Monday after Septuagesima Sunday
Posted on January 29, 2024 by under
Scripture: Joshua 1:1-9 (NKJV)
1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Devotion
After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord God, Joshua, the son of Nun, was commanded by the Lord to go over the Jordan River and take possession of the land that was first promised to Abraham, the father of the Israelites. This land of Canaan was also promised to those Israelites who had been wandering in the wilderness the previous forty years. The Israelites were now ready to go in and take possession of this promised land. Our Lord tells Joshua a wonderful thing while giving him the command to go and take possession of this land. He tells him that wherever the Israelites would go, He would be with them.
We have this same promise given to us by the Lord Jesus. He told His Apostles before His Ascension that He would never leave us nor forsake us. For He would be with us wherever two or three were gathered together in His name. Our Lord is with all of us who have entered into the vineyard of the Church to labor in that vineyard. Just like the Lord God had chosen Israel to be the people from which our Lord Jesus would be born, He also has gone into the marketplace of the world to call us to be His special people. He is with us wherever we go, and He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people: that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by Thy goodness, for the glory of Thy Name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
