#7 Holy Wit – Bible Study Be Strong and Courageous (I Am With You: Courage Rooted in God’s Nearness – Deuteronomy 31:6, 8) Scripture Reading (NKJV): Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. ________________________________________ 1. The Moment: Leadership at the Edge of the Promised Land Deuteronomy 31 stands at a moment of transition. Moses is about to die. Israel is about to enter the land. Joshua is about to lead. The people are about to face fortified cities, trained armies, and memories of past fear. These words are not spoken in abstraction. They are given at the exact moment when visible, human leadership is changing. Moses will no longer be the one standing in front of them. That absence is the pressure point of the chapter. The command to be strong is not denial of danger. It is instruction on how to face it. Related Scripture (NKJV): Deuteronomy 34:5–9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+34%3A5-9&version=NKJV Numbers 27:18–23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+27%3A18-23&version=NKJV ________________________________________ 2. Strength and Courage as Commands, Not Feelings “Be strong and of good courage” is not advice about emotional resilience. It is a command grounded in theology. Israel is not told to feel brave. They are told to act faithfully. Fear is acknowledged (“do not fear nor be afraid”), but it is not allowed to rule. Courage in Scripture is obedience under pressure, not the absence of anxiety. God does not ask Israel to generate confidence internally. He supplies the reason externally: “for the LORD your God… goes with you.” Courage is commanded because God’s presence is promised. Related Scripture (NKJV): Joshua 1:6–7 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+1%3A6-7&version=NKJV Psalm 27:1 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+27%3A1&version=NKJV ________________________________________ 3. The Repeated Promise: He Will Not Leave You nor Forsake You The heart of both verses is the same promise, stated twice for emphasis: God will not abandon His people. This promise addresses the deepest fear behind every transition — not merely that circumstances will be hard, but that God might withdraw. Moses’ departure could easily be interpreted as divine distance. God corrects that assumption directly. The loss of a human leader does not mean the loss of divine presence. The covenant does not hinge on Moses’ lifespan. What is being transferred here is not merely leadership, but assurance: the same God who was with Moses will be with Joshua, and with the people. Related Scripture (NKJV): Deuteronomy 4:31 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+4%3A31&version=NKJV 1 Chronicles 28:20 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Chronicles+28%3A20&version=NKJV ________________________________________ 4. God Who Goes With You and God Who Goes Before You Verse 6 emphasizes God going with His people. Verse 8 deepens the promise: God goes before them. This is not redundancy; it is expansion. God is not merely accompanying Israel into uncertainty — He is already there. The future they fear is a place God has entered first. The path into the unknown is, in reality, a path already occupied by God’s faithfulness. Israel does not blaze the trail alone. They follow the One who prepares it. This is courage rooted not in control, but in trust. Related Scripture (NKJV): Exodus 13:21–22 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+13%3A21-22&version=NKJV Isaiah 45:2 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+45%3A2&version=NKJV ________________________________________ 5. Christological Fulfillment: God With Us, God Before Us These promises reach their fullness in Christ. In Him, God does not merely send encouragement; He enters history. Jesus stands both with His people and ahead of them — through obedience, suffering, death, resurrection, and glory. The New Testament’s confidence echoes Deuteronomy 31 because the same covenantal God now walks among His people in flesh. The assurance “I will never leave you nor forsake you” becomes embodied reality. Christ goes before His people into death — and comes out the other side. That is why Christian courage is possible even when outcomes are unclear. The command still stands: do not fear, do not be dismayed. Not because the road is easy, but because the King has already walked it. Related Scripture (NKJV): Matthew 1:23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A23&version=NKJV John 14:18 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A18&version=NKJV Hebrews 12:2 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12%3A2&version=NKJV ________________________________________ Reflection Questions What fears are most often tied to moments of transition in your life? How does God’s promise of presence differ from a promise of ease? Why is it important that God goes before us, not merely with us? How does Christ’s finished work reshape the meaning of courage today? ________________________________________ Prayer Points Thank God for His unchanging presence across seasons of change. Confess areas where fear has been allowed to govern obedience. Ask for courage that acts on God’s promises rather than circumstances. Praise Christ as the One who goes before His people and brings them safely through. ________________________________________ For Further Study (NKJV): Joshua 1:5–9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua+1%3A5-9&version=NKJV Isaiah 41:10 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+41%3A10&version=NKJV Hebrews 13:5–6 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A5-6&version=NKJV ________________________________________ #HolyWitBibleStudy #GordonMcGinnis #IAmWithYou #Deuteronomy31.6