Numbers 13:1-16 NKJV
13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
3 So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
Spying out the land of Canaan was an important task because it would serve as an encouragement to the people of Israel that the land was, in fact, good. For such an important task, the Lord has each of the twelve tribes of Israel send a leader to spy out the land. Of the twelve men sent to spy out the land of Canaan, we recognize only two of the men, Caleb and Hoshea, whom Moses called Joshua (16). The other ten spies are not mentioned again by name because of their faithlessness and unbelief by which they led Israel to sin.
Hoshea means “salvation” and Joshua means “the Lord is salvation.” We don’t know for certain when Moses gave Hoshea this new name. It may have been when he came into Moses’ service. It may have been in Exodus 17 when he defeated the Amalekites, his new name being a sign to remind Israel that it is the Lord who saves, and not they themselves. Hoshea’s new name will serve as a constant reminder of this fact as he leads Israel into the Promised land to defeat the Canaanites and possess the land the Lord was giving to Israel.
In name and deed, Joshua is a type, or prefiguring, of our Lord Jesus. In name, because Joshua and Jesus are the same name in Greek; in deed, because Jesus leads those who believe in Him out of the wilderness of this life to the promised land of everlasting life with the Triune God. Like Joshua, Jesus defeats the enemies that would hinder us from entering and enjoying everlasting life—our sins, the punishment we deserve, and the temptations and accusations of the devil. Jesus leads us into a far better Promised Land than the land of Canaan. Israel still had enemies all around her, and even within her borders. The Promised Land wo which the greater Joshua—Jesus—brings us is one in which our enemies of sin, death, and the devil, are no more. In the Promised Land of everlasting life, we will have complete rest from all our labors. Not only does His name remind us that the Lord is salvation, but He is also the Lord who brings us salvation.
Let us pray: O Lord, teach us to treasure your name since it teaches us that You came into this world to save Your people from their sins and lead them into eternal life. Amen.