The Tupelo journal., 1907-10-04
JOSHUA, ISRAEL'S
NEW LEADER
Sunday School Lesson Tor Oct. s. 1907
Specially Prepared for This Paper
Specially Prepared for This Paper

LESSON TExT.-Joshua. 1: Ill. Mem
DRY verse. z.
GOLDEN TEXT will not fail thee
nor forsake thee. "-Joshua /: 5.
TlME.-The last OF March or cary In
April Josh. 4: 10 compared with Josh.
i: ID, b. C.. 1851 according to our Bible
margins. Many scholars place II two
centuries earlier. 1t was directly after
the Exodus.
.PLACE.-The plain Of the Jordan on
the east side. at the foot of the Moabits
mountains. opposite Jericho.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
Joshua, the New Leader.-His Name,
originally Hoshea, the same as the
prophet Hosea, s~ignifying salvation"
or help" To this was added after
wards (Num. 10: 16) "Je" for Jeho-
Yah, and the name became Jehosua,
Jehovah is salvation" shortened to
Joshua, later modified In Neh. 8: II
to Joshua, from which came Its Greek
'orm in the S~eptuagint. Jesous, Jesus.
N whom Joshua was in some respects
a type.
His A~ncestry.-He was an Ephraim-
lite, a descendant of Joseph, through
Ephraim, and according to 1 Chron. z:
22-27 he was the eleventh generation
rom Joseph. His fathers rame was
Nun, and his grandfather, Eiishama,
was a captain OF the army of the
Ephraimites, 40, 500 in number. at the
organizations of the Israelites soon
after the exodus (Num. 2: Is, etc,
compared with 1 Chron. z: 20.
His Birthplace.-He must have been
born In Goshen in Egypt, where his
parents We're in slavery.
We would know all of life if we COM
pletely understood any one life. It Is
we'll to read what we can In Joshua's
Book Of Life.
1. Matheson calls his life p~rosaic.
commonplace, that OF an assistant to
Moses. OF the three classes of men
those in advance OF their time, tho
men up to their time. and the men fol-
lowing their time"-Joshua was M
Of the last type, without originality,
obeying orders; his deeds only breathe
through him, not from him" Thus
the blind preacher makes Joshua a
comfort and strength and hope to the
vast majority of men.
This may be true OF the earlier por-
tons of his life up to the time OF this
lesson. But now he comes to the re-
ward of his f~aithfulness as one who
obeys orders. By obeying he has
learned to command. BY faithfulness
in little things he is able to do great
things. This Is the only ladder thai
may be climbed to the best. The
n who would be an orator Is
heart. The one who would be a paint
er studies and copies the great artists.
When the time came he was able to-
pnter the door to his great life-work-
2. A w~ell-known scholar, says the
Temple Bible. considers the finest re-
ligious conception in the book the ap
pearance to Joshua Of the angelic Cap
tain Of the Lords host Josh. 5: 13-
15). 1t is a noble illustration OF the
truth that in the great causes of God
upon the earth, the leaders, however.
supreme they seem, are themselves
led" Joshua was great because he
was under divine guidance, taught by
divine wisdom, and therefore, humble
and strong.
3. He was a man of great courage,
both physical and moral, as he had
shown in the battle with Amalek. and
still more in action, in spying the
land n in almost alone resisting
1 the clamOrS Of tho peOD1e
4. He was a man of faith.
8. He was deeply and intensely TO
ligious. through and through.
6. He came to haYe fine qualities
as a g~eneral.-keen observation,
power to control, wise leadership. ce-
lerity of movement skilful, strategy.
boldness of attack.
Ebers, in his romance Joshua"
makes him, not without some probs-
bility, a captain prior to the Exodus,
in the Egyptian army, we'll accustom-
ed to campaigning.
The Difficulties in the Way.-Thess
were very great indeed.
l.. The Jordan wa at it's food
Josh. 3: 49,, absolutely impossible
for an army, much less for the whole
people of Israel. This made them safe
from attack, but also prevented them
from taking possession.
2. The people of the land dwelt In
walled cities against which the Israel
ties had no sufficient weapons.
These obstacles rose like an I'm
passable barrier of mountains before
the people. Impossible to overcome.
was written all over them. 1t was like
the task which Jesus set before his
disciples when he was about to be-
crucified-twelve unlearned, unarmed.
poor men to conquer the Roman en-
pire, when one. breath of Cesar could
sweep them from the earth; to over
come the wealth, the worldliness. the
selfishness, the sin, and crime of the
world. Lebanon was but a molehiu tn
this mountain of difficulty. The peo-
pie were dismayed, disheartened.
hopeless almost to despair.
Practical Points.
The path of duty is like a direct
road to success, and moving from il
in either direction leads to disaster
and defeat. Mote the terms righteous
ness, rectitude, uprightness and. in
matters of opinion, orthodox, while
the word wrong is etymologicauy
akin to 'wrung,' twisted."-D. Steele.