I Am With You Always: God’s Promise to Joshua, Christ’s Promise to His Disciples (Joshua 1:1-9; Matt. 28:20)

After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2  Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3 Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. 4 All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory. 5 No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you: I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed. 9 I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:1-9 marks the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua, emphasizing God's presence, fidelity, and the necessity of obedience to the Law.  After Moses' death, God commands Joshua to lead Israel into the Promised Land (v. 2), affirming the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:7; Deut. 34:4).  The passage stresses divine assistance: "I will be with you; I will not leave you nor forsake you" (1:5), a reassurance similar to God’s earlier encouragement to Moses (Ex. 3:12). Joshua is exhorted to be "strong and steadfast" (vv. 6, 7, 9), drawing strength from meditating on and obeying the Law (v. 8), a concept echoed in Psalm 1:2.

The text reflects covenantal fidelity, as success is contingent upon observing the Law (Deut. 31:6-8).  The phrase "be strong and steadfast"  carries both moral and military connotations, emphasizing courage rooted in faith rather than mere human effort (cf. Deut. 31:7, 23).

The promise of Joshua 1:5 finds its ultimate fulfillment in Matt. 28:20, where Christ, the true and final leader of God’s people, assures His disciples, "I am with you always, until the end of the age."  Just as God assured Joshua of His abiding presence, Jesus assures His disciples of His perpetual guidance.  This reflects the deeper reality that Christ, as the new Joshua, leads His people into the eternal Promised Land (Heb. 4:1-11).

The command to meditate on the Law (Josh. 1:8) prefigures Jesus' teaching that abiding in His word brings true discipleship (John 8:31-32) and that His words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63).  Paul similarly exhorts believers to be "strong in the Lord" (Eph. 6:10) and to "let the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly" (Col. 3:16).

Joshua, as a type of Christ, leads God's people into the earthly Promised Land, foreshadowing Christ leading His people into the eternal Kingdom.  Just as Joshua's name (Yehoshua, 'YHWH saves') prefigures Christ's own name (Yeshua), so too does his mission anticipate Christ’s greater salvation.  Christ is the perfect fulfillment of God's promises to Israel (2 Cor. 1:20) and the true source of spiritual rest (Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:8-10).  The conquest under Joshua symbolizes the spiritual battle against sin, culminating in Christ’s victory over death (1 Cor. 15:54-57)

Lent is a time of spiritual renewal, courage, and obedience to God's will, echoing Joshua’s call to faithfulness.  The journey into the Promised Land mirrors the Lenten pilgrimage from sin to redemption, culminating in Easter.  Meditating on God’s word (Josh. 1:8) aligns with the Lenten call to deeper prayer and Scripture study (Matt. 4:4).  Joshua's call to strength prefigures Christ’s victory over temptation (Luke 4:1-13), encouraging believers to persevere in faith.

Almighty God, You promised Joshua that You would never leave nor forsake him, and in Christ, You have fulfilled this promise for all eternity for all who believe in Him.  Strengthen our hearts to trust in Your presence, to walk courageously in faith, and to meditate on Your Word day and night.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

                                                       

Sources

• McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
• Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
• Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
• Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
• Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
• Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
• Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
• Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.