Who led the Israelites into the Promised Land?
Israel's journey out of Egypt was led by Moses, but Moses never crossed into Canaan. The man who actually brought the nation over the Jordan was Joshua, and the commentators treat both the change of leader and the reason behind it as deliberate on God's part.
The Successor Named by God
Joshua took over at Moses' death, and the appointment came directly from God rather than by family line.
The Bible TreasuryHis immediate successor in leading Israel into the promised land was Joshua, the son of Nun. It was according to the wisdom of God in that dispensation that the sons of Aaron should inherit his honours... But to be the leader of His people was an appointment that God kept in His own immediate hand (Joshua 1:1-2).
He was not an unknown man. He had a long record behind him, and only two men of that generation lived to see the land.
Morrish Bible DictionarySon of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim... Joshua was one of the twelve spies, and he with Caleb brought up a true report of the land, and was one of the two survivors of the men who came out of Egypt that entered the land. The first notice of Joshua is when he led the army against the Amalekites and overcame them while Moses' hands were held up... Joshua was appointed the successor of Moses, not as law-giver, but as leader.
Why Moses Could Not Do It
Writers give two reasons for Moses being kept out, and they are careful to say the personal one is not the whole story.
Leslie M. GrantIn fact, besides the question of disobedience, there is another reason that Moses could not lead Israel into the land. Moses was the lawgiver, and law cannot bring God's people into God's inheritance for them, even with the help of legal priesthood. It was Joshua who led Israel into their land, for his name means "Jehovah is Savior."
The same point is put in terms of the two men's spheres of work — the desert belonged to one, the river crossing to the other.
C. H. MackintoshThe wilderness was his sphere of action; it pertained not to him to lead the people across the river of death, into their destined inheritance. His ministry was connected with man's responsibility under law and the government of God, and hence it never could lead the people into the enjoyment of the promise. It was reserved for his successor to do this.
Two Leaders, Two Kinds of Service
The contrast between the two men is not a matter of one being better than the other. Each pictures something different.
J. G. BellettMoses was the mediator between God and the people while travelling through the wilderness; Joshua was the saviour of the people out of the wilderness, and their leader into the land of rest and promise... Jesus is Saviour and Jesus and Joshua are one — the former being the Greek, the latter the Hebrew, form of the very same name.
Commentators differ over what Joshua's leadership pictures. Some read it of Christ risen leading His people now; others read it of His return, when Israel receives the land.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinMoses, the first one, could not bring them in, but Joshua, the second divinely appointed leader, brought them in. Moses is the type of Christ's first coming, and Joshua the type of the second coming of Christ. It is at the second coming of our Lord that Israel will receive the land.
The Leader Behind the Leader
Joshua commanded, but the crossing itself was God's work, marked by the ark going ahead of the nation into the water.
An Outline of Sound WordsWhen Israel were about to enter the land of promise, Joshua said to them, "Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites… Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into the Jordan" (Joshua 3:10-11). The ark was the symbol of the presence of the living God, and before Him the overflowing floods of Jordan would be rolled back.
Once inside, Joshua himself met Someone with higher rank than his own.
Leslie M. GrantWhen a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn, Joshua asked him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" But the answer was, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." If we are to engage in spiritual conflict, it is not enough to have Christ in us, but we must also have Christ in authority over us.
Summary
- The man — Joshua the son of Nun, once Moses' attendant and one of only two spies who believed God, brought Israel over the Jordan after Moses died.
- The choice — God kept the appointment of Israel's leader in His own hand; it passed by no family succession.
- The reason — beyond Moses' own failure, the lawgiver could not bring the people into the inheritance; the law was never able to do that.
- The name — "Joshua" means "Jehovah is Savior" and is the same name as Jesus, so the leader into the land carries the Saviour's name.
- The real Commander — the ark went into the river ahead of them, and the Captain of the Lord's host met Joshua with drawn sword: the appointed leader was himself under authority.