Joshua 1-5: Be Strong and Courageous

"Moses is dead." God tells Joshua, "but I will give you everything I promised Moses.  Now get the people ready, because the time has come to claim your land. I will always be with you, so be strong and courageous."  And so, he sets into motion everything that will transpire in the coming weeks.
 
The first thing to be done is to spy out the land.  What better place than from the house of a prostitute? 

Then they have to cross the Jordan while it is at flood stage.  What better way to do that than to have the priests carrying the precious Ark of the Covenant step into the waters of the Jordan and then stand in the middle of the river to keep the waters at bay.
 
Then they must cross over.  What better way than to have the men of the tribes that have settled on the eastern side of the Jordan cross over first, leaving their wives and possessions behind.   

Then they must build an altar to commemorate God's faithfulness.  What better way than to choose a man from each tribe to retrieve a rock from the middle of the river before the river closes on them. 

Before they can breath a sigh of relief that all of the people have crossed over safely, they all must be circumcised.  When their parents were circumcised shortly after leaving Egypt, this generation of Israelites was too young.  Now, with the Jordan closed behind them, and Jericho looming in front of them, they have to let their guard down in order to be circumcised.

Their final act is to celebrate the Passover, and suddenly, there is no more manna, the food they have depended on for forty years.

After all this is it any wonder that, when Joshua looked up and saw a man coming towards them, he ask if he was friend or foe?  The stranger's answer causes Joshua to fall face down.  "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come...."Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." -  Joshua 5:14-15

Did Joshua look back over the recent events and wonder 'how did we get through all of that?'  Or did he assume the posture of one who was strong and courageous because the hand of God had been with them all along?