Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great man for all the people of Israel to see. Then the people will know that I am with you the same as I was with Moses.
The Lord made Solomon very great. All the people of Israel knew that the Lord was making Solomon great. The Lord gave Solomon the honor that a king should have. No king in Israel before Solomon had such honor.
After Jesus said these things he looked toward heaven. Jesus prayed, “Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you.
The thing I want and hope for is that I will not fail Christ in anything. I hope that I will have the courage now, like always, to show the greatness of Christ in my life here on earth. I want to do that if I die or if I live.
We will obey whatever you say, the same as we obeyed Moses. We only ask one thing from the Lord. We ask that the Lord your God will be with you the same as he was with Moses.
Then Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Box of the Agreement [8] and go across the river in front of the people.” So the priests lifted the Box and carried it in front of the people.
The priests will carry the Box of the Agreement. [9] Tell the priests this, ‘Walk to the shore of the Jordan River and stop just before you step into the water.’”
That day the Lord made Joshua a great man to all the people of Israel. The people respected Joshua from that time on. They respected Joshua all his life, the same as they respected Moses.