Joshua: A life prepared to lead
Lessons on mentoring from Moses to Joshua
The life of Joshua was one that was born for the moment at hand. Just as Winston Churchill was born to defeat Hitler and will forever be known by his statement, "never give in!" so Joshua the son of Nun was born to lead the children of Israel into the land God had promised and forever be known for fulfilling the orders from God to "be strong and courageous." Joshua first appears on the scene in Exodus 17 and prior to that not much is known of his life or his family except he was a prince in the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8, 16; Deut. 32:44) as the son of Nun, grandson of Elishama chief of Ephraim (1Chron. 7:20-27). The name Joshua meaning, "Jehovah is our help" or (God-help) was given to him at the time he entered into Moses' service, either before or after the battle with the Amalekites. Joshua's entire life was prepared for the moment in history when he would succeed Moses as "the successor and the supervisor of Israel's conquest of Canaan and of the allotment of the land to the tribes." For the purposes of this paper attention will be given to the relationship between Moses and Joshua so a greater understanding can be gained as to how Joshua was successful as a leader following the opening words in the book of Joshua, "after the death of Moses." How did Moses mentor or coach or prepare his assistant for the task of leading a nation. In short how did one leader prepare another leader? Several events occur throughout the Pentateuch that give great insight to how Moses developed his young assistant.
For my own warfare, however, I am at a loss what course to pursue, what alliance, what word of wisdom, what grace to devise, with what panoply to arm myself against the wiles of the wicked one. What Moses did is to conquer him by stretching out his hands upon the mount, in order that the cross, thus typified and prefigured, may prevail.
The first event occurs in Exodus 17 just after the Amalekites had attacked Israel, when Moses said to Joshua, "?Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.?" This is the first mention of Joshua in Scripture. It is quite possible that Joshua had served as Moses assistant for a short time prior to this but now the leader of Israel called the young man's number to go into the game. Up to this point God had fought for Israel, but now God was to fight through Israel. And the opponent was not one to take lightly. "The Amalekites, who appear here as the enemy of the Israelites, were a tough and aggressive Bedouin people who roamed the desert region of Sinai. Their nomadic existence led them to despise the settled and half-settled peoples who dwelt on the fringes of the desert, as the Israelites did. They thus robbed and harassed them, making themselves a serious threat to caravans and communities moving through the desert. In the age of David and Saul the Israelites living in the south of Judah were still troubled by the marauding raids of these Amalekites (1Sam. 15; 27:8; 30:1ff) so that the Israelites and the Amalekites were in a permanent state of war." The following morning after the initial attack Joshua did as Moses had commanded him and fought the Amalekites. During the battle Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of a hill overlooking the battlefield. There, Moses took his intercessory position holding the staff of God, praying with both hands raised towards heaven. "Commentators, ancient and modern, almost unanimously consider this act of Moses an act of prayer. As such, it expressed an attitude of dependence upon God that determined the outcome of the battle, and it served to demonstrate the reality of this dependence to all the people." The Scriptures then say, "When Moses ?held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. ? But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." Following the battle Moses was to record in the book and recount to Joshua that God would utterly and completely destroy Amalek. Joshua was not to lose sight of what God was going to do to this people. There is no evidence, Biblical or extra-Biblical, as to what this book was but by recording and recounting the promise added to its effectiveness. Finally Moses builds an altar, which he called, "Jehovah my banner" or "The Lord is my Banner" to praise God for His help.
Let us now examine two principles from this event about how Moses shaped young Joshua. The first is a leadership principle here that mustn't be overlooked and that is that Moses approach to developing leaders was to give them opportunities to lead. If Joshua is like any other young leader in training everything within him desired to have his name called and given the opportunity to go into the game when it counts most. And to have Moses, a legend in his own time, the man who God raised up to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, who God used to part the Red Sea by lifting up his rod was now pointing that very rod at him and commanding him to lead. Joshua was no doubt overcome with a nervous excitement at the opportunity. He must have been encouraged beyond words that Moses would have such confidence in him as to trust him with the lives of others. Principal number one is that great leaders give those they are investing in opportunities to lead that carry significant consequences.
The second principle we learn from Moses leadership style is that true victory only comes from the Lord. Moses did not send Joshua off to fight and then go back to his tent for a warm cup of Joe and a good nap. The picture we see is of Joshua doing physical battle while Moses does spiritual battle. When Moses' arms would grow weary from hours of holding rod toward heaven and praying and begin to lower the Amalekites would begin to over power Joshua and his men. Yet the contrast is when Moses prayed with arms lifted toward heaven communicating utter desperation for God's provision Joshua and his men would begin to prevail. And afterward Moses would have this written down for remembrance sake and an altar assembled as an act of praise before the Lord. One could only imagine Joshua exhausted and covered in sweat, dirt and the enemies blood looking for praise and adoration upon his victory only to have the wise old leader immediately put the spotlight on the One who granted victory. It was only following this immediate focus upon what the Lord had done rather than what Joshua had done the young warrior would learn the battle was won on mountain, not in the valley. It is in this first event that Joshua learned the battle and the victory is truly the Lord's.
