Wednesday 26 June 2013

A Man For All Time The History Of Joshua

By Estela Bolton


It is difficult to imagine the days in which Joshua lived. He lived in one of the most historical times known to the world and served as aide to a man that would change the landscape of faith forever. The history of Joshua includes dramatic and miraculous events, including leading the people into Jericho and eventually entering the land of Canaan.

Moses had led the people out of captivity and through the desert for forty years. It was Joshua who served faithfully as his aide, even accompanying Moses part of the way up the Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It was Moses who led the people out of captivity, but it was his aide who led them to freedom.

In the ancient world names were very meaningful. Hosea had been the name given at birth, but Moses gave him the name Joshua, resulting in the name Yehousha, or "salvation is Yehweh." The people were given laws for living and they became the legal basis of the faith, way of life, and community. Through this Yehweh God's promises became a reality. This honorable name would emerge into the landscape of history again thousands of years later in the man Jesus, who led the people into spiritual freedom.

This man is regarded as wise, faithful, humble and deserving. He had been born a slave in Egypt, had been among the people who crossed the Red Sea in a miraculous moment of faith and courage. Again, many years later he stood at the banks of the Jordan, and trusted God to lead the people across safely. He led the people from slavery to deliverance.

The leadership of this man remains a stark example of what can be accomplished with perseverance and faith. Under impossible circumstances this man led them into a land they didn't know. Trust and faith is all they had.

The people were anxious and apprehensive. Though the people were told the Jericho walls would come down, they seemed impenetrable to the people. They learned by following the example of their leader that faith can move any obstacle. It is because of this the walls of Jericho fell and allowed the people into the city.

This church father led a miraculous and holy life, and his faithful testimony is one of the only instances known in which God performs miracles in answer to a direct request. God caused the sun and moon to stand still so a battle could be completed in daylight. It is considered a historical day in human history, when God listened to the voice of a man.

He reaffirmed the law of Moses after taking the land of Canaan and reading God's law to the people. He established centers of worship for the people and copied God's law. He served as a priest, commander and leader.

He was buried at Tamnath Serah, near Ephraim, near a Mount of Gaash. With faithfulness and obedience, the history of Joshua shows he instructed all to live the same kind of lives. He is credited as the author of the book of Joshua in both the Hebrew and Christian bibles.




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