Be Strong and Courageous!

I'm finishing up a reading of Deuteronomy, and find myself reading the commissioning of Joshua Easter morning. There is the parallel between Joshua and Jesus, in that they share the same name (both anglicized, one from the Hebrew & one from the Greek), and Joshua is often stated as a "type" of the coming Christ.

But this morning, I am struck by a familiar phrase found in Deu 31:6 - "Be strong and courageous!". This first of all stands out, as it is often repeated in the restating of Joshua's commission in the first chapter of the Book of Joshua. But this morning, I am reminded of events several thousand years later - a messenger of God standing before an empty tomb, telling those few who did not desert Jesus (even when it seemed all was lost) not to be discouraged, frightened.

God's Kingdom is not as we may expect it in our minds. "Prepare to be amazed" Isaiah tells us of God's work (Isaiah is another translation of "Jesus", by the way).

Be Strong and Courageous! God's Kingdom is at hand!