Jos 24:1-15,31 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. (2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. (3) Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. (4) And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. (5) And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out. (6) "'Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. (7) And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. (8) Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. (9) Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, (10) but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. (11) And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. (12) And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. (13) I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.' (14) "Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. (15) 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." … (31) Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel.
An armada of 5000 + vessels were heading towards its destination. It was one of the largest such operations in history. They were awaiting orders from their leaders. Bad weathers made landing impossible. The commanding officers and his people pondered over the meteorological department. The fate of the soldiers rest on his decision. He decided to go. General Dwight Eisenhower had just ordered the invasion and Normandy which began one of the bloodiest wars in history of mankind.
The words of a leader have great significance.
How could mobilize the Israelites to go into a land reported inhabited by giants? Not even Moses could do it. When Joshua took over the leadership, it was never going to be the same again. The Joshua Generation took the Promised Land.
The extent of Joshua’s Influence
He had influence over his people
Joshua had tremendous influence over his people. Soldiers were trained to follow orders. They follow reasonable commands. However, some of Joshua’s orders were hilarious and seemed absurd. He orders the solders to march round a city led by priests. They did this in expectation that the walls would fall.Imagine a general ordered the death of a solder and his family for keeping the loot from the enemy. It was carried out promptly. In Joshua chapter 10, we see the Israelites went into batter with the 5 kings after marching, against the enemies who had a good night’s rest. In the middle of a battle, he prayed for the sun to stand still.
He had influence with his family (Jos 24:15)
We read about the background of Moses. However, not much is mentioned about Joshua except that he is the son of Nun. The two children of Moses were mentioned by nothing significant was recorded about them. Eli had 2 wayward sons and they were struck dead for their behaviour. Samuel’s children also did not follow his ways.We are not told whether the children of Moses or Joshua became evil. We only knew they did nothing significant.
He had influence with God (Jos 10:14)
He asked God to let the sun stand still until they won the battle.He influence the future (Jos 6:20)
Joshua cursed anyone who rebuild Jericho. Centuries later, God still honour his words.The mark of a transformational leader is the legacy he left behind for future generations.
What about our influence?
Four preachers were discussing the merits of the various Bible translations. One preacher preferred KJV because of its beautiful English. One preferred ASV for a literal translation. Another favoured the NKJV for a more contemporary touch. The last one preferred his mother’s translation – his godly mother translated the Word of God into her live. She lived the Word of God.
Pastor Datuk Kee’s wife observed that when a doctor made a mistake, a person died. If a pilot makes a mistake the passengers on the plane die. If a teacher makes a mistake, it influenced a whole generation.
Pastor Datuk Kee went to do a business dedication with his cell leaders. He and his 2 sons (with a business spanning the region with 900+ employees) pledged to deed the business to God and to operation on God’s principles.
Civil service also needs transformation. Pastor Datuk Kee was tasked to improve quality standards and practices of his department, With help from his colleagues, they won many awards in the field of forensic science. INTAN would send teams to observe his department. It was all because one man trusted him.
Whether we like it or not, everyone of use exert some kind of influence on someone – children, colleagues, friends, neighbours. The question is how do we influence?
The Secret of Joshua’s Influence
Man of humility
For decades, he served Moses. He was Moses’ assistant / aid. He played second fiddle to Moses. There was no record of him fighting for recognition. When he died, he was given a title given to few – as a servant of God.Some people are too big to be used by God. One day when we meet God, what will God say to us?
Before one can effectively lead, one must be effectively follow. Let us be God’s servants in wherever God put us.
A man who put God first
He is a commander of Israel’s more than 600,000 soldiers. What is his priority? God. His priority is to follow God and the people’s relationship with God, more than the next battle. Right before crossing the river, instead of drilling his men with swords he was instead more concerned with his people’s holiness. He wanted them to consecrate themselves to allow God to do even more wonderful things.Let us take time to be holy. (Jos 3:5)
Once they crossed, he stopped to build stone monuments. (Jos 4:1-24) He remember to honour God. He wanted to remember what God has done. What types of memorials are we erecting to provoke our children to ask us about God? Supposed, we were Joshua, the commanding officer of the Israelite army who are demoralized, what would we do? The Bible told us in Jos 5:3 that the Canaanites were terrified. Yet, Joshua got all his people circumcised. This seems suicidal. Yes, for Joshua and his people, it was a time to cut away the flesh and rely totally on God. Jericho was not an issue to God. It was not a skill issue and more of a heart issue. God would win the victory for them if they have a heart for him. Moreover, Joshua ordered a Passwover, in the fact of war. Joshua celebrated and worshipped God. (Jos 8:34-35)
During his time as a leader, Joshua always focused on God and the spiritual condition of his followers.
Are we putting God first? Is God our first priority in our lives?
A man who learned from his mistakes
He was tricked and deceived to sign a treaty with the Gibeonites, which was prohibited by God. He did not consult God. Joshua and his leaders depended on their own judgement. Even though, Joshua did not make any similar mistakes, a momentarily lapse as such had significant implications. The Israelites did not conquer Canaan completely, resulting in the idolatry of the Israelites.Pastor Datuk Kee then reminded us the following:
- A time to change - Joshua told the Israelites the two choices they had.
- Passing the baton - Joshua and his household decided to serve the Lord.
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