YOUTH STS LESSON 150 JOSHUA ASSUMES LEADERSHIP

TEXT: Joshua 1:1-18.      

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” (Joshua 1:2).

The death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, was not strange to him, because God had told him that he would die and not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:48-51). In view of this, he had prepared Joshua, who was his personal aide, to take over the leadership of Israel as instructed by God. Moses died and where he was buried was neither known to Joshua nor any of the children of Israel. Therefore, Joshua had to wait for directives from God. “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 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” (Joshua 1:1,2).

Question 1: What lessons do we learn from Joshua’s attitude towards assuming the leadership of Israel?

Christian youths who have received the call of God or have been appointed as officers in the School Fellowship should not be in a hurry to do things that they have not been officially instructed to do. In this study, we are going to learn from the call of Joshua into the ministry. We will benefit from how he admonished the people to prepare for the onward journey and from the attitude of the people to him when he began to function.

THE CALL AND COMMISSION OF JOSHUA (Joshua 1:1-9; Exodus 3:7-10;18:21,22; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; 2 Timothy 4:1-5)

“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant it 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” (verses 1, 2). Joshua had been mourning the death of Moses. They had enjoyed intimate relationship before now. One can understand his feeling of loss. But God told him to put all that behind him and get into the service which his demised mentor left unfinished. He was to “arise, go over this Jordan”, possess the land of Canaan and divide it as an inheritance among the children of Israel. As God called and commissioned Joshua, Christian youths have been called into the service of God. We have the mandate to preach the gospel message to the world. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Question 2: Mention three major things that Joshua would need in order to succeed.

It was not going to be an easy task, but God encouraged him: “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” (verse 6). In addition to being courageous and strong, he was to “… 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…” if he must succeed in his ministry. That means, he was to study the law of God fully and obey it if he must have good success. To be successful in any leadership appointment, we also need good study habit, obedience to God’s word – and strong moral principles by which we regulate our lives. Having done that, “… Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (verse 9). The assurance of God’s presence guarantees us success in every endeavour.

THE COMMAND TO THE CONGREGATION BY JOSHUA (Joshua 1:10-15; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 12:1-4; Proverbs 27:17)

“Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 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” (verses 10, 11). Having received encouragement from the Lord, Joshua began to prepare the mind of the people for the journey ahead of them. In about three days, they would begin the journey to cross over River Jordan. This would also take some time. Besides crossing to the other side of Jordan, they would keep moving. Hence, the need to prepare some victuals (i.e. store of food) for their proposed journey. If such preparation was not made, it could pose a form of distraction on their way. But there was another group, those who had got their own possession on this side Jordan. “And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land” (verses 12, 13). He also admonished them to lead the host in the battle to possess the remaining land. They too were to leave their family members behind to avoid distractions in the battle. They had already experienced victory and now they are to lead others into the same.

Question 3: What can we learn from the admonition of Joshua?

Like Joshua, youth leaders should always prepare their youths for heaven. They should draw their attention to those things the youths could do to be fully prepared for heaven and what to avoid. Paul the apostle, at one time, told the Hebrew converts: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin” (Hebrews 12:1-4). He also spoke in similar manner to other believers, drawing their attention to the type of preparations required to successfully journey to heaven.

THE COMMITMENT OF THE CONGREGATION TO JOSHUA (Joshua 1:16-18; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Hebrews 13:7,17)

“And they answered Joshua, saying. All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go” (verse 16). When Joshua took charge, the people acknowledged his leadership and promised to do whatever he said, and go wherever he sent them. They were committed and consecrated to follow Joshua’s directives. They promised him continuous loyalty as they did to Moses. “According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses” (verse 17). They even promised to jointly punish anyone who disregarded his instructions and only required that he should be leading them according to the will of God. “Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage” (verse 18). They encouraged him to “be strong and of a good courage”.

Question 4: What attitude does God expect us to exhibit towards our leaders?

In our different local churches, God has placed leaders over us who should oversee the spiritual and other areas of our lives. They give us instructions and warnings from the word of God. We can learn from the Israelites that the expected attitude is that of obedience. Besides, should there be anyone who discredits our leaders and disobeys their instructions, we will not take side with them. We should also be a source of encouragement to our leaders by our lives. It is not out of place if we intentionally speak to encourage them. Where we have a change of hand in leadership, we should cooperate with our newly appointed leader(s).