As with Moses, God spoke directly to Joshua, commissioning him to lead Israel into the land God was giving them.

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        "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses" (Josh 1:3).

       

The boundaries of the new land are given in Josh 1:4 -- from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, and north to Lebanon.  Joshua had to be scrupulous to know and obey all the laws of God, and to "be strong and courageous."  Like Moses, but not like the judges that followed him, Joshua had a continuous relationship with God:

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         "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Josh 1:5-9).

        

What an extraordinary promise!  It is echoed in the New Testament (Heb 13:5), as a general promise to believers.  The Lord also exalted Joshua in the eyes of Israel (Josh 3:7, Josh 4:14, Josh 6:27).  This exaltation was not just a matter of outward success, but also an intimate knowledge of God and a close walk with Him.

        

God spoke to Joshua in many ways: directly (Josh 1:1-9), through the casting of lots (Josh 18:10), and in a remarkable epiphany prior to the attack on Jericho (Josh 5:13-15).  See section 4.5 following.  But God also spoke to Joshua through Scripture, through the recently written Law of Moses:

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         "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful"  (Josh 1:8).

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         This is the first time that written Scripture became important in knowing the will of God.  Joshua not only obeyed what he had received (Josh 11:15), but he added to it:

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          On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws.  And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God (Josh 24:25-26).