Joshua Chosen By God To Lead

photo courtesy of creative commons – flickr – by Fredrick Bisson

⁶So be strong and courageous, for you will lead this people as they acquire and then divide the land I promised to their ancestors. ⁷Always be strong and courageous, and always live by all of the law I gave to my servant Moses, never turning from it—even ever so slightly—so that you may succeed wherever you go. ⁸Let the words from the book of the law be always on your lips. Meditate on them day and night so that you may be careful to live by all that is written in it. If you do, as you make your way through this world, you will prosper and always find success. ⁹This is My command: be strong and courageous. Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, and I will remain with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:6-9 The Voice

Notes from the Voice – It’s an intimidating thing to follow a legend, but the charge God gives Joshua also gives him what he needs to succeed: Be strong and courageous, and keep the words of God always in front of you. If you do those things, then you can’t go wrong. And if you do those things, God says He will be with you.

We have been taking a look at how God Himself told Joshua that he should be full of courage and fill the shoes that have been set before him.

Review

Week 1 — Believe and Succeed – “Courage does not always roar, sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

Courage is the strength needed to live your life to the full. Click To Tweet

Week 2 – Took an overview look at Joshua’s life. We learnt that Moses was going to be a big act to follow but with God’s help Joshua was able to do so in fact – several times we read that God was with Joshua just as he had been with Moses (Joshua 1:5; 1:17).

Today – We will look at Joshua the man and see some of his character traits.

Character Traits

Humility

Joshua was able to be used by God because he was a man of humility. The humility that Joshua displayed was more than an outward appearance it was a heart attitude (how he lived his life). He understood that God had given him certain talents and gifting which if he let God work through them in his life he would be able to do whatever task God placed before him. We all have gifts and talents the trick is to rely on God to work through us and not rely on our own ability to determine how they should be used.

His humility – helped him to be perfectly happy learning how to lead by being Moses assistant (keep in mind he would have been Moses’ assistant even if God had not chosen him to be the next leader – this was where his heart was – to follow God fully (Joshua 24:15)) (Exodus 24:13; Exodus 33:11).

However, God did chose to elevate him to be the next leader of Israel (Joshua 3:7; 4:14).

Joshua’s greatest demonstration of humility was see after he became a leader. How? He never became prideful or self-important – he realized that he still needed to fully rely on God to do all that he needed to do (Joshua 5:13-15 and 24:14-15).

Faith and Trust

He was a man of faith and trust in God

Joshua demonstrated his faith and trust in God as Moses’ assistant when He told the people that God was more than able to give them the Promised Land as He said He would. The people chose not to listen and the 40 years in the wilderness happened. However, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of that generation who believed that God could come through on His promises. (Numbers 13:25-28; Numbers 14:34-38).

Joshua demonstrated his faith and trust in God as the Leader of Israel – as demonstrated in the fall of Jericho – they were to march around the city once each day for 6 days and then on the 7th to march around 7 times and then blow the trumpets loudly when the signal was given to shout and the walls would come down. Only God could have performed such and defeat. (Joshua 6:1-7; Hebrews 11:30).

We can put our full trust in God because we know that He always has our best interest at heart. Click To Tweet

Studied, Meditated and Lived by God’s Word

He was a man of God’s Word

God had told Joshua “Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.”

Joshua’s success was directly related to his keeping of God’s commands. He intentionally kept God’s Word by studying (Joshua 1:7), meditating (Joshua 1:8), memorizing and reminding the people of God’s Word (Joshua 1:12-15; Joshua 8:30-35 and Joshua 23:6; 23:14-16).

Joshua 11:15 – “As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.”

Psalms 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart so I won't sin against you. Click To Tweet

Conclusion

At the end of the day, assurance of God’s presence in our lives (Joshua 1:3-8; Hebrews 13:5-6) enables us to be courageous so we can believe what God has spoken and then with His help we can perform what it says to do. Remember, God will never leave us and all of His promises will be answered (2 Corinthians 1:19-22).