Encouragement (Part 1): Week 1, Day 1

Welcome to our journey of Encouragement!  I am so excited that you have decided to join me in this study.  We are going to take the next six weeks to go through an awesome set of Scripture verses, and as the title implies, I hope you find encouragement through this study.

We will be looking at one passage of Scripture this week - Deuteronomy 31:7-8 & 23.  Only three verses this week, but three verses full of a powerful message that we will constantly return to during this study.

Here is some background on what we are going to read about:

Joshua was one of the twelve spies sent by God to check out the Promised Land. (You can read about this in Numbers 13 & 14.) He and Caleb came back after 40 days of scouting saying that the people of Israel could conquer the land because the Lord was on their side. They were overthrown by the other ten spies who got the rest of Israel to grumble and complain. Because of the people's overwhelming lack of faith in God, God punished them to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (one year for each day the spies were in the land). God also punished them by making sure that everyone who was 20 years old or older would not be able to enter the Promised Land. Those people would die in the wilderness.

The two exceptions to this were Joshua and Caleb.  Because of their faith in God, they were rewarded with being able to enter the Promised Land. Joshua was even made Moses' successor, to lead the people after Moses died.  Our reading picks up at the place in time where Moses is handing the reigns over to Joshua, and the people of Israel are getting ready to enter the Promised Land.

We are going to use the inductive Bible study method as we study these Scripture passages together.  Today we are going to OBSERVE the text. Read Deuteronomy 31:7-8 & 23. Take time to read slowly, and absorb what the verses are saying. You may want to read them several times before moving on to the next step.

7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 

8 The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

23 Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.” 

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." 

MARK your text using the following markings (these markings are only suggestions - it is how I mark my Bible.  You can choose to do this however you see fit.)

• Circle the word "for" in red.  The word "for" answers the question Why?
• Mark the name "Lord" with a purple triangle colored yellow. Color all pronouns to the Lord in yellow.

Now go back and re-read the text for more clarity.  In your notebook, write a thought from today's time with the Lord.

This is all we are going to do today.  Our next study will look at INTERPRETING the text, and we will conclude with how we can APPLY the text to our lives.