JOSHUA

Were you aware that Joshua experienced many years of preparation for leadership under Moses?Did you realize that the story of Joshua confirms the importance of a leader hearing the voice of God?Do you know that Joshua teaches us by his example that it is wise to think and plan strategically—even in spiritual ministry?

It would be easy to overlook, minimize, or misunderstand the leadership of Joshua since he lived most of his public life in the shadow of his famous, intelligent, strong-willed, and illustrious mentor, Moses.However, Joshua was a great personin his own right.His life provides numerous lessons that are beneficial to Christians today.

Joshua Patiently Served as God Carefully Prepared Him

Joshua served, submitted to, and learned from the strong leadership of Moses for forty-plus years before receiving his own opportunity to serve God and lead His people.In our day, many people seek leadership positions without first proving that they are servants.

The following experiences prepared Joshua for leadership.

  • Joshua was Moses’ helper for many years.“Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them!’” (Numbers 11:28).
  • Moses took Joshua with him when he went up the mountain of God. “Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God” (Exodus 24:13).
  • On their way down the mountain, with the instructions for the tabernacle and its furniture and the stone tablets of the law, it was Joshua who first heard the sound of revelry in the camp and told Moses about it.“When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, ‘There is the sound of war in the camp’” (Exodus 32:17).
  • Joshua stayed in the tent, the place for meeting with God. Either Joshua was trusted with the responsibility of staying in the tent of the Lord, or he stayed there voluntarily because he wanted to be close to God.Either way, his staying in the tent speaks well of his early preparation for leadership.“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent” (Exodus 33:11).
  • Joshua was commissioned to a military assignment early on in the adventures of crossing the wilderness.“Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill” (Exodus 17:9–10).In the unseen drama on the mountaintop, Moses was praying, and Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ tired arms.Joshua knew that the battle was the Lord’s.Possibly from this experience, he learned to pray for and expect miracles in battle.
  • Joshua won a victory. “So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword” (Exodus 17:13).And God wanted Joshua to remember it. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven’” (Exodus 17:14).
  • Moses sent Joshua with eleven other spies into Canaan. “These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)” (Numbers 13:16).This name change may well have been wisdom on Moses’ part.Hoshea means “salvation,” whereas Joshua means “Jehovah is salvation”—which could have been a daily reminder to Joshua of his dependence on the Lord.
  • Joshua and Caleb knew God and had faith that they could conquer the land of Canaan in spite of the giants and other hindrances. .. However, they were unsuccessful in urging the other Israelites to trustGod and invade Canaan. “Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes” (Numbers 14:6).

The path of development for God’s leaders may seem long, but it is better to be prepared and therefore successful than to rush into leadership and fail.

Joshua Heard from and Obeyed God

Joshua heard from God shortly after Moses died.God told him to be strong and courageous, and Joshua obeyed.He spent the rest of his leadership years faithfully implementing God’s instructions.Given that Moses was an outstandinglystrong and dynamic leader, Joshua did well to receive the instruction from God, strengthen himself in the Lord, and exercise courage.

He obeyed so well that not only in Joshua’s lifetime but into the next generation, people still followed God.We only have to compare Joshua’s leadership with a long string of weaker judges who led Israel in subsequent generations to appreciate the strong and courageous leadership Joshua exercised.

Israel served the Lord through the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31)

Joshua’s service was better than most of the subsequent judges.For example, Othniel was the next judge, and of his time it is written, “So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died” (Judges 3:11, emphasis mine).

Regarding Gideon’s death it is written, “Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again.During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years” (Judges 8:28, emphasis mine).“No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals” (Judges 8:33).

These Scriptures could just as well be used to prove the wayward tendencies of the Israelites, but the point is that Joshua’s success lasted into the next generation while the influence of subsequent leaders did not.Success that outlives the leader is true success.If an operation collapses when the leader dies or moves away, the leader did not build well; his leadership was too personality-centered.He did not build others; he did not build successors.A leader’s success dies with him when he has not prepared a successor.As a result of Joshua’s leadership style,after he died the elders who had worked with him continued to lead well until they died.

Joshua Thought Ahead and Planned for the Next Steps

Joshua showed courage in significant ways.

He planned. Before Israel crossed the Jordan into Canaan, Joshua secretly sent spies to Jericho. It is not unspiritual to plan ahead.

He knew when and how to keep secrets.Joshua was not public about every aspect of his plans for the invasion of Canaan.

Joshua thought about the land.He thought about Jericho, and surely he thought about the cities and villages he and Caleb and the other ten spies had visited.

He thought ahead and did research.Following the example of Moses, who had sent twelve spies into Canaan earlier, Joshua also sent spies.He considered what his next steps should be.

Joshua Celebrated Important Spiritual Events

When the Israelites moved across the Jordan River, Joshua commemorated the occasion by setting up a memorial.He did not only look backward, but he thoughtfully observed the significance of an important spiritual event and placed a marker on the spot where it happened so it would be remembered.

He had a sense of history and realized that future generations should have a connection with historytoo.God’s people need to see the bigger trans-generational picture in order to maintain perspective.Otherwise we get lost in the difficulties of our own generation.

The stones carried from the bed of the Jordan and placed on the shore were “to serve as a sign among you. . . . Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off” (Joshua 4:6, 7).If we do not teach and emphasize the miracles we have experienced, we miss an opportunity to influence the next generation.

Do you celebrate and acknowledge spiritual milestones in the life of your church, your home, or your community?What spiritual victories and events do you feel God would have you begin to celebrate? Let’s celebrate things worth celebrating. This can be a great encouragement to the people following us.

