“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. ~Joshua 1:9
Recently I’ve been studying Chapter 1 of Joshua, and was struck again by the amount of times it says “be strong and courageous”. It’s written four times in this chapter as a command to Joshua, as well as a command to him back in Deuteronomy 31:23. When something is repeated so often, it has to be important.
I looked into the original Hebrew text and the definitions given. The Hebrew definition for “strong” has three separate root words. The first is “Qal”, which means to be strong, grow strong, or strengthen. The second is “Piel”, which means to make strong, restore to strength, encourage, or make bold or firm. The third root word is “Hiphil”, which means to make strong, support, or repair. The word “courageous” actually comes from the same root words.
In looking at all of that together, one thing becomes apparent. With each root word given, there is an indication of an external source. Nothing and no one is encouraged or supported by themselves.
In looking at this in terms of the life of Joshua, his command wasn’t simply to muster up his strength, but it was to be dependent. He needed to rely on God, his external source, for His strength. He needed to trust, be trained, and rely on the Lord in all that He did. His strength came directly from the Lord. It wasn’t in what he could or would do for God, but what God would do through Joshua’s dependence.
In verse 3 of Chapter 1, God tells Joshua, “every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you”. In verse 5, He says, “I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you.” Joshua’s strength was in his dependence. And it is the same for us. Zechariah 10:12 says, “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk, declares the LORD.” It’s not what we can do for God. It’s not dependent on us at all, but rather on Him. He is our outside source.
When we are commanded to be strong and courageous, we are commanded to be dependent and see what the Lord will do. It is not our work, but His. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing”. It is HIS activity, HIS life, in and through us, as we come and are dependent. He is our strength, and is sufficient; we simply need to be dependent.
By: Ali McDiarmid
