Power Source
Numbers 13:16
"(Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)"
Heroes don't always get to pick out the names they are known for. In New 52, Lois Lane names Clark Kent "Superman." It's a perfect name since his super suit conveniently already has an S on it, but it's not his invention (at least not in this story arc). In the same way, Hoshea didn't pick out the name history would remember him for... the name that would forever be attached to the first book of the Bible named after a person, the name that history's most popular hero would eventually be named after (Jesus' name is Yeshua which stems from Joshua). Joshua's mentor Moses gives him his name. The reason for the change is that
Hoshea means savior and
Joshua means Yahweh is savior.
It was a subtle reminder that Joshua would not save Israel, God would.
All heroes need a reminder of where the source of their powers come from. It's too easy to believe the hype. Joshua would experience crazy miracles.
The Jordan parting like the Red Sea
The walls of Jericho spontaneously falling down as they marched around it
The sun standing still so Joshua could finish a battle
It's easy for people to turn miracles into me-racles. God never performed any of the miracles because of Joshua. God would save lives before Joshua was born and continue to save lives long after Joshua would degrade into dust.
In spite of all this Joshua never lost site of who he served.
"As for me and my household we will serve the Lord."
I was at the movies when I saw someone come to the rescue. An older gentleman showed up late with what looked like his three young grand kids. All three of the minions were under the age of five.
Now I don't have a lot of patience for people who show up late to the movies. I understand things happen but with the length of previews there's a twenty minute blockbuster buffer. If you can't make it into your seat before the opening credits just wait for the next screening. But in spite of being late to a movie, opening weekend, sold out, not geared towards kids, he was determined to find seats.
Lights were out so I couldn't see his face but I could see his hair. It took up the bottom of the screen. His forehead had become an eight-head and he was trying to make up for the loss in the front with height in the back. He looked a bit like Count Olaf, from a Series of Unfortunate Events. Speaking of unfortunate events, and older villains with three kids... Grandpa was trying to wedge one kid into the bottom row making the unsuspecting people around them designated baby sitters, another kid was pawned off on the next row and than the third one was placed on grandpa's lap. I was so amused / annoyed by this ordeal that I have no idea what the first fifteen minutes of my movie consisted of. What impressed me most is that an empathetic couple got up and offered their family's four seats to this older gentlemen so they could all sit together. A hero saved the day. Not mainly for the grandpa and the three kids, because they left about another fifteen minutes into the movie, but for the rest of us who needed to be reminded that helping people is a lot more important than watching actors who get paid to save the day.
When you come to someone's rescue it's easy to get an inflated ego. To think more highly of yourself than you ought. We can forget that the true source of any good we do traces back to God. Like Hoshea we need subtle reminders that
Yahweh is savior.
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/superman/4005-1807/forums/how-did-superman-get-his-name-1538096/
https://m.superherostuff.com/biographies/supermanbio.html
