Joshua 1:7-9: Meditating on God's Word

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Joshua 1:7-9- "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the Law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.  This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

The setting of Joshua 1:7-9 was when Joshua was to succeed Moses as the leader of the Israelites to capture the promised land.  So what was God's promise to Joshua and also to every believer?  It's simple- the Book of the Law can only refer to one thing- God's very own words recorded in the Bible.  The instruction for success in the Christian life is based on the Bible which has also been spelled out as "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." How true it is.  Joshua was told to always put the Book of the Law seriously because it contains God's very own words and that, obedience to the Bible guarantees long term success not with the world but with God.

It's always Bible first before everything else- and seriously I want to be more consistent with it.  Everything else comes next, Bible comes first.  God commanded Joshua to really put the Bible in mind.  That is, to study the Bible diligently and to take it in context, not out of context.  It's always about context.  This is similar to the command in 2 Timothy 2:15 saying, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  As said, the best way to study the Bible is to never let it out of mind.  However this does not mean that a person should be reading the Bible all the time without ceasing.  The rather practical application is that one must always consider what the Bible says before doing anything else lest they fall into temptation.  As said, Ephesians 6:17 says, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:"  One must know the Scriptures as Jesus quoted Scriptures when He fought against the Devil who misused the Scriptures.

So what is the prosperity here?  It's not about becoming a billionaire like Bill Gates, it's not that kind of prosperity.  No, this is not the prosperity gospel of the charismatics and conspiracy theorists.  This prosperity is based on the Bible.  Rather this is prosperity in doing what God wants to be done from good works to soulwinning.  When one by God's grace prays to God to help him/her apply Scripture, they will succeed even when persecution comes and goes and comes again... it's a cycle that cannot be avoided.  A good example would be how the prophets and apostles withstood persecution and succeeded in doing what God asked them to do- whenever they were rooted upon the Word of God.  Now that's real prosperity.  The money of the world will pass away, the money a Christian has is but merely entrusted but the riches of Heaven cannot compare because they are eternal.

Here's a statement from Ray Comfort of CARM as a closing remark worth thinking about:
"Do you do that? Do you read your Bible every day, without fail? I have, for nearly 40 years...and there’s been a simple key that has helped me to do that. Discipline. I open my Bible daily, no matter how I feel. I do it because I love God. I do it because I need to feed on the Word of God. I do it because I want to prosper when it comes to reaching the unsaved."