I will gather you and your children from east and west.įear not, for I am with you I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.ĭo not be afraid, for I am with you I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west.įear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west įear not, for I am with you I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west And the greatest comfort any of us can have-no matter how frightening or dismaying this world may be-is that Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, is with us always, even to the end of the age.Do not be afraid, for I am with you I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. He is working faith in us just as He promised. He is victoriously subduing hearts just as He promised. He has already defeated His and our enemies. But we must remember that we are accompanied by One who is far stronger than anything that threatens us-and He is not afraid. At times, fear grips the heart and boggles the mind, causing us to do the wrong thing at times and hindering us from doing what we ought to do. Israel’s tendency was to be “frightened and dismayed.” So is ours. 10) and finally, Jesus gave us the Great Commission with the singular promise that banishes our fear: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (v. 5) next, Jesus, having risen from the dead, told the women to say the same thing to the disciples (v. Is it any surprise that in the resurrection narrative in Matthew 28, God’s people were told not to fear? First, the angels told the women at the tomb not to be afraid (v. He came to do battle with all that threatens us, and He overcame our greatest fear-death itself-by His own life, death, and resurrection. Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world to transform this stage of foreboding darkness into one of radiant hope. Many years and episodes later, against the backdrop of an even gloomier stage, God raised up another deliverer-the Prophet more faithful than Moses and the Captain more successful than Joshua. Their courage waned more than it waxed, and eventually God would have to do even more for His covenant people. The opposite of being “frightened and dismayed” is to be “strong and courageous.” There was only one problem: the people were sinfully afraid. What God expected of His people was faith in His promise and presence. Joshua was the leader who went before them, but God Himself was truly the Captain of their salvation, their Rearguard, and their abiding Comforter. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. What God gave to Israel in Joshua 1 to displace their fear was ultimately the promise of His own abiding presence: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Joshua would be with them, and Joshua would lead them.įine as that was, Joshua was still only a man, and God gave something to Israel that was of far more value than the leadership of Joshua-God gave them Himself. Joshua was the man for such a time as this, and God clearly placed the mantle of Moses on the shoulders of Joshua. God knew that the people of Israel needed a leader, a man chosen by God to provide decisive, visible leadership, one who would bring the people from where they were to where they needed to go. God had given two gifts to Israel to help them overcome their fear and enter the promised land. It is against this sobering backdrop that God set His redemptive promise of hope. Fear was not simply a plague that threatened the people of Israel it had birthed unbelief in their hearts and hindered them from obtaining the promise. That generation’s children who grew up to replace their parents would be going into the land. From that generation, only Joshua and Caleb were alive. In addition, an entire generation of Israelites had died in the wilderness due to their unbelief. It would be hard to overstate how categorically perplexing that must have been to Israel: the man who had led them out would not himself enter. Moses died outside the land of promise as a result of his sins. The great prophet and leader of Israel whom God used as the human agent to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt was no longer with them. The book of Joshua begins on a dismaying note. When we are overwhelmed by the “giants in the land,” the only thing that can displace our fear is the powerful presence of God. It is a plague that can ravage the people of God and hinder us from walking confidently with our God and doing His will.
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