Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 1:18
Whosoever [he be] that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
Verse 18. He shall be put to death] This was martial law; he who disobeyed the command of his general should be put to death. To this the people agreed, and it was essentially necessary in order that proper discipline should be kept up in this great army. By insubordination their fathers had suffered much in the wilderness; they rejected the authority of Moses, mutinied and made themselves a leader to conduct them back to Egypt. (See Nu 14:4.) And Joshua himself, for attempting to encourage them against their fears, was near being stoned to death. It was necessary, therefore, that they should give him the most positive assurance that they would not act as their fathers had done.
1. NOTWITHSTANDING the great honour God put on his servants Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, and Joshua, yet we find him using every means to induce the people to trust in himself alone. Hence he is ever showing them that even those great men had nothing but what they had received, and that they were as fully dependent upon himself as the meanest of the people. What was even Moses without his GOD?
2. Is it not strange that at the death of Moses utter despair had not overwhelmed the whole camp, as he whom they expected to give them rest had died before any conquest was made in Canaan? We find, however, that they are not discouraged; he who gave them Moses, has now given them Joshua in his place; and they had now fully learned that if God be for them, none could be successfully against them.
3. From all this we may learn, that when God has a great work to accomplish, he will provide himself suitable instruments; and though one which he has greatly honoured, appear to fail, we should know that he is not confined to work by that one alone. He has way every where, and all things serve the purposes of his will. He will as surely support his Church on earth, as he will support the earth itself; and while the sun and moon endure, the Church shall flourish: this is for his own honour, and he certainly is more concerned for his own glory in the administration of justice, judgment, and salvation in the earth, than any of the children of men can possibly be.
4. Though God had so implicitly promised them his help, yet he strongly insists on their own co-operation. He requires the use of every power and talent he has given; even Joshua himself must be strong and very courageous, and the people must obey him in all things, in order that they may go over the Jordan to possess the good land; and without this they had never got into the promised rest. Shall we suppose, then, that if we be not workers together with God we shall be saved? Vain expectation! He works in us to will and to do, i.e., he gives the principle of volition in things that are holy, and the principle of power to bring the acts of will into good practical effect; therefore, says the apostle, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Will, therefore, under the influence of the gracious principle of volition; act under the influence of the principle of power. Without the power you can neither will nor do; but having the power it is your duty to will and do. It is enough that God gives the power. It is our duty, when we receive these talents, to improve them. In a million of cases a man may be both able to will and to do, and yet do neither to the salvation of his soul.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In all that thou commandest him, not repugnant to Gods commands; for none can be so foolish to think, that if he had commanded the people to blaspheme God, or worship idols, the people were obliged to obey him therein.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Whosoever [he be] that doth rebel against thy commandment,…. Refuses to go over Jordan with his brethren the children of Israel, when commanded by Joshua so to do:
and will not hearken to thy words in all that thou commandest him; or, if he does go over, yet will not obey orders to take such a post, or go against such a city, or march into such a part of the country:
he shall be put to death; this part of military discipline they agree to, and hereby declare their entire submission to him as their general; some understand this as spoken by all Israel, and of their promise of obedience to Joshua, as their governor, in all things:
only be strong, and of a good courage; which also is not to be understood as a condition of their submission and obedience, but as a hearty wish and prayer for him, that he might have strength and courage necessary to the great work he was engaging in, and which to see would be no small encouragement to follow and obey him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
18. Against thy commandment Literally, Every man who rebels against thy mouth; that is, who shows contempt for thy commands.
Shall be put to death A righteous verdict against the rebel, and in accordance with the law of the Most High. Deu 17:12. Resistance to His chosen representative is a crime no less heinous than avowed rebellion against His sovereignty. So long as a government is subserving its ends in administering justice and conserving human society, the attempt to subvert it by violence is a crime of the greatest enormity, striking at the very foundation of all the earthly interests of mankind, and opening wide the floodgates of civil war. Notes Rom 13:1-7.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ Whoever he be who will rebel against your commandment, and will not listen to your words in all that you command him, he shall be put to death: only be strong, and of a good courage.”
Their covenant was solemn for the penalty for breaking it was death. They agreed that disobedience to Joshua, whether by one or by many, would be punished by death. In a war situation such disobedience would be treason. It could jeopardise the whole venture.
“Only be strong, and of a good courage.” Joshua’s part was to have the strength and courage of a good leader resulting from his devotion to YHWH, for that was what YHWH had commanded him. Let him fulfil his commitment to YHWH, then they would fulfil their commitment to him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 18. Whosoever he be that doth rebel, &c. he shall be put to death He shall be treated as a criminal guilty of high treason: so the words are understood by Maimonides and most of the rabbis. We may further take notice, that Joshua was a king and a prophet, as Moses had been; and that, according to the law, he who transgressed the orders of Moses and of a prophet was worthy of death. The word only in the latter clause of the verse should rather be translated therefore, which is the plain signification of the particle rak. See chap. Jos 13:6.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER! in the review of the death of one servant of the Lord, and the appointment of another, what a precious thought is it, that our Jesus lives forever. Moses must die, and Joshua must die, and all the servants and ministers of the church must be gathered to their fathers, and see corruption. But Jesus our dear Redeemer is the same, and his years shall not fail. Oh! what relief, amidst every dying circumstance of every faithful servant of the Lord!
In the prospect of passing over Jordan to the possession of the promised land, may my soul be enabled to act faith, in the certain assurance that, as Joshua was commissioned of the Lord to promise the people, so hath our Almighty Joshua promised and secured it to his. And here, as in a thousand instances, our glorious Joshua hath infinitely exceeded and outdone all that his type represented. Joshua, it is true, went before Israel, and went with Israel. And so doth Jesus in all the way, for he is ever with them, and his Almighty presence their support. But he is also gone before. He hath already taken possession of the promised inheritance in their name. The battle is already fought and won. The conquest is finished, By and by he will return to take his people to himself, that where he is there they may be also. Almighty Captain of my salvation! as thou hast overcome and art set down on the seat of the conqueror in thy Father’s throne, so do thou enable me to overcome that I may sit down on thy throne. In all my warfare let me behold thee before me, and may I be enabled to stand still, and see the salvation of my God.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 1:18 Whosoever [he be] that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
Ver. 18. Only be strong and of a good courage. ] Here Vox populi accordeth Vox Dei: this was a further confirmation. See Jos 1:6 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
doth = shall.
commandment. Hebrew “mouth”, put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for what is uttered by it. See App-6.
commandest = shalt command.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
that doth rebel: Deu 17:12, 1Sa 11:12, Psa 2:1-6, Luk 19:27, Heb 10:28, Heb 10:29, Heb 12:25
he shall be: Rom 13:1-5
only be: Jos 1:6, Jos 1:7, Jos 1:9, Ezr 10:4, 1Co 16:13, Eph 6:10
Reciprocal: Deu 4:9 – lest they 2Sa 10:12 – Be of good 1Ch 22:13 – be strong Pro 27:17 – so