ADULT STS LESSON 150 JOSHUA ASSUMES LEADERSHIP
MEMORY VERSE: “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses” (Joshua 1:2,3).
TEXT: Joshua 1:1-18
After the death of Moses, God called and commissioned Joshua with the task of leading the children of Israel to possess the Promised Land. “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people…” For many years before replacing Moses as Israel’s leader, Joshua showed himself to be a man of faith, entire consecration, courage, loyalty, obedience, prayer and dedication to God and His word (Numbers 14:6-8; 27:23; 32:12). The choice of Joshua the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, was revealed to Moses by God before his death (Deuteronomy 31:7,14,23). This shows one of the methods God uses to call His people into service. In the New Testament, God sometimes uses the church leadership to mentor and appoint other leaders (Matthew 4:19; Acts 13:2; Titus 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:2). The choice of Joshua was by divine directive and not through political manipulations. This means that matters of appointment in the church should be handled carefully and prayerfully using the blueprint provided in the Scriptures (Luke 6:12,13; Acts 6:3; Titus 1:5-9). Appointment to spiritual leadership should not be based on,
One, carnal considerations such as friendship, tribal affiliation, family relationship, education, etc.
Two, there was no dissension or protests from the congregation as a result of Joshua’s appointment. Caleb, his contemporary, was not envious; neither did the younger generation reject the appointment of Joshua as their new leader.
In this, believers must learn that there should be no protests when God, in His wisdom, appoints a person to a leadership position. Rather than criticise or rebel, we should prayerfully submit to God’s will and support His work, no matter the human agent He uses to direct us.
Three, though Joshua possessed good qualities of leadership, he waited until God appointed and commissioned him. People like Miriam, Aaron, Korah, Dathan and Abiram who struggled against the leadership of Moses received divine chastisement while Joshua became a leader and was appointed a successor by divine order.
THE PLACEMENT, CALL AND COMMISSION OF JOSHUA (Joshua 1:1-5; Numbers 27:15-23; Deuteronomy 11:24,25; 31:6-8,14,23; 34:7-9; Matthew 24:14)
The name Joshua (Hebrew, Jehoshua) signifies ‘saviour’, ‘the Lord saves’ or ‘the Lord is salvation’. The Greek form of the name is Jesus’. Joshua is an Old Testament type of Christ in his role of leading Israel into the Promised Land. Just as Joshua led Israel, Jesus, our Saviour leads as many as come to Him to eternal life. Joshua did not just emerge; he had been trained and found trustworthy, which fitted him for the assignment of leading God’s covenant people to the land of Canaan. He played an important supportive role during Moses’ leadership and was one of the two adults who left Egypt and lived long enough to enter Canaan, a privilege he obtained by his total faithfulness to the Lord (Numbers 14:6-9; 26:65; 32:11,12; Deuteronomy 1:34-40). The command to go over Jordan was a test of faith and obedience. However, God gave Joshua a promise and assured him of divine support: “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5).
Believers should always cultivate and maintain the consciousness of the presence of the Lord and holy living through regular communion with Him. Anything that will make us lose the presence of God in our lives should be avoided. Sin, worldliness, compromise, frivolity, jesting and talkativeness are some of the things that make us lose the divine presence. “For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee” (Deuteronomy 23:14). Victory is assured as long as we remain in the path of our divinely appointed duties. Witches and wizards, magicians and sorcerers, cultists and diabolical traditional people will not be able to stand before us if we are truly converted and called. His power and preservation is not for a limited period, but “all the days of our lives”. As with Joshua, God has commissioned us to go and preach the gospel to every creature and we have the same assurance that He will not leave or forsake us, but will always be there to defend us (Mark 16:15- 20). We must take the gospel to all tribes, tongues, people, territories and climes. Their countenance, culture, belief-system, hardness and clumsiness should not deter us from this great task. This calls for strategy, systematic planning, obedience and dependence on the Lord.
PATHWAY TO SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP (Joshua 1:6-9; Psalms 1:1-3; 119:15; 1 Timothy 4:15, 16; James 1:22-25)
“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (verses 6-8). As soon as God commissioned Joshua, He also gave him the divine blueprint for success. This is necessitated by the fact that on entering Canaan, powerful enemies and giants had to be faced, fought against and conquered. The same is true of the Christian: there are spiritual battles to fight, enemies to conquer, temptations to overcome, devil and demons to resist, and divine duties to perform. To do these and obey God implicitly, we require resoluteness, fortitude and daring perseverance. To do God’s work in His appointed way, when the flesh and the world are on the contrary, we require strength and courage to swim against the tide. Obeying the Lord requires a conscious effort to observe, that is, watch carefully and attentively, in order to do the will of God (Deuteronomy 5:32; 12:1). It is the key to receiving from God and the pivot on which all blessings depend.
