People must see before they follow - Joshua Leadership Principles

-
Joshua 3:1 - 3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenantof the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 

 The key word here is "follow it".  Something that the Israelites were not fond of doing 40 years earlier.  Sure, they followed Moses out of Egypt but as soon as they got to the Red Sea all they were thinking about was going back.   In fact, they thought about it alot!  Until . . .

 ... they had to wander out in the desert for 40 years.  Why?

 The people who left Egypt were slaves.  They had a slave mentality and they couldn't do anything else but be slaves.  They were free - they had God's full trust and backing.  They had everything that they needed.  But they thought and acted like slaves.  Slaves cannot follow anyone, unless they are beaten into submission.  Their taskmasters in Egypt had convinced them that they were stupid, worthless and mindless drones.  That they only thing that they could or would respond to is abuse.  They couldn't follow Moses, they couldn't follow God - they were not going to follow anyone else except their cruel master in Egypt.  

 So they had to die.  Not one person (Except Joshua and Caleb) stepped foot in the Promise Land.  So what changed?

 40 years of transition.  Their thinking, their understanding of God, their ability to follow leadership - everything changed.  So when the officers tell the people get ready to go, we are crossing the Jordan, the people followed.  Not as mindless zombies, but understanding that they had God's full trust and backing.  That they had everything that they needed.  So what can you learn from this passage?

 #1 God leads.  Joshua didn't walk in front.  The Ark was in front which meant God was leading His people.  They were willing to follow God. 

 #2 Joshua and the leadership followed the Ark.  Now it doesn't specifically say that, but I think that's what happened.  (After all, who would be giving direction to the people on the other side of the Jordan?) 

 #3 The people follow God and their leadership.  As big moves go.  This was a smooth one.  No complaining.  No griping.  No whining.  Everyone worked together as a team to get the nation of million across.  They walked into their destiny and it was good.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Went For A Walk

-
Image
Last Thursday, after realizing I forgot my wedding anniversary, I took my wife out for a walk that night.   It wasn’t just any walk, it is her favorite one.   Downtown, along the river, plus a couple of slices of our favorite pizza.   We talked about life after Covid, our daughter, marriage, and people we know and love.   It has been moments like these when I realize her resolve to be who God created her to be.   Moms need to know that.  I am saddened by our culture's ranting against mothers.  Today we hear how motherhood is a burden that you can take or leave.  Motherhood has never been a burden to Betty.  N-E-V-E-R  While it hasn’t been easy, the truth is, it has never nor will ever be easy for anyone.   Surveys in 2022 noted that moms feel overwhelmed. shorturl.at/auzH3   Covid, coupled with inflation and job instability is pouring gasoline on the fire.   What can you do? (Moms or Dads)  Prioritize and use the word “NO”.  Once you have determined that motherhoo
Read more

What A Day!

-
Image
Today is Mothers Day.  On this day:  More people purchase fresh flowers and plants for Mother's Day than for any other holiday except Christmas/Hanukkah. In 2019, the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that US consumers will spend $25 billion celebrating Mother's Day. Shoppers will spend an average of $196.00 on Mom. According to the Insure.com 2018 Mother's Day Index, the various tasks moms perform at home would be worth $68,875 (up from $67,619 in 2017) a year in the professional world. https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/06/us/mothers-day-fast-facts/index.html Motherhood is God's idea, and He had a great idea!  He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and said in Genesis 1:28, "... And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply... "   They had kids, their kids had kids, and the rest is history.  But where did Eve learn how to be a mom?  She didn't have one, remember?   I can only surmise, but I think these are good
Read more

Parenting Simplified (Well I tried to.)

-
Image
Betty doesn’t like me blogging about her too much. So let me go with one more for now and let you see a bit of her heart.  She doesn’t like the world any better now than when she gave birth to Anneka. (Neither do I.)   If you think that’s a strange thing to say, you’re right. But let me explain myself.  The idea that a child will make your world a better place isn’t accurate. Stop shouting at the screen. Just keep reading.   Before we got pregnant, both of us had enough wisdom to understand what we were doing, in as much as we knew that this would change our lives.  Would it be for the better? That was the plan.  Would it enrich our lives? We hoped so.   But to think that a child would turn our world into a magical place of perfection and joy was never a thought.   If anything, the world worked against us from day one. (Still is.) There were challenges of all kinds and new hurdles to jump. Just about the time you thought you were out of the woods, BAM, here we go again.   Betty was and
Read more