Joshua 1:8

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 ESV). Looking at previous verses we learn that Mosses had just died and God has commissioned Joshua to assume leadership and describes the land they are to take passion of. God also makes a promise to be with Joshua and the people as they cross over the Jordan and displace the current occupants of the land. God encourages Joshua to be strong and courageous and to be careful to do according to the law given by Moses. This is the setting of our verse, which was given to Joshua, but there is an implication for us. As the law applied to Joshua, the word of God applies to us.

This verse tells us three things to do and if we do we should expect two results. First, the Law (the Word for us) is to become an integrated part of our lives so that we can talk about it with people we meet, to encourage them, and to guide them in their walk with the Lord. Second, we are to continue to think about it, to understand it and make it part of daily living. Third, we must be obedient to it, to be careful to do what it says. If we do these three things we will live by its principles and as a result, we will prosper and be successful.

When you think of prospering and being successful, don’t let your western culture mislead you. Don’t lose sight of the command to “be careful to do according to all that is written.” Remember, God chose us and assigned to us work to do to build his kingdom. Being prosperous and having success applies mainly to this endeavor, not to our personal ambitions. (The context from which verse 8 is taken.)

Prayer

Father, it is so easy to take a verse like this out of context and try to apply it to our personal gain. This promise of being prosperous and having good success applies first, to taking possession of the land and settling on it, and second, prospering as a nation and becoming successful in their stand against the surrounding nations and against evil. Father, help us apply this verse to our spiritual growth and to our assigned kingdom work not to expanding our own personal worldly desires.