Joshua 1:1–9
Be Strong and Courageous
The big idea
Courage is commanded, and it is grounded in God's presence and God's word rather than in Joshua's temperament.
Context you need before you preach it
Moses is dead. That is the first line, and it is the whole problem: the man who spoke with God face to face is gone, and Joshua has to lead a people who have never known another leader.
The command "be strong and courageous" appears three times in nine verses, which in Hebrew narrative is a way of leaning hard on something. Each occurrence is attached to a different ground.
The outline
The leader is dead; the mission is not
vv. 1–2God's purposes are not contingent on any individual, however irreplaceable he seemed. A useful and uncomfortable word for churches attached to a founder.
The promise is territorial and specific
vv. 3–5"Every place that the sole of your foot will tread on" — the promise is real but requires walking. Given land still has to be entered.
Courage tied to obedience
vv. 6–8The second and third commands come attached to the book of the law. Courage here is not a feeling to work up but a consequence of knowing what God has said.
The ground of the whole thing
v. 9"For Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go." The command is only reasonable because of the presence.
Application
- Courage is commanded, which means it is not primarily a personality trait. Fearful people are not exempt.
- Promised does not mean automatic. There is still ground to walk on.
- If courage is grounded in the word, then a person who does not know what God has said has nothing to be courageous from.
Where preachers go wrong on this text
- Preaching this as a general-purpose motivational text. It is spoken to a specific man about a specific commission, and stripping that produces a self-help sermon.
- Ignoring what the conquest actually involved. If you preach Joshua, someone in the room has read the rest of the book.
- Making courage sound like the absence of fear. The repetition of the command implies Joshua was afraid.
Other ways to structure it
The outline above is one defensible reading, not the only one. If it does not fit the congregation in front of you, these are legitimate alternatives:
- Preach it as a leadership-transition sermon, which is its actual setting.
- Preach the threefold repetition as the structure, one ground per point.
- Preach verse 8 alone as a sermon on scripture and success, carefully defining what "prosperous" means here.
Illustrations that fit this text
Frequently asked questions
Is Joshua 1:9 a promise for every believer?
The presence of God with his people is a consistent biblical promise, so the underlying assurance carries. The specific commission — this land, this campaign — does not. Preach the ground of the courage rather than transplanting the circumstances.
You have preached this passage before
Probably more than once, and the earlier version had a line in it you would want back. Transcribe your sermons and every text you have ever preached becomes searchable by reference — $19/month for as many as you preach, and the first one is free.
More from Joshua
Preaching resources for Joshua — themes, famous chapters, and background for the whole book.