As Moshe passes the staff of leadership to Yehoshua and prepares to take leave of the people, he knows that this transition is destabilizing and frightening. Moshe reassures Benei Yisrael that God is with them and will not abandon them, therefore they can be strong and unafraid. And when Moshe appoints Yehoshua to take over as leader, Yehoshua receives the same message that he too should be strong and unafraid. But while their respective messages seem similar, they differ in important ways.