As the people had honoured the Lord, they had honoured Moses. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage the people’s obedience and loyalty toward Joshua. Moses wanted the same loyalty that had been directed toward him now directed toward Joshua. God’s people could have risen up against Joshua thinking that he had not accomplished enough to merit their loyalty. Yet, the people respected the fact that Moses had directly placed his own honour upon his minister Joshua. The people emphatically accepted Moses’ message as reflected by their answer to Joshua: “According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses” (Joshua 1:17).
Man’s loyalty must be first and foremost directed toward the Lord; however, an aspect of one’s loyalty to the Lord also involves a certain loyalty toward man. At times, these loyalties might conflict. During those instances, each person should heed the words of Simon Peter when he admonished, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). When one’s loyalty to God does not conflict with any loyalty toward man, the Lord admonishes men to be loyal toward one another. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage obedience, respect, and loyalty on the part of the people of God. In similar fashion, the Lord has crowned man with glory and honour (Psalm 8:5). As such, the Lord has naturally put within man a desire to be loyal toward the Lord and others.
In Deuteronomy, Moses rehearsed the events that led up to God’s denying him entry into the promised land though he was Israel’s leader at the time. The Lord instructed Moses, as he stood upon Mt. Pisgah, to encourage and strengthen Joshua. Moses could have offered numerous excuses for not wanting to encourage Joshua. Instead, Moses determined to obey God by strengthening and encouraging his successor. He knew that Joshua as Moses’ replacement was about to face some of the greatest trials of his life. There would be times of fear along with battles and obstacles, small and great. The Lord knew Joshua desperately needed courage to make it through these trials. He, therefore, enlisted Moses and instructed His children to encourage the new leader during this difficult transition (Deuteronomy 1:38).
As we have seen, courage comes from a strength of heart. On the contrary, the Bible likens discouragement (the opposite of courage) to a melted heart (Joshua 2:11). In other words, discouragement takes place when a man’s heart loses strength. The Bible reveals that discouragement comes through various avenues of life. Men become discouraged because of “the way” (i.e., the circumstances of life) (Numbers 21:4). Discouragement also results from fear and unbelief (Deuteronomy 1:28) and the magnitude of a task (1 Chronicles 28:20). Ultimately, discouragement rears its ugly head as a result of a lack of faith in God and His word. Since discouragement and a lack of faith go hand in hand, a discouraged man cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6).
The Bible reveals that Moses was one of Israel’s greatest leaders. To be the leader of the nation of Israel after Moses would have been a daunting task. Yet, this is exactly what God called Joshua to do. Immediately following the death of Moses, the Lord spoke to Joshua and twice instructed him to “be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:6, 9). He also admonished him to “be thou strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:7). Without godly courage, Joshua would have shied away from the great responsibilities thrust upon him. If he lacked courage, how could he admonish others to trust God and have great courage? Only courageous people can truly lead others during times when courage is necessary.
Courage originates within the heart of the individual. Two chief witnesses testify to this truth: (1) The English word courage comes from a word plainly connected to the heart, and (2) MultipleBible passages associate courage with the heart (Numbers 32:7, 9; Deuteronomy 1:28; Psalm 27:4; Psalm 31:24). The scripture declares in our passage that the hearts of the people melted as they lost courage (i.e., they lost strength). Other Bible passages associate courage with the strengthening of the heart (Psalm 27:14; Psalm 31:24). These truths illustrate that courage reflects strength of heart and that courage is based upon faith, hope, and trust in God.