First, it opens the door of His mercies and places His people on the right course and fellowship with Him. Obedience endears believers to the heart of the Lord. Those who disobey His word or live in partial obedience to His commandments cannot enjoy the fullness of His blessings.
Second, obeying the word of God enables a believer to prosper and multiply in the land. The right way into God’s prosperity plan is by keeping His word. Disobedience, on the other hand, attracts God’s anger and displeasure. Our obedience can only be acceptable to Him if we do not delay “to keep [His] commandments” (Psalm 119:60). To profit maximally from the study of God’s word, all hindrances to spiritual receptivity must be removed, such as hardness of heart (Matthew 13:3- 6), double-mindedness (James 1:8), pride (Proverbs 18:12), carnality (1 Corinthians 3:1-5) and unbelief (Matthew 13:58). If Joshua was to succeed and complete the work which Moses began, then he must obey, teach and maintain the law which God gave through Moses. In the same vein, if we follow His revealed plan, our lives and ministries will be fulfilled, fruitful and successful.
PREPARATION TO CONQUER THE LAND (Joshua 1:10-18; 2:1; Psalm 133:1-3; Luke 14:28-32; Ephesians 4:3; Hebrews 13:7,17,24)
In obedience to the divine command, Joshua began immediately to make necessary preparations to fulfil the appointed task.
First, he gave instructions to the people to make ready for crossing over River Jordan. “Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it” (Joshua 1:11).
Second, Joshua reminded the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh of their promise to mobilise the army for the conquest of Canaan (verses 12-18).
Third, he sent out two spies to view the land. This was to enable him map out strategies for a full- blown military campaign to take possession of Canaan and to divide the land amongst the tribes (Joshua 2:1).
It is important to note that Joshua did not act before God spoke, neither did he run ahead of Him. His was the conduct of one whose heart is committed to honouring and glorifying God. The officers were also to command the people. Each level of leadership has authority and control over the people under it. This is spiritual leadership under the command of God. This same pattern ought to prevail in the New Testament church. Where there is no respect for leadership, the expected progress in our ministry and service will be lacking. “Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it” (verse 11). To pass over Jordan, they were to make adequate preparation for food that would last for the scheduled three-day journey. Joshua had faith in God and expected that as they passed over the Red Sea miraculously, so would they pass over Jordan through His unfailing power. His language expressed faith in God. To be strong for the journey and the battles ahead, we must be well fed with the Bread of life and properly nourished in the word of faith (1 Kings 19:5-8).
The Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh were called upon by Joshua to: “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded [them]” (verse 13). They had promised Moses that they would play their part in the conquest of Canaan. They assured Joshua that they were resolute and would keep their commitment to the Lord despite the death of Moses (Numbers 32:17-28). “And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go” (verse 16). How wonderful it is when God’s people honour Him by respecting and following their spiritual leaders (Deuteronomy 34:9). Thus, in unity:
First, they affirmed that they would obey Joshua with the same obedience they gave to Moses.
Second, they prayed for the presence of God with him.
Third, they vowed to support his leadership by imposing the death penalty on those who would disobey or rebel against his commandments.
Fourth, they encouraged and admonished him to be strong and courageous. In the same vein, it is necessary that believers who are privileged to belong to the household of God support their leaders in every way possible to fulfil our God- given assignments. They should avoid all forms of antagonism and unnecessary objections capable of hindering the free flow of divine presence. When believers are united with the leadership of the church, there will be divine blessings and the church will experience spiritual and numerical growth. The promise of the inheritance in Canaan was the earnest expectation of the Israelites. They looked forward to the land, which God called: “the glory of all lands”. As He planned a great inheritance for Israel, He also has a great inheritance prepared for those who believe in Jesus. Believers who endure until the end have great inheritance awaiting them both here and hereafter.
Questions for review:
- What can believers learn from the choice of Joshua as a successor to Moses?
- Mention some of the things that make believers lose the presence of God.
- What is Christ’s mandate to His Church?
- Explain the pathway to successful leadership.
- What necessary preparations did Joshua make in order to fulfil his task after his commissioning?
- Explain the importance of obedience in a Christian’s life and ministry.
- Why should there be unity among brethren in the church?
