“Be strong and courageous!” It sounds like a quote from a self-help manual.
The opening chapter of the Book of Joshua is one of the Bible’s great texts on courage. Following the death of Moses, Joshua faces the daunting task of leading Israel into the promised land. The people are in transition. Their great leader is gone, there are enormous challenges ahead, and they face an uncertain future.
Into this situation God speaks – not once, but three times: “Be strong and courageous” (Jos 1:6, 7, 9).
There is more going on here than a divinely inspired confidence booster. This chapter of the Hebrew Bible presents a theological reflection on courage, obedience, leadership, and faithfulness.
The Book of Joshua is situated between the Pentateuch, comprising Israel’s origin story, and Israel’s settled future in the land of promise. The narrative recounts their entry into the promised land, the gradual conquest of Canaan, the distribution of territory among the tribes, and Joshua’s final exhortations to covenant faithfulness.
Today, we will focus on chapter 1, and I want you to notice five important principles embedded in this text. The first is this:
1. God is with his people
If you’ve been around for a while, you know that life can be tough. Careers collapse, institutions break their promises, politicians break our hearts, families fall apart, friendships end, a health crisis looms. Self-confidence can be fragile and fleeting, regardless of the happy masks we often wear to convince others that everything is okay.
In Joshua chapter 1, we find God at work preparing the young leader Joshua and his people for the opportunities and threats they will face. God does not tell Joshua to believe in himself. God does not tell Joshua to think positive thoughts, or read the latest self-help guide, or engage a life coach to improve his self-image.
No, God gives Joshua a sacred promise: “I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you” (Jos 1:5). Joshua needs to learn that courage to face tomorrow’s challenges comes primarily not from his own abilities but from the reliable presence and wisdom of God.
The Christian faith, from Genesis to Revelation, points the people of God to a source of courage beyond the self. As we follow Jesus, we learn to trust the character and faithfulness of God rather than our own resources. And that can be scary.
The good news is that the repeated command to be courageous is inseparable from the promise that God remains present with us: “Be strong and courageous, because I will be with you.” That is such an important lesson for us to learn in business life, in family life, in church life. But I want you to notice five more themes introduced in chapter 1.
2. No single leader defines God’s purposes for us
The first verse establishes a context of transition and uncertainty: “After the death of Moses, the Lord’s servant” (Jos 1:1). Moses dominated Israel’s experience for forty years. He led the great Exodus, mediated the covenant at Sinai, and guided the people through the desert. The narrative of Joshua begins with his absence. It could mean disaster. But God is not taken by surprise.
This chapter is a powerful reminder that leaders come and go, but the mission of God and the promises of God continue. The purposes of God are not dependent upon any individual leader.
Joshua’s authority is derivative. He does not have to craft a new vision for the people of God. He inherits, interprets and implements the formative vision and mission. He builds on the legacy of Moses, and continues the story that began with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Leaders are central to the mission of God, but leadership that depends excessively upon personal charisma, personality, family ties, or the concentration of power in a single individual is less than ideal.
God’s purposes for the Uniting Church in Australia are bigger than John Wesley, bigger than John Knox, bigger than the architects of the Basis of Union, bigger than Harry Herbert and Gordon Moyes, bigger than any one leader, however gifted and effective.
God’s purposes for North Rocks Community Church are likewise bigger than the vision or gifts or legacy of any one leader. We trust our leaders, and our leaders place their trust in God.
3. God calls us into family relationship
I love the way God instructs Joshua in verse 2: “‘Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.”
God has called a community of faith into being, and it is through the community acting together that God will complete the great mission that began with the call of Abraham and the exodus from Egypt. The promises they have inherited include blessing and provision, but also come with an expectation of obedience, accountability, and the resolve to embody a distinctive way of life in keeping with their holy calling and mission.
In chapter 1, Joshua prepares the people for the conquest of Canaan, and they reply, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything” (vv. 16-17a).
In chapter 24, Joshua, now an old man, challenges the people to “fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth” (Jos 24:14a). He says, “Choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship – the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the River Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord” (Jos 24:15).
4. God has revealed his will in Scripture
Notice the chapter’s emphasis on the written Word of God. Joshua is to meditate upon the Book of the Law and live in accordance with its teaching. And this spiritual practice comes with a promise: “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do” (Jos 1:8).
This precedes military action. Israel’s success is not defined primarily in military, economic, or political terms but in covenantal terms. Joshua’s authority is constrained by moral and theological obligations. He is not free to pursue whatever objectives appear advantageous.
Leadership is portrayed as stewardship exercised under divine authority, not the exercise of power based solely upon force, efficiency, or self-interest. Joshua needs more than intellectual knowledge. He needs more than practical skills. He needs God’s word to shape his character, imagination and worldview.
Like Joshua, we are surrounded by competing voices demanding attention. News media, social media, advertising, political movements, and the entertainment industries all shape our thoughts and desires.
Yes, we need to attend to what our culture teaches us. But Joshua 1 reminds us that courage and faithfulness require intentional spiritual formation. It is through our engagement with Scripture, prayer and Christian community that we learn godly wisdom, discernment and resilience. I love the way the Uniting Church’s Basis of Union puts it:
The Uniting Church acknowledges that the Church has received the books of the Old and New Testaments as unique prophetic and apostolic testimony, in which it hears the Word of God and by which its faith and obedience are nourished and regulated …
The Uniting Church lays upon its members the serious duty of reading the Scriptures, [and] commits its ministers to preach from these…[1]
5. Success depends upon cooperation
The tribes of Israel who had already received their inheritance east of the Jordan River are instructed to assist the remaining tribes before enjoying their own security (Jos 1:12-15).
Personal wellbeing is inseparable from communal wellbeing. The covenant community flourishes when its members recognise their mutual obligations and shared responsibilities. No one person can fulfil the mission of God alone. No family or clan or tribe can fully realise the great vision that God gave to Abraham. They are a team. They are a community. They must work together.
This vision challenges modern forms of individualism. Joshua 1 presents a social ethic grounded in solidarity, cooperation, and commitment to the common good.
The lessons for us as a congregation are clear. We too are a team, and we need to work together with cohesion and unity. We are also a vital part of a broader faith community, and we need each other for the success of the mission to which God has called us.
Conclusion
Joshua 1:1–18 is more than an introduction to an ancient story. It establishes the major theological and ethical concerns of the book. It has powerful lessons for us to consider today.
It challenges us to take our faith seriously, to grow in our understanding of what God calls us to be and to do, and to “be strong and courageous” as we follow Jesus in establishing the kingdom of God here and now.
Sermon 858 copyright © 2026 Rod Benson. Preached at North Rocks Community Church, Sydney, Australia, on Sunday 14 June 2026. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020).
Rev Dr Rod Benson is General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council and a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia serving at North Rocks Community Church in Sydney.
Reference
[1] https://uniting.church/basisofunion/#witness
Image source: talkoutloud
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