A Character Analysis of Joshua
What was Joshua like before Moses died?
In Joshua's youth he went many places with Moses, and he stayed in the Tent of
Meeting where God would speak to Moses. Because
of Joshua's trust in the Lord, he and Caleb were the only men over twenty years old to
enter the promised land. Joshua was sent out
as a scout with eleven others. Ten of them
discouraged the people by their report, but Joshua and Caleb had confidence that the God
of Israel would deliver the people and the land into their hands. God was pleased with their attitudes. Furthermore, when it was time for Moses to die,
God had Moses lay his hands on Joshua, in whom was the Spirit (Numbers 27:18), to give
some of Moses' authority to him. With this
authority Joshua would lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. Many times Joshua is told, "Be strong and
courageous... The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged"
(Deuteronomy 31:7-8). And when he leads
Israel, Joshua encourages others with these words and speaks confidently that God's people
will overcome their fiercest enemies (Joshua 17:17-18).
The laying on of Moses' hands also gave Joshua the spirit of wisdom.
By leading the Israelites into the land of Canaan, Joshua was taking over the role
of Moses. Joshua served well in his capacity
as leader of the people. Through Joshua, the
Lord parted the Jordan so the Israelites could cross it on dry ground. "That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the
sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had
revered Moses" (Joshua 4:14). And,
"the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land"
(Joshua 6:27). "There was not a word
of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel,
including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them" (Joshua
8:35). The Lord also heard Joshua's prayers. When Joshua asked for the sun to stand still, the
Lord delayed its going down for about a day. "As
the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he
left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses" (Joshua 11:15). And Joshua was determined to serve the Lord. He knew that the Lord was faithful to bless His
people for obedience; yet, he also knew that the Lord would be just as faithful to punish and destroy His people if they
were disobedient and idolatrous. Joshua was
obedient to what was told to him by Moses, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid." He showed this by his strong moral character and
proclaimed to the Israelites, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you,
then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers
served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the
Lord" (Joshua 24:15). Joshua's
influence upon those around him was clearly evident.
In fact, "Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of
the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for
Israel" (Joshua 24:31).
What were some unrighteous judgments made
by Joshua, and how could they have been prevented?
When the Gibeonites came to make a treaty with Israel and they lied about where
they were from, Joshua made an unrighteous judgment.
Instead of inquiring of the Lord, he made peace with them and soon found out that
they lived, in fact, very close to the Israelites. Joshua
obviously felt that he had enough proof (the dried wineskins and the moldy bread) to
determine that a peace treaty was okay to make. However,
he was deceived by the Gibeonites. He could
have prevented this by taking more precautions, and he should have sought the Lord when
dealing with an unknown nation. Then, he
would not have been deceived by a people living in the land of Canaan. Nevertheless, when Joshua found out about the
Gibeonite's trickery, he acted righteously, I believe.
He kept his word and did not destroy them, but he reduced them to forced laborers. He conscripted them to be woodcutters.
The only other time I saw that Joshua made an unrighteous judgment was when he
wanted Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying in the camp. "But Moses replied, 'Are you jealous for
my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people
were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!'" (Numbers 11:29) I think this happened because Joshua had the
idea, "My master is the leader around here and I am his aid; no one else should do the things he does without
getting permission first." Joshua should
have had the attitude of Moses (wanting everyone to be led by the Spirit of God). Then, he would not have blurted out what he did.