New Leader for a New Land: Study of Leadership God's Way

God exalts Joshua

In class today we looked at leadership. Specifically how to lead like Paul.

I had not planned it this way, but our Scripture lessons for this Sunday are lessons in leadership.

Last week we looked at Moses. He stood with God on Mount Horeb and looks over the valleys of the Promised Land. Moses then dies and his mortal body is gathered by the angels. Jude describes how the Archangel Michael protects his body.

A new leader had already been ordained. Joshua had received God’s annointing. Moses had laid his hands on Joshua. The people had seen it and they knew it.

God now emphasizes it.

Let’s set the scene. The people had come to the Jordan River.

The Jordan River takes its name, “the Descender,” from the force of its current. After passing the Sea of Galilee, the river current quickly increase as it plunges through twenty-seven “horrible rapids and cascades,” besides a great many lesser through a fall of a thousand feet, averaging from four to five miles an hour [Lynch]. When swollen “in time of harvest,” it flows with a vastly accelerated current.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 145.

Verse 4 tells us that they had not been there before. This is important because it was April or May and the snowmelt from the hills of Lebanon filled the Jordan. The waters flooded and the banks swelled. The people were told to stay back from the Ark of the Covenant 2,000 cubits (that is about 10 football field or a little more than 1/2 mile). The Ark would be their guide, sort of a moving trail blaze or a guidon). Remember, there was a huge group of people. Distance was necessary for them to all see the Ark as they were led forward.

Joshua tell everyone to consecrate themselves. Moses had told the people to consecrate themselves before giving the law. This was an outward cleaning to prepare for the seriousness of what was to come.

Joshua then goes to the priests and instructs them. This was different than the normal march of Israel. The priests were to step into the water of the river and stand still.

The people of the last generation were lead through the Red Sea when they left Egypt. So, these people were familiar stories and legends of passing through water on dry land. However, unlike the Red Sea where the water divided before they entered the sea. Now, they were commanded to step into the raging waters, swollen to flood stage, BEFORE the water divided. God demands our obedience to grow with our faith in Him. So, this is the stage where God exalts Joshua before Israel. The people will see that God is with Joshua as He was with Moses.

Joshua had already received distinguished honors (Ex 24:13; De 31:7). But a higher token of the divine favor was now to be publicly bestowed on him, and evidence given in the same unmistakable manner that his mission and authority were from God as was that of Moses (Ex 14:31).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 144.

Joshua told the people that they were to witness God’s power. God’s power would drive out the inhabitants of the land promised to Israel by God Himself.

Not until the priests, carrying the Ark - (this gold ladden box filled with sacred artifacts from Israel history that was carried on poles) - stepped off the bank into the rushing water. Not until their faith propelled them. Not until there was no escape from the current of the water. Then and only then did the waters pile up “in a heap” says Scripture .

Not until the priests, carrying the Ark - (this gold ladden box filled with sacred artifacts from Israel history that was carried on poles) - stepped off the bank into rushing water. Not until their faith propelled them. Not until there was no escape from the current of the water. Then and only then did the waters pile up “in a heap” says Scripture .

This was not a narrow path through the Jordan like I might imagine. Scripture describes the water stopping “from above” which was the waters feeding the river by the Sea of Galilee. It heaped up very far (or high upstream) from the “city Adam” that is 30 miles away!

The gravel river bottom of the Jordan was dry to the Dead Sea. And all Israel passed through the river bed that had been covered with raging waters from an annual flood. Now this might river is dry.

So, what do we learn from all of this for today’s lesson? God exalts His chosen for God’s glory and as a blessing to the people. Leadership is not self-serving, self-engrandizing, self exalting. When leaders demand to be recognized for their own ego, they fail to be leaders as God ordains His leaders.

We hear this clearly and practically as Jesus teaches His disciples. However, we often allow our biases, the biases of others to obscure Jesus’ teaching in our Gospel lesson. Let’s turn there and hear what the Lord teaches about leadership.

Jesus teaches leadership

The spirit of Christ teaching is important here. His hyperbole is teaching a point of the spirit of the lesson. “To construe these injunctions into a condemnation of every title by which Church rulers may be distinguished from the flock for whom they care, is virtually to condemn that rule itself.”

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 55.

We must be careful to learn from the Scripture and resist injecting our own personal preferences, opinions, and biases into them. Our bias can draw us to wrong conclusions that feed our own piety and condemn others when that is not what Jesus intends. We can easily become judgemental of others and other Christian faith traditions. We can be guilty of contention and divisiveness.

So let’s consider what Jesus is teaching here. One could easily conclude that Jesus prohibits the use of titles among His disciples.

However, He does refer to Abraham as father. Paul also writes to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:14-15). He urges them to imitate him.

The Apostles established sacred orders of the Diakonas, Presbyterous, and Episcopas. For centuries these have been translated as Deacons, Priests, and Bishops. They can also be translated as Deacons and Elders, but those translations came about after the Reformation by Anabaptist, Puritan, and Scottish Presbyterian movements.

This isn’t a lesson in Church History, though we could have a class on that. My point is the contention that this passage has caused in the Church. You may feel it now. Are you feeling a tightness in your belly? A burning around your neck and shoulders? It’s natural when we address some of these emotionally charged topics. I said the thing I love about the Lectionary is that is forces us to look at every topic in Scripture. The thing I don’t like about the Lectionary is that is forces us to ook at every topic in Scripture. This is one of those times.

My point though is that we can be distracted from the simple and important lessons that Jesus teaches. His teaching here is on the attributes of God-filled leaders.

The heart of Christ’s teaching is in verses 11 & 12. “11. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant—This plainly means, “shall show that he is so by becoming your servant”; as in Mt 20:27, compared with Mk 10:44. 12. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased—See on Lu 18:14. What follows was addressed more immediately to the scribes and Pharisees.”

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 55.

Leadership must not be pretentious.

Leadership must not be self centered.

Leadership is not above the law (or commands of God).

Leaders are obedient.

The goal of leadership is the wellbeing of the people, not for personal recognition.

False piety for self recognition is vanity.

Zeal for show. Phylacteries to be seen.

Fringes on garments as show.

Sitting in high places (Jesus’ says to take the low seat and be taken to higher seat is better than demanding high seat and being escorted away.

When leaders demand seats of honor, preferential treatment, and recognition they show the prize they are seeking. Anything that stands between God’s people and God’s glory is false. Pride is sinful in all its forms.

Christ loves the Church and gave Himself for it. Any leader should do no less. All we do, all we are, and all we hope to become is summed up in Christ’s words from last week’s lesson - Love God with all of my heart, all of my soul, and all of my mind. And love my neighbor (who is all that need care) as myself.

This love leads us to the cross. This love leads us to the table of this Lord’s Supper. This communion. We commune here with Christ AND with one another. We gather to remember. We remember Jesus’ own words when He said...