from Israel My Glory, Vol. 62, No. 1
Joshua:
Profile in Courage
by Bruce Scott
By the end of May 1967, Israel was surrounded by
250,000 enemy soldiers, two thousand tanks, and
seven hundred jetfighters. Egypt had closed the Straits
of Tiran to Israeli shipping.
Syria was bombarding the
Galilee with heavy cannon fire, as it had for nineteen
years. And Jordan had expelled all Jews from Judea
and Samaria.
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser told
his parliament, “The problem presently before
the Arab countries is not whether the port of
Eilat should be blockaded or how to
blockade it—but how totally to exterminate
the State of Israel for all time.”1
Outgunned and outnumbered, Israel
faced annihilation.
Despite the odds, however, Israel
fought courageously. The result was
breathtaking. In what became known as
the Six-Day War, Israel completely
overwhelmed her enemies. A few
weeks later, then-General Yitzhak
Rabin reflected, “Our soldiers in various
branches of the Israel Defence [sic]
Forces who overcame our enemies
everywhere, despite the superior numbers
and fortifications—all of them
revealed not only coolness and courage
in battle but a burning faith in the justice
of their cause. . . . This army . . .
prevails over all enemies by virtue of its
moral and spiritual strength.”2
More than 3,300 years earlier, another
Jewish general also faced superior
forces, plus giants and fortified cities
(Num. 13:28). Moses had just died.
Encamped on the eastern side of the
Jordan River, the sorrowing congregation
waited to see what stuff Joshua
was made of. It was then God reminded
this general that true courage is not
grounded on human foundations, but
on the promises of God.
Joshua’s
Commission
Originally named Hoshea (Num.
13:8) like the prophet Hosea, Joshua
was the son of Nun, an Ephraimite.
Moses changed Hoshea (“salvation”)
to Joshua (“Yahweh is salvation”), a
name that praises God as the true
source of deliverance (Num. 13:16).
God had been preparing Joshua
for leadership for many years. As a
young man, he served the prophet
Moses (Ex. 33:11). It was Joshua
whom Moses assigned to lead the
attack on Amalek (Ex. 17:9–10, 13).
Joshua also accompanied Moses
partway up the mountain when
Moses received the original stone
tablets containing the Ten Commandments (Ex. 24:13).
Before the Tabernacle was constructed,
Moses pitched a tent outside
the camp of Israel and met with God
there (Ex. 33:7). Joshua stayed close
by and would not depart from the
tent, even after Moses returned to
the camp (Ex. 33:11). On another
occasion, when others in the camp
prophesied, Joshua was jealous for
Moses’ reputation (Num. 11:28).
But young Joshua is probably best
remembered for his profound faith in
God. He was among the twelve
Israelites sent from Kadesh-barnea to
spy out the land of Canaan, and only
he and Caleb returned with a good
report (Num. 13—14). Consequently,
God rewarded them for having “wholly
followed the LORD” (Num. 32:12).
Forty years later they were the only
two people who were twenty or older
at Kadesh-barnea who lived to enter
the Promised Land.
All these events prepared Joshua for
what God had in store for him. Shortly
before he died, Moses himself asked
God to appoint a leader for Israel (Num.
27:15–17). God chose Joshua, “a man in
whom is the Spirit” (v. 18).
God actually commissioned
Joshua more than once. In Numbers
27, Moses publicly laid his hands on
Joshua, signifying identification as
well as the transference of authority
and wisdom (v. 23; Dt. 34:9). Moses
then publicly exhorted Joshua to
lead the congregation into the
Promised Land (Dt. 31:7–8). Finally,
in Moses’ presence, God Himself
commissioned Joshua at the
Tabernacle (Dt. 31:14, 23).
Joshua’s call carried great responsibility.
He was to lead the people into the
Promised Land (Dt. 3:28), apportion it as
an inheritance to nine and one-half tribes
on the western side of the Jordan River,
and insure that the two and one-half
tribes on the eastern side helped in the
fight (Num. 32:20–21). It is no wonder
Joshua was commanded no fewer than
six times to “be strong and of good
courage” (Dt. 31:7, 23; Josh. 1:6–7, 9, 18).
Yet it is one thing to be told to have
courage and quite another to possess
it. Joshua’s courage was not predicated
on wishful or positive thinking. It
was predicated on the immutable
promises of God.
Courage
for the Journey
No one who fights God’s battles
goes it alone. Moses pointed to the
defeat of the two Amorite kings as a
demonstration of what God could do
to all the Canaanite kingdoms. He
admonished Joshua not to be afraid,
“for the LORD your God shall fight
for you” (Dt. 3:22); and he promised
that God would precede Joshua into
the Promised Land, be with him, and
not fail or forsake him (Dt. 31:8).
The Lord Himself also bolstered
Joshua, promising, “I will be with
thee” (Dt. 31:23). When God is with
you, nothing more is necessary.
Joshua understood that fact and must
have felt greatly encouraged.
In Joshua 1, however, Joshua’s situation
changed. Moses was dead. The
mourning period was over. And the
mantle of leadership had passed to
Joshua. It was now time to act. But
would he have the courage? It was
then God gave to Joshua what would
become the platform for his success
for the rest of his life.
The Lord began by commanding
Joshua to get up and get going, he
and all Israel. The Promised Land
was already theirs. God already had
given it to them. Their possession of
it depended only on how far they
were willing to step out in faith
(Josh. 1:2–4).
Next, Yahweh dealt with Joshua personally
and directly. He gave him a succession
of promises: (1) Joshua would be
invincible; (2) as God was with Moses,
so He would be with Joshua; and (3)
God would not fail or forsake him (v. 5).
Then God commanded Joshua to be
strong and courageous. The basis for
that courage was the surety that Joshua
would be an instrument in God’s hands
to fulfill the promises He made to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 6).
Joshua was also commanded to be
especially careful in observing God’s
law (v. 7). The Lord even told Joshua
how to be careful:
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 (v. 8).
First, Joshua was to saturate himself
in God’s Word. Just as he did not
depart from the tent of meeting (Ex.
33:11), so God’s Word was never to
depart (same Hebrew word) from his
entire being. The word mouth in 1:8 is
an idiom for internalizing the Word to
such a degree that it comes out of
one’s mouth. Second, Joshua was to
meditate on the Word all day. He was
not merely to accumulate knowledge;
he was to reflect on what he was
putting into his mind and heart, learn
from it, and apply it. Thus he would
be guaranteed success.
Finally, God concluded His encouragement
with a rhetorical question:
“Have not I commanded thee?” (v. 9).
The question implied that with God’s
command comes the resource to fulfill
the command. Therefore, God has the
right to command Joshua to be strong,
courageous, and fearless, for the
resource God provides is Himself: “for
the LORD thy God is with thee wherever
thou goest” (v. 9).
Endnotes
1 Howard M. Sachar, A History of Israel: From the Rise of
Zionism to Our Time (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1982), 633.
2 Yigal Allon, Shield of David: The Story of Israel’s Armed
Forces (Jerusalem: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1970), 268.
(Next week we'll continue with the remainder of this article.)
 Bruce Scott holds a B.A. in Bible from Grace College of the
Bible,
Omaha, Nebraska and a M.Div. from Central Baptist
Theological Seminary
in Plymouth, Minnesota. He is a Bible teacher and preacher
with The
Friends of Israel in Minnesota.
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