Who wants to be a spiritual leader someday? Many people want to be leaders but do not realise that it is the fruit of hard work. We will look at Joshua’s preparation to be the next leader.
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy Elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise His hands against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
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. Exodus 24:9-13.
Who was invited? Moses, Aaron and his sons and the seventy Elders of Israel. They got to a certain point on the mountain and stopped. God said to Moses, “come up! …” Beyond the point where the others stopped, to proceed was by divine appointment. Only Moses could go up. Moses was called to go up. Joshua was not called. He only went up because he was a servant. The one he was serving was called up. Joshua went on, moved beyond the others because he was a servant not an official leader. The servants of chiefs carry their stools and are admitted even into the most confidential meetings. The servants are present not as delegates but as servants. However if the chief dies, only his servant knows all the answers. He’s the one person who heard everything! And was present in every deal. The official leaders know only a part. In this instance the official leaders ended at a certain point. Moses had to continue, he needed someone to carry his bag and his servant Joshua proceeded with him.
He said to the Elders, “wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.” When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. Exodus 24:14-16.
And Joshua besides Moses was allowed into God’s presence and saw the heavenly model, because he was a servant. The high priest, and the Elders did not see the heavenly model. Joshua did not see the heavenly model as one appointed but as a servant. So it was obvious that the choice of the next leader should be someone who had seen the heavenly model, and only Joshua had done so. When leaders were being named, he was not named but as a servant, an attendant, he went along and gained a qualification in Israel which no other person had. Moses beheld the heavenly model and Joshua also beheld it. That is how Joshua become the next leader.
Moses was content to keep Joshua in the shadows. The easiest way to ruin a young man who has potential is to elevate him before he has established history with God. He may be gifted, talented and anointed but to elevate him before he has had time to develop roots in character is to ruin him. For lasting usefulness and ministry, it is in the purpose of God that gifts be placed on a solid foundation of character. But a man can have spiritual gifts with no character, he is placed on a pedestal and is blown away by the wind. However, a man of character and no gifts is still a man of consequence. Gifts without character will bring ruin. Samson had gifts but no character. The worst thing is for the church to raise young gifted people who have not been tested. They have not been tried but are promoted to the top. They will be buried. Those training people, when they find someone of promise, they hide him so that he can develop roots and deep roots. Roots are underground hidden from the eyes of man. They talk about a man’s history with God, a man’s secret history with God. Leonard Ravenhill says 90% of students in the seminaries in the U.S.A have no devotional life. They are training to go and kill people. Without roots a man is a minister of death. He needs roots in prayer, in bible meditation, in what happens between a man and God alone. His encounters with God, history with God, God’s appearance to a man … etc.
If there are roots, then character, then gifts, there will be abundant ministry. When you take flowers off a tree and decorate the house, the flowers will wither after a time. Spiritual gifts are like flowers on a Christmas tree. If the flowers are on a real tree, good.
Joshua was a servant, a Mr Nobody; Mr Moses’ servant. Then he had an encounter with God and was there in the supernatural fast in the presence of God for 40 days. He beheld the heavenly model of the tabernacle. He saw the heavenly model. He went with Moses and he returned with Moses. They were in the immediate presence of God.
Moses turned and went down with the two tables of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moses,
“There is the sound of war in the camp.” Moses replied:“
It is not the sound of victory,
It is not the sound of defeat;
It is the sound of singing that I hear” (Exodus 32:15-18).
Joshua heard the noise and tried to discern it. He heard all noise as war! Moses corrected him. Moses allowed him to speak out, he spoke and was corrected. He was learning very intimate lessons. The lessons that would ultimately matter. He drew no attention to himself. Joshua never even mentions the incident of being on the mountain for 40 days. He wanted only Moses to be mentioned. For him, only Moses was to be seen and mentioned. He was a servant. He had a servants heart. Joshua could be ignored and he was quite at home with it. He was being tested to see if he could be a leader. The point at which most people sacrifice their leadership is at the point of glory. There are the three “G”s
- Gold
- Girls
- Glory.
On one or two of these, most people have buried their spiritual careers. Money has buried many preachers. Most men who fell before money also fell before women. When a man bows to gold, he will soon bow to a woman. Are church leaders excommunicated for love of money? The love of money in the heart does more harm than a man who falls once in adultery. Do they excommunicate lovers of glory? The worst thing that you can do for a man of God is to praise him. You become his enemy. Why? When you give a man glory now, you rob him of his reward on that day. Why rob him of his reward? To tell a man ‘you are a great servant of God!’ If he is a servant, then he cannot be great. The more a man serves the lower he sinks. Praising men is of the world. Let us return to the Bible.
The worms ate Herod but the praises of men murdered him. Don’t become someone’s enemy by lavishing praise on him. The highest title you can give a man is what Peter called Paul ‘our brother Paul’ A certain man claimed to be both Apostle, Prophet and Evangelist.
Instead of reading the medal as he intended, someone read the first letters cross-wise A P E!
Indeed, it takes an ape to be all these.
Joshua was a servant and as a servant he entered into great heights, because of a good heart, he entered into things he did not merit and would never have touched.
My servant Caleb … Numbers 14:24
God talks of ‘my servant Caleb’ and does not mention Joshua. God presents it as if Caleb went alone. Joshua was put aside by God, as He was put aside by man. Moses was the servant of Jethro for 40 years before he became the servant of God and Joshua was the servant of Moses for 40 years before he became the servant of God. Those who want to start as servants of God will crumble sooner or later.
Slaves of man will be first in the kingdom and servants of man greatest in the kingdom (Mark 11:42). Many do not want to be called servant of man. They want to be called servants of God. This is pride. If we are to have eternal rank we must be servants of man. Many brethren want to serve many people before they have served one person.
For 40 years, Joshua was under the shadow of another though he was a Field Marshall.
Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses Aide since youth, spoke up and said,
“Moses my lord stop them!” (Numbers 11:28).
This was Israel’s field Marshall calling ‘Moses’ “My lord!” and jealous for his leadership. People prefer to have many prophets, not a prophet. They do not want anyone to stand out. Joshua had been Moses aide since youth. It was a life long investment. He was not waiting and wanting to take over. It was his joy to serve Moses. Moses failure was not something expected.
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 worshipped, 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. (Exodus 33:7-11).
The tent was the place of inquiring from the Lord. Joshua did not leave the tent. He was specializing in the knowledge of God. He was making God his specialty. God was his first specialty. Moses was his second specialty. He specialized in the knowledge of God and in the service of Moses, and when it was time to appoint another leader, He knew God and he had served Moses. Moses did not ask for Joshua’s service, Joshua offered it. The confusion after Joshua’s death was because no one offered to serve Joshua. The mantle for the next leader is the mantle of the knowledge of God and of the service of the leader. The mantle of Elijah passed on to Elisha his servant. What do you know of dwelling in the perpetual presence of God and of the service of another? Is your heart still malleable? Will you specialize in the knowledge of God and in the service of a servant of God?