John Calvin Commentary Joshua 1:2

"Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel." — Joshua 1:2 (ASV)

Moses my servant, etc. Two meanings can be drawn from this. First, since Moses is dead, the whole burden has now fallen upon you; take the place of him to whom you have been appointed successor. Second, although Moses is dead, do not stop, but go forward.

I prefer the first meaning, as it implies that Joshua should, as his successor, assume the office Moses had left vacant. The title of servant applied to Moses relates to his government of the people and his accomplishments, for it should be understood in light of the actual circumstances.

The reference here is not to the Law but to the leadership, which had passed to Joshua upon Moses' death. God thus acknowledges His servant, not so much to praise him, as to strengthen the authority of Joshua, who had been appointed in his place.

And since the people might not have readily obeyed a mere command, God, while ordering them to cross the Jordan, promises to give them peaceful possession of the whole country, and of every place on which they would set foot. For just as nothing tends more than distrust to make us inactive and ineffective, so when God promises a successful outcome, confidence inspires us with vigor for any undertaking.

It may be added that God is not now giving them hope for the first time by making a promise they had not previously heard; rather, He recalls to their memory what Moses had formerly declared. He says, therefore, that the time had now come for showing and fulfilling what He had promised to Moses.

If anyone objects that the same thing had been said to Abraham long before Moses was born—indeed, that the perpetual covenant made with Abraham included everything Moses heard four hundred years later—I answer that no mention is made here of the ancient promise, which was widely known and celebrated. Instead, Moses is brought forward as a witness whose testimony was more recent. The people's confidence might have been shaken by his death if God had not declared that the fulfillment of all He had said was near.