And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”  Joshua 24:15 NKJV

In our Friday morning Bible study, we have just finished the book of Joshua, and every time I study this book, I am more impressed by this man. Joshua means “Jehovah saves” or “the LORD is salvation.” It corresponds to the New Testament name of Jesus.

Joshua was born during the time of Egyptian slavery. He became an assistant to Moses, and God later appointed and commissioned him to take Moses’ place and lead the Israelites into the promised land.

In Joshua 1:5, God tells Joshua, “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” In verse 6, God tells Joshua to be strong and of good courage.

And in verse 7, God tells Joshua, “Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to the law, which Moses my servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Joshua would lead Israel in many battles as they came into the Promised Land. He trusted in God to lead the way. Joshua and Caleb had been two of the 12 scouts Moses had sent into Canaan to scout it out. They were the only two who encouraged the people to go into the Promised Land, trusting that God would fight for them and help them conquer the giants and the fortified cities in that land.

As you read through the book of Joshua, it reads like a great work of fiction. The army, the priests, and the trumpet players march around the wall of the city of Jericho once a day for 6 days. On the 7th day, they marched around Jericho 7 times and gave a shout, and the walls came down.

He also asked God to have the sun stand still when they went in to conquer the five kings that had come against them. And God did.

If this were a work of fiction, it could be a great action/adventure movie or series. But this is the true, inspired word of God.

We could take a few lessons from Joshua. First, we could put our fears aside and operate on faith. We could trust that as long as we do right and do what God has called us to do, God will fight for us.

We could daily study our word as God called Joshua to do in 1:7.

And most importantly, we can believe in God and believe in His word. We can trust in Him to keep His promises.

Joshua made mistakes, just as Moses had made mistakes. He was commissioned to take over for Moses at the age of 90, and he died at 110. During these 20 years, he proved to be a great leader to the Israelites. He led them to believe in, trust in, and serve the Lord.

Josha was a mighty warrior. He was a mighty warrior because He trusted in God to fight these battles. Can you imagine the battle plan for a city with a huge, fortified wall being to march around it and play trumpets? And God telling you that a shout was going to bring this huge wall down?

Can you imagine commanding the sun to stand still and the moon to stay hidden until you can finish your battle, and having the faith that God would do this?

Joshua was successful because he trusted in God. He let God lead the way, and most importantly, he led his family to do the same.

I encourage you to study this book. And I don’t know about you, but I pray that I can be more like Joshua when it comes to obeying and trusting in the Lord.

Have a great day!