I am a Christian, and I was very touched by a commentary of a rabbi named Mordechai Kamenetzky. How I got there is a long story, but I thought this was an amazing explanation of Joshua's name as Hoshea!! Joshua's name is called Hoshea and it happens only in this verse. This is in Deuteronomy 32:44. Here is the whole chapter. My heart rejoiced after learning the insight. If anyone reads my blog, I hope I don't offend Christians or Jewish people by my usage of the rabbi's commentary. I couldn't find a satisfying answer in Christian commentaries, so I turned to the places where they understand the Hebrew. I have learned that God loves the Jewish people and God loves us. I have learned that Judaism is the root of Christianity. I want to love what God loves (I am still learning to do so...). So here is the link. After reading this and understand a little more, I could almost sense that Moses called Joshua without the letter yud with his whole emotion. He wanted the Israelites to follow God, being led by Joshua. His desire towards the next generation and towards the one who was to lead the people into the new land was that they would follow God, but he could not force them or Joshua. They had to choose.
A little explanation.
Ha'Azinu is one of the reading portions in Deuteronomy (32:1-52) and it meanse "give ear" = listen. Moshe is Moses. Yehoshua is how Joshua is pronounced in Hebrew. Hoshea in the commentary is Hosea in the Christian's Bible (Deut. 32:44). In some translations, Hosea is translated as Joshua instead of Hosea, which is in essence right, but then the impact is not there after we understand why Joshua's name is not Joshua here.
The "yud" which the rabbi is talking about is one of the Hebrew letters. Just like the letter h (I wrote about it some somewhere, and I learned it from other messianic website), the letter yud has some meanings. Even each little dot counts in the old testament. Jesus said so, too.
After I read the commentary, a prayer for our next generation flooded within me.
The next generation needs to decided on their own whether they are for God or not, just like Joshua did. Now the leader (Moses) is going to stay on this side of the river, and they have to go on with the Israelites beyond the river, to the new land. All the glories we saw in the past and all the success we experienced in the past, are they because of our own strength? I pray that my children, their generation and their children and and grandchildren will choose to walk with God!! Each generation needs to make a choice, and not just the next generation. We cannot believe our 'hand-me-down' Christianity. God wants us to choose him on our own.
We also need to remember who we are. So many examples in the Bible teach us that they fall because they forgot who they were.
Joshua remembered who he was.
All the victories did come from God, and without God, he did not have the power to lead the Israelites to the promised land. After Moses called him Hoshea, Joshua's name is Joshua again.
God is teaching me that in my situation at school... As I have gained some confidence and started to feel comfortable, I noticed that I feel like I can go through another class because I did well in my previous class. How easy it is to think that 'I' did it when the strength and power and success only come from our God. I forget how desperately I prayed at the very beginning. When I was scared to face this new season, I prayed a lot! Confidence is good, but it I am still a timid person with a proud heart. So I have to remember who I am.
Ha'Azinu insight by Rabbi Mordecai was a very, very powerful! Now I understand that the name of Joshua was not Joshua in Deuteronomy 32:44 on purpose. This is a great example of "It is written."
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