Lately, I’ve been thinking about 2 things. The Bible is literally Israel's history. So we learn, apply, and grow closer to God from things that happened in their early times before and after becoming a nation.
Secondly, since God promised this land, why did He allow people to live on it? Why didn’t He just keep it blocked and free for those several hundreds of years? (Like while they were in Egypt.) I know why. He wanted Israel set up. Remember it was a “land flowing with milk & honey”. People had homes, farms, animals, everything. And it was GOOD. It was established and ready. But the people didn’t want to leave.
Joshua is going to battle to get these cities and move in. That's why he is being told to be strong and courageous. In verse 7, God added “VERY” before courageous. This was no small thing Joshua was about to accomplish.
God needed him strong and God provided the strength. Because Joshua knew his strength came from the LORD and 40 years before, he believed they could take the land, he was getting the task of moving them into the Promised Land. Have you ever thought of it that way?
