The Red Thread: Part 9
Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
Joshua: The Captain of Salvation
Joshua relies on God completely to conquer the promised Land.
Joshua is a type. The names Joshua and Jesus are the same in Hebrew and very similar in Aramaic.
The names are so similar that the King James Version mistakenly rendered the Greek as “Jesus” in Hebrews.
Hebrews 8:8 KJV:
For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
All modern translations correctly render that verse as referring to Joshua.
Hebrews 8:8 NRSV1:
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day.
Moses gave Joshua the name “Joshua,” his real name was Hoshea.
Numbers 13:16 NRSV:
These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses changed the name of Hoshea son of Nun to Joshua.
The Hebrew name for Hoshea means “he saves,” but the Hebrew name for Joshua means “the Lord saves.”
Joshua had a resolute faith that God would enable and strengthen him to carry out whatever He commanded him to do. One characteristic that Joshua exemplified is rest. While Moses was passionate and got riled up by Israel, Joshua was quiet and steady, resting in God’s presence.
Let’s look at a record that occurs just after the miracle of the water from the rock at Meribah.
Exodus 17:8–10 KJV:
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Joshua was probably 20–25 years old at this point. Remember, when Joshua was growing up, all he knew was working in the slime pits in Egypt. He had no military training, yet Moses told him to choose out men and go fight Amalek.
Amalek is a grandson of Esau. Amalek’s attack on Israel was completely unprovoked. Later, Saul was supposed to kill all the Amalekites, including their king, Agag, but didn’t (the Amalekites eventually killed Saul). In the Book of Esther, it was Haman who tried to kill off all the Israelites. Haman was a descendant of the Amalekite king Agag (“Agagite”).
Exodus 17:11–16 KJV:
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi [the Lord my banner]: 16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Joshua doesn’t question or make excuses; he just carries out what he’s told to do. That’s exactly what Jesus did. Jesus didn’t question His Father or make excuses; He just carried out His Father’s will.
Exodus 25:12–18 KJV:
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. 15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Joshua wasn’t there to receive revelation directly; he was just accompanying Moses without complaining or questioning. It was during this time that Aaron made the golden calf.
From the book Joshua: Mighty Warrior and Man of Faith:
It was in this special spot that Joshua, as a young man so loyal to Moses and so devoted to God, chose deliberately to stay. In fact, it is startling to discover that he made the Tabernacle his residence also. Whenever Moses would go into the Tabernacle, Joshua would go and sit by the door and wait for God to finish talking to Moses, and he could accompany Moses out again. He decided that he, too, preferred to be totally identified with God rather than his rebellious countrymen. Such a decision had far-reaching implications for young Joshua. No longer was he just another one of the crowd, nor was he just a common man. He was an individual to whom the will and purposes of God were paramount. He was a man who had placed a special priority upon spiritual issues and God. This would entail holiness, separation, and even isolation from his associates. In his genuine and faithful dedication to the Lord, this was a price he was not afraid to pay.
From these brief, salient insights into the character of Joshua, we see a man willing to be loyal, faithful, and sincere in his subservient role as a servant to Moses and to God. Having thus demonstrated his reliability even in the most difficult and tough trials it is no wonder that he would later be chosen by God for great leadership and mighty victories that would overshadow his predecessor. Faithful in small things, he would be put in command of stirring conquests yet to come.
When Moses chose a man from each tribe, Joshua was one of them.
Numbers 13:1–3 KJV:
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. 3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.
We see Caleb chosen in verse 6 and Oshea [Hoshea, Joshua] in verse 8.
Numbers 13:16 NRSV:
These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses changed the name of Hoshea son of Nun to Joshua.
Moses gave Joshua his new name just before he went to spy out the land. About 40 days later, when the spies returned, they all, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, gave an evil report.
Numbers 13:32–33 KJV:
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 14:6–10 KJV:
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes [a sign of mourning]: 7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. 10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
Numbers 32:11–12 KJV:
11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12 Save [except for] Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD
Joshua was steadfast. People or giants didn’t intimate him because he recognized God was with them.
Joshua exhibited this quiet steadfastness for 40 years.
Moses did not choose Joshua as his successor, even though he would have been the logical choice. God told Moses to choose Joshua.
Number 27:18– KJV:
18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20 And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
For all these years, Joshua had been Moses’s servant. But now Moses is dead.
Joshua 1:1–10 KJV:
1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee [quoted in Hebrews 13:5]. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest [God is telling him how to prosper]. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Meditating on the book of the law (God’s Word) included all it foreshadowed—the Messiah would come.
Joshua then leads the people over the river Jordan. The word “captain” in “captain of salvation” means prince, ruler, or leader. Joshua is the kind of leader who is always out front, leading by example.
Joshua 5:1 KJV:
And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
You would think that after the miracle of the waters of the Jordan being dried up before them, they would be gung-ho and ready to charge.
Remember, the people who came out of Egypt were circumcised. The people who were born along the way were not.
Joshua 5:2–7 KJV:
2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 7 And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
The first thing Joshua did after crossing the Jordan was to have all the men circumcised. Look at what they did next.
Joshua 5:10–12 KJV:
10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. 11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Next we see how God worked with Joshua and trusted God.
Joshua 5:13–15 KJV:
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? [Joshua does not appear to be riled up or freaked out] 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Footnote:
- Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. ↩︎
Bookstore Suggestions:
