Joshua son of Nun is probably best known for marching around the walls of Jericho and watching the walls come falling down.  In doing so, he ushered the children of Israel into the Promised Land.  However, frequently we forget that Joshua didn’t just fall into this gig.  His story begins years earlier, probably at least sixty or seventy years earlier, in Egypt.  Joshua, you see, was born a slave.  His young life, I would guess, was filled with anything but dreams of conquering foreign lands.  The life of an Egyptian slave was consumed more with the immediate concerns of avoiding execution, finding enough food, and keeping on the good side of their task masters.

But then Joshua meets Moses, a man sent by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  Like most of his people, I’m sure the Joshua had his share of doubts as well, but he also appears early on to understand that the God that he serves really could do more than all he asked or imagined, and so we see him becoming a leader in his clan, the Ephraimites. Already, shortly after leaving Egypt, this young man, likely in his twenties, is chosen by Moses to go out and fight and defeat the Amalekites.  He is then later, of course, one of the spies that goes into the Promised Land and returns with a favorable report. 

Through all of this, Joshua experiences some pretty impressive opposition. Obviously there is the oppression that was happening in Egypt, but even harder had to be the increasing dissention among his own people against Moses.  Time and time again he witnesses these people complaining, rebelling and even threatening assassination.  And for all of their obstinance, he is rewarded with an extra forty years in the desert.

One thing is obvious about Joshua through out all of this though, he is a leader and a man who trusts God completely.  It is obvious in every encounter that he has, and so now his time has come.  Now his destiny is finally meeting his calling, and although I doubt that he really understood this was where it was all leading until well into the story, he did, I believe, recognize that God was leading him on an adventure throughout his life. 

As Moses is commissioning Joshua to take on this mantle of leadership, he speaks God’s words to him:  “Be strong and courageous … The Lord himself goes with you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deut 31:7,8).  He had probably heard those words numerous times in his life, and he will hear them many more times in the days ahead.  They are the key for Joshua, and they are the key for us: 'Be strong and courageous, the Lord himself goes with you.'   They are the road that leads to that place where destiny meets calling.

Fight well,

David