I finally got caught up with my one-year chronological reading, which puts me in the middle of the book of Joshua. So...we leave behind the books of the Law and move on into the books of History. Joshua is one of my favorite Biblical characters. We first see him in Exodus as the warrior who leads the Israelites into battle while Moses appeals to God for help. He also serves as Moses' aide and is one of the faithful scouts who brings back a good report of the Promised Land. The name by which we know him is actually a nickname bestowed by Moses. His given name, Hoshea, means "Saved" or "The Salvation". Moses changes this to Joshua (or Y'shua) which means "Yahweh is Salvation". (In the Greek of the New Testament this same name is rendered "Jesus".)
He spends more than 40 years in Moses' shadow, and there is no record that he ever complained about it. Even while Moses' siblings Aaron and Miriam challenged his role as the leader, Joshua humbly learned from Moses, and became God's choice to lead after Moses' death.
Some notes about Joshua:
His catchphrase is "Be strong and courageous." (see Deu 31:6; Deu 31:7; Deu 31:23; Jos 1:6; Jos 1:9; Jos 1:18; Jos
10:25.) And his only basis for being strong and courageous is that God goes with him. Joshua 1:9 was one of the first verses I memorized in about first grade (amazing how those have stuck with me!) In the KJV it reads:
Have I not commanded thee?
Be strong and of good courage;
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:
For the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.
I remember at the graduation ceremony where I received my master's degree. The commencement speaker, whose name I have forgotten, began to quote: "Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed. Because you have the best education available today." I was appalled, but not surprised. People can put all kinds of things in the place of God, but they will not go with them wherever they go. Visit an Alzheimer's facility and you will know that education may not go with you wherever you go. Only God's presence can give us true strength and courage.
In Chapter 3 when they are preparing to cross the Jordan, Joshua commands the people: "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you." I sometimes wonder if I miss out on the amazing things that God has for me because I am not fully consecrated to Him.
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| Jordan River at flood stage |
Joshua tells the people to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant "because you have not passed this way before." Isn't it good to know that when the way is new to us that God's Presence goes before us?
Guided by God, Joshua tells the priests to go ahead of the people and step into the river, which was overflowing its banks due to flood conditions. As you can see by the photo, the Jordan is a swiftly flowing river. This was a strong and courageous step of faith by the priests. I think it proves that they truly believed that the Ark they carried represented the Presence of God. Their job was to go and stand in the middle of the river while all the people passed through. It was not until their feet actually touched the water that God stopped the flow of the river....fifteen miles upstream! I'm not sure if that means they had to wait a while for the water to stop flowing. It does say that they "stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground."
I imagine that seeing the priests and the Ark of God standing there in the middle brought great comfort to the people as they walked down into the riverbed and up the other side. And that made me consider how seeing someone else standing firm in the middle of a trial has helped me get through trials of my own. Sometimes it is easier to recognize the Presence of God in someone else than in ourselves. And knowing that He has helped them to be strong and courageous in the midst of a trial makes it possible for us to pass through a similar situation.
It also made me think that we don't always know when someone else is watching us. We may only know that God has told us to stand firm in the middle of a trial and we don't know why. We are able stand firm, even if the trial is long and difficult, because He is with us. The fact is, it may not be about us. We only know that God has promised to accomplish His good purpose in and through us, and sometimes that means standing firm while others pass by. We may never know in this life what He is doing. It is enough that He is with us.
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