Life Lessons from the Call of Joshua

Introduction

The book of Joshua opens with the call of God to Joshua. Now Joshua was the chief aide to Moses and the military commander of the armed forces of Israel. If we look back in the book of Deuteronomy God had already commissioned Joshua to take the place of Moses.

Deuteronomy 31:14–23 NKJV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that I may inaugurate him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. Now the Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods. “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel. When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.” Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

Deuteronomy 34:9 NKJV

Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Now Moses had just died, and the people had been in deep anguish and mourning for 30 days. As soon as the 30 days were over, God immediately spoke to Joshua, restating His call to him.

Within this call of Joshua there are a few life lessons that we can learn that can give us some direction in moving forward in our lives as Christians.

So, today I want to introduce you to these life lessons.

It is easy to get bogged down in life. (vs. 1-2)

Joshua and the people of Israel were dealing with the loss of their leader. Moses was the man that had led them out of bondage from Egypt. He led them through the Red Sea. He had led through the wilderness for forty years. Though not all the times were great and perfect, the people grew to respect, revere, and even loved him. Now Moses was dead. Joshua was the man to take the lead. Joshua had to deal with this same grief as the people did except he had to actually lead the people. It was after the 30 days of grieving and God told Joshua, okay it is time to pick yourself up and take the lead. God did not want Joshua and the people of Israel to get bogged down in life.

God does not want us to get bogged down in life either. I am sure that we all have had times where our lives have been turned upside down. Maybe we have experienced a great loss in our lives. And maybe there was a time when you felt like you just couldn’t go on. Well God does not want us to get to that point. Just like He did not want Joshua and the people of Israel to get that point.

God called Joshua,

Joshua 1:1–2 NKJV

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.

What we need to understand is that God has greater things in store for us as we move forward in our lives. The last thing that God wants us to do is to get bogged down in life and wander longer and miss out on the great promises that lie ahead.