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Answer
Joshua is most famously known as Moses’ second-in-command who assumes leadership and guides the Israelites into the Promised Land following Moses’ passing. He is recognized as one of the Bible’s most exceptional military commanders for overseeing the seven-year conquest of the Promised Land. Joshua is frequently cited as a role model for leadership and a practical example of effective leadership. Let’s explore his life from a biblical standpoint.
While Joshua is undoubtedly a remarkable military leader, it would be inaccurate to attribute Israel’s triumph solely to his military prowess. Joshua first appears in Exodus 17 during the battle against the Amalekites. Exodus 17:13 recounts how Joshua “defeated Amalek and his people,” leading us to believe that Joshua’s military skills secured the victory. However, an intriguing detail emerges in this account. Verse 11 reveals, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.” Eventually, Moses grew tired, necessitating a stone for him to sit on while Aaron and Hur supported his hands. Thus, we see that Joshua succeeded because God granted him victory in battle.
The same principle applies to the military triumphs in the Promised Land. The Lord had promised certain victory and fulfilled this promise decisively. The sole exception is seen in the battle of Ai (Joshua 7). Several aspects are noteworthy in this event. Israel violated their covenant with God concerning the “devoted things” «But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. », (Joshua 7:1). God had promised victory, but due to Israel’s disobedience, they faced defeat until the sin was addressed and resolved.
Commanded the Israelites to devote everything to destruction «And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. », (Joshua 6:17), and Achan had kept some of the loot from the battle of Jericho for himself. Because of this, God judged them by not giving them the victory at Ai. Another thing to note is that there is no explicit command by God to go against Ai. The purpose of putting these two battle stories side by side is to show that when God sets the program and agenda, victory follows, but when man sets the program and agenda, failure ensues. Jericho was the Lord’s battle; Ai was not. God redeemed the situation and eventually gave them the victory, but not until after the object lesson was given.
Further evidence of Joshua’s leadership qualities can be seen in his rock-solid faith in God. When the Israelites were on the edge of the Promised Land in Numbers 13, God commanded Moses to send out twelve people to spy out the land, one from each of the tribes of Israel. Upon their return, ten reported that the land, while bounteous as the Lord had promised, was occupied by strong and fierce warriors dwelling in large, fortified cities. Furthermore, the Nephilim (giants from the Israelites’ perspective) were in the land. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who urged the people to take the land (Numbers 14:6-10). Here we see one thing that sets Joshua (and Caleb) apart from the rest of the Israelites—they believed in the promises of God. They were not intimidated by the size of the warriors or the strength of the cities. Rather, they knew their God and remembered how He had dealt with Egypt, the most powerful nation on the earth at that time. If God could take care of the mighty Egyptian army, He could certainly take care of the inhabitants of Canaan.
ould certainly take care of the various Canaanite tribes. God rewarded Joshua’s and Caleb’s faith by exempting them from the entire generation of Israelites that would perish in the wilderness.
We see Joshua’s faithfulness in the act of obediently consecrating the people before the invasion of the Promised Land and again after the defeat at Ai. But no more clearly is Joshua’s faithfulness on display than at the end of the book that bears his name when he gathers the people together one last time and recounts the deeds of God on their behalf. After that speech, Joshua urges the people to forsake their idols and remain faithful to the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, saying, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” «And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. », (Joshua 24:15).
So what can we learn from Joshua’s life? Can we draw principles for leadership from his life? Certainly. That God gave him the victory in taking the Promised Land does not take away from his military leadership. Furthermore, he was a more-than-capable leader for the Israelites, but his skill in leadership is not the primary lesson we should draw from Joshua’s life. A better lesson would be Joshua’s faithfulness, his stand against the ten spies who brought the disparaging report about the obstacles in taking over the Promised Land, and his zeal in ensuring the covenant faithfulness of the people. But even his faith wasn’t perfect. There is the fact that Joshua sent spies into Jericho eveEven though God had ensured victory, there was the overconfidence he exhibited in the battle of Ai.
The main lesson to learn from Joshua’s life is that God is faithful to His promises. God assured Abraham that his descendants would dwell in the land, and, under Joshua, God led the people into the land that He had promised to give them. This action fulfilled the mission of redemption that God initiated with Moses in bringing Israel out of Egypt. It also serves as a symbol that points to the ultimate redemption that Jesus brings to the community of faith. Similar to Moses, Jesus freed us from bondage and slavery to sin, and, akin to Joshua, Jesus will guide us into the eternal Promised Land and everlasting Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:8-10).
