Joshua 1:1-2

Moses was 120 years old when he died. He traveled in the wilderness for 40 years before finally getting to the Promised Land. (That was mostly because Israel acted up & God let some of them pass away. More on that in a minute.) God was not allowing Moses to go in the land. Which seems harsh, but it’s not.

God has to be just and a lot went on with Moses that shouldn't have, therefore, God made the decision that Joshua would be the next leader. Here is the hardest part to read, they actually got to the Promised Land pretty quickly. It wasn’t until AFTER our verses yesterday and the scouting report coming on that God punished them with 40 years in the wilderness.

Moses established a government and rules for them. He obeyed God and took advice from his father-in-law. This setup Joshua very well. Joshua was strong and able to lead them into battle. These lands had been settled, but God promised them all those years ago.

The thought comes to mind, “Why didn’t God just keep people from settling there?” Good question. Free will. God could have done a lot of things to keep people off the land, but He CANNOT over-rule someone's free will. Instead of trying to control them, He blessed the land and those people actually took good care of it and got it ready for the Israelites.

Joshua and Caleb are the only people their age that didn’t die in the wilderness. Numbers 14 verses 26-45 tell how God decided to punish them and why. After all that he had been through, Joshua still had a huge task ahead of him! Thankfully, God was leading & guiding him the whole way!