A Look at Leadership

By the time Joshua is mentioned in the Bible, the children of God are already out of Egypt and wandering in the wilderness. Exodus 19:1 makes reference to a time that would have marked roughly 50 days between the escape from Egypt and the arrival at Mt. Sinai, where the 10 Commandments were given to Moses. In Exodus 17, Joshua is a man of fighting age and, more than that, a man who is already leading others. But that doesn’t tell us a whole lot about his development to the point of leading the children of God into the Promised Land, documented in the Old Testament book of Joshua. How did he get from “Point A” to “Point B”? Consider the following five steps to his development.

Step 1 – The Warrior (Exodus 17:9) – Joshua is told by Moses to choose the men who will fight along with him against the Amalekites. Joshua takes orders and follows through on them.

Step 2 – The Assistant (Exodus 24:13; 32:17) – Joshua goes up on the mountain of God with Moses. The rest of the leaders, here called elders, are told to stay behind. Joshua follows the leader.

Step 3 – The Student (Numbers 11:28) – Joshua sees the two men prophesying in the camp and wants Moses to correct them. He hadn’t seen what Moses had. Joshua takes correction and learns from it.

Step 4 – The Faithful (Numbers 14:6-10) – After spying out the land with the others, Joshua is so upset at the report the others give that he and Caleb tear their robes. He then speaks boldly of trusting in the Lord. Joshua is not afraid to go against the crowd.

Step 5 – The Chosen (Deuteronomy 31:23) – Moses knows he isn’t going to lead the children of God into the Promised Land. Joshua is ready to lead the people and is chosen by God to do so.

When you and I consider great leaders, it’s very important that we understand they didn’t become great overnight. Be patient! God is still working on us to make us what He wants us to be.

May God bless you this week as you walk with Him!