Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 137
Lessons from their lives Talk 3: Joshua
Welcome to talk 3 in our series Lessons from their lives. Today our subject is Joshua. We’re looking particularly at Joshua 1 where we read that Moses has died and that God commissions Joshua to lead his people into Canaan, the land that God had promised them.
Very often, traditionally, for us as God’s people today, the Promised Land has been taken to symbolise Heaven and the River Jordan is seen as symbolising death. But I’m not sure that’s the best way of understanding it. There were many battles for the Israelites in the land of Canaan and there certainly won’t be battles for us in Heaven! It’s probably better to see the Israelites crossing the Jordan as a picture of our conversion and the Promised Land as a symbol of the Christian life. Today, however, I’m taking it to stand for the place of blessing that God wants to bring us to as the church today. For that to happen we will need the right kind of leaders and the right kind of followers.
As we look at Joshua we will see:
- The kind of people God chooses as leaders
- The responsibility of God’s people to support their leaders
- The certain promises God makes in these circumstances.
So let’s begin by reading Joshua 1.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates – all the Hittite country – to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.'” 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”
The kind of people God chooses as leaders
As we look other OT passages we learn about the training and experience Joshua had that prepared him to lead the nation, and, even more importantly, we learn about his character.
1. Joshua’s Experience
He had a good training
On at least three occasions Joshua is described as Moses’ assistant.
In Exodus 24, when Moses goes up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone on which God wrote the Ten Commandments, Joshua accompanies him as his assistant.
In Numbers 11:28 we’re told that Joshua had been Moses’ assistant since youth.
And again in Joshua 1:1 he is described as Moses’ assistant.
He gained experience in leadership
He was the leader of his tribe before he became the leader of the whole nation. In Numbers 13:8 he is described as the ruler of the tribe of Ephraim. (Incidentally, here he is referred to as Hoshea, meaning salvation, but verse 16 tells us that Moses gave him the name Joshua meaning YAHWEH is salvation). More of this later.
2. Joshua’s Character
He was totally committed to the Lord’s service
Exodus 33
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshipped, each at the entrance to his tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
He was loyal to his leader
Numbers 11
25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again. 26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” 29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”
He was a man of faith and courage
Numbers 14
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” 10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.
Joshua had faith to believe that despite the opposition the Lord would give them the land. He had courage not only to go in and take on the enemy, but also to stand against the majority who were of a different opinion.
He was a man of the Spirit
In Numbers 27 Moses asks the Lord to appoint a man as his successor who will be a leader and shepherd for the nation. In verse 18 God says, Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
So Joshua was chosen by God because:
- He was totally committed to the Lord’s service
- He was loyal to his leader
- He was a man of faith and courage
- He was a man of the Spirit. He had also gained experience in leadership as the leader of his tribe and had learned from Moses as his assistant.
Now back to Joshua 1 where we learn something about:
The responsibility of God’s people to support their leaders
If we are to move to the place of blessing that God longs to bring us to, we are clearly going to need more than the right kind of leaders. We need the right kind of followers. Please note, we can’t all be leaders! You can’t have a leader without followers. If we were all leaders there would be no followers, so actually no one would be a leader! So what kind of followers do we need?
- People who are willing to follow
- 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
v 17 …Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.
- People who will pray for their leaders
v 17 …may the Lord your God be with you
- People who will encourage their leaders
v18 …be strong and courageous
- People who will cooperate with leadership and help each other
Look at verses 12-15.
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
The certain promises God makes in these circumstances
Joshua 1:5-8
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
- Power (v 5 – no-one will be able to stand against you)
- Presence (v 5 – I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you)
- Prosperity (v 8 – You will be prosperous and successful)
The condition? COURAGE TO OBEY THE BOOK! (7-8)
- Meditate on it
- Speak it
- Do what it says
To be successful as a leader Joshua had to learn total dependency on the Lord. Perhaps that’s why his name was changed from Hoshea to Joshua. Salvation is not in ourselves. It is the Lord who is our salvation.