Now I want you to realize the uniqueness of Joshua’s situation.
This is the moment when both the natural world and the
spiritual world are hanging in the balance. These are God’s people;
if they fail, there will be no Jesus! If God fails them, there
will be no redemption! God must keep His covenant alive in
the earth in order to bring forth Jesus, the Redeemer. He had to
have a man who would listen to Him.

At this critical time in history, where does God put the
exclamation point? What does He deem important? He speaks
to Joshua and says,

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all
the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be
with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong
and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou
divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto
their fathers to give them. 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…be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with
thee withersoever thou goest (Joshua 1:5-9).

In verse 5, we see the key to wealth and prosperity once
again: “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Here is God manifesting Himself to man! Jesus said the same
thing in Matthew 28:20, “Lo I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world.” He said in John 14:16 that He would send the
Holy Spirit as our comforter to abide with us forever. Prosperity
is a byproduct of God walking with us and manifesting Himself
to us.

God could have told Joshua many things—to fast so many
days each week or to pray so many hours each day. He could
have said, “If you’ll believe Me, I’ll do great miracles,” or “If
you’ll believe Me, there will be a cloud by day and a pillar of
fire by night.” He could have said, “You’ll not have to worry
when you come to another Red Sea or when your enemies
come against you.” But He didn’t say anything of the kind. At
this important hour in Joshua’s life—at this vital time in the
plan of redemption—God said, “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.” Another translation says, “You
shall deal wisely in all the affairs of life.”

What did God put first? Meditation in His Word.

With one word of His mouth, He established Psalm 138:2
that says He has magnified His Word even above His Name.
You see, when you put the Word of God first in your life and
it becomes your final authority, prosperity is the result. It is
inevitable because the Word of God covers every situation in
life. THE WORD IS FINAL AUTHORITY.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Colossians 1:13-14
KJV—Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom
we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins.

Amp—[The Father] has delivered and drawn
us to Himself out of the control and the
dominion of darkness and has transferred
us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
In Whom we have our redemption through
His blood, [which means] the forgiveness
of our sins.

Moffatt—Rescuing us from the power of
the Darkness and transferring us to the
realm of his beloved Son! In him we enjoy
our redemption, that is, the forgiveness
of sins.

NEB—He rescued us from the domain of
darkness and brought us away into the
kingdom of his dear Son, in whom our
release is secured and our sins forgiven.

NAS —For (God) delivered us from the
domain of darkness, and transferred us to
the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:13-15
KJV—And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath
he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having
spoiled principalities and powers, he made a
show of them openly, triumphing over them
in it.

Amp—And you, who were dead in trespasses
and in the uncircumcision of
your flesh—your sensuality, your sinful
carnal nature—[God] brought to life together
with [Christ], having (freely) forgiven
us all our transgressions; Having
cancelled and blotted out and wiped away
the handwriting of the note (or bond)
with its legal decrees and demands, which
was in force and stood against us—hostile
to us. This [note with its regulations,
decrees and demands] He set aside and
cleared completely out of our way by
nailing it to [His] cross. [God] disarmed
the principalities and powers ranged
against us and made a bold display and
public example of them, in triumphing over
them in Him and in it [the cross].

Moffatt—For though you were dead in your
trespasses, your flesh uncircumcised, He
made you live with Christ, He forgave us all
our trespasses, He cancelled the regulations
that stood against us—all these obligations
he set aside when he nailed them to the
cross, when he cut away the angelic Rulers
and Powers from us, exposing them to all
the world and triumphing over them in the
cross.

NEB—And although you were dead because
of your sins and because you were
morally uncircumcised, he has made you
alive with Christ. For he has forgiven us all
our sins; he has cancelled the bond which
pledged us to the decrees of the law. It
stood against us, but he has set it aside,
nailing it to the cross. On that cross he discarded
the cosmic powers and authorities
like a garment; he made a public spectacle
of them and led them as captives in his
triumphal procession.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland