The book of Joshua records the history of how the Israelites conquered the land of Canaan. The record is written from the viewpoint of a prophet so that, from history, we can see the Lord’s salvation and judgement upon the people. This is so that people will learn to fear God and turn to Him. More importantly, it is so that we know God speaks to people through history, and that all the words spoken by the Lord have been fulfilled. Therefore we have to study the book of Joshua with the viewpoint of a prophet, so we won’t think it’s just a dry piece of history but something that teaches us about the fight of life.

When studying the book of Joshua, we cannot do so without understanding what kind of person Joshua was, especially when he was one chosen by God to be Moses’ successor in leadership. He relied on God to overcome the land of Canaan. He is a character for the emulation of our faith. Joshua belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. His original name was Hoshea (Num 13:16) which means ‘ salvation’. When Moses chose him to be his successor, he changed his name to Joshua which means ‘Jehovah/the LORD is salvation’. Why did Moses change his name to Joshua? Usually a name change is for a better meaning and purpose. The meaning ‘salvation’ is good but who can absolutely save? It is the Lord who is the absolute Saviour. Moses saw in Joshua a potential successor for the next generation. Therefore he specially changed Joshua’s name to reflect that it is the Lord who saves. Even though conquering the land of Canaan was a journey fraught with difficulties, the Lord IS the Saviour. The land of Canaan CAN be ultimately conquered.

Joshua 1:1-3
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.

After Moses died, God chose Joshua to replace him as the leader. No matter how great spiritual men are, they will pass away one day. We therefore cannot rely on any single individual. The next generation must arise to succeed the work of their predecessors. We’re not going to replace our predecessors, nor are we going to topple them, but we are to continue their yet to be accomplished work. The older generation have their work to do, but the new generation will have a new journey to walk; to accomplish the work entrusted to them by God. God raised in Joshua someone to succeed what the earlier generation had yet to accomplish. Where are the Joshuas today? Are you willing to arise to take over the work entrusted to you by God?

Was Joshua a successor chosen by Moses or one chosen by God?
Num 11:28, 27:15-18
28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!” 15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” 18 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;

Moses asked God to find a person to succeed his work, but actually he had already chosen Joshua as his capable assistant. He had trained Joshua for many years. Why didn’t he tell God directly that he had already chosen Joshua to be his successor? Or he could have nominated Joshua to God! Moses asking God to choose who would succeed his work was how Moses showed his reverence to God. He knew the work of God wasn’t an individual’s sprint, but a distance team relay. Therefore the work of God must be succeeded. He didn’t wait for God to tell him to find a successor before doing so; he didn’t only start considering and training a successor on his deathbed. Early on, he had already initiated the training of a successor as one after God’s heart. But he didn’t treat his own intention as the will of God. He sought the will of God to find out who the successor should be. We see here that it is our responsibility to find a successor to train them, but who ultimately is the successor to receive the baton is according to God’s will. Moses asked God to find someone to lead the congregation, lest the people of God become without a shepherd. From here Moses had a very clear understanding of what the role and mission of a leader is. A leader is one who leads like a shepherd. A leader is not one who rules over the congregation. A leader is one who leads the people with God’s instruction so they will fulfil God’s commission. A leader should not lead people to follow his command with the intention to build up his own power and authority. The church today must have the understanding of Moses. Find and train successors today. The development of the church is not an individual’s sprint. If it was so, then when the sprint is over, the development of the church would be over. The development of the church is instead a distance team relay. It doesn’t just depend on whether an individual runner runs fast; everyone in the team has to run according to the arranged stretch for him to run. There must be a good handover and receiving of the baton. This handing over of the baton is the handing over of the commission. It is NOT power succession.

Why was Joshua chosen among the people to be the next leader?
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.” (Num 27:18)
Joshua was chosen as the successor not because he was brave or because he was a good warrior, but because his heart had the Spirit of God, which means to say he had God in his heart. He was one who feared and submitted to God. There were others who also had the Holy Spirit but when they carried out their work they didn’t submit to the Holy Spirit but quenched the Holy Spirit.

How do we know Joshua was one who feared God and was submissive to God?

1. Joshua was a faithful leader who was responsible

Joshua 11:15
Whatever the Lord Moses, Moses similarly commanded Joshua. And Joshua left NOTHING undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Some examples:
Joshua 8:30-31, 33-35, 14:1-2
30 Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them. 1 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. 2 Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

Whether in the matter of building the altar, in reading and declaring the law of God before Mount Gerizim and Ebal, or in dividing the land; Joshua didn’t just pay lip service, did slip shod work or make any changes. He carried out according to what Moses had commanded, who had been commanded by God. With loyalty and responsibility, Joshua carried out all God commanded him.

Exo 24:13
So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

When Joshua was young, he was already the assistant of Moses. He accompanied Moses for 40 days on Mount Sinai. Moses went to the top of the mountain to meet God while Joshua kept watch on the mountain. We can imagine the courage the young man had to keep watch on the mountain for 40 days and nights all alone. Moses still had God to converse with, but Joshua was alone without anyone to talk to. This was not an easy responsibility to fulfil, unless he was one who was loyal and responsible. Some people can travel for 40 days without getting frustrated or bored. But if they were to remain in solitude for 40 days, they would go crazy. Joshua was able to carry this out with loyalty and responsibility because he thought of God in his heart. Moses was receiving the law of God for the purpose of using the word of God to lead the people of God. Therefore he was willing to be loyal in the matters of God. He was faithful in remaining to keep watch.

Exo 33:11
So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

Moses entered their tabernacle and talked to God. When the Lord finished speaking to Moses, Moses returned to his tent, but Joshua didn’t depart from the tabernacle. Even though no one would have the audacity to enter the tabernacle of God, he was faithful and responsible in keeping watch of the tabernacle. Now that Moses was no longer around, Joshua was no longer the assistant but the successor. He was the leader of all Israel. From all that Moses commanded him to do, there was nothing he didn’t fulfil. He was faithful in carrying out all he was supposed to do because he knew it was commanded to God to Moses. Because he was faithful to God, he was also responsible.

2. Joshua was a leader who was totally submissive to God

Joshua 5:13-15
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” 15 And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua saw the One who had a sword drawn in his hand. He thought this Man came as an assistant, but he didn’t know whether He came to help them or the adversary. But this Man came not as an assistant but as Commander. That person was actually God himself. How do we know this? Because he told Joshua to remove his sandals for the place he stood on was holy ground. If He was an angel, He would not give such a command. God told Joshua, “I come as the Commander of the Lord’s army.” At this point in time, Joshua realised he thought wrongly and had mistaken his own role, for this battle wasn’t their own battle but the holy battle of the Lord. He wasn’t the commander, it was God. Victory doesn’t come with their own might and wisdom, but by the help of God. Therefore he corrected his thinking and attitude. He immediately bowed to the ground and said, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
He saw the Commander of the Lord’s army had a sword drawn in his hand. This represents that God has already started His work, and Joshua’s role was to lead everyone to listen to and carry out the Lord’s command. Today, how do we see the Lord? Do we see the Lord as our assistant? Is God One who is under our command, and we tell Him to do this and that? Or do we see our Lord as our Commander; do we listen to His command and leadership? The success or failure of the war depends on how we look upon the Lord.

From an assistant, Joshua became a leader. But we see his heart of submissiveness had not altered. He didn’t forget he was the servant of the Lord. Therefore he totally submitted to the Lord’s instructions. In the Bible, we see many spiritual people who became people with power and authority. But when they became men of power and authority, they were no longer so spiritual, because their heart of submissiveness had turned to zero. We see power and authority can corrupt a person. After being vested with authority, some people think themselves better than others. They do not like people not listening to their views and opinions. Even though they seem to be able to accept others’ opinions on the surface, actually their hearts are arrogant and proud, refusing to listen to others. They may even abuse their authority. This doesn’t exclude church workers, from RE teachers to preachers. We are used to teaching others. When others have any questions, they will seek our opinions. Will we unwittingly elevate ourselves? Have we gradually become one who cannot accept the views of others? Have we become too self-confident? Do we frequently use our own judgement to determine what can and cannot be done? Or with our own insight, we esteem this and despise that? We must learn from Joshua: even though he was a leader, he still had the heart of a submissive servant.

3. Joshua was a leader who was willing to accept his mistakes

Joshua 9:3-6, 14-15, 18
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, 5 old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”
14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. 15 So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. 18 But the children of Israel did not attack them, because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers.

The Gibeonites deceived the Israelites into making a covenant with them. This was an oversight of Joshua and the rulers of the congregation. Not because they were not alert; they were suspicious and even questioned these people. But because they forgot to seek God’s counsel. Based on what they saw and knew, they made their own judgement. They judged these people didn’t live within their boundary but came from afar. Man often judges by what they see, but how reliable is our own insight? Actually man’s eyes aren’t so reliable. Look at how magicians trick your eyes with their tricks. We are not able to see how it was performed. The Bible tells us that men’s hearts are deceitful above all things. Man knows how to disguise, conceal and hide the truth. So in a spiritual warfare we cannot depend on our eyesight, we have to see the counsel of God and use God’s truth as the standard of judgement. Joshua made a wrong judgement and came to a wrong decision because of it. The congregation murmured and complained against Joshua and the leaders. But Joshua didn’t push the responsibility/blame to the other rulers and say it was their fault. Neither did he use his authority as a leader to suppress the congregation and say: “This is the decision of the leader. You have no right to question!” He had the Spirit of God in his heart and feared God, so he bore the responsibility of the wrong decision together with the other rulers. They weren’t seeking a scapegoat or others to blame. They discussed how to solve the problem they created. They were very straightforward to the congregation in proposing the solution to the problem. We also don’t see the leaders questioning Joshua’s abilities. They were of one heart with Joshua to face the dissatisfaction of the people together. We see them bearing the responsibility together. They didn’t blame others for the mistakes. This is the spirit that we should learn from. Don’t be like the people of the world. When there’s rewards everyone fights to gain credit; when there’s problem everyone tries to shirk responsibility.

The covenant established with the Gibeonites was made due to their deception. In the court of law, this may be rendered as null. Why then did Joshua and the leaders uphold their decision to keep the covenant that swore not to harm the Gibeonites?

Joshua 9:19-20
19 Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.”

The rulers explained that the covenant/oath wasn’t ordinary. It was a covenant that was sworn by the Lord. “Being deceived to make a covenant with the Gibeonites was due to our own carelessness, so we have to pay for the mistakes we made. But if we, on account of this mistake, refuse to keep the covenant we made, then the wrath of God will be upon us because of the oath we swore to them.” The Gibeonites who deceived others have to meet with God’s judgement. In v23, Joshua said to them “Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” The Gibeonites received God’s punishment. Joshua didn’t take this opportunity to oppress them or make them suffer because of their deception. v26 says clearly “So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them.” Because of this, they were made to do hard labour and not killed. If the Israelites didn’t keep the covenant, the Israelites would have received the judgement of God because the covenant was made in the name of the Lord.

2 Sam 21:1-3
1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?”

During the days of David, there was famine for 3 consecutive years. David inquired of the Lord on why this happened. The Lord answered that it was because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house that killed the Gibeonites. The Israelites had sworn not to kill the Gibeonites. But Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, killed them. David at this time recalled how they transgressed the covenant. “What shall I do for you and with what shall I make atonement?” David asked the Gibeonites.

We see here that if we don’t keep the covenant we make to the Lord, God will require of us. From the time they entered the land of Canaan to the time of David was around 360 years. Perhaps many Israelites would have forgotten the covenant made with the Gibeonites, but God didn’t forget. The wrath of God came upon the Israelites because they went against the covenant.

Psa 15:1-5
1 Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
3 He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

”Who can dwell in the holy hill of God? Who may abide in His tabernacle? He who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (v4). This is the difference between one who fears God and one who doesn’t. Even though he has suffered loss because of the oath he made, he doesn’t change and go against it. The Israelites esteemed the covenant and oath they made. Even though this covenant was made because they were deceived, they still respected the covenant made in the name of the Lord. Their fear for God exceeded their concerns for their own losses. This is to teach us that we have to be careful of our promises. Even though our promises are not made under an oath, God listens to what we say. Especially when we speak a sermon in the name of the Lord Jesus, start meeting in the name of the Lord Jesus, and pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, we must be sincere in the words we say and keep them.

