Joshua Got the Job Done
Joshua (11:16-23)
COMPETENCE RARELY happens overnight. Even the great Joshua had to be prepared over many years to handle the enormous task given him. By the time he died, competence could have been his middle name. Consider this:
1. God used Joshua over two generations.
2. God trusted Joshua to lead the military campaigns from the wilderness into Canaan.
3. God called Joshua to spy out the Promised Land.
4. God allowed Joshua to accompany Moses up Mount Sinai.
5. God replaced Moses with Joshua when it came time to lead the people into Canaan.
Ponder the effort God invested in this young leader to make him competent:
1. He was a warrior (Ex. 17:9–11). Joshua was born to be a warrior. His first opportunity at leadership came as a military leader. God was preparing him for a much larger role, but it all began here.
2. He was a spokesman (Ex. 17:14). Joshua received a prophetic word from the Lord concerning his lifetime ministry, illustrating how God works in each of us. First, we receive a personal word from the Lord; then we become bearers of His word to others.
3. He was a servant (Ex. 24:13). Joshua was first known as “the servant of Moses.” No one called him a servant of Yahweh until the time of the conquest. He proved his willingness to serve before asking anyone to serve him. Each of us must undergo the same process.
4. He was a faithful coworker (Ex. 32:17). Moses took Joshua with him to meet with God on Mount Sinai, but when ordered to stop, Joshua halted halfway up. He experienced no glory, no cloud, no voice, and no presence, yet he remained faithful to the big picture.
5. He was an apprentice of Moses and God (Ex. 33:11). For 40 years, Joshua served as an understudy. His competence grew from Moses’ tutoring and his own observations. He would not leave Moses’ tent because he wanted to get everything he could from his mentor.
6. He was a zealot (Num. 11:29). One day when God’s presence came down upon the camp and two men began to prophesy, Joshua grew concerned. He forbade them to continue, but Moses said to him, “I wish all God’s people were prophets.” Joshua’s passion later became an asset as it combined with experience.
7. He was a transformed leader (Num. 13:16). Moses gave the name Joshua to the young man formerly called Hoshea. With that name change came a transformation in identity and character. Joshua became a man ready to delegate, organize, and lead the nation of Israel.