JULY 1, Joshua 1:1-2

Joshua is a well-known figure in the history of Israel. The story of how he conquered the Promised Land is recorded in the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament. The Promised Land is Canaan, a land of “milk and honey”, which means it was a land of plenty of food. God appointed Joshua to succeed Moses as commander over His people. His mission was to lead the people of Israel to battle against the Canaanites. In the many battles fought, God led and guided them to victory. The power of the God of Israel sent fear throughout Canaan.

They had victory after victory. As long as they obeyed God, He guaranteed them victory. These battles took years but God was with them all the way. God was faithful in His promise of the land for the nation of Israel to settle in.

Joshua means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation”. Yahweh refers to “The LORD.” Also, in the Greek language Joshua means “Jesus”. As a young servant, Joshua was Moses’ right-hand man. Joshua and Caleb were two out of the twelve spies, sent to check out Canaan forty years ago. Unlike the other ten spies, both of them believed God and reported faithfully what they saw. They reported that it was safe for the people to enter the Promised Land. But the people doubted God’s Word, and ended up travelling in circles in the wilderness for forty long years. Why forty years? For each day the spies took to survey the land, a year was to be spent in the wilderness. And as the spies took forty days, the people had to wander for forty years! By then, every person who was above twenty years in age had perished in the wilderness. Only Caleb and Joshua lived to enter the Promised Land. They were the two faithful servants of God.

Joshua was a faithful man who trusted in God’s Word. And he lived up to the meaning of his name – The LORD saves!

How about us? Although we all have different names, there is something common among all of us, for we are all called Christians. As Christians, we are to trust God and remain faithful to Him. Do we?

Thought: May we be Christians not just by name!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to be a true Christian. Help me to also serve You by studying diligently and by helping in any house-work in the way You want me to. Help me to obey You just like Joshua. In Jesus’ name I pray – Amen.