February 06, 2008

Breadcrumb: Strong and courageous

When God gives Joshua his first commands for leading the Israelites, he repeats several times, "be strong and courageous." (Josh. 1:6, 1:7, 1:9) When Joshua insists the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassehites fight west of the Jordan, they too repeat the phrase, "be strong and courageous." (Josh. 1:18) You have to wonder what sort of temperament Joshua had beforehand, if he needs this many exhortations. He already scouted Canaan, commanded the army against the Amalekites, and went part-way up Mount Sinai with Moses. How much more strong and courageous does he need to be?

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