Joshua 1:9-18 NIV

Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
B 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:11 "Go through the camp and tell the
people, 'Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here
to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your
own.'"
C

12

But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua
said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave
you after he said, 'The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you this
land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that
Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle,
must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites.
D You are to help them

C15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too
have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After
that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of
the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
B

16

Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do,
and wherever you send us we will go.17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will
obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses.

A 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them,
will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"
Joshua 1:9-18 is an interesting and complex chiasm. The reason it is complex is due to the extra
number of verses in the C block. Block A was easy to discover because of the repetition of the
phrase Only be strong and courageous.

( Jos. 1:9 WTT)

( Jos. 1:18 WTT)
Block B is Joshua ordering the people and the people responding to Joshuas orders. The
response Joshua receives to his orders is the people obeying him.

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In the C block we find the repetition: 'The LORD your God will give you rest, verse 13 is a key
verse in the C block. until the LORD gives them rest is found in verse 15.
By creating the C block the focus of the chiasm can be found in verse 14, the last words You are
to help them. This is the D block.
The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh could have easily told Joshua since
they received their inheritance from Moses, and they owned it, so why should they fight for the
conquest for the rest of the land? Gods revelation in this chiasm is even though they didnt have
a true nation the Children of Israel must work together for the work God placed before the nation.
Adonai told Moses which was passed down to Joshua they must conquer the peoples of the
Promised Land. When the people worked together for God things went well for them.
If you turn to the book of Judges you learn how the various tribes of Israel were picked on one at
a time when they didnt help each other. As children of God we must all learn how to work together
for the work of God. The division existing in Christs church can be the cause of the failure of
church. Churches of different denominations rarely work together. What is worse is when
churches of the denomination refuse to work together.
We must work together for the good of the universal church.

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