Joshua - Servant of God, Leader of Men

Well, brethren, back in 1994 and early in 1995, I began to realize that a showdown was coming. I could see that the direction, the human leadership in the church at the time, I saw that they were attempting to take the church somewhere, that Jesus Christ did not want the church to go. So I knew that a showdown was coming, and there were a number of scriptures that came to mind during these difficult times, scriptures like, we must obey God rather than men.

And circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what counts is keeping the commandments of God. Another was what Jesus Christ said on the Mount, think not that I came to destroy the law and the prophets. Of course, these are all New Testament verses, but there was another scripture that meant a whole lot to me from the Old Testament.

It was, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Do you remember who said that? I'm sure most of you do, many of you do. Of course, that was Joshua. Joshua, the son of none. He followed up after Moses. Let's go to Joshua chapter 24, and let's just read that here in the book of Joshua. During this special weekend, tomorrow is a day of leadership workshop, so I thought it would be helpful to talk about leadership today. And certainly Joshua was truly a servant of God. He was a leader of man.

In fact, that's the title of the sermon. Joshua, servant of God, leader of man. Joshua 24 verse 14, here it says, Now therefore fear the Eternal, the Lord. Serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Eternal. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.

But as for me and my house, says Joshua, we will serve the Lord. So Joshua was truly a servant of God. There's much that we can learn from Joshua. What qualities and characteristics were dominant in Joshua? What enabled him to be a very effective servant of God and a very effective leader of man? Well, brethren, we all realize that we live in difficult and challenging times today. It's very important that we learn to lead properly. One of the dominant characteristics and qualities of Joshua is that he was a man of humility.

Let's go to Exodus 24 and take a moment to look at what it says here about Joshua. Exodus chapter 24 verse 13. So Moses arose with his assistant, Joshua. Moses was Joshua's mentor. I can't think of many mentors any better than Moses. You know, Moses was just an awesome servant himself. In fact, I almost gave this sermon on Moses, but I decided to do it on Joshua instead because I only had 35 minutes or so.

And Moses, you know, there's just more that could be said about Moses, so I decided to go with Joshua. But Moses was his mentor. Joshua was the assistant or the servant of Moses. Here we see he was called an assistant in chapter 33 verse 11. Chapter 33 verse 11. It says, though the eternal spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. So a very, very special relationship with Moses, obviously. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. So Joshua served Moses, and he served him for a long time.

He served him for 40 years in the wilderness as his assistant and as his servant. So we can learn a lot from Joshua. Great leaders are those who have no problem following the leadership of others as the time and the circumstance warrants being able to follow well prepares a person to lead well. So it is very important that we first become good followers and that we are willing to submit to authority and to be team players and to be there to help and to assist those we've been given to assist and to serve. Now in Joshua chapter 3, we'll go to the book of Joshua, and we'll spend most of our time in the book of Joshua today for obvious reasons.

Joshua chapter 3 verse 7. And the eternal said to Joshua, this day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel. That they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. Talk about a stamp of approval. I mean that's a huge stamp of approval for Joshua. And then if we go to chapter 4 verse 14, let's see what it says here. On that day the eternal exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him as they had feared Moses all the days of his life.

So the eternal was with Joshua. And he told him so, but Joshua remained humble in his approach toward God and man. And that's something that we should consider, that God said this about him, and yet he still remained humble. Joshua chapter 5 verse 13. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold a man, notice man is capitalized here, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand.

And Joshua went to him and said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries? So he said no, but as the commander of the army of the eternal I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped and said to him, what does my Lord say to his servant? Then the commander of the eternal's army said to Joshua, take your sandal off your feet for the place where you stand is holy, and Joshua did so.

Joshua was a humble servant. He followed God's lead, and God was with him. God was exalting him before the children of Israel. God was clearly showing who he was with, who he had selected.

So, you know, it is important to realize that great leaders do not let praise and exaltation go to their heads, but they're actually humbled by their great blessings, by their calling and the responsibility that goes along with those blessings. It's very important that we follow these wonderful examples in the Bible of humility. Along with humility, Joshua displayed great courage as well. So that's a second characteristic we'll talk about is courage. He was very humble. In fact, I'm not... actually, I forgot to put this in my notes, but it even says that he was among... well, Moses is talking about Moses among the most humble on the face of the earth, one of the meekest, and that was his mentor. So, Joshua followed that example.

