Joshua - Chapters 6-9 — Tom Bentley

Now, the time runs in ever so quickly, and here we are almost at the close of this period of ministry with tomorrow night, the closing evening. We're glad to see you all that have come tonight, welcome you heartily in the Lord's name and trust the blessing of the Lord as has been asked will be the portion of all present.

Joshua 6: Jericho and the Shout of Victory

Now, we have come to Joshua chapter six in our reading, and it's there we begin tonight. Joshua chapter six, verse one,. Now Jericho was straightly shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once, thus shalt thou do six days.

And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of ram's horns, and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with trumpets. And it shall come to pass that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout.

And the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up, every man straight before him. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord.

Verse 15,. And it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times. Only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

And it came to pass at the seventh time when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city. Now chapter seven, please. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed or devoted thing.

For Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, took the accursed or devoted thing, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-even on the east side of Bethel, and speak unto them, saying, Go up and view the country.

And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said unto him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai. And make not all the people to liver thither, for they are but few.

So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai. Verse ten,. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up, wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned.

Verse twenty,. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. And thus and thus have I done. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them.

And behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. Our chapter eight,. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed. Take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai.

Verse ten,. And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up he and the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. Verse eighteen,. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear, or the javelin that is in thine hand, toward Ai, for I will give it unto thine hand.

And Joshua stretched out the javelin, the spear, that he had in his hand toward the city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand. And they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted, and set the city on fire.

Then verse twenty-five,. And so it was that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

Now chapter nine, please. We have been pointing out the significance of the little word heard in earlier verses. Now note it here,. And it came to pass, when all the kings, which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in the coasts of the great sea, over against Lebanon, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof, that they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua, and with Israel, with one accord.

And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho, and to Ai, they did work wildly, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took all sacks upon their asses, and wined bottles, old and rent, and bound up, and all shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them, and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.

Verse 14,. And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. Now look at verse 22, And Joshua called them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us?

Saying,. And they repeat what they had done earlier. Now the Lord bless his word, and grant us help in the understanding of the sacred page of Holy Scripture. Now trust that we're making sufficient progress to warrant the interest of God's people.

Joshua’s Chapters as Strength, Sign, Sanctification, Stones, and Supply

Chapter 1, we have looked at that chapter as the chapter of the strength. And then chapter 2, the chapter of the sign. Chapter 3 last night, the chapter of the sanctification. And then chapter 4, you remember, the chapter of the stones.

That great message that we found was very practical and precious to our hearts. Then chapter 5, we briefly touched that chapter to see it as the chapter of the supply. God meeting the need of his people as recorded there.

They kept the Passover, reminds us, of God's provision in bringing his people out of Egypt. And then there is mention made of the manna, his provision for the wilderness journey. And then the old corn of the land, that tremendous provision with which Israel had absolutely nothing to do, was there ready for them in all its fullness to strengthen them, to encourage them, to possess the land of divine promise and purpose.

And so tonight we come now to chapter 6. And surely, as you read the whole of this chapter, you will discover very simply, and indeed very quickly, the key word which I feel is easy to remember. I think that chapter 6 can be easily called the chapter of the shout.

Seven times the word occurs and twice the word shouted. So there is no difficulty, I'm sure, with that very simple observation. The chapter of the shout. And surely, beloved, it is a great chapter. And yet we're going to just simply ponder it and see what God has for us in a chapter such as this.

Jericho’s Walls and God’s Removal of Obstacles

Now the first thing to notice, of course, is the apparent security of the city. It was there with all its walls and its people, and yet it did not constitute an obstacle to God. And I do believe that that's what Rahab learned.

And it's that that she gives expression to when she speaks to the spies in her room. You remember, she said, we heard what the Lord did at the Red Sea. And then she said, we heard what he did to the kings of the Amorites on this side of Jordan.

Now that's a very interesting observation, isn't it? There were two obstacles. The Red Sea was an obstacle to the progress of God's people, and God removed it. And the kings of the Amorites constituted an obstacle to the progress of God's people, and God removed them.

Do you know anyone that constitutes themselves an obstruction to the people of God are in a very, very strange and in a very solemn position. God is able to remove the obstacle. And Rahab, I believe, found that God could remove her.

And I'm sure that is why, by faith, she readily received the spies in peace. Lest she, too, become an obstacle to the triumph of the God of Israel. Now here is a city, and it would obstruct the progress into the land with its high wall, with its people ready to defend.

