Joshua : The Man Who Was a Soldier-Saint

1. The son of Nun and successor of Moses and author of the book bearing his name. He is also called Hoshea (Num. 13:8, 16; Deut. 32:44).

Joshua, Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Jeshua, Jesus

[Jŏsh'uă, Jēhŏsh'u ă, Jĕsh'u ă, Jē'sus] - jehovah is salvation.

The Man Who Was a Soldier-Saint

Joshua has been rightly called, "The first soldier consecrated by sacred history." A profitable way of studying his profile is to think of him in the following roles:

As a Son . Joshua was the son of Nun - a name meaning "prosperity, durable" - and of the tribe of Ephraim. Nothing is known of his mother. One usually finds, however, a good and gracious woman in the background of a man who reaches a position of influence and honor. Without doubt, Joshua's parents feared the God of Israel, and he continued their godly influence.

All Like Sheep

Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way.” You wouldn’t think sheep would be obstinate. Of all God’s animals, the sheep is the least able to take care of himself. Sheep are dumb. Have you ever met a sheep trainer? Ever seen sheep tricks? Know anyone who’s taught his sheep to roll over? No. Sheep are just too dumb.

When David said in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” couldn’t he have come up with a better metaphor than a Shepherd for sheep? When David, who was a warrior and ambassador for God, searched for an illustration of God, he remembered his days as a shepherd. He remembered how he lavished attention on the sheep. How he watched over them. David rejoiced to say, “The Lord is my Shepherd” and in doing so, he proudly proclaimed, “I am His sheep!”From Traveling Light