Joshua Solved Problems

At the crisis of Ai, Joshua proved himself as a problem-solver.He humbled himself, got on his face before God, and dealt severely and correctly with the difficultyof Achan’s sin.Joshua’s decisive actions paved the way for a victory at Ai; they also provided a sober lesson for all Israel regarding obedience to God.

When the whole assembly stoned Achan, they could not have helped but be sobered and warned.Everyone had heard Joshua tell Israel not to take any spoils from Jericho.To treat this direct disobedience lightly would have been an error. Joshua seized the opportunity to make a spectacle of Achan at the beginning stages of a new nation in their own territory, thus providing a strong lesson for all of Israel.In the New Testament, Peter, when dealing with Ananias and Sapphira, illustrated the same sobering principle, giving the early church a strong lesson.

Joshua Experienced Recovery

Joshua and the elders of Israel made an error when they signed a treaty with the Gibeonites, but Joshua did not let this error and its negative consequences derail his leadership or block him from obtaining his objectives.He honored his promise, and those of the elders who spared the Gibeonites then recovered and moved forward.

A vast conceptual chasm divides these two types. Some of us look on our past and allow our failures and disappointments to influence our present. Others with faith and expectancy look forward to the potential good God can develop in our futures. Joshua’s behavior demonstrates that he looked forward, not backward. Which direction you look will have enormous consequences in how you view life. Will you allow your past to discourage you or will you anticipate the good that God wants to bring to you? The choice is yours.

We all make mistakes.The question is,will we recover from them?

The Bible does not paint a picture of no failures, no difficulties, no isolation from troubles; rather, it portrays a life of victory over the difficulties and preservation through the troubles.This was true for Joshua and it can be true of us today.“The Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in him; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (Psalm 37:24).

Paul, in a great forward-looking statement of faith, progress, anticipation, and expectation,said:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12–14)

Christians have many opportunities to direct the attention and faith of others into the future.We learn from errors and move on.That is part of the Christian walk.

Joshua Divided His Task into Small Parts

Joshua used wise military tactics.By conducting a central campaign first, he successfully divided the north and south parts of Canaan from each other.He thereby eliminated the possibility of a confederation of both northern and southern kingdoms simultaneously against the people of Israel.He took the challenge to defend the Gibeonites, to whom he had wrongly committed Israel.Yet this was an occasion for a great victory.The central area of Canaan came under Israeli control.This success was followed by triumphantcampaigns in the south and then in the north.

A simple yet important lesson can be learned from this strategy.Cut your work into doable pieces.Huge tasks seem impossible.Divide them into many small parts.You can’t save the world, or Africa, or even your community all in one week.But you can do a week-sized component if it is divided into day-sized sections.

What can you get done today?What can you try to accomplish this week?What is a reasonable goal for this month?Pick out the most difficult task, define it, limit your projection to a doable part of it, and do it.That is far better than the counterproductive exercise of hiding from the huge taskor just worrying about it.

Joshua Experienced Miracles

Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, lengthening the time during which Israel was fighting a winning battle(Joshua 10:13). In that battle, large hailstones killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed.“The Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites” (Joshua 10:11). God fought for Israel.Joshua would not have succeeded without God’s participation.And neither will we.

Joshua Carried Out God’s Judgment

Joshua carried out the destruction of immoral, idolatrous nations. The annihilation of that wicked age groupwas an act of mercy.Without that extermination, another generation would have been born, lived in sin, only to die and spend a horrible eternity in a lost condition.It is better not to exist than to be punished for eternity because you did not receive salvation.

We learned about God’s corrective punishments stemming from His mercy in the story of Noah in chapter one.But in that case, God punished the unrighteous.In this instance, Joshua obeyed as a tool in God’s hand.

Many people do not understand the wisdom of God in His acts of justice.But chastisements are acts of mercy to those who benefit from the lesson that can be drawn from theverdict.Punishments are corrections for the guilty; they are alsowarnings.They give us pause if we are contemplating doing something evil.Penaltiesare also preventatives.Judgments let us know that God keeps His Word even when His Word promises punishment.There will be fewer people in hell because of the warning power of righteousjudgments in human history. And the children or staff members under your administration will love righteousness more if you give them corrections and penalties.

Joshua Challenged Others to Assume Responsibility

Joshua challenged people to grow in their self-reliance and self-determination.He wisely administered national affairs, not allowing people to become dependent on the central government or to always expect others to help them when they should be helping themselves.

Joshua 17:14–18 is a sample of the wise administrative policies of Joshua:

The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and oneportion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”

“If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”

The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”

But Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

We weaken people if we help them too much; we create dependency.Liberal handouts are not necessarily wise.Joshua was prudent on this point.Christians today may be tempted to enjoy the respect people give to their benefactors, but we ultimately do people a greater service when we help them achieve self-reliance than when we make them dependent on us.

Joshua Led by Example

Joshua led all Israel in a commitment to worship and serve God.His method of challenging them was by a clever and influential teaching method: using the example of his own family and household.His words of challenge to all Israel are some of the most powerful pro-Christian family rhetoric in the Bible.Joshua 14:14–28 contains the often-quoted phrases,“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”

May the Lord grant us the wisdom to lead our families well and then allow the Lord to use us to illustrate the gospel message in the fabric of daily life.Then our Christian leadership will stem from our private lives as well as the public successes we experience in our preaching and teaching ministries.