Friday, May 10 – Joshua 23, 24 – Additional reading, “Patriarchs and Prophets,” chapter 49, “The Last Words of Joshua”
Study Questions:
1. What does it mean that one Hebrew man could chase a thousand enemies? Joshua 23:8-10
2. Whom did Terah, Abraham, and Nahor serve in Mesopotamia? Joshua 24:2
3. What challenge did Joshua throw to the People? Joshua 24:15
4. How did the People respond to the challenge? Joshua 24:17, 18
Commentary and Reflection:
Joshua, the leader, is one of my favorite biblical characters. God chose the best leader to succeed Moses. Like his master, Joshua bids farewell to the people he loved so much and for whom he suffered. I see him as the wise grandfather who, before he dies, addresses his children and grandchildren to remind them of how the providential hand of God blessed, protected, guided, and sustained them on their journey from Egypt to Canaan.
The figure of Joshua stands as a type of Jesus. Before assuming the role of Moses’ successor, the first instruction given by God was to change his name from Hosea son of Nun to Joshua. I believe the purpose was spiritual and didactic. The name Hosea means “salvation.” To prevent Hosea, or the people, from attributing the credit for Israel’s salvation upon entering the promised land, his name was changed. The name Joshua means, “Yahweh is salvation.”
The redemptive and saving act is exclusively God’s work and not men’s. Gabriel told Mary that the name of the Messiah would be Jesus, derived from the Hebrew Jeshua, “for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
Joshua’s legacy was one of dedication, commitment, and sacrifice. Although a sinner like us, he was characterized by faith, trust, and dependence on God. Apart from his mistake of not consulting God regarding the treaty with the Gibeonites, we are not told of any other slip in his behavior as a leader.
In chapter 23 we have him addressing the nine and a half tribes that crossed to the western side of the Jordan River.
Joshua’s final message in chapter 24 contains two important components, the renewal of the Covenant with God, and a review of God’s dealings with Israel in the past. Now the call is to all the tribes of Israel.
It is in this holy convocation of covenant renewal that the elderly leader orders the Ark of the Covenant to be brought from Shiloh. There, in the vicinity of Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, silent witnesses of those vows that now come to renew in the presence of their elderly and dying 110-year-old leader, he recounted God’s wonderful works so that all would understand His love and mercy and serve Him “in sincerity and in truth.” With tact, but courageously, he challenged the people to make a life decision.
“Joshua’s work for Israel was done. He had “wholly followed the Lord;” and in the book of God he is written, “The servant of Jehovah.” The noblest testimony to his character as a public leader is the history of the generation that had enjoyed his labors: “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua.” Patriarchs and Prophets 524
It is God’s desire that we, who find ourselves on the threshold of Celestial Canaan, emulate Joshua with a spirit of dependence on the Lord Jesus. May God help us in this endeavor!
Blessings to all!
Professor Javier Diaz