Commemoration of Joshua (observed)
Sunday, Septemebr 7, 2008
The Rev. Charles Henrickson
“Joshua, ‘The Lord Saves’” (Joshua 1:9; Matthew 1:21)
Today we are observing the Commemoration of Joshua. Let me explain. If you
will turn in the very front of your hymnal to Roman numeral pages xii and xiii,
you will see a list of Commemorations. And on page xiii, under September,
you’ll see listed for September 1, Joshua. Now September 1 was this past
Monday, but we’re observing it today, on the first Sunday in September.
The Commemoration of Joshua. What exactly is a “commemoration,” and why do we
do it? The word “commemoration” simply means “remembrance,” to honor the
memory of someone. It refers to those occasions when the church commemorates,
or remembers, the lives of outstanding saints from the past. The reasons why
we do these commemorations are given in the paragraphs at the top of page xii,
which I commend for your reading later. But I do want to call your attention
to that quote at the very top of the page, from the Augsburg Confession,
Article 21: “Our churches teach that the remembrance of the saints is to be
commended, in order that we may imitate their faith and good works according to
our calling.”
That’s what we want to do today with St. Joshua from the Old Testament, imitate
his faith and good works according to our calling. But in order to commemorate
him properly, I guess we first have to know who he was. Maybe the life of
Joshua from the Bible is a little hazy in your memory. So let’s review his
career a little, beginning with his name.
His name was Joshua, or in Hebrew, “Yehoshua.” Well, actually, that was not
his name at first. Originally, it was simply “Hoshea.” But when Moses took
him under his wing and set him apart for the work God had in store for him,
Moses changed his name from “Hoshea” to “Yehoshua.” “Hoshea” means,
“salvation, deliverance.” “Yehoshua” means, “Yahweh saves, Yahweh, the Lord,
delivers.” The little prefix “Yah,” added to the front of the name,
“Ye-hoshua,” was a permanent reminder that if Israel was to have salvation or
deliverance, it would have to come from Yahweh, the Lord God Almighty. Yahweh,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who made a covenant of promise with the
patriarchs, promising them blessing and a land to live in. Yahweh, the God who
remembered his covenant and came to the rescue of his people, delivering them
from out of bondage in Egypt under his servant Moses. Yes, Joshua would carry
around with him a living reminder, for himself and for his people, that the
Lord saves, the Lord delivers, and they remembered it every time they heard his
name, “Yehoshua,” or, as we say it, “Joshua.”
The Lord would do some saving and delivering through Joshua. Joshua’s name was
also his job description, and that is, to be the instrument the Lord would use
to lead his people into the safety and rest of the Promised Land. For Moses
only brought them so far, up to the edge of the Promised Land, but not in.
That would be left for Joshua to do.
So Joshua was a leader. But the Lord prepared him and equipped him to lead.
After Moses died, the Lord told him: “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be
with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for
you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers
to give them. . . . Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not
be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
That’s what Joshua needed to be a strong and courageous leader: the presence
of the Lord God with him. God’s promises and God’s commands, meditate on
these, Joshua, both day and night. Fill your mind with my word, the Lord says,
trusting in me, I will give you the strength and courage you need to lead.
These words to Joshua are words for us as well. Just as the Lord was with
Moses and Joshua, so he will be with us. Through his holy word, through his
promises and commands, the Lord prepares and equips each of us to carry out our
calling in life with strength and courage.
Joshua’s calling was to be a leader, to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
But that meant Joshua would also have to be a fighter. For entering and
conquering the Promised Land would not come without a fight. Lots of fights,
in fact. “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls came a-tumblin’
down.” And he “fit” a lot of other battles, too: Ai, Lachish, Hazor, and a
whole bunch of other cities with funny names. General Joshua defeated the
Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites--all kinds of “ites” who stood in the
way. And all along, it was the Lord who was giving them victory. It was not
in their own strength that they defeated their enemies. The Lord was fighting
for them, fulfilling his promise to bring them into the land and settle them
there. Joshua was keenly aware of that. Joshua was a fighter, but he fought
when and where and how the Lord directed him, and he fought knowing that the
battle and the
victory belong to the Lord.
For us, too, living out our calling does not come without a fight. We do
battle daily with the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, all of which
would keep us from remaining faithful to our Lord. But the Lord is fighting
for us, even as he fought for Joshua. And now, as then, the battle and the
victory belong to the Lord.
