The Life of Joshua
Joshua, son of Nun, was a very religious man who followed God closely. He studied under Moses’ wing and stayed loyal to him. This loyalty is especially expressed when Moses went to Mount Sinai. With Moses as his mentor, he learned to trust God with his heart and soul and he even ended up changing his name. His original name is Hosea but he changes it to Joshua when he was a spying on the Land of Canaan. Joshua becomes a great apprentice to Moses.
A popular story in the Bible about Joshua is when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments from the Lord. Moses gave explicit instructions not to leave the base of the mountain. If anyone went on the mountain itself, they would die. Moses went on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. The Israelites (God’s chosen people) were tired of waiting for him to return so they asked Moses’ brother, Aaron, to make them something they could worship. He made them an altar and a golden calf with their gold jewelry. Moses came down the mountain; saw the people worshiping an idol and smashed the Ten Commandments God had just given him because he was really mad. Joshua, meanwhile, had waited loyally by the base of the mountain for Moses.
Joshua was one of the 12 spies that Moses sent to scout out the Land of Canaan. The Lord had given them the Land of Canaan so Moses was going to send 12 spies, one from each tribe, to see how easy or hard it would be to conquer. The spies were gone for 40 days. When they returned, they told Moses how great the land was. It was fertile and had lots of fruit and food. The only problem?-The Canaanites. According to ten of the spies, the Canaanites were huge and scary. There was no possible way they could conquer. The Israelites were just little grasshoppers compared to the Canaanites. Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, were the only two spies who said, with the Lord’s power, they could take them. Unfortunately, the Israelites believed they couldn’t take the Canaanites. The Lord punished them by making them wait 40 years (when the entire generation who believed the ten spies were dead) could enter the Promised Land.
Another story that involves Joshua is The Walls of Jericho. Joshua was trying to defeat Jericho but Jericho had these huge walls that were going to make it very tough to get in. God spoke to him and told him to march around the city once each day for six days but on the seventh day, to march around the city seven times and on the seventh time have everyone shout really loudly. God also told him to carry the ark (that held the Ten Commandments) and have priests blow horns when they marched around. Joshua did, and on the seventh day, they marched around seven times. On the seventh time around Joshua, his priests, and his entire army gave a loud shout and the walls of Jericho fell, allowing Joshua and his men to conquer and kill every inhabitant.
Joshua became the Israelites’ leader when Moses died. He was a very different leader than Moses because he was more military-commander-like. The Israelites needed this new leader when they entered the Promised Land because they were on their own. In the desert when Moses was the leader, God provided the Israelites all the manna and quail they needed. Joshua had to be a little more aggressive and tactical. He made a good leader, though.
Essay By: Kylie W
A popular story in the Bible about Joshua is when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments from the Lord. Moses gave explicit instructions not to leave the base of the mountain. If anyone went on the mountain itself, they would die. Moses went on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. The Israelites (God’s chosen people) were tired of waiting for him to return so they asked Moses’ brother, Aaron, to make them something they could worship. He made them an altar and a golden calf with their gold jewelry. Moses came down the mountain; saw the people worshiping an idol and smashed the Ten Commandments God had just given him because he was really mad. Joshua, meanwhile, had waited loyally by the base of the mountain for Moses.
Joshua was one of the 12 spies that Moses sent to scout out the Land of Canaan. The Lord had given them the Land of Canaan so Moses was going to send 12 spies, one from each tribe, to see how easy or hard it would be to conquer. The spies were gone for 40 days. When they returned, they told Moses how great the land was. It was fertile and had lots of fruit and food. The only problem?-The Canaanites. According to ten of the spies, the Canaanites were huge and scary. There was no possible way they could conquer. The Israelites were just little grasshoppers compared to the Canaanites. Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, were the only two spies who said, with the Lord’s power, they could take them. Unfortunately, the Israelites believed they couldn’t take the Canaanites. The Lord punished them by making them wait 40 years (when the entire generation who believed the ten spies were dead) could enter the Promised Land.
Another story that involves Joshua is The Walls of Jericho. Joshua was trying to defeat Jericho but Jericho had these huge walls that were going to make it very tough to get in. God spoke to him and told him to march around the city once each day for six days but on the seventh day, to march around the city seven times and on the seventh time have everyone shout really loudly. God also told him to carry the ark (that held the Ten Commandments) and have priests blow horns when they marched around. Joshua did, and on the seventh day, they marched around seven times. On the seventh time around Joshua, his priests, and his entire army gave a loud shout and the walls of Jericho fell, allowing Joshua and his men to conquer and kill every inhabitant.
Joshua became the Israelites’ leader when Moses died. He was a very different leader than Moses because he was more military-commander-like. The Israelites needed this new leader when they entered the Promised Land because they were on their own. In the desert when Moses was the leader, God provided the Israelites all the manna and quail they needed. Joshua had to be a little more aggressive and tactical. He made a good leader, though.
Essay By: Kylie W
