In the Book of Joshua we read that the Lord instructed Joshua to meditate upon and to follow the book of the law, and that he was not to depart from it.
Note the text in Joshua 1:7-8,
“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.”
Notice the commandment in the text that Joshua was instructed not to turn from the law either to the right hand or to the left hand; for in doing so, he would be charting his own course (which ultimately would yield disaster) and consequently he would not prosper as Moses’ successor.
From studying Joshua’s journey, we find that there was a recorded time when he turned away from following the Lord and His Word. Consider when the Gibeonites came to Joshua under a cloak of traveling a distant journey; desiring to make a league with Israel.
Joshua 9:3-6,
“And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.”
Joshua 9:14-16 then states,
“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them.”
Notice the glaring statement, they “asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord”. Consequently, Israel was forced to protect the Gibeonites – because they had turned to the right hand or the left hand.
Throughout our lives, as children of God, we are presented with decisions to make. Sometimes we listen to the counsel of others, and sometimes we listen to our own counsel. Irrespective of whose counsel it is, if we do not seek the counsel of the Lord through prayer and study of God’s Word, we too will find ourselves turning to the right hand or the left hand, and we will not have success.
Consider Psalms 1:1-3,
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
The Scriptures further teach that when we study and follow God’s Word our path will be straight, and we will prosper. (Note: “prosper” does not necessarily limit itself to material things; “prosper” means, to make right decisions; to have an outcome that is pleasing unto the Lord; to bear fruit unto the Lord.)
Psalms 119:105 proclaims,
“NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Psalms 119:128,
“Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”
2 Timothy 2:15,
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17,
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
For the last major decision that you made, did you consult the Lord and His Word? Or, did you seek the counsel of others and subsequently turned to the right hand or the left hand? What was the outcome? Maybe it’s time to “meditate therein day and night on God’s Word” and “follow it”; for, then you will prosper and have good success.