Joshua was a leader, and Joshua was a fighter. But the fight was not the
goal--it was the means to the goal. The goal was to bring the people into the
land and settle them there and give them rest and safety and security in a land
flowing with milk and honey. So Joshua, finally, was a rest-giver. He would
lay down the sword and take up the plowshare. Peace and rest in a land of
plenty, that was the purpose for the leading and the fighting that Joshua had
to do. Joshua oversaw the settling of the tribes of Israel, each in their own
territory. And after they settled in, Joshua reminded them of the source of
their blessings. In his farewell address, Joshua called the people to remain
faithful to the Lord God of Israel and not to be lured away to the worship of
the heathen gods around them. Joshua knows that only the one true God, Yahweh,
is worthy of trust and worship. Joshua tells the Israelites, “But as for me
and my house, we will
serve the Lord.”
Joshua, “Yehoshua,” “The Lord saves, the Lord delivers.” The name tells the
story. The Lord saved and delivered his people through Joshua. Joshua the
leader, Joshua the fighter, Joshua the rest-giver. But his accomplishments
were of a limited nature. They only went so far. It would remain for another
Joshua to come along and fulfill what the first Joshua only gave a picture of.
Who was this second Joshua? You know him, only under a slightly different
name: Jesus. Yes, “Joshua” and “Jesus” are really the same name. “Yehoshua”
can be shortened to “Yeshua,” and that comes into English as “Jesus.” But it’s
the same name, “The Lord saves, the Lord delivers.” You hear it in the reason
given for naming Jesus with that name. The angel told Joseph, “You shall call
his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
There it is! There is the saving and delivering job that really needed to be
done: to save us from our sins. It is our sins that would enslave us in their
bondage. It is our sins that would keep us wandering in the wilderness, lost
and confused and directionless. It is our sins that would keep us out of the
promised land of heaven. So Jesus came, the second and greater Joshua, and the
Lord saves us through him, the everlasting Son of God come in the flesh.
Jesus’ name is his job description: “The Lord saves,” he saves us from our
sins.
So Jesus was consecrated and set apart for this mission from the get-go. The
name gave him his mission. And his name recalled the Joshua of old. For this
Joshua, Jesus, would fulfill in a much greater way, what the first Joshua was
called to be: A leader, a fighter, and a rest-giver.
Jesus, the second Joshua, was a leader. He was set apart, from his birth, to
lead people back to God. And to do that, he had to be a fighter, just like the
first Joshua was. Only the enemies Jesus defeated were of a much more powerful
and pervasive nature. The real enemies who needed to be defeated--for all
peoples, in all times and all places--the real enemies were not the Amalekites
or Amorites. The real enemies are the devil, the world, and our flesh. Our
sinful flesh that would entrap us, the world that would entice us, and the
devil who would enslave us. The devil, the world, and our flesh--these are the
enemies Jesus came to defeat.
And defeat them he did, in a most strange and unusual way. By giving himself
into death--for our sake, dying for our sins, so we would not have to--the
second Joshua, Jesus, defanged and deflated and defeated our enemies for us.
Now they have no hold over us. Jesus bore our sin and the death it brings on
the cross, and there he stripped away the claims the devil had over us. The
Lord saves, the Lord delivers. The Lord gives us the victory. The battle and
the victory are the Lord’s. The victory became apparent on Easter morn, when
our Lord rose from the grave in triumph. The waters of the Jordan heap up, and
we can walk through on dry ground into the Promised Land.
And in this way, then, Jesus is the rest-giver. He brings us into the peace
and safety and security of his kingdom. There is a rest that remaineth for the
people of God, and Jesus is the Joshua who brings us into it. We rest from our
labors and let God do the work. Christ did the big job for us, and we enjoy
the fruits of his labors. Our Joshua brings us into a land flowing with milk
and honey, the milk of his word and the sweet honey of his forgiveness. Taste
and see that the Lord is good! And now he invites us to enter into the rest he
freely gives. He says to us today, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Joshua, “The Lord saves.” The first Joshua lived up to his name and was the
instrument the Lord used to deliver his people and give them victory. The Lord
was with Joshua and gave him the strength and courage he needed to do the job.
That Joshua was a leader, a fighter, and a rest-giver, and we commemorate him
today and give thanks to God for him.
Joshua, Jesus, “The Lord saves.” The Lord saves us from our sins. The second
Joshua lives up to his name in an even greater way. This Jesus, too, is a
leader, a fighter, and a rest-giver. He leads the way for us, defeats our
enemies for us, and brings us safe and sound into the eternal promised land of
heaven.
And this Joshua, Jesus, will be with you and give you the strength and courage
you need to live out the tasks God has for you to do in your calling. His
promise to you is the same as his promise to Joshua of old: “Be strong and
courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your
God is with you wherever you go.”
Charles Henrickson
4749 Melissa Jo Ln
St. Louis, MO 63128
(314) 845-8811 (home)
(314) 779-8108 (cell)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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