In Exodus 24 and then again in Exodus 32 Joshua is accompanying Moses up and then back down the Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. It is not believed that Joshua ascended all the way up the mountain but it is believed he at least went a great distance with Moses and would wait for him to come back down. During Moses' absence Aaron and Hur were temporarily delegated the responsibility of overseeing the nation. No other individual is mentioned to have accompanied to Moses up Sinai but Joshua. The point to be made here is that Moses' leadership style was to teach as he went. Joshua is called Moses' 'assistant' or 'servant' in Exodus 24:13. The Hebrew word is ??rat , the use of ??rat falls into two natural categories: 1) of the personal service rendered to an important personage, usually a ruler, and 2) of the ministry of worship on the part of those who stand in a special relationship to God, such as the priests. It is safe to assume that since Joshua was Moses' personal assistant, where Moses went Joshua went. Therefore, Moses used his life as a platform on which to teach Joshua leadership.
Great leaders are constantly striving to be exhaustively intentional with their lives. To ensure they capture the moments of life and be a living sacrifice they will have young leaders around them and use the commonality of everyday experiences and the decisions that leaders must make to train and equip. Most young men and women simply need someone to come along side them and demonstrate before them they can succeed. Moses had already demonstrated great belief in Joshua by commanding him to fight the Amelkites. Now he was taking Joshua and walking beside him on a daily basis using his life as a tool of encouragement, allowing his life to communicate to Joshua that God can use him to lead.
One of my favorite films of recent years is 'Remember the Titans'. It is a movie based on a true story where an African American coach is brought in to a school district that has a rich history in segregation. The movie portrays the struggles between the white and the black players and coaches as they attempt to become a team. Denzel Washington's character, Coach Boone, fills the role as head coach. This movie gives a unique perspective on how he attempts to bring coaches and players from many different backgrounds, cultures, and places on the economic scale in order that they may become one unit. At one point in the movie, a conversation takes place over lunch about where the young men wanted to go and what they wanted to do following their high school career. Many wanted to go to college; many wanted to pursue other careers. There was one white young man, when asked if he was going to college replied, "Coach, I'm just poor white trash, I'm a C student and I will never amount to anything." The camera angel shifts as Coach Boone pulls the young man aside and tells him at the end of each week to bring his grades and his upcoming assignments by and they will discuss them. Towards the end of the movie, there is a very moving scene in the locker room. All the players had taken the field for the upcoming game, and the C student and Coach Boone were all that remained. The young man was standing with his head held low and Coach Boone asked if there was anything on his mind. With tears in his eyes, the young man looked at his coach and stated, "Coach, I did it. I'm gonna graduate. I'm gonna go to college." With that, the two from two completely different backgrounds embraced in a hug.
The coach's leadership style reflects that of Moses. In the movie we have a young man who never really believed his life would amount to anything until one day, when an elderly leader looked at him and said, "I'm going to walk with you. We're going to do this together." The first leadership principle demonstrated by Moses to Joshua is that you can win in the valley because the battle has been won on the hilltop. If Moses simply had stopped there, he would have been an incomplete leader and mentor. Moses realized that he could not invest in Joshua properly only from the hilltop but that he would have to walk through the valley of life with him.
The great British pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, "God never permits His people to sin successfully." Just one chapter prior, while Moses and Joshua were up on the Mount Sinai receiving God's law, the nation of Israel who had experienced God's provision and mercy so many times before pleaded with Aaron to make a god for them to worship. In the absence of Godly leadership people will follow those who lead under the presupposition that truth is relative. This is what Aaron did because in Exodus 32 he responds to the people by building a golden calf for them to worship. But Spurgeon is right and as a result of Israel's sin God sent a plague, He refused to go before them on their way to the Promise Land, and He had Moses move the "tent of meeting" outside the camp. It is in this third punishment from the Lord that another insight is given into the relationship of Moses and Joshua. Now the "tent of meeting" was set apart from the rest of the nation of Israel. Moses and Joshua cared for this tent and when Israel would make camp it was erected by one of the two and no other. This "refers to a time before the "tabernacle" was erected. At that time there was a smaller tent which Moses and Joshua could carry; it was pitched outside the camp; it was used only by Moses and was cared for in his absence by Joshua." This tent "was made into a temporary sanctuary by the fact that the pillar of cloud came down upon it, and Jehovah talked with Moses there, and which was called by the same name as tabernacle because Jehovah revealed himself there."
