Have I not commanded you? (Joshua 1.1-9)

Joshua 1.1-9 is dominated by imperatives and promises. Some examples:

• Cross the Jordan
• Be strong and courageous
• Be careful to act in accordance with the Torah, do not turn to the left or right
• Meditate on the Torah day and night

• Every place your foot will tread upon I have given to you
• No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life
• As I was with Moses, so I will be with you
• I will not fail you or forsake you
  

It is interesting to note that this passage, so dominated by God's commands and generous provisions, ends with a QUESTION. The NRSV misses this, but in the final verse God asks Joshua, "Have I not commanded you, 'Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go'?"

God's commands always lead to questions—Have we heard them? Are we listening? Do we understand what our Lord requires? Have we grasped the resources that are available to us in him? What will we do with what he has said to us?

What has he said to you?