SERIES: Joshua: Victory through Faith
Filling Big Shoes
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: How many times have you heard someone say, or perhaps even said yourself, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fill his or her shoes?” I think a lot of people have struggled with that—some more than others. How would you like to have been the next Prime Minister of Great Britain after Winston Churchill, or the backup soprano to Maria Callas, or the successor to John Wooden as basketball coach at UCLA, or Prince Rainer’s next wife after Grace Kelley died, or the successor to Chuck Swindoll as Pastor at First Free of Fullerton? Big assignments! But no one in history ever had bigger shoes to fill than the man whose life and ministry we will be studying from now until September—Joshua, the son of Nun.
For 40 years the children of Israel had been led by their greatest prophet, Moses. It was under his courageous leadership that they had been released from centuries of degrading slavery in Egypt. He is the one who spoke with God face to face and received the tablets of stone upon which were written, by the very finger of God, the Ten Commandments. He is the one who brought them through almost 40 years of wilderness wanderings to the very door of the Promised Land. True, they had not always recognized his greatness. The proverb that “a prophet is without honor in his own country” was almost as true of Moses as it was of Jesus Christ. The people frequently murmured against him and rebelled against his leadership, but when at the age of 120 God told Moses that his time was up, the nation realized its loss and the people mourned and wept for thirty days.
The last chapter of Deuteronomy shares the pathos-filled story of Moses’ death and his burial by God Himself. And the last three verses of the chapter place this man Moses in proper historical perspective: “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” (Deut. 34:10-12)
Now how would you like to have God come and tap you on the shoulder and say, “You’re next. I want you to take Moses’ place.” That’s what He did to Joshua. Why Joshua? Did God just play “eeny meeny miny moe” with all the Israelites over 40 and end up pointing at Joshua? What was it about this man that enabled him to become God’s man of the hour? More importantly, what are the characteristics God is looking for today among His people as He seeks those to accomplish His purposes? Joshua’s life gives us great insight into the kind of person God chooses and uses, and the kind of help God promises and provides.
The person God chooses and uses is …
The person who knows God. The opening verses of the Book of Joshua are not our initial introduction to this special servant of God. He is mentioned over 25 times in the books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In many of those early references Joshua stands out as a man who majored on getting to know God intimately. Let me give you just one example, which you might want to turn to—Exodus 33:7-11:
“Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”
Sometimes we get the notion that God is obligated to use us because of our brilliance, our gifts, our abilities, or our communication skills, and we give little attention to getting to know Him personally and intimately. Joshua earnestly sought the Lord, desiring to know Him as Moses knew Him.
Second, the person God chooses and uses is …
The person of faith. The book of Hebrews tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Joshua’s journey of faith began when he was born as a slave in Egypt. His parents named him Hoshea, which means “salvation.” That was an act of faith on their part, because they were in bondage and had no control over their lives or their future. Yet they claimed the promise that God had made to Abraham many years before that there would be salvation from Egypt. Years later, Moses changed Hoshea’s name to Joshua, which means “Yahwehis Salvation.” Joshua is the Hebrew form of the name Jesus.
Joshua was the oldest son of a man named Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. The fact that Joshua was the first-born meant that his life was in danger on the night of Passover. But Joshua and his family, having faith in God, applied the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of their home, as God had required, and he was protected from the angel of death. As a young man he saw the signs and wonders that God performed in Egypt, humiliating the demonic gods of Egypt. He saw God roll back the waters of the Sea of Reeds to save Israel and then close them again to drown Pharaoh’s army. Through it all Joshua was becoming a man of faith.
But nowhere is the development of faith in Joshua’s life more clearly observable than in the 13th and 14th chapters of Numbers. By the way, I want to read you the names of ten of the finest leaders among the Jewish people of Moses’ day. How many do you recognize?
Shammua Gaddi
Shaphat Ammiel
Igal Sethur
Palti Nahbi
Gaddiel Geuel
Boy, those are really household names, aren’t they? No, of course not, you’ve never heard of them, have you? Yes, as a matter of fact, you have, and if I mention two other names you will know exactly who those ten individuals were—Caleb and Joshua. These twelve are the spies whom Moses sent, at God’s direction, into Canaan to spy out the land. Why is it that God chose two and worked through them, but no one even knows the names of the others? FAITH.
When the 12 returned from their spy trip, the majority brought what is called “a bad report” in Num. 13:32. The land was everything God had promised it to be, but these ten saw the inhabitants as giants and themselves as grasshoppers. Joshua and his friend Caleb, on the other hand, saw God. Here is what they said to their fellow countrymen, as recorded in Num. 14:
“’The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.’ But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.”
Faith is critical because the power is God’s, and faith is the means God gives us to tap into His power. Joshua was a man of great faith.
Third, the person God chooses and uses is …
The person of action. Faith does not preclude action; in fact, real faith demands it. Some rather well-known Bible teachers have championed a phrase that is not entirely biblical: “Let go and let God.” I know they mean well by that; they mean that we should not get in God’s way. But God’s way is for the person of faith to find out what God is doing and then join him with all the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given him in the first place. Divine sovereignty almost always exercises itself through human response; God speaks, we trust and obey.
