August 18 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 31:1-13:

¹And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
²And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
³The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.
⁴And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
⁵And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.
⁶Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
⁷And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
⁸And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
⁹And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
¹⁰And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
¹¹When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
¹²Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:
¹³And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Devotional

Joshua is to take the place of Moses as leader of the children of Israel. Moses encourages him with the above words. Humanly speaking, it was an impossible task with an untrained army to take possession of the land of Canaan with its mighty nations, strong cities and giants in the land. But "there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few." Joshua experienced that in the battle with the kings at Gibeon, when the Lord caused the sun to stand still about a whole day. "And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel." Time and again God has encouraged his people with words like the above. Thus David said to Solomon his son, who was to be king after him, and was to build the house of God: "Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord." This promise, that was an encouragement for the children of God in Old Testament times, also holds good in New Testament times. We read in Hebrews: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." The psalmist says, "I have been young, and now am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Peter says, "Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you."

Prayer

Our Father we are so prone to worry, and often are full of anxiety; whereas we should put our whole trust in Thee, knowing that Thou carest for us. Help us to believe Thy precious promises, to believe that Thou canst accomplish things that seem impossible to us; for we know that with Thee all things are possible. And as a father pitieth his children, so dost Thou pity them that fear Thee. Thou wilt never leave nor for­sake Thy children. Grant us grace to believe and to trust. Bless us and keep us. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: 1 Sam. 14:6; Josh. 10:14; 1 Chron. 28:20; Heb. 13:5; Ps. 37:25; 1 Pet. 5:7.

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