes Reuben and God, Nemuel and Abbemayel. Here on the brink of the start of their conquest. He reminded them before all of Israel their promises made to Moses. 00:18:15 Speaker 3: Remember what Moses, the Lord Serviant commanded you when he granted you this land east of Jordan as your inheritives. You will go out before our armies and fight for your brothers, and the entirety of the promised land is ours. You may return here to take up your possession. Do you remember your promise was your honor, your oaths. 00:18:35 Speaker 1: The younger clan leader and the older stood tall and proud before their brothers and answered their leader. 00:18:42 Speaker 3: Yes, we are with you, Joshua, just as we were with Moses. 00:18:47 Speaker 1: The Lord your God will be with you as. 00:18:49 Speaker 6: He was with Moses. 00:18:51 Speaker 1: Joshua nodded at the men and then turned his attention back to the masses. 00:18:55 Speaker 7: For all of you, for all of Israel, will you the promise you've. 00:19:01 Speaker 3: Made before our God? 00:19:03 Speaker 7: You love him, obey him, and remain faithful to him always. 00:19:08 Speaker 1: The crowd shouted in the affirmative. 00:19:10 Speaker 8: Then you are ready, for our God is with us. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. I tell you again, the Lord, our God, is with us. 00:19:22 Speaker 7: Remember above all, be straw and courageous. 00:19:35 Speaker 5: The Book of Joshua begins in the shadow of loss. Moses, the great leader of Israel, is dead. The one who stood before Pharaoh and who split the sea, who climbed SINAI to speak with Almighty. He is gone, And now the mantle falls on Joshua. How do you step into a role like that? Can you imagine following in the footsteps of someone like Moses? In today's story, Joshua needs encouragement he is about to lead the people into the land that God had promised them, which is a pretty daunting task. So God told Joshua, have I not commanded you be strong and courageous within the span of eight verses. All within this one speech, God tells Joshua hazak omits three times, be strong and courageous, Be strong and courageous, Be strong and courageous. The first time occurs in verse six, and two more times after that verses seven and nine. And we have to ask why does God use these exact words, and why does he repeat them so many times. For the answer, we can look back in the Bible t when Moses transferred his mantle's power to Joshua. There in Deuterotomy thirty one, we find that Moses uses the same words when speaking to Joshua in Hebrew, says razak omits be strong and courageous. And so God is telling Joshua that despite the death of the great Moses, God will be with Joshua the same way that he was with Moses, the same way that God is with each of us, his chosen people. Joshua's story begins with a call to remember, to remember Moses, to remember sign I, and to remember that strength and courage come not from within but from God. And so as Joshua stands at the Jordan River, he is just a new leader. He is a new Moses, charged with leading God's people into the fulfillment of a promise that began long ago. I'm asking you, my friends, do you need that kind of courage today? The courage to believe that God is walking with you right now? And are you ready to step into that role in your own life? To take up the mantle of faithfulness? Son, step forward, trusting in God's promises. As God charges Joshua with his mission to lead the Chosen people into the Promised Land. Part of this divine mission focuses on the five books of the Bible that we just completed studying together in our previous episode, the five Books of Moses, the Torah. In verse eight of this chapter of the Book of Joshua, God mentions the Torah. God says, quote, keep this book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. End quote. Now, this is a pretty strange assignment for a political and military leader. 00:22:44 Speaker 1: Don't you think. 00:22:45 Speaker 5: But here God is telling Joshua that part of his assignment is actually to study the Bible. Jewish tradition suggests that it was this very Bible study, this closeness to the wisdom of God, that helped make Joshua great leader. But that's not all. This assignment gets at the very essence of the Israelites entering the Promised land the Torah. The Bible had to be an integral part of their lives, and part of Joshua's job was to teach the people God's law. The land of Israel drives his holiness from being founded with the Bible as its constitution. And how amazing is it that right here, right now, we are walking in the footsteps of Joshua, studying the Bible and bringing ourselves close to God's wisdom as the chosen people. So what does it mean to be strong and courageous today in our modern world? Well, what we learn is that strength and courage aren't about bravado. Being strong and courageous is actually about trusting in God's plan even when it feels like the ground beneath your feet it's shaking. It's about stepping into difficult conversation into the unknowns of life, into the places where fear looms large. What is your Jordan River? Where's God calling you to be strong and courageous. Maybe it's in making that career change that you've been scared to even pray about. Maybe it's standing firm in your values when the world around you is pushing you to compromise. Or maybe it's simply trusting that God is still good even when life feels anything but. Like Joshua, we stand at the edge of our own rivers. We face our own challenges that we would rather avoid. But the command remains kazakh omits be strong and courageous, because the God who leads us to the edge of promise is the God who will see his chosen people through it all. 00:24:55 Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with the Isle Eckstein and free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yiel Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avilla narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kaylab Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yiel Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.