Joshua was a man whose actions paralleled his faith. We can see that in the spy incident. He was willing to make that dangerous trip in the first place, but then later he was also willing to lead the people in the dangerous conquest of the land he had spied out. Sadly, there are a lot of conscientious objectors in God’s army who are looking for alternative service, but the person God chooses and uses greatly is the one who is willing to go up to the firing line, the person who is willing to take risks, make sacrifices, and give everything.
That does not necessarily mean professional ministry, however. In every field of endeavor, from housewife to teacher to engineer there are those who are incognito, uninvolved Christians, but there are also those who are spying out the land, looking for new areas to conquer for Christ.
Being a person of action, of course, is not intrinsically honorable—it depends upon what kind of action one is involved in. Some people are always in a dither of action and they leave great waves in their wake. You always know they’ve been around, but you’re not too sure what they’ve accomplished. Joshua’s action, however, was directed action. A sort of preliminary epitaph is given to him in Numbers 32:12, where we are told that “he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”
Fourth, the person God chooses is …
The person who has been well trained. Notice I don’t say, “well educated,” though that certainly can be an aspect of training. Training is broader than education, or at least formal education. Training is learning from doing, learning from watching, learning from making mistakes. If ever a man was well-trained (discipled, if you please), it was Joshua. According to Num. 11:28 Joshua was “Moses’ aide from his youth.” For forty years he served under Moses’ leadership, learning how to obey as a servant, standing at his side as Moses parted the Red Sea, climbing up Mt. Sinai with him to receive the Tablets of the Law, entering the tent of meeting with Moses, learning from his mistakes, encouraged by his successes.
Not only did Joshua profit in his training just by being with Moses and watching him; there were also times when he had to be corrected by Moses, but he proved himself to be very teachable. One particular example is found in Numbers 11:24-30:
“So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.
However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’”
Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them!’
But Moses replied, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!’ Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.”
Joshua was saying, in effect, “Let’s restore ecclesiastical order around here. You’re in charge, Moses, and these guys are not submitting to your leadership. We shouldn’t allow any prophetic freelancing!” But Moses’ response was beautifully humble. He responded, “God’s work is bigger than me, and if God desires to work outside of our ‘organization,’ that’s up to Him.” What a crucial lesson for Joshua to learn—that he couldn’t put God in a box!
There’s a lot of professional jealousy and insecurity among the people of God, a lot of protectionism. If you’re not part of our group, if you don’t dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s the way we do, then you are suspect. For some reason we have trouble accepting the fact that God is doing some great things in other groups than ours, at times even outside the organized Church altogether. We ought to go very slowly when it comes to trying to silence those who don’t share our impeccable credentials. Joshua learned that well, and in the process, he became even more useable to God.
The person of the Book. There is no characteristic of the man Joshua more outstanding and determinative of his effectiveness for God than this—he was A PERSON OF THE BOOK. Back in Joshua 1:7-8 we read again,
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
But, you know something? This is not the first time Joshua and “the Book” are mentioned together. In Exod. 24:12 we read,
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.’ Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.”
The picture I get here is that Joshua went with Moses up on Mt. Sinai and then Moses went alone to the place where God gave him the Ten Commandments. Though Joshua did not himself “see God face to face,” as did Moses, he certainly was more conscious than any other Israelite of the profound seriousness which God placed upon these written commandments.
Now in Joshua 1:7-8 we have some specific commands from God to Joshua relative to the Book, which by that time would probably have included substantially all that we have in the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
1. He was to talk about it. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth.” When major decisions had to be made by the people, Joshua was to read or quote relevant portions of the Book. When he was counseling, he was to do so from the wisdom granted in the Book. When it came time to discipline someone, the nature and severity of that discipline was to be determined by the Book. And since there wasn’t a copy of it for each family (Gideon would not be born for another century, so there weren’t any Gideon Bibles yet!), Joshua was to be the mouthpiece of the Lord, not giving his personal opinions but speaking God’s Word from the Book.
2. He was to meditate on it. “Meditate on it day and night.” God’s Word is not like other books. Most human books we read once—two or three times at the most. Once you know how the story ends, what’s the point of reading it again? But God’s Book is unique in that the more one reads it and meditates upon it, the greater the appreciation of its wisdom and insight. Meditation, by the way, is not daydreaming. It involves searching for meaning, applying the meaning to one’s life, and seeking to bring glory to God from it.
But talking about the Book and meditating upon the Book, as important as they are, are not the most important thing. Practicing it is.
3. He was to practice it. “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” I want you to notice something here. We are not to turn from God’s Word either to the right or the left. Now most of us here have no problem with the notion that we shouldn’t turn to the left. We’ve seen what liberalism has done to Christianity. We’ve seen how liberals have taken over some of the great seminaries in our country, and how it has reduced some once-great denominations to a mere shadow of their former selves. The only “gospel” some of them have today is one of relativism, humanism, and tolerance of what God calls sin.