But thank God that obstacle is removed. What a glorious observation right on the threshold of this chapter. You know, I would wonder if the modern armies of today, how they would have pronounced if they had come to a city in those days of this dimension.

How they would have consulted, how they would have contrived to bring down those walls. You could listen in to their suggestions. You could listen in to what they would recommend. And it would be altogether different to what God proposed, wouldn't it?

What God proposed, as you know, was simply the amazing simplicity of the company, number one. Composed, as you can see, of priests and Levites and people. The priests bearing, the Levites bearing the ark.

And the priests blowing trumpets of ram's horns. And the people following. Well, as the Jerichoites looked out and over, I'm sure they despised that motley throng as they encircled their well defended city.

I'm sure they spoke one to another in a very disparaging way as they looked at their simple crowd. And you know, beloved, when you think of the tremendous citadels of evil that abound in your locality.

And there you are with the gospel. And I'm sure the people look at you and they think it's strange. And they think it's odd. And many of God's people have joined that army of disparagement. And no longer engage in the work of the testimony.

They would think it's fruitless. They would think it's useless. Because there are so many, many modern ways of getting at that kind of thing, they would say. But you would know that when it came to the city, God's proposals just had to be accepted and obeyed.

And we discover they were most effective. And let us just get that into our hearts tonight. I think it's a good illustration with a very practical application to you and to me. And to all of us as the people of God, when we see the almost impregnable nature of the hostility of the ungodly.

Almost impossible to break down the barrier, the walls of opposition. But beloved, remember it requires simplicity and simple dependence upon God. Upon God's recommendations. Upon God's way of dealing with the issue.

And after all, if we maintain that, I'm perfectly sure we will find the blessing of God in reality. I think that those dear men, those priests that blew the trumpets. Men with a priestly character. Men with a priestly calling.

Men with a priestly conviction. Blowing a trumpet. Giving it the sound required. Giving it the note demanded. Isn't that what we need, beloved? Surely we need that as never before. For as the apostle says, if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, we don't want any uncertainty.

We want a clear, crisp, convincing message in the gospel. Nevermore was it so much needed. And I believe by this process, by this practice, by this united approach, I believe there will be this bringing down of the strongholds of Satan.

I know it looked very, very insignificant. I know that they would have smiled at their order and simplicity. Levites bearing the ark. Whatever that meant to them, they wouldn't be able to comprehend. But do remember, in this company, the Lord was in the midst.

Men that were appointed by Jehovah were maintaining, as we saw last night, the ark of God, the ark of the covenant. The many titles that we discovered are there in chapter 3 and in chapter 4. Now, what I interestingly see is the astounding swiftness of the collapse.

The whole thing came down very, very quickly, didn't it? Surprisingly so. And I believe it was because these people conformed to the mind of God. Lovely to see this man, Joshua, in verse 12, for example.

It says, and Joshua rose early in the morning. Now those that haven't been with us will have missed chapter 3, verse 1. It opens with the same thing. And Joshua rose early in the morning. That morning when he was going to witness the mighty power of this ark driving back the waters of Jordan.

What a morning that would be. What a day is going to be issued in. No doubt this man was up early with all the spiritual alacrity of his soul to lead the people of God and to witness the power of God and bringing them through the Jordan.

Now he's up early this morning. It says in chapter 6, verse 12, and he's up there early with the same alacrity because it's going to be a day of victory. A day of victory. And I trust, beloved, we know something of spiritual alacrity.

This sleepiness, this stupor that has come upon the people of God must be dealt with. Some of us are far too fond of laziness. Read your Proverbs and find the awful condition of the slothful man. The slothful man.

What does it do? He goes to conferences, you know. He does. And he attends meetings, if you will. But that's all. You think by him sitting in a conference, he was just the very epitome of all that was good.

He never misses a ministry meeting. He's there every night. He's there every day. Well, that's where it ends. To someone who never read that, well, here's the parallel. The slothful man roasts not what he takes in the hunting.

He's prepared to go out and hunt. He's prepared to go out and chase the deer or whatever it is. Well, that's it. That's it. No further. I enjoyed the meeting. It was nice to meet all the believers. And beloved, listen, we could go through that form for years.

That's laziness. That's slothfulness. And never ponder five words that were spoken at the conference. Hey, that's a problem. Never sit down in the quietness of God's presence and ask yourself, what did the man mean?

What was the point of his message? Has got nothing to do with me. And you know how we would go on with it. You won't bring it into your heart. You won't bring it into your soul. You listen. You attend the conference.