But along with humility, Joshua displayed great courage based on faith and trust in God. In Numbers chapter 13, I know we remember the incident of the spies that were sent into the land of Canaan. Can you tell me the names of all 12 of them? How many do you remember?

How many of those 12 spies can you remember their names? Two, right? Only two. Joshua and Caleb. The rest of them... you know, people are hard put to remember the other names. They were the unfaithful ones. So, the lesson that you can get from that is if you want to be remembered, be faithful. If you don't, then don't be faithful. But they were faithful spies, and they went into the land... and let's see what they said in Numbers chapter 13. Of course, Moses sent them in and asked for a report. And they were talking about how they were giants in the land. And they were fearful of those giants in the land. In verse 25, it says, they returned from spying out the land after 40 days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Puran at Kadesh. And they brought back to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him and said, we went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified. They're very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak, the giant there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south. The Hittites, the Devusites, the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea. And along the banks of the Jordan, then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once. Caleb may have been a little more outspoken than Joshua, because Joshua doesn't actually speak up here, but certainly Caleb does. Let us go up at once. I know that Joshua felt the same way as Caleb. Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. Of course, they were ready to stone them because of their faithful approach. Notice in chapter 14, verse 6, that Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jafuna, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. And they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, the land we pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Eternal delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us. Notice what Joshua is saying. If the Eternal delights in us... Now, that's the important thing that we need to focus upon. Is God pleased with us? Is He delighted with us? If God is delighted with us, we have nothing to fear.

God will always be on our side. 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. And that's exactly what it was. It was rebellion. It was not having faith in God, not trusting in Him, and rebelling against His leadership. So do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. That's what Joshua says. They're our bread. We can eat them up. We need not fear the people of the land, even if they are giants, even if the cities are well fortified. God who's on our side is much, much greater. He's the omnipotent God, the all-powerful God, the almighty God. We need not fear, but do not rebel, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and the Eternal is with us. Do not fear them. And all the congregation said to stone them with stones.

Now the glory of the Lord appeared. Whenever that happens, look out. If you've been doing something bad, and the glory of the Eternal appears, look out. I'm not going to continue with this, but this was an amazing account where Moses intercedes for the people and shows his love for the people of God, for the children of Israel, and what he was willing, basically, to lay his life down for the children of Israel. And God listened to him, and it made a difference.

So there were great curries displayed by both Joshua and Caleb. They both showed tremendous faith and trust in God. Now in Joshua 6, let's go to Joshua 6. Notice the instructions here. Joshua 6. Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out, none came in. They were actually afraid. Remember Rahab and the incident there? They were already afraid. Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out, none came in. And the eternal said to Joshua, See I have given Jericho into your hand, it's king and the mighty man of Valor. You shall march around the city. All you men of war, you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priest shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn. And when you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout, then the wall of the city will fall down flat. Now normally that would not happen. These were very strong powerful walls. You know, they wouldn't typically fall down just because someone shouted. I mean, obviously God was intervening and was going to intervene for them. Then Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priest and said to them, take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the eternal. And Joshua followed through exactly as God told him to do. He was very faithful. He trusted God. He believed God. And of course, the walls fell. Joshua fit the battle of Jericho.

So again, we see humility, but we also see great courage and faith. Hebrews 11, if we'll go there for a moment, does talk about these walls that came down. Hebrews 11, verse 30. Hebrews 11, verse 30. It doesn't mention Joshua by name, but it says, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with Joshua's faith, the leader's faith, and what God said he would do and what he accomplished. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down. Great leaders do have courage. They trust in God. They have faith in God. They believe in God, and they're willing to stand up and be counted.

Also, great leaders realize they must place their faith and trust in a power greater than themselves. Obviously, that's all important. If you're a humble person, you realize that you must put your faith in someone more powerful than yourself. Joshua was a man who based his life's decisions on God and his Word. Let's go back to Joshua chapter 1. Joshua chapter 1.

Of course, these are instructions that God is giving Joshua here. Joshua chapter 1.