But God also forbids us to move to the right. There are scores of issues facing evangelical churches where Christians have staked out positions that are to the right of Scripture, i.e., they are more conservative than God is! At the risk of being labeled a liberal myself, let me mention a few of these:
Christians cannot divorce or remarry for any reason.
Churches should never borrow money.
Churches should sing only great hymns of the faith.
Drums and saxophones have no place in church.
Christians must be teetotalers.
Christians shouldn’t dance.
Christians shouldn’t go to ball games on Sunday.
I challenge anyone to prove these positions from the Scripture. And if we can’t prove them from Scripture, then what place do they have among our convictions? It’s OK to have them as opinions (it’s even OK to have them as practices), but why go to the wall for things God hasn’t required? Friends, the end of all Bible study should not be that we become more conservative, but that we become more holy. If our Bible reading or studying or memorizing is not resulting in greater conformity to the Word, then we are prostituting its purpose.
Joshua remained a “person of the Book” throughout his life, and when it came time for him to deliver a farewell address, it contained this same warning (Joshua 23:6): “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.”
The final kind of person God chooses and uses to the fullest, which we want to illustrate from the life of Joshua, is …
The person of courage. Though this is discernible in many aspects of Joshua’s experience, not the least of which was the spy incident, I’d like to draw your attention to the threefold repetition of the exhortation to courage that is found in Joshua 1:6-9:
Verse 6: “Be strong and courageous”
Verse 7: “Be strong and very courageous”
Verse 9: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Why is Joshua exhorted three times to be courageous? I can think of only one reason—it must not have come natural for him. Courage is not always a natural trait, you know, even for a great leader. True, some people seem to be adventurous and dauntless at heart, but others are basically insecure and fearful. But even the most timid person can exercise courage if he comes to realize that his resources are not limited to himself. It depends upon whom he’s with. Even the most frightened child is courageous when he’s with his dad. Regarding his Canaanite enemies, God told Joshua in Deut. 3:22, “Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”
So far we have examined six key characteristics of the person God chooses and uses. He is a person who knows God, a person of faith, a person of action, a person well-trained, a person of the Book, and a person of courage.
But such a list could actually end up being discouraging to someone who has tried to be these things in his own power and without much success. Friends, these are not characteristics that can be self-generated. They result from the interaction of God’s power and grace with a person’s commitment, desire, and self-discipline. I find it intriguing that in this first chapter of Joshua, where the emphasis seems to be upon the characteristics which will bring success to Joshua, there is a corresponding emphasis upon the help God promises and provides.
The help God promises and provides
I see God’s help coming to Joshua in three ways, and all three are crucial if he is going to be successful in filling Moses’ shoes.
God’s promises are the same even though the times change. In Joshua 2:3 God lays this promise on Joshua: “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” It’s as though God were saying, “Joshua, my promises aren’t conditioned by time. If when Moses was living, I promised to give the land to my people, that promise is still good. It’s not grounded in Moses; it’s grounded in Me!”
How grateful I am today that the promises of God are still as reliable as they were in Moses’ day or Joshua’s day or Paul’s day. It is still true that …
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you.”
“My grace is sufficient for you….”
“If God is for us, who can be against us.”
God’s presence is the same, even though the human instruments change. In Josh. 1:5 we read, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Moses didn’t have an exclusive contract on God’s presence. Joshua was completely eligible for the same manifestation of God’s presence and power that Moses experienced. And God was willing to do it again.
God’s precepts are the same even though the circumstances change. Verse 7 of our text reads, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you.” In other words, “I gave some precepts, some basic moral laws to Moses. He’s now gone, but the instructions came from Me and I’m not gone. You can count on them.” There are those today telling us that the moral precepts of the Bible are outmoded. Lying, stealing, immorality, all need to be redefined in order to be relevant to people in the 90’s. Baloney! God’s precepts are the same even when circumstances and culture and politics change. The Ten Commandments are not Ten Suggestions, and they weren’t established by vote of Congress.
Conclusion: We started out this morning talking about filling big shoes. Whose shoes are you trying to fill today? It may be that you have been called to follow a very successful person and you’re feeling inadequate. Could it be a big brother or sister, who seems to have done well at everything they tried? Is it someone at work who seems to have the Midas touch—everything he touches turns to gold? Are you a stepfather or stepmother trying to measure up to a phantom parent?
Don’t try to imitate. Don’t be a clone. Be yourself, but in the process learn what Joshua learned—that his success and prosperity would never come through competing with Moses or pointing out his character deficiencies once he was gone, but rather through getting to know Moses’ God, becoming a person of the same Book, believing the same promises, experiencing the same presence, and obeying the same precepts.
On the grave of John Wesley, the great English revivalist of the 1700’s there is a plaque that says, “God buries his workmen, but his work goes on.” God wasn’t looking for another Moses. He was, however, looking for someone with character, faith and zeal, who would carry on the work. He found one in Joshua. He’d be delighted to use you, too.
DATE: April 28, 1996
Tags:
Faith
Meditation
Conviction
Courage