Joshua: The Leader Who Followed

Learning to Follow

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Joshua became one of the great leaders of Israel. But for forty years, his main job was to serve and follow Moses.

Born a slave. Joshua grew up in Egypt when the Israelites were slaves. He saw the plagues, and he walked through the Red Sea with everyone else.

His first battle. When the Amalekites attacked Israel, Moses sent Joshua to lead the fighting men. Moses prayed on the hill with his hands raised, and the Lord gave Israel the victory (Exodus 17:9-13). Joshua learned early that the Lord fights for His people.

Moses' helper. “So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God” (Exodus 24:13). Joshua went partway up Mount Sinai with Moses.

Staying close. When Moses talked with God in the tent, Joshua stayed there. “His servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle” (Exodus 33:11). He loved being near God.

A new name. His name had been Hoshea, which means salvation. Moses called him Joshua, which means the Lord saves (Numbers 13:16).

The spy who trusted God. Joshua and Caleb went with ten other spies into Canaan. The ten were afraid of the giants. Joshua and Caleb said the land was very good and the Lord was with them (Numbers 14:6-9).

With all his heart. God said of Caleb and Joshua, “they have wholly followed the Lord” (Numbers 32:12). Wholly means with your whole heart, holding nothing back.

Forty years of waiting. Because the people refused to trust God, they wandered in the desert for forty years (Joshua 5:6). Joshua had trusted God, yet he waited with them. He kept serving.

Chosen by God. God told Moses to lay his hand on Joshua in front of the priest and all the people (Numbers 27:18-23). Everyone saw that God had chosen him.

Brave words. Moses told all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage,” and promised, “He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

What we learn. Before Joshua led, he followed. God trains leaders by teaching them to serve and to stay close to Him.

What to do. Who is a godly grown-up you can learn from? This week, help them with something, and ask how they learned to trust God.

Joshua's leadership did not begin at the Jordan. It began with decades of serving Moses, and the Bible shows how God shaped him.

Rephidim (Exodus 17:9-13). Joshua's first appearance is on a battlefield. He fought in the valley while Moses, Aaron and Hur prayed on the hill. Joshua learned early that victory came from the Lord, not from the sword alone.

Mesharet (say: meh-shah-RET). Exodus 24:13 calls Joshua Moses' assistant, a word for a personal attendant who serves someone close at hand. The same title is given to him in Joshua 1:1. Joshua was trained up close.

At the tent (Exodus 33:11). “His servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” Moses went back to the camp, but Joshua stayed near the place where God met with Moses. His love for God's presence came first.

Hoshea to Joshua (Numbers 13:16). Hoshea (say: hoh-SHAY-ah) means salvation. Moses added God's name to it: Yehoshua, the Lord saves. The man would always carry a reminder that God, not Joshua, saves.

Two against ten (Numbers 14:6-9). Ten spies said the people of the land were too strong. Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and urged Israel not to rebel or fear, because the Lord was with them. The crowd wanted to stone them.

Wholly followed (Numbers 32:12). The Hebrew phrase means to fill up after, to follow fully. Joshua and Caleb were the only adults of that generation who entered the land.

Waiting well. Joshua was faithful, yet he spent forty years in the desert because of other people's unbelief (Joshua 5:6). He did not grow bitter. He kept serving.

Commissioned (Numbers 27:18-23). God called Joshua a man in whom is the Spirit (Numbers 27:18) and had Moses lay hands on him before Eleazar the priest and the congregation.

Deuteronomy 31:6. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you.” Courage rested on God's presence, not on Joshua's skill.

Application. Faithfulness in small, unseen places prepares you for whatever God gives next. Serve well where you are, and stay close to Jesus.

Leading by Following

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When Moses died, God spoke to Joshua and gave him the job of leading Israel into the land. Joshua led well because he kept following God.

God's promise. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).

Be brave. “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Keep God's Word close. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). Meditate means to think about it carefully, again and again.

Following at the Jordan. At the river, Joshua did not make up his own plan. He told the people what God said, and he did it exactly (Joshua 3:7-13; 4:10). He sent the priests in first, just as God said, and he waited for God to act.

Lifted up by God. “On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel” (Joshua 4:14). Joshua did not push himself forward. God honored the man who followed Him.

Bowing to the Commander. Near Jericho, Joshua met a Man with a drawn sword. He said He was “Commander of the army of the Lord.” Joshua “fell on his face to the earth and worshiped” (Joshua 5:14).

Not perfect. Joshua made mistakes too. Once he made a promise to strangers without asking the Lord first (Joshua 9:14). Even good leaders need God's help every day.

His choice. At the end of his life Joshua said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

The people answered. They said, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” (Joshua 24:24).

A greater Joshua. Joshua led Israel into the land, but he could not give them the final rest (Hebrews 4:8-9). Jesus, who has the same name, says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The greatest servant. Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The best leader of all is the One who served all the way to the cross.

What we learn. The best leaders are good followers of God. Joshua was great because he listened to God and obeyed Him.

What to do. This week, choose one way to follow Jesus first: pray before you decide, read a little of His Word each day, or serve someone at home.

Joshua 1 gives the new leader three things: a promise, a command and a book. The rest of his life shows what it looks like to lead by following.

The promise (Joshua 1:5). “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Joshua's confidence rested on God's presence. Hebrews 13:5 gives the same promise to every believer: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The command (Joshua 1:9). “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage.” Courage here is not a feeling Joshua had to create. It is obedience to a command, grounded in the fact that God is with him.

The book (Joshua 1:8). Hagah (say: hah-GAH), meditate, means to murmur or speak quietly, as someone repeats words to himself. Joshua's success was tied to doing “according to all that is written in it.”

Obedience at the Jordan. Joshua 4:10 says the priests stood in the river “until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people.” Joshua passed on God's words exactly.

Exalted, not self-promoted (4:14). God had promised to exalt Joshua (3:7), and He did. Peter later wrote that God lifts up the humble in due time (1 Peter 5:6).

The Commander (Joshua 5:13-15). Joshua asked, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” The answer, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come,” turned the question around. The point was not whether God was on Joshua's side but whether Joshua was on God's side. Many Christians see this Commander as the Son of God Himself, since He accepted Joshua's worship.

A failure recorded (Joshua 9:14). With the Gibeonites, the leaders did not ask counsel of the Lord. Scripture is honest about its heroes, which keeps our eyes on God.

The final charge (Joshua 24:15). “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua's leadership ended where it began, with personal faithfulness.

Hebrews 4:8-9. “For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” The land was real, but it pointed to the greater rest Jesus gives.

Mark 10:45. The true greatness Joshua showed in part, Jesus showed fully: He came “to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Application. Leading well begins with following well. Choose today whom you will serve, and let your choice be as clear as Joshua's.

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