Doing ‘EVERYTHING’ that God COMMANDS us to DO!
March 7 Bible
Reading: Joshua Chapters 10-12
Doing ‘EVERYTHING’ that God COMMANDS us to DO!
"As the Lord had commanded Moses his
servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so
Joshua did. He left nothing undone
of all that the Lord had commanded
Moses. So Joshua took the whole land,
according to all that the Lord had
said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to
their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war." (Josh
11:15, 23)
When we
study the life of Joshua, we can learn a great deal from him to adopt in our
personal life. He started low in his life as an assistant of Moses (Exodus
24:13), but became a commander of the army of Israel due to his bravery alone
(Exodus 17:8-13). At the same time, he would not leave the tabernacle and the
manifested presence of God (Exodus 33:11b). He was among the 12 spies who were
initially sent to spy Canaan, but joined with Caleb in displaying his trust in
God against the unbelieving majority (Numbers 13:16-25; 14:6-9). In fact, Joshua
followed God wholeheartedly (Numbers
32:12) and trusted in the Lord knowing that
with God all things are possible!
However, the
greatest character trait in Joshua’s
life was that he was willing to follow
the footsteps of whom God had put ahead of him, which was Moses. He was
ready to accept God’s timing for his leadership, and would not jump ahead and
rebel (like Korah and others did) during his lifetime. He was willing to step
up to the plate and help Moses whom God had called to shepherd His people. It
was because of this extraordinary character trait that God made him a leader
among the Israelites even though many more ‘capable’
leaders were present during his time.
God further
rewarded Joshua by filling him with wisdom through the laying on of Moses’ hand
(Deut. 34:9), and thereafter exalting him in the sight of all the people of
Israel (Joshua 4:14). While Moses subdued two
kings on the east side of Jordan
River (12:1-6), Joshua subdued thirty-one
kings on the west side of Jordan
River (12:7-24), and he was leading from
the front in all the battles with the Canaanites (6:12; 8:10; 10:29).
Joshua was a
man of integrity as well. It is true
that he had failed by accepting a peace treaty with the Gibeonites as a result
of not inquiring of the Lord first, but God did turn his failure into a
blessing when Joshua kept his word to protect them and therefore not breaking
his oath with them (Joshua 9). Joshua was a brilliant
military strategist who remained
humble. He was one of the only two adults who had experienced Egyptian
slavery and lived to enter the Promised Land. He was faithful to ask God’s
direction in the challenges he faced. Truly, Joshua was a great leader in every
sense!
Last but not the least; Joshua
did everything that God commanded him to do through Moses. He fulfilled his
tasks completely (11:15, 23).
Joshua’s complete obedience brought complete victory (v. 15) for the
Israelites as most of the wars were fought and won under Joshua’s leadership
(v. 23b). What we can admire about Joshua is his faithfulness to do Gods will and follow Moses’ directions (compare 1:2-5 with 11:12, 20, and 23). Let us also be faithful to the call of God,
and do everything that God has commanded us to do through His Word and through
His servants!