Maybe go miles and miles, but there it ends. So you see the value. We're going to see more of it now. It's not the only shot. They see the value of spiritual alacrity. And so as he gathers the people together, isn't it lovely to see that as they conform and as they carry out the mind of God, as he has clearly indicated, there comes the assuring shout of the conqueror.

I'd love to hear that shout. I think it's wonderful. The people lifted up their voice and shouted, shouted. And as they shouted on the note of command to shout. Now they didn't shout before the time. They shouted on the point of command.

And as soon as they shouted, what happened? The wall fell down flat. Oh, thank God for the astounding swiftness of the collapse. Now, I just want to mention three or four things that I feel would be useful for us.

Submission, Unity, Devotion, and Obedience at Jericho

As we look at the story of Jericho, I think that you'll acknowledge there is undoubted submission to God. Now that's important. You see, last night we just finished on that point, didn't we? We looked at chapter five at the end paragraph, and we saw a man on his face before the angel of the Lord.

And we saw that man yield his shoe upon command. And we saw him, and he might have said, well, I'm the leader. But no, the angel said, captain of the hosts of the Lord am I come. And really what this angel was saying to Joshua is you get behind me, not me behind you.

I know that you're the leader, but I am Lord of the leader. For I'm sure it was our Lord Jesus in theophanic dress. And in doing so, Joshua is setting the spiritual tone that develops in this lovely chapter.

The undoubted, my brethren, the undoubted submission to God. Isn't that a good feature in any assembly? I feel it is. And then the undivided oneness before God. Remember, the movement round Jericho, beloved, as through the wilderness was dictated by the steps of men that felt the weight of what they carried.

You understand that? There was no one running ahead here and saying, excuse me, but I want to get around this thing quick. No, no. There were men in that company that felt the weight of what they carried.

And the company's speed, the company's pace was dictated by men that felt the weight of what they bore for God. That's a big problem, isn't it? Easy to run ahead when you have no sense of responsibility, beloved.

I tell you now, easy for young people to feel well, these old fellows are dragging their feet, pardon the word. Easy for us to feel well. Now you just be careful. You see, there was nothing of that here because there was undivided oneness before God.

Their march, their steps, their walk was dictated by men that felt the weight of that ark. I tell you when you get that in God's assembly, it's a good thing. It's a good thing. And then I'm sure there was undefiled devotion to God.

I think that's seen in the ram's horns, the ram, the note of devotion, the ram of consecration. Here's a ram or two that have given up the strongest part of their being. Caught by the horns, says Genesis 22.

The strongest part of that animal held. What held it? It's devotion. And beloved, remember there's plenty of ram ministry in Hebrews. Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God. That devotion, that ram of consecration.

And beloved, I trust that's the devotion that marks this assembly. And I'm sure it is. And I trust it will be maintained. And then undisturbed obedience to God. Is it lovely that they did exactly what God commanded?

And having done that, there was blessing abundant. Now, there are chapters and there are incidents and there are things in the Word of God. And a passage like this is one of those that I'm referring to, that I would love we could put the full stop, the period finished.

If I were writing the Bible, I would have had lots of periods long before they're ever reached in the book itself. But then you see, we didn't write it. And God is the author. And God's faithfulness is manifest now.

Wouldn't it have been lovely if we just went home now and said that was it. What a great day it was. What mighty victory was accomplished. And certainly there was a victory accomplished. The threshold to the inheritance has been secured.

And the triumph of God in his people has been manifest. And there they are possessing that very key to the inheritance. My wondrous victory, glorious triumph. But chapter seven commences with one of these solemn buts.

Achan’s Sin and the Corporate Consequences of Sin

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing. For Achan, what did he do? He took the accursed of the devoted thing and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

Now let us look at this chapter as it's put before us. The first verse gives us the committal of the sin. Here we're told, here we're told that Achan took the devoted thing. Achan is the one that did exactly what God had said to Joshua must not be done.

And in the thrills of victory, in that moment of tremendous success, the one did not evil because at that very point, Achan took the accursed thing. The committal of the sin. Now verse two, right down to verse number 15, will give us the consequence of the sin.

The consequences of the sin. And you know how serious they were. Often we have heard the story of AI. It's a very, very sad story. It wasn't just the magnificent, mighty, well-walled city that Jericho was.

And as they sent out their search party, they said, well, it's just requiring a few. And they felt there would be absolutely no difficulty. But then, what do we need? We read of defeat. Defeat before the very enemies of God.

And there it is from verse two to verse number five. The men of AI smote the children of Israel. What happens? Well, you see the distress of the leader. Verse six to nine, and Joshua fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord.

