First let's consider the new leader.
Deuteronomy 34:7-12:
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.From the third chapter of Exodus through Deuteronomy, the focus is on the ministry of Moses. He seems larger than life. He was God's chosen leader to serve the people of Israel. This text tells us that Moses died, though he would not be forgotten; his name appears more than fifty times in the book of Joshua. But then a new servant of the Lord took his place---Joshua. When we study Joshua chapter 1 we're going to see that this change in leadership carries with it tremendous spiritual lessons. For those of us who care deeply that our lives have spiritual impact in the world, who want to experience God's best for our lives, this change of leadership is very significant.
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; so the people of Israel obeyed him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.
Then came Amalek and fought with Israel at Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek....Moses chose Joshua, a man who was willing to follow orders, a man of courage who was not afraid to take on enemies of God and his people. The text goes on to tell us that Joshua won the battle. Look at verses 13-14:
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.That suggests that God had already chosen Joshua for the ministry he would be given some forty years later. Without Joshua's even knowing what was involved in this battle, God was using it to season him, to strengthen his faith and courage. This conflict with the Amalekites was preparation for many battles that he would fight in the promised land.
And the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.Here Joshua was a personal assistant to the leader of Israel. Joshua was intimately involved with Moses as truth was given. That was important in the process of preparing Joshua to learn revealed truth, to know both the holy God of Israel who met Moses face-to-face on the mountain, and also the holy Law that God gave his people to obey.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, forbid them." But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"That is mature leadership, in contrast to Joshua's misguided, youthful zeal and blind loyalty to Moses. Joshua was saying, "Let's restore ecclesiastical order around here. You're in charge. These guys are not under your leadership. There shouldn't be any prophetic freelancing!" But Moses' response was beautifully humble. He claimed no special privilege for himself, saying, "Even though I have leadership responsibility, I'm thrilled that God can do whatever he wants among his people." That response must have had an effect on Joshua, because we're going to see in chapter 19 that when the tribal inheritance was allotted after the conquest of the promised land, Joshua took his share last.
So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. And he said to them, "I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I am no longer able to go out and come in. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not go over this Jordan.' The LORD your God himself will go over before you; he will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them; and Joshua will go over at your head, as the LORD has spoken. And the LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. And the LORD will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you."With those words this new leader was now in place, and he would follow the Lord with the same confidence that Moses had followed the Lord in all of his years of leadership.
Then Moses summoned Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage; for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed."
When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.God reaffirmed that promise to Isaac, then to Jacob, and then to each one of their descendants. Eleven times in Exodus, seven times in Leviticus, and ten times in Numbers the promise of the land was reaffirmed. The book of Deuteronomy in its entirety is Moses' farewell speech to the nation, and in it he frequently mentioned the promise of the land and the nation's responsibility to possess it. The word "land" is found two hundred times in Deuteronomy, and the word "possess" fifty times.
'The Lord is my helper,...Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever...it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace...." New Testament Christians were struggling with the same need for new beginnings as we are.
I will not be afraid;
what can man do to me?''
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