Joshua: God's Chosen Servant

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The book of Joshua is the continuation of the pilgrimage of Israel to the Promised Land. However, it is also a book about the man Joshua. Joshua's life is an illustration of the power of faith, and teaches us the key to victorious living. The principles he lived by and through which he found success are the same ones we can live by to be victorious in Christ. The essential element of that life is faith.

Joshua was born a slave in Egypt but he was selected to follow Moses as the leader of Israel. He was the man God used to fulfill His promise regarding the land of Canaan. Joshua had been Moses' Chief of Staff. He assisted him, ministered to him, and led the armies into battle. He watched and learned as God led Moses. He experienced the supernatural deliverance from Egypt; he watched while the hand of God parted the Red Sea, and he saw an entire generation of his peers die while wandering in the wilderness in judgment of their sins. He also saw the grace of God sustain the nation during that same 40 years.

It was time to assume the mantle of power as the leader of the nation. He was ready to accept this challenge. The Bible says he was a man filled with the Spirit and wisdom of God, Num. 27:18, a man who followed God fully, Num. 32:12. He was a man to lead a nation and a man to teach us how to live by faith.

In Joshua 1:2, God told Joshua to arise and cross the Jordan River. Joshua had been here before. He and Caleb were the two spies out of the twelve sent into the land by Moses who were ready to move in 40 years ago. He was fully aware of the consequences of unbelief; he knew the danger of disobedience. His challenge was to go forward and trust God.

That is the way faith is. It always challenges us to do something. When we...

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The rest of the book is the history of Israel's passing into the land of Canaan and conquering and dividing it, under the command of Joshua, and their history until his death. The power and truth of God in fulfilling his promises to Israel, and in executing his justly threatened vengeance on the Canaanites, and wonderfully displayed. This should teach us to regard the tremendous cruses pronounced in the word of God against impenitent sinners, to seek refuge in Christ Jesus.

Joshua was God's chosen servant to bring Moses' work to completion and establish Israel in the Promised Land. To that special divine appointment, he was faithful—as the leader of God's army, as the administrator of God's division of the land and as God's representative for promoting Israel's covenant faithfulness. In all this, he was striking Old Testament type (foreshadowing) of Christ.

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