 |  |
The choice of the new leader was given to Moses, a man of the Spirit, who would
recognize that the Spirit was also in Joshua.
Moses was also instructed to `encourage' Joshua, and this in view of his own
experience as leader of this people.
"Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go
thither: But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither:
encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it" (Deut. 1: 37, 38).
"And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong
and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord
hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And
the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee,
neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed" (Deut. 31: 7, 8).
In the light of this, verse 25-29 are of particular import:
"Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the
Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. For I know thy rebellion,
and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious
against the Lord; and how much more after my death? Gather unto me all the elders of
your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven
and earth to record against them. For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt
yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will
befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke
Him to anger through the work of your hands."
The work to which Joshua had been called was no sinecure, and Moses knew from his
own experience that this was so. The result was that he sought to prepare the way, so far
as was possible, on the one hand by encouraging Joshua, and on the other by warning the
Levites and the nation as a whole, of their rebelliousness.
Joshua was also a wise man; but it was not the wisdom of the world, it was wisdom
from above, "for Moses had laid his hands upon him" (Deut. 34: 9). There is no place
in the man God calls for the wisdom of the world, perhaps, in terms of today, no place for
the wisdom of the business world. Paul reminds us that `the wisdom of this world is
foolishness with God' (I Cor. 3: 19), and the converse is true: the wisdom of God is
foolishness with the world. This was to be apparent in the strategy Joshua was to employ
in the conquest of the land.
In Joshua we have a man of experience, a man who has proved himself faithful, a man
who is wise, and one appointed by the previous leader. But all this would be in vain
without the commission of God. This commission is recorded in detail in Josh. 1: 2-9.
The commission was to enter and to conquer the land, and certain aspects of it underline
points we have been considering. Verse 5, "as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I
will not fail thee, nor forsake thee"; verse 6, "Be strong and of a good courage: for unto
this people shalt thou divide . . . . . the land". It would certainly need a man of courage
and strength to apportion the inheritance. One can imagine the disagreements and