Joshua chapter 1 verse 7. God says, "...only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you." Again, he was his assistant. He was his servant for at least over 40 years. Follow what Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. That's a promise. God gave Joshua, and actually he gives that promise to us. If we'll obey his commandments, he will prosper us wherever we go. That doesn't mean we might not have problems. It doesn't mean we won't have trials, but we can know that God will prosper us. And sometimes we might have to be patient to see the prospering, but if we have faith, God will surely do that for us as well.

Verse 8, "...this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night." That was the instruction that Joshua was given. This word should fill our minds day and night. If we truly want to be wonderful servants and true leaders for God, then we have to fill God's word in our minds day and night. Something that we meditate on perpetually.

"...this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the eternal your God is with you wherever you go." And Joshua believed that.

Let's go to the New Testament just for a moment to look at some instruction that Paul gave to his protege, Timothy. Paul was a mentor to Timothy, but notice the wording here in 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy 4 verse 13.

1 Timothy 4 verse 13. "...till I come give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things." Basically the same instruction that we are to meditate on the words of God, the things of God. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them. Don't hold back. Be wholehearted. That's why David was a man after God's own heart. He wasn't perfect. In fact, we know of some sins, some grievous sins that David committed, but he was wholehearted. And so in that sense, he was a man after God's own heart. Just read the Psalms. He was filled with God's word and God's law. He meditated on it day and night. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. So leaders need to do this not only for their own sake, but for those they serve.

So Paul instructed Timothy with a similar charge that Joshua was was given.

In Joshua chapter 1, let's go back to Joshua 1. Let's notice verses 12 through 15. Joshua chapter 1 verse 12.

And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua spoke, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Eternal commanded you, saying, The Eternal of the Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land. And he goes on to say, Your wives, your little ones, your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and you shall help them, you shall help your brothers, until the Eternal has given your brethren rest as he has given you. And they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Eternal servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise on the east side. And the other tribes were going to settle on the west side.

So he reminded them of their responsibility, as a good leader would do. He reminded them what they needed to do, and they followed his lead. Also, in Joshua chapter 8, we find that Joshua was true to God's Word in renewing the covenant. Let's go to Joshua chapter 8. Joshua chapter 8.

Joshua chapter 8. Joshua chapter 8. Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Eternal had commanded the children of Israel. As it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones over which no man is wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and they sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. So he had written down this law of Moses. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priest, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Eternal, the stranger, as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before. So you may remember that, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel. He was a very faithful servant. He continued, even after Moses' death, to continue to honor his mentor and to honor God. So again, he commanded Joshua to read these things before all Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them. So everyone got to hear the word of God by the mouth of Joshua. Now Joshua chapter 9 is one of the... about the only time you'll find Joshua messing up. Joshua was human. Joshua wasn't perfect. He messed up. He listened to the Gibeonites, who boldfaced lied to him and disguised themselves. And instead of going to God and making sure he was gullible, maybe he was... you know, he just did not really think this through when he agreed and made this alliance. It should have never happened. But God backed him up. You know, he was bound by his word. Once the Gibeonites were brought under the fold, you might say, they had to protect them. They had to look after them. In fact, Joshua chapter 10, where Joshua's long day, that was all about the Gibeonites. It was because they were having to protect the Gibeonites. So they paid a price for not going to God. Joshua paid a price for not going to God at that time and making sure that God was in that alliance. I'm sure God could have sorted that out for him had he gone to God with that. So, even though human beings do sometimes make mistakes, if they repent, which I'm sure he did repent of that decision and regretted it and went on to continue with his leadership, you know, God is very forgiving. God is very merciful to us, but we do pay a price when we mess up. David paid a huge price when he sinned. Be sure your sins will find you out. There are consequences for our sins.

In Joshua chapter 11 verse 15, let's read that together. Joshua chapter 11 verse 15, As the Eternal had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua. And so Joshua did.

He left nothing undone of all that the Eternal had commanded Moses. Again, he was a very faithful servant. Moses, I'm sure, would have been very proud of his servant Joshua, who carried on and brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land. God brought them in, but Joshua was there humanly leading them into the Promised Land.

