Wh-wh-what!? Wh-wh-what a fascinating verse this is. Standing alone, it's actually kinda intimidating. Which is why one should always consider CONTEXT when reading the Bible. So, a little background check reveals...
Hmm. Moses is dead. And Josh has just been voted the new leader. Actually, God gave him the job. All of the Israelites that sinned against God by not invading the promised land are dead, and a new generation has risen up and is ready to kick out the bad-guys. But, thing is, the Ruebenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had already settled on the one side of the Jordan. All of the other tribes were going to claim land on the other side. When Moses gave the land to these tribes, he made them promise they would help their brothers claim their land on the other side. So, now that Israel is all ready to cross over, Josh has asked for the fighting men of the three (well, two and a half) tribes. The Ruebenites, Gadites and the peeps from Manasseh agree immediately, mobilize their forces, and send a message to Josh saying, "Just as we fully obeyed Moses so we will fully obey you." And that's where this verse is coming from - the end of the message from those two and a half tribes.
See, these tribes knew that God was with Moses, and they knew that God was with Joshua. So disobeying Joshua was like disobeying God, because Josh's orders were coming directly from God. Before Jesus, God was not as prevalent among the ordinary people, He mostly manifested Himself through His prophets, the Levites and leaders, or judges. So in order to follow God's law, one had to be well acquainted with the Torah (basically the first five books of the Bible) or one had to trust the local Levite priest or a prophet or a God-appointed leader.
Essentially the tribes were telling Joshua to stay true to his morals, to God's word - if one of the Ruebenites, Gadites or Manasseh-ites were to disobey his command, they asked him to be "strong and courageous" and to do the right thing: put them to death. Sounds harsh nowadays, doesn't it? But the Israelites were called to be a HOLY people, and God's HOLY Spirit was with them. And since God is a holy God, anything that is not holy is unable to be in His presence - it kinda disintegrates. (Think in Acts when Saphira and her husband lied to the apostles as to how much they sold their house for... it's the same principle. God's HOLY Spirit was so strong that any unholiness was removed instantly, I think.) In any case, that's why this verse is so "extreme."
For all that background, the most I can get out of this verse is to OBEY God, down to the letter, don't let anything stop you from completing His commands. (But make sure they're HIS commands before you go out and do anything violent!) Be strong and courageous as you do so, and encourage your fellow tribes to be strong and of good courage. Yay for building up other Christians! I suppose one just never knows when a good word can save the day...
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