Joshua has an interesting backstory that I think sheds some light on why he was selected to fill Moses’ shoes after his death. Numbers 11:28 tells us that Joshua was Moses’ helper since youth; in fact, Exodus 24:13 indicates that Joshua was even by Moses’ side when he went up the mountain to obtain the Ten Commandments. In his role as Moses’ aide, Joshua had several personal encounters with the Lord and witnessed his miracles first-hand.

Is it any wonder, then, that Moses selected Joshua as one of the 12 scouts that he sent into Canaan to scope out the new territory? Interestingly, up until the Canaan adventure, Joshua’s name was actually Hoshea. The Message paraphrase explains it this way in Numbers 13:16b: “Moses gave Hoshea (Salvation) son of Nun a new name—Joshua (God-Saves).” I’m not a linguist, but I think there is a fascinating distinction in how those two names are translated. Salvation is a noun, and it sounds fairly abstract—it’s a term that means deliverance. “God-Saves,” on the other hand, sounds very active—it indicates that God himself is doing the rescuing. And, as we already saw in Joshua’s backstory, he was no stranger to seeing God at work!

Unlike 10 of the other spies who spied on Canaan, Joshua (and his buddy Caleb) saw the potential for God to act. The 10 cowards just saw challenges and made excuses for why they should not go into Canaan. Joshua lived out his new name and played a critical role in God saving the Israelites, time and time again. Eventually, God selected him as the succession plan for Moses.

Moses gets a lot of accolades for parting the Red Sea, but did you know that the Lord helped Joshua do the same thing at the Jordan River? Joshua 3:7 (MSG) tells us: “God said to Joshua, “This very day I will begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel. They’ll see for themselves that I’m with you in the same way that I was with Moses.” Joshua wasn’t an excuse-maker; he was a God-follower. He put his faith into action and did not sit by passively just because the world said it was too hard. He kept a close relationship with the Lord, and he accomplished great things for God’s kingdom.