LEARNING DAILY

 

Numbers 27:18-19, And the Lord said to Moses: “take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazer the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight.”

 

I have been studying the book of Joshua. In doing so, I have found so many lessons that have encouraged me to stay on the narrow way to eternal life in God’s kingdom. I am going to pass on some of the things I have learned in the coming days. I hope you are encouraged as I have been.

 

The first thing to know is why Joshua was chosen. Why was he chosen to lead the people into the Promised Land? The DJSB tells us it was Joshua’s “fortitude and obedience in the faith was shaped by the events of the Exodus and Joshua’s firsthand view of the leading man, Moses” that led the Lord to give the instructions found in the verse above. The DJSB also tells us “Moses would change Joshua’s name from Hoshea (means salvation) to Joshua (means Yahweh saves) (Numbers 13:16) at some point in his life because he would come to know that the children of Israel could not save themselves; only God Himself could save them.

 

Did you notice in our verse above what the Lord said to Moses about Joshua? He said, “a man in whom is the Spirit”. This statement is important to remember because the Holy Spirit did not constantly indwell those faithful to God at this time. This statement shows how evident God was in his life and will be key to much of what we write in the coming days. No other qualification to lead was as great as Joshua being led by the Holy Spirit and being obedient to Him. Because of this he was qualified to be commissioned to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land.

 

I have often read or heard that Joshua was a type of Jesus. In the Greek the name “Jesus” was a form of the name “Joshua”. The DJSB has again significant information for us, “The primary parallel is that they were both called to announce and establish the kingdom of God through warfare – Joshua, a physical, geographical kingdom on earth, and Jesus, a spiritual kingdom without boundaries.” There is another similarity that will be emphasized in the coming days. Both were dependent on God, the Father, for their strategy, wisdom, and power to establish the kingdoms God set before them. It is interesting to me that Joshua had no military training, I doubt he had in background in military strategy; his strategy was to rely on God and do what He told him to do.

 

Isn’t that the same strategy you and I are to follow as we walk the narrow way. Are we not told to trust God and obey His Word in order to be faithful to Him? God’s Word gives us so many promises based on our obedience. Perhaps this study of God leading Joshua will encourage us to walk in the obedience He desires and give a greater glimpse of the rewards for doing so!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.