Joshua

One of the greatest challenges facing leaders is to replace themselves, training others to become leaders. Many outstanding accomplishments have been started by someone with great ability  whose life or career ended before the vision became reality. The fulfillment of that dream then became the responsibility of that person’s successor. Death is the ultimate deadline for leadership. One of the best tests of our leadership is our willingness and ability to train another for our position.

Moses made an excellent decision when he chose Joshua as his assistant. That choice was later confirmed by God himself when he instructed Moses to commission Joshua as his successor (Numbers 27:15-23). Joshua had played a key role in the exodus from Egypt. Introduced as the field general of Israel’s army, he was the only person allowed to accompany Moses partway up the mountain when Moses received the law. Joshua and Caleb were the only 2 among the 12 scouts to bring back an encouraging report after being sent into the Promised Land the first time. Other references show him to have been Moses’ constant shadow. His basic training was living with Moses - experiencing firsthand what it meant to lead God’s people. This was modeling at its best!

Who is your Moses? Who is your Joshua? You are part of the chain of God’s ongoing work in the world. You are modeling yourself afters others, and others are patterning their lives after you. How important is God to those you want to be like? Do those who are watching you see God reflected in every area of your life? Ask God to lead you to a trustworthy Moses. Ask him to make you a good Joshua.

Strengths and accomplishments

• • Moses’ assistant and successor

  • One of only two adults who experienced Egyptian slavery and lived to enter the Promised Land

  • Led the Israelites into their God-given homeland

  • Brilliant military strategist

  • Faithful to ask God’s direction in the challenges he faced

Lesson from his life

• • Effective leadership is often the product of good preparation and encouragement

  • The persons after whom we pattern ourselves will have a definite effects on us

  • A person committed to God provides the best model for us

Vital statistics

• • Where: Egypt, the wilderness of Sinai, Canaan (the Promised Land)

  • Occupation: Special assistant to Moses, leader  

  • Relative: Father: Nun

  • Contemporaries: Moses, Caleb, Miriam, Aaron

Key verses

• • “So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses” (Numbers 27:22, 23).

Joshua is also mentioned in Exodus 17:9-14; 24:13; 32:17; 33:11; Numbers 11:28; 13-14; 26:65; 27:18-23; 32:11, 12, 28;34:17; Deuteronomy 1:38; 3:21, 28; 31:3, 7, 14, 23; 34:9; the book of Joshua; Judges 2-6; and 1 Kings 16:34.

Rahab

Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. As a prostitute, she lived on the edge of society, one stop short of rejection. Her house, built right into the city wall, provided both lodging and favors to travelers. It was a natural place for the Israelite spies to stay, as they would be mistaken of Rahab’s customers.

Stories about the Israelites had been circulating for some time, but now it was evident that the Israelites were about to invade. Living on the wall, Rahab felt especially vulnerable.Yet while she shared the general mood of fear with the rest of Jericho’s population, she alone turned to the Lord for her salvation. Her faith gave her the courage to hide the spies and lie to the authorities. Rahab knew her position was dangerous; she could have been killed if she had been caught harboring the Israelites. Rahab took the risk, however, because she sensed that the Israelites relied on a God worth trusting. And God rewarded Rahab by promising safety for her and her family.

God works through people - like Rahab - whom we are inclined to reject. God remembers her because of her faith, not her profession. If at times you feel like a failure, remember that Rahab rose above her situation through her trust in God. You can do the same!

Strengths and accomplishments

• • Mother of Boaz, and thus an ancestor of David and Jesus

  • One of only two women listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11

  • Resourceful, willing to help others at great cost to herself

Weakness and mistake

• • She was a prostitute

Lesson from her life

• • She did not let fear affect her faith in God’s ability to deliver

Vital statistics

• • Where: Jericho

  • Occupation: Prostitute/innkeeper, later became a wife

  • Relatives: Ancestor of David and Jesus (Matthew 1:5)

  • Contemporary: Joshua

Key verse

• • “It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies” (Hebrews 11:31).       

Rahab’s story is told in Joshua 2 and 6:22, 23. She is also mentioned in Matthew 1:5; Hebrews 11:31; and James 2:25.