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For someone who stood against the odds and was prepared to stake
his belief in trust of God, there’s not likely to be a better example that
Joshua. Inducted into the Hebrews Hall of Fame, here is a young soldier whom we
knew so little of until he became part of the team that returned from spying
the Promised Land.
Joshua went on to take over the mantle from Moses and led his
people in finally claiming the Promised Land. Shortly thereafter, he upheld his
leadership – and more importantly, trust in God – when he led his people in
triumph in the strange battle of Jericho. It was Joshua’s undisputed faith that
drove him to obey whatever odd instructions that God might have dished out.
And in so saying, he proved to be the kind of military leader
that could reap stunning successes from merely listening to the Lord. In that
alone, there was none finer than Joshua till today. His exemplary obedience,
faith and reliance on God set an incredible yardstick. Even if his name isn’t
part of this verse, his faith and heroic status resonates resoundingly in
Hebrews 11:30, which says, “It was by faith that the people of Israel marched
around Jericho for seven days and the walls came crashing down.”
The life of Joshua was unlike that of Moses. While Moses had an
illustrious beginning as a Prince of Egypt, Joshua was a mere slave, treated
cruelly under the hands of wicked Egyptian taskmasters. Yet he had the temerity
to rise through ranks to become the leader of his people. Through unstinting faith
and submissiveness to God, Joshua proved that anything was really possible.
Son of Nun, Hosea was given his new name, Joshua, by Moses.
Joshua in Hebrew is Yeshua, which means, ‘the Lord is Salvation.’ Seen
increasingly as a ‘type’ or picture of Jesus the Messiah Himself, the choice of
name bears some importance. As to why Moses was inspired (by God) to change his
name to Joshua, the theological reasons could possibly fill many pages but all
the same, there is some significance.
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Joshua’s rise to prominence came when he was delegated as one of
twelve spies sent by Moses to recce the land of Canaan. Along with Caleb, son
of Jephunneh, they returned to camp as the only two to believe that with God’s
help, Canaan could be conquered while the rest were completely spooked by what
they saw. The result of this mayhem drove God to send His people wandering for
a further forty years until that generation of unfaithful Israelites perished
in the desert. Of the dozen spies, it was no surprise that God upheld the lives
of only Joshua and Caleb.
But Moses died before the Israelites had the next chance to
enter Canaan and claim the Promised Land, thus elevating Joshua to be his
successor. This time the next round of spies were to be
despatched to Jericho. The idea was the same – to understand the lay of the
land before laying siege to it. Under Joshua’s leadership, two Israelites were
sent undercover where they encountered a prostitute by the name of Rahab who
helped to conceal them and later to aid in their escape. In exchange, Rahab and
her family lived through Israel’s ruination of Jericho.
Now for the Israelites to enter the land, they had to make a
crossing of the Jordan River. But since the river was swollen with massive
flooding, it became all but impossible but in defiant faith, Joshua led the
priests and the Levites in carrying the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan
only to witness the flowing water stop in its tracks. If the people thought
they’ve seen it at the Red Sea with Moses, history repeated itself now with
Joshua.
In all that God had guided Joshua in his life as the military
leader of His people, the most enduring and most compelling story remained the
Battle of Jericho for this was everything out of the ordinary. Against all odds
set against a fantastically fortified walls of a fortress, Joshua and his army
chose to follow every of God’s commands and for the next six days, they simply
marched around the city.
On the seventh day, they lapped the walls seven times and all
the time, they shouted aloud. And eventually the walls cracked and collapsed
into piles of ruin. Their enemy would have been stunned and stupefied but the
Israelites swarmed in and killed everyone alive save for Rahab and her family.
Because of Joshua’s exemplary obedience to God, he enjoyed
another miracle at the Battle of Gibeon where the Lord caused the sun to remain
still in the sky for the whole day so that his soldiers could rout their
enemies. And with the land of Canaan now under Israelite rule, Joshua had
essentially fulfilled what his predecessor didn’t and couldn’t. After
overseeing the assignation of land to the twelve tribes, he quietly died at the
age of 110 and was buried at Timnath Serah in the hillocks of Ephraim.
Achievements
Through the years of
wandering in the wilderness, Joshua served Moses faithfully, winning his
confidence when he returned from scouting Canaan with a display of godly
confidence with Caleb. God rewarded the two by surviving the next forty years
of further wandering. As a leader, he overcame all odds in conquering the
Promised Land, apportioning land according to the twelve tribes and then
governing them.
His single crowning achieving is his unwavering faith in and
loyalty to God. Because of his new name, many Bible scholars are viewing him as
foreshadow of Christ in the sense that what Moses, despite his laws, could not
do, Joshua could, pointing to the finished work of Christ on the cross in
defeating His enemy, Satan and thus freeing His people from the bondage of sin
and paving the way to the ‘promised land’ of eternal salvation.
Personal Strengths
As Moses’ servant, Joshua
learned to be attentive, acquiring much of his skills from a great and proven
leader. He showed great courage even under the duress of enormous expectations
and odds. Joshua was also a brilliant tactical militarist who prospered because
he trusted God in every area of his life.
Personal Weaknesses
While he unwavering went
before God prior to every battle, Joshua failed to do so when the people of
Gibeon deceptively agreed to a peace treaty with Israel. This act was in
conflict with God’s view that Israel were not to agree to any such treaties
with anyone in Canaan. Had Joshua heeded God’s guidance, he wouldn’t have
erred.
Lessons in Life
Joshua’s signature
characteristics were his obedience, faith and dependence on God. These were
what made him into one of Israel’s strongest and boldest leaders. He
exemplified much for us to emulate but like us, he was also weakened by other
voices but in the end, he chose to heed God and he did so with great show of
faith.
He never forgot what Moses taught him before he died, taking much of
this very seriously including following the ways of the Ten Commandments and
ordering his people to live in accordance. Joshua might not be perfect but he
proved that a life of obedience to God will always bear rewards no matter what
our sins are. God’s Word is a rewarding code to live by for through it, we
receive divine blessings.
Hometown
Born in Egypt, likely in
the area called Goshen located in the northeast of the Nile delta.
Family Tree
Nun (father) and leader of
the tribe of Ephraim
Occupation
Born a slave under Egyptian
rule, then became a personal assistant to Moses before becoming a military
commander and leader of Israel
Biblical References
Exodus 17, 24, 32, 33;
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges 1:1-2, 23; 1 Samuel 6:14-18; 1 Chronicles
7:27; Nehemiah 8:17; Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:7-9
Key Verses
Joshua 1:7 > Be
strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the laws My servant Moses gave
you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be
successful wherever you go.”
Joshua 4:14 > That
day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him
all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.
Joshua 10:13-14 > The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and
delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before
or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting
for Israel!
Next Up
Heroes of Faith Part 11 - Rahab; January 2 2015
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