To the very end of his life, Joshua was faithful. Let's go to Joshua 23 now. We're getting close to the end of the book here and this sermon. Joshua chapter 23 verse 6, Joshua says, So we can truly move forward in faith if we trust God. Dropping down to verse 14, Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. This is what Joshua says. He knew that his day of death was coming closer. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you, not one word. Not one word of them has failed. Therefore it shall come to pass that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things until he has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you when you have transgressed the covenant of the eternal your God which he commanded you and have gone and served other gods and bowed down to them then the anger of the eternal will burn against you and you shall perish quickly from the good land which he has given you and obviously that's exactly what happened.

They did turn against God. They did bow down before idols. They did worship other gods. They were unfaithful unlike Joshua. Joshua set the example for them to follow. They did not follow Joshua's example. Joshua no doubt was filled with the Spirit of God. God was working with him in a special way. In Romans chapter 10, as a leader it's important to realize that faith comes from the Word of God. Let's go to to Romans chapter 10. Let's read that together. Romans chapter 10 verse 17. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We really do need to become students of God's Word, the Bible, and learn to live by every Word of God. If we can learn to do that, we need not fear.

We put our trust in God and he will deliver us. God is the God who delivers. We can trust in him.

Just one more thing about Joshua. He was a man of prayer. You know, Joshua was one who he prayed after, you may remember, the incident with Achan. And they were defeated at AI because Achan had hidden the booty that he wasn't supposed to take. He'd hidden it under the tent and they were in a heap of trouble because of that. And Joshua prayed about that and God sorted things out and things were turned around. Joshua prayed. You can read that in Joshua 7 verses 6 through 9. I'm not going to take the time to read that. But I do want to go to Joshua 10 and just read a few verses here. Joshua chapter 10. Joshua chapter 10 verse 9. And again, this is the incident with the Gibeonites and with the day the sun stood still. There was a long day. Joshua chapter 10 verse 9. Joshua 10 verse 9. Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. So the Lord routed them before Israel. He killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Bethhoron, struck them down as far as Azakah and Makata. And it happened as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Bethhoron that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azakah and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword. Then Joshua spoke to the Eternal in the day when the Eternal delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel and he sat in the sight of Israel. Sun stand still over Gibeon and moon in the valley of Agilon. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped till the people had revenge upon their enemies. Notice verse well, is this not written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that before it or after it that the Eternal heated the voice of a man.

Joshua prayed, God heated the voice of a man. For the Eternal fought for Israel.

Then Joshua returned and all Israel with him to the camp at Gilgal.

Prayer can make a huge difference. Leaders pray. Servants pray.

Joshua certainly put God first in his life. Joshua was careful to warn the children of Israel to follow God faithfully. We've already seen that. He was careful to warn them to forsake evil ways.

In Joshua chapter 24 for our last verse, Joshua chapter 24 verse 31, let's read this one together. Joshua chapter 24 verse 31.

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua.

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua. There aren't too many times when this is spoken that the children of Israel followed their leader. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. Those that Joshua mentored. Joshua was their mentor.

It says that Israel served God all the days of Joshua, all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Eternal which he had done for Israel.

To me, that says something very powerful. That if we will be faithful to God as leaders, as men and women, as children, if we will put God first in our lives, if we'll follow the example of Joshua and try to emulate these characteristics that we've talked about today in Joshua's life, then we will be pleasing to God and God will be with us. And we can move forward as a people like never before. Like never before. I believe that. I believe that we're positioned, we're poised to move forward as God's people. We just need to put our trust in God.

And we need to be faithful. Men and women of integrity, working together, unified together.

Joshua was a man of humility. He was a man of courage, a man of faith, and he was obedient to God's Word. He was the leader that God used to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua, we know, is a type of Christ. In fact, they bear the same name. Joshua in Hebrew, Jesus in the Greek. As we continue to follow Jesus Christ, we will also enter into the Promised Land. Jesus Christ will lead us into the Promised Land. He's our high priest, he's our elder brother, he's the head of God's church. God has delegated this authority to him, to his Son. Jesus Christ is our greatest mentor. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was there with Joshua, the Word, the Logos, the spokesman, working with Joshua. Let us all remember well Joshua's words of courage and faith. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.