Joshua has always been one of my favorite Bible
characters. I find his trust in the Lord
to be so inspiring: Moses has died, and Joshua has been asked to step up and
lead the Children of God. With Moses as
their leader, the Israelites saw miracle after miracle, from the parting of the
Red Sea, to the manna from Heaven, to the Ten Commandments. The Word says, “No one has ever shown the
mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all
Israel (Deut. 34:12).” And it was now Joshua’s turn to take Moses’s place and
lead these people.
That’s a pretty big job for an inexperienced leader. I would be very hesitant to step into
something this big. But Joshua accepts
the challenge and begins to hear from God just as Moses did. In God’s first words to Moses, he says “Be
strong and courageous” three times, and “I will never leave you nor forsake
you” two times (Joshua 1). It is clear
that God will give Joshua the strength he needs to complete this mission.
After hearing from God, Joshua gives orders to his
people. He tells them to get supplies
prepared to take the land God has given.
But a few groups of people had already heard a command from Moses: “The
Lord your God is giving you rest (Joshua 1:13).” Joshua understood that these tribes did not
want to fight, but he asked them to “help your brothers, until the Lord gives
them rest, as he has done for you (Joshua 1:14).” The community attitude of Joshua’s leadership
allows all members of his people, regardless of tribe or nationality, an ability
to achieve the common goal together.
Only after the work is done can they all rest, together.
The people then answer Joshua, saying they completely
support Joshua’s plan. Even after a
short time as leader, Joshua has instilled trust in his people, and they are
willing to follow him. The final words
of the chapter are the people echoing God’s commands to Joshua: “Only be strong
and courageous (Joshua 1:18).
The opening chapter of Joshua shows us a very effective,
3-step model of leadership for us to use.
This process continued to work for Joshua throughout his whole time in
leadership, through many victories and miracles, just like Moses did.
Step 1: Joshua hears from God. It is important that the Lord talks to Joshua
in the second verse of the book, showing right from the start how important it
is to hear from God before trying to lead.
Step 2: Joshua leads clearly, giving the people a model to
be followed. Joshua very clearly shared
his and God’s ideas of what would happen, with directions for how to involve
everyone, even the Teubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Mannasseh,
who were promised rest but Joshua knew they could help the greater good.
Step 3: Joshua brings others into the plan and vision. The Israelite people respond to Joshua
“Whatever you have commanded we will do, and wherever you send us we will
go…only be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:16-18).” These words are a direct echo from the words
of the Lord at the beginning of the chapter.
This shows that Joshua influenced the people with the Word of God,
empowering them to succeed in the challenge placed before. Empowering the people you are leading should
be the goal of any leader.
Joshua’s leadership gives us a great example of how to lead
in a Christian perspective. May we all
use this example as we lead others throughout our lives.
Luke Forshey
May 25, 2017
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