but the result of Joshua having proven himself capable of the role through his previous actions, virtues, and faith.
Two passages depict the choice of Joshua as Moses’ successor in leading Israel: one before Moses died and one after. At both stages, the role of the Spirit of God is key.
Stop here and read Numbers 27:12-23 in your own Bible.
The passage opens with the Lord’s command that Moses go up another mountain, this time to see the Promised Land before he dies. Moses had failed to obey the Lord’s command to speak to the rock in order to make water flow out for the people (see Num 20:8-13). The nature of this sin derived from the Lord’s intention to bring water out by his word rather than by Moses’ act of striking the rock; the people might think Moses’ action brought out the water, when it was the power of the Lord’s word. Moses failed to obey God and thus failed to give the people an important teaching moment about the authority of God’s word. Therefore, he will be permitted to see the Promised Land but not to enter it. At this point, Moses petitions the Lord to appoint another man to lead the people of Israel after him:
Moses said to the LORD, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” (Num 27:15-17).
The Lord is identified as the “God of the spirits of all flesh,” echoing a similar expression in Job 12:10: “In his hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all mankind” (author’s translation). The reason for Moses to include this description here is that he wants the Lord to appoint a well-qualified leader. This will not be defined merely by external accomplishments but by the inner spirit of a man, which only the Lord can know. The Lord responds positively to Moses’ request by naming Joshua the son of Nun.
Not only does the Lord know Joshua’s spirit, as he knows the spirits of all people, but he also knows that “the Spirit” — that is, the Spirit of God — is upon him. The presence of God’s Spirit will be a key qualification for Joshua to lead the people morally as well as militarily and organizationally.
At the same time that the presence of God’s Spirit is made clear by the Lord himself, the Lord orders Moses to commission Joshua by laying his hands upon him in the presence of the high priest Eleazar (Aaron’s son) and the whole congregation of Israel. Moses confers some of his authority upon Joshua by the laying on of hands, but the high priest and the people are present to signal their approval of Joshua and therefore their willingness to follow and obey him. In this scene, we see that the special gift of the Spirit is bestowed, along with the ceremonial and liturgical actions of approval. Even though the Lord bestows the Spirit, as only the Lord can, the liturgical celebration of this office is very important to the life of the nation.
Stop here and read Deuteronomy 34:7-12 in your own Bible.
This text begins at the death of Moses at 120 years of age and the thirty-day period of grieving for him. At the end of this period, Joshua takes up the leadership role he was chosen to have about five weeks earlier. Briefly, the text notes that Joshua takes up the reins and the people obey him, as the Lord commanded Moses. Yet note that Joshua is also described as having God’s Spirit, who is characterized by wisdom. The ways Joshua lives under the influence of the Spirit of wisdom will be demonstrated throughout the Book of Joshua. It is worth noting the epilogue to this notification about Joshua’s leadership:
And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel. (Deut 34:10-12).
As filled with the Spirit of wisdom that Joshua might be, he still does not equal Moses for two key reasons: Moses knew the Lord “face to face,” thereby making him the greatest of all prophets; and no one did miracles as Moses did, with mighty power and great wonder. Christians might consider this from the perspective that Jesus (in Hebrew Jehoshua or Jeshua, a form of Joshua) will exceed Moses both in his knowledge of God (from all eternity as God’s only begotten Son) as well as the many miracles he performed, most especially his resurrection from the dead — Moses still remains dead. An interesting comparison indeed.
Judges
Modern readers understand the term “judge” primarily through the lens of the law court and the respect due to those addressed as “Your Honor” because they adjudicate cases. However, the Hebrew term shafat and its Ugaritic equivalent th-ph-t include the sense of ruling people as well as adjudicating cases in court. The Book of Judges relates the stories of such leaders in Israel, roughly from 1200 B.C. to 1050 B.C., a period of political insecurity throughout the Middle East that affected the tribes of Israel as they settled into the land of Canaan, the land promised to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The World of the Judges
Egypt had reached the pinnacle of its power under Rameses II, considered by a majority of scholars as the pharaoh of the Exodus period. After many wars in Canaan and elsewhere, Rameses died in 1212 B.C., after a sixty-seven-year reign, and was succeeded by a son, Merneptah, who mentioned defeating Israel in a battle in 1207 B.C. His first successors were not strong until Rameses III, who defeated a Philistine invasion of Egypt and forced them to settle in Canaan as agents of the Egyptian Empire in 1178 B.C. These iron-smelting tribes from the Mediterranean islands caused Israel much trouble during the period of the Judges and the time of King David. Other tribes were very active, particularly the Moabites and Edomites, who were Bedouin tribes settling in the territory of modern Jordan, east of Israel. They fought the Egyptians and Israelites alike in an attempt to gain control over the land of Canaan. Such is the background of the chaotic world of the judges.
In addition to the political turmoil caused by the increasing weakness of Egypt, the Hittite Empire, and the Assyrian Empire, the Israelites brought chaos upon themselves by worshiping the pagan deities Baal and Anath, despite the first commandment to have “no other gods before me” (Ex 20:3). Israel’s spiritual weakness typically led to attacks and invasions by the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, and others, which the Israelites understood as the Lord’s punishment for their sins. At those points, they cried out for help, and the Lord sent them judges.
The chronology of the judges adds up to 400 years, which is longer than most scholars would grant to the period of the judges. The best explanation is that the judges ruled in different tribes of Israel, as the text says. It is fairly likely that they overlapped one another in time, though in different parts of the country, making possible the occurrence of their deeds and rule within the 150 years or so between Joshua and King Saul.
Investigate
The Spirit of the Lord
Look up the following passages and make notes on who is involved and how the Spirit of the Lord came upon them before reading the explanations below.
| PASSAGE | NOTES |
| Judges 3:8-10 | |
| Judges 6:33-35 | |
| Judges 11:29-40 |