And there he is in verse six, until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their heads. My brethren, I think that's tremendous. Here are men that sense the awfulness of defeat.

Here are men that sense something has gone wrong amongst the people of God. And then the right place, look where they are. They're right in before the ark of the Lord. And they're on their faces before the Lord, he and the elders.

And they're conscious that something has gone wrong as it is very clearly in the passage. But verse 10, and the Lord said unto Joshua, get thee up, wherefore liest thou upon my face, Israel hath sin. Those are solemn words, aren't they, beloved?

Very, very solemn thing to have sin amongst the company of God's people. I don't think there is anything more distressing. I don't think there is anything more disturbing than to have sin amongst the people of God.

And sin of such a consequence that is making itself manifest in the blessing of God being withheld, and the government of God being strictly and stringently applied to the people of God. Now, I wouldn't for one moment think that what Achan done, or what Achan did, was indicative of the heart of Israel.

I've said already that in chapter 6, there was undefiled devotion to God. I believe that. And I believe that in the midst of an assembly that is wholly devoted to God, there could be, there is the tragic possibility that someone, somewhere in there, has sinned before the Lord.

That's possible. But of course, as we know, what Joshua is being told is Israel has sinned. Now, I don't mean that the Lord has said, well now, all of you have taken this. No, no. But it's what is the very thing that we want to learn tonight.

That even should one individual sin, it affects the testimony of all. And that's surely the ministry in this chapter. You see, we do not live unto ourselves, says the apostle. And you cannot sit in the meeting and be a part of the assembly and say, I can do what I will.

No one will restrict me in what I do. That is very carnal language, as you well know, beloved. Because what you do and what I do has its own way of affecting the company of God's people. There may be men much holier than thou and much holier than me.

That is not in question. These men were holy men. These men were devoted to God, but they're affected. The whole nation is affected by their sin. And we have learned that many times since the old corporate testimony of Israel began.

You remember in Numbers 12, the camp did not move one inch until Mariam was healed of her leprosy. One woman under the judgment of God, the whole company had to stand still until that governmental judgment was lifted.

My brethren, I hope we learn these things. God is not changed in his principle. The terms may have changed. The conditions may have changed, but the principles are abounding and abiding. And I tell you, they place us under tremendous responsibility.

Investigating Sin and Initiating Restoration

Now, having spoken there of the defeat and the distress, what about the demand? Now, there's one thing that God is making clear. The first thing is this, you must investigate the cause. That's the solemn thing.

You must investigate the cause. And you read verses 11 and 12. And that's what God is saying, Joshua, there's sin in the camp. The devoted thing has been taken. As a leader, you are obliged to investigate the cause.

Now, saints of God, you know how important that is. I would hope that you know a very important verse that would guide you. If you hear something, says God, about a city or about a people, then says God, thou shalt inquire.

And he said, thou shalt make search and ask diligently. You know those words, don't you? Deuteronomy 13, 14. And then, and behold, if it be truth, or be true, truth and the thing certain. Notice how God makes these requirements.

Then, then, and only then can you proceed with the judgment. And so it's important for us to see the need to investigate the cause. Then secondly, initiate the cure. Now, last night, we had the joy of looking at chapter three, which we called the chapter of the sanctification, didn't we?

And what did we read? We read of these words in that great chapter, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you. And remember how we looked at that, the need for preparation before you came to the meeting here tonight, lest you bring your defilement into this very place.

Didn't I make clear that the assembly is a concentration of sanctified living, sanctified in Christ Jesus, says Paul in first Corinthians one. We hear the term church of God plenty. We hear other things, but I never hear that stress, sanctified in Christ Jesus.

A concentration of sanctified life. Well, may they sanctify themselves because the Lord's going to do wonders tomorrow. And what wonders were performed at the, at the Jordan. Ah, but look at how they're going to initiate the cure, that very same method.

Look at those verses, verse 13, up, sanctify the people and say, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow. Oh, brethren, I think that's humiliating, isn't it? I want to tell you, brethren, you just have to be as holy and you just have to be as sanctified when evil is to be judged as when you're in the very triumphs or in the very throes of victory.

Remember that. Just remember that. And never were there be a more great demand upon you as an individual to lead and to get into the presence of God and make sure there's heart examination, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow.

Not going to be a victory, not going to be a mighty majestic manifestation of the power of God at the waters of Jordan. It's going to be a solemn act of judgment, but the same conditions prevail. Go to number, go to Exodus 19, 10, 14, and is it 22?

