The Mission

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1: 1 to 9)

When God commissioned Joshua to be Moses's successor to lead the people of Israel to enter Canaan, he had already been trained for the job for quite some time. As a warrior, led the Israelites to win their first battle against the Amalekites at Rephidim (Exodus 17: 8 to 16). As an assistant, he accompanied Moses part way up Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights to receive God's law (Exodus 24: 13). As a tribe leader, he was one of the twelve original spies sent by Moses into Canaan but Only he and Caleb trusted God and urged the Israelites to go forward (Numbers 14: 6 to 9). So, because of his courage and faith, it seemed to be right for God to choose him to lead Israelites to enter Canaan. However, compared to Moses, Joshua didn't have a glamorous history. All we know was that he was from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun. Later on, Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua (Numbers 13: 16). Yet, we often compare Joshua to Jesus. Not only that their names are historically the exact same name, derived from the Hebrew Yeshua (or Yehoshua) to share the meaning "Yahweh is salvation", but also they both lead their people to the promised land. Joshua led the Israelites to enter Canaan, while Jesus Christ led his believers, the ones who are saved by grace, to New Jerusalem. 

God even gave them both the same mission to keep His Word, the Law. The only difference is that for Joshua and the Israelites, they needed to follow the Law according to all that is written in it while for the believers of Christ, they need to receive the Word became flesh and dwelt among them, that is the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1: 14). In either case, the way to prevail is to follow God's Word. So, to know how Joshua followed God's Word would shed some light on how to follow God's Word and what obstacles and shortfall we might encounter. 

After receiving the mission, Joshua took action without any delay. He told the tribes who would not enter Canaan as below.

And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” (Joshua 1: 12 to 15)

Surprisingly, he not only didn't force all the tribes to enter Canaan but also promised those who didn't enter Canaan the rest on their land, as long as they were helping their brothers to take the land of Canaan. This was quite different from the religious world today. Today, we have many different Christian denominations. Each one seemed to only care about their own congregation and treat others as outsides. Didn't even mention to lay a helping hand to each other sometimes. So, the first thing we could learn from Joshua as God's servant and leader is to love one another. As long as we are all saved by grace then we are all God's children. Bless each other the rest on their worshiping land. Immanuel.