The Bible says that ?" the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent." What a phenomenal privilege for young Joshua to be able to sit in on that conversation. It is here that Moses demonstrates one of the most phenomenal leadership principles of all to Joshua: without God one cannot lead and with God one can lead anyone. Moses was now teaching Joshua that the only reason the battle could be won on the hilltop and the only reason he could walk in the valley every day is because he had met with God on a personal level.
Much had taken place leading up to Numbers 13. One gets the feeling that Israel may never enter the Promise Land as so much unbelief had characterized the children of God. And now they wanted to send a reconnaissance team to scout the land of Canaan before the entire nation went in to engage in battle (Deuteronomy 1:22-23). The Lord allows them to do so not so much because it was a great idea but rather to teach them "to trust the Word of God and do the will of God His way and not their own way (Prov. 3:5-6)." Spies are chosen, a leader from tribe among them was Caleb and Joshua, to scout the land and report back to the people. They scouted the land forty days and then returned to report to Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel. Upon their return the spies painted a picture to Israel that the land "truly flows with milk and honey." The spies even brought back fruit to demonstrate how luscious and fertile the land was. Then in verse 28 the statement is made, "Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there." On and on the excuses and lack of faith in God flowed from their lips until the entire nation was weeping and complaining to Moses and Aaron how it was better off back in Egypt. Oh but thank God for Godly leadership because in chapter 14 and verse 6 the true leaders of God, Caleb and Joshua, stand up. Note how many references to the Lord and His will:
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6? But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ?7? and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ? "?The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ?8? If the Lord ?delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ?a land which flows with milk and honey.?' ?? Only ?do not rebel against the Lord , ?nor fear the people of the land, for ?they ? are our bread; their protection has departed from them, ?and the Lord is with us . Do not fear them.?" (emphasis added)
Through all the chaos and upheaval one can only imagine that at least in his mind Moses leaned back and thought, "That's my boy." Joshua new a simple yet profound truth that so many leaders loose track of so many times: This is all about God.
Only two men from that generation would be permitted into the Promise Land, Joshua and Caleb. What was the key to Joshua passing so great a test? How did he learn to stand for what God said when 2 million of his countrymen didn't believe? To find the answer we must look back to Numbers 13:16 after Moses had named the 12 men who assimilated the reconnaissance team, including Joshua, the Bible says, "These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to ?spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea ?the son of Nun, Joshua." While this sounds like a very subtle change upon further investigation the impact will prove to have quite an impact. Why was Hoshea's name changed to Joshua? When did this occur? The former question can probably be answered with much more certainty than the latter. "It is very probable that Moses may have given him the new name either before or after the defeat of the Amalekites, or when he took him into his service, though it has not been mentioned before; whilst here the circumstances themselves required that it should be stated that Hosea, as he was called in the list prepared and entered in the documentary record according to the genealogical tables of the tribes, had received from Moses the name Joshua." The more important question then becomes, why the name change? The answer is found in the meaning of the name themselves.
The name 'Hoshea' or Howshea` / ho· shay ·ah /] occurs 16 times; AV t ranslates as "Hoshea" 11 times, "Hosea" three times, and "Oshea" three times. 1 family name of Joshua, the son of Nun. 2 the 19th and last king of the northern kingdom of Israel. 3 son of Beeri, and the first of the minor prophets; prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel in the reign of Jeroboam II. 4 a son of Azaziah, a chief of Ephraim in the time of David. 5 an Israelite chief who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. Additional Information: Hosea or Hoshea or Oshea = "salvation". The name 'Joshua' or [ Yâhowshuwa` , Yâhowshu`a / yeh·ho· shoo ·ah /] occurs 218 times; AV translates as "Joshua" 218 times. 1 son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan. 2 a resident of Beth-shemesh on whose land the Ark of the Covenant came to a stop after the Philistines returned it. 3 son of Jehozadak and high priest after the restoration. 4 governor of Jerusalem under king Josiah who gave his name to a gate of the city of Jerusalem. Additional Information: Joshua or Jehoshua = "Jehovah is salvation".
In other words Moses changed his name from "salvation" to "Jehovah is salvation." Moses knew that if Joshua was going to lead God's chosen people than everything about his existence must point to God. If Joshua was going to be a strong leader then he must first be a passionate follower of God. Each success in his life must attribute to nothing less than the goodness of God. It is not simply that His provision is sufficient, rather without his provision there was no salvation.
In conclusion the relationship between Moses and Joshua is a biblical picture of what it means to mentor. All of these same leadership characteristics can be seen in the ministry of Jesus. Just as Joshua learned the battle was won on the hilltop so the disciples would live their lives in the shadow of the cross. Just as Joshua walked with Moses so Jesus journeyed on a day-by-day basis with his disciples. Just as Joshua learned about worship from Moses so the disciples learned what worship is from the One whom their worship was to be directed. And just as Joshua learned all he does in life must point to the sufficiency of God so the disciples learned that without Christ all is lost.