And what do you find? The same command. Go to first Samuel 16. Listen to Samuel as he comes to the house where something majestic is to be wrought for God. Sanctify yourselves before we sit down to eat.

What does Paul say? Let a man examine himself and so let him eat. My brethren, I hope we're in the good of these things. I'm sure you are, but it's just my privilege and my solemn responsibility to recall them to your mind.

How is the cure going to be initiated? Israel is going to have to be sanctified, set apart wholly for God by a practical personal application of those things that were available to them then, and you know what's available to us now.

But I think the most solemn thing is this. Not only must you, brother, investigate the cause, not only must you initiate the cure, but listen, you must isolate the corruption. You must isolate the corruption and it shall be that he that has taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire.

I think that's one of those solemn verses in the book. Oh, the solemnity of that isolation. Now, that's all as a consequence. From verse 16, we have the confession of the sin. The confession of the sin.

You understand the title of the chapter now, don't you? If chapter six, the chapter of the shout, chapter seven is simply the chapter of the sin, no question on that. That's as simple as can be. I'm sure you've got that long sentence.

The committal of the sin, the consequences of the sin, the confession of the sin. Now, think of the isolation of the corruption. You know, I tremble when I think of this. I think of those words, beloved.

I hope you memorize them. When I was a boy at school, I memorized them. Memorize them many, many times O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising. There's not a word in my tongue, but O Lord, thou knowest it all together.

Thou hast beset me behind and before. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the earth, even there shall thy right hand lead me. And so on. Search me, O God, and know my heart. That's what's here. When you think of Israel gathered that day, you think of the eye of God gone through those tribes and a tribe selected.

Joshua doesn't know, but God is leading him. And then not only is a tribe taken, but a family is taken. It's narrowing down. And then a man was taken. A household rather, taken. And then a man taken. What a discovery.

I don't think there's anything as solemn, beloved, to be in the presence of God and to be searched. Living your life in the consciousness of divine omniscience. Living your life in the consciousness of divine omnipresence.

And living your life in the consciousness of divine omnipotence. God's not limited. I preach with fervor. When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. I saw thee. I don't know where you were today, but all I know is this, that wherever I was or wherever you were, the eye of God was always upon us.

But here's the solemnity of it. A discovery. And then a disclosure. Now I want you to notice what is hidden, what was said. Tell me now what they did not from me, says Joshua to this man. What did he say?

He says in verse 21, Behold, they are hid. That's the word I want. Behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers and they ran onto the tent and behold, it was hid.

And why do I stress that? Where were we last night? Where were we last night? We're in chapter five. That simple. I think I stood about. What we speak on last night, we spoke about the Passover. So the Passover was in chapter five, right?

The Passover would then the next day initiate the feast of unleavened bread. All right. And so these people were living in the week of unleavened bread. Now, you know, your Bible, don't you? You go to Luke 12.

The Lord Jesus says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And you don't have to get down a dictionary nor a commentary, not even what the Bible teaches to find out what the Lord meant, because in the next verse, the Lord tells you what the leaven of the Pharisees is.

And then he says, there's nothing hidden that shall not be revealed. This man was living a false life. No leaven. And he's hiding. He's hiding. Hiding sin. Dug it deep in his tent. He says, I hid it. See, he wasn't living the good of the very week in which he was living.

See that? How can you feel the searching nature of that? I can. It's tremendous, beloved. Paul says, I want you to live unleavened lives because you're unleavened as a lump. That is positionally. But he says, I want you to keep the feast.

Not the remembrance. I want you to live an unleavened life. Now, what is that? Ah, nothing hidden. Nothing hidden. And that's what this man has done. And then there's the discipline. What a severe discipline.

Burned with all belongingness. Oh, beloved, how sad it is. How solemn to think of this awful situation in relation to the tragedy at Ai. The source, verse one, sin. The sorrow, verse two to 15. Those men on their face before God.

And then the solution. The judgment. The consequential judgment. The chapter of the sin. Now, we move quickly, please, to chapter eight, please. And let us come to this chapter because it's the chapter of Ai again.

Joshua 8: Faith, Divine Direction, and the Stretched-Out Arm

And as you can see, Joshua certainly requires something from God now. And God gives it to him. We discovered at the opening of the book, he needed to be strengthened. God said, be strong three times. Moses before that in Deuteronomy 31 said to him three times, be strong.

And then at the end of chapter one, the very people of God say, be strong. So here's a man had seven strengthening words, three from Moses, three from God, and one from the people. And now he's in another strength and he needs the comfort of God.