4. Joshua was a leader with steadfast faith

Joshua 11:4-5
4 So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

The northern kings made an alliance and came against Israel. Their numbers were as many as the sand on the seashore. Of the 7 years of warfare Joshua encountered, this was perhaps the greatest. It was a battle against the biggest alliance. But Joshua was steadfast in his faith in going against the enemies, for at the beginning, God had said to him to be strong and courageous (1:6). Only when they have steadfast faith can they be strong and courageous, and be able to face enemies and be victorious over all enemies. His faith was clearly manifested 40 over years ago when he was sent to spy out the land of Canaan. Only Joshua and Caleb disagreed with the reports of the other 10 spies to not attack the land of Canaan. The 12 spies that were sent weren’t ordinary soldiers, but leaders of their own tribes. However, only Joshua and Caleb were spiritual leaders. Spiritual leaders are those that have the Spirit of God in them, as what the Lord says. Their eyes also perceived the might of the Canaanites but their faith enabled them to see God’s presence with them. Therefore they rallied the people not to be fearful because the Lord was with them. Their faith enabled them to believe God’s promise would be fulfilled. Therefore they called out to the people to have faith and attack the land of Canaan. Faith is not setting your eyes on the environment, nor setting your eyes on yourself, nor setting your eyes on problems. Faith is to solely set your eyes on Jesus just like Hymn 379: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. If we aren’t able to turn our eyes on Jesus, our eyes will be fixed on problems. Our eyes will be looking at the people we dislike and the frightening environment we’re in. Wouldn’t we be at a loss? Therefore to learn to have faith is to learn to turn our eyes; turn our eyes from looking at earthly things to setting our sight to heavenly things. Then we’ll see the gate of heaven open and God sitting on His throne. Even though there seems to be no way on earth, God will surely open a way for us. Just as Paul said in 1 Cor 10:13, God won’t allow us to meet with a temptation beyond our ability to withstand. When we meet with a temptation, God will provide the way of escape that we may be able to bear it.

5. Joshua was a leader who prayed

Joshua 10:12-14
12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

Here records an alliance of 5 southern kings against Israel. The victory of the Israelites was not just because of their bravery in fighting, but also because they relied on God in prayer. Joshua prayed for God to stop the sun and the moon so they could slaughter their enemies. This was a unique prayer that was unprecedented. It was also a unique faith that was unprecedented. No one would have dared to pray in the manner Joshua prayed. Therefore in spiritual battles, we don’t rely on our weapons but our prayer in the Lord. Joshua knew this teaching. Joshua wasn’t just a mighty warrior, he was a mighty warrior of prayer. A prayer warrior isn’t just someone who knows how to pray. Often when we talk about a prayerful person, we refer to someone who prays always and prays long prayers. Jesus also said the Pharisees prayed long prayers, however, their prayers were not according to God’s will. Peter and John were also prayerful men who prayed always, but there were times their prayers were made for the wrong reasons. When we say Joshua was a prayerful leader, it means his prayer was in accordance with the will of God and done with the right intentions. A good prayer is one that glorifies God. God helped Joshua to be victorious in battles. We pray God will help us to be victorious in our battles. Why does God allow Joshua to be victorious in battle but allow us to fail in battle? We must understand that God helped Joshua to be victorious because Joshua was fighting for God and not himself. The battle he fought wasn’t for self-glory but God’s glory. We frequently fight for ourselves. Of course, we can ask God to help us. But what if our battle is not according to God’s will or is against the teaching of God? How can God allow us to be victorious in such battles?

Eph 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

We say in our hearts: “God, You don’t have to exceedingly abundantly fulfil all I ask for. Just fulfil one thing and I’ll be happy! You don’t have to go above and beyond what I ask. Just fulfil as I asked and I’ll be so thankful.” When God doesn’t heed our prayers, we should self-reflect instead of questioning God. Are the things we ask for for our own glory or God’s glory? We may rebut and ask, “Am I not a child of God? Shouldn’t God help His children?” That’s not wrong to say. But isn’t a child of God also expected to bring glory to God? Did we think of glorifying God? Paul said “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus”. When the church receives glory, it means Jesus receives glory, because Jesus is the head of the church. Aren’t we believers of the church? Shouldn’t we show concern for the church so the church receives glory? Or do we murmur and criticise the church? Are we indifferent towards the church? God wants the church and Jesus to receive glory, but we cause shame to the church and cause the name of Jesus to be mocked. How then can God be pleased with our prayers and answer them? Therefore, we should learn from the prayer of Joshua. It wasn’t just a prayer of faith, it was also a prayer that brought glory to God.