Tuesday April 30
Joshua the Redeemed Slave
Joshua 1:1-2
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.
Today we are going to begin looking at Joshua’s background and history that brought him to the place where God would appoint him as the next leader of Israel who would take the place of Moses and lead them into the Promise Land. God always has a plan and purpose for our lives. That plan and purpose begins even before we are conceived in the womb. I believe as we study the early life of Joshua, we will get a picture of how the Lord works in our lives on our spiritual journey.
When the LORD commissioned Jeremiah to prophesy to the nation of Israel centuries later, He told him, “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4-5). Later Jeremiah was told to tell Israel, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13). Even if we get off track on God’s purpose and plan, He will restore us if we pray and seek Him with sincerely hearts.
God spent many years preparing Joshua for his calling. We first meet Joshua as a slave in Egypt. This is a picture of every person born into the human race. Interestingly, in the Book of Exodus, Egypt is a picture of the world and Pharoah is a type of Satan. We are born into world that is under the dominion of Satan and we are enslaved in sin. We desperately need a deliverer! God sent Moses to deliver the people of Israel. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to deliver us from our sins.
Joshua belonged to the tribe of Ephraim and was the firstborn son of Nun (1 Chron. 7:20-27). Joshua must have been in his early twenties when Moses came to deliver Israel. This meant that his life was in danger the night of Passover, when the firstborn of every family would perish if the blood of the Lamb was sprinkled on the lintel and doorpost of their house. Obviously, Joshua’s dad, Nun and his family, including Joshua, had faith in the Lord and was protected and redeemed by the blood of the lamb (Ex. 11-12).
While in Egypt, Joshua saw all the signs and wonders that God performed (Ex. 7-12); and he knew that Jehovah was a God of power who would care for His people. The Lord had humiliated the gods of Egypt and demonstrated that He alone was the true God (Ex. 12:12; Num. 33:4). Joshua saw the Lord open the Red Sea and then close the waters and drown the pursuing Egyptian army (Ex. 14-15). Joshua was a man of faith who knew the Lord and trusted Him to do wonders for His people.
This is how our spiritual journey begins! We realize we are sinners under the dominion of Satan, bound by our sin, separated from God, without understanding, and with no hope. But when we repent of our sin, and we believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior a miracle takes place, and we are released from our bondage and slavery to sin and Satan, and we are set free. We experience the Truth, and “the Truth sets us free” and if “the Son sets us free we are free indeed” (John 8:32-36).
We can never fulfill God’s desire, plan and purpose for our lives without first experiencing His great salvation through Jesus Christ alone! It is my prayer that you have begun this awesome spiritual journey, and you are now on mission with God to lead others to hope and victory in their lives too!
God bless!