Joshua 5:13-15 – Leadership 101
In his book "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life", the author Charles Swindoll tells a story about the 19th century agnostic Thomas Huxley. Some of you may know that name – Huxley promoted Darwinism and Humanism as he attacked the Christian faith. Now, Huxley was in Dublin and was rushing to catch a train. He climbed aboard a horse drawn taxi and said to the driver -"Hurry, I’m almost late ... drive fast". So, off they went at a furious speed and Huxley sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.
Well, after a while Huxley opened his eyes and looked out the window and noticed that they were going in the wrong direction. Realizing that he hadn’t told the driver where to take him he called out, “Do you know where you’re going?” The driver replied, "No, your Honor, but I am driving very fast.”
That’s how some people live their lives. Very fast, running around, doing things, but getting nothing done. Going nowhere. Climbing ladders to get to the top of walls that end nowhere. And, I hate to say, it’s no different for Christians, either.
Honestly, do we evaluate everything we do? I doubt it. I doubt that we look at our days and ask the question, “Does this matter? Is this important?” I’m not saying that we can only do serious things and take no time for pleasure or entertainment. I’m not saying that having a flower bed or relaxing with some TV needs to go out the window. But I am saying that as Christians, we need to pay more attention to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
E. Stanley Jones tells of the time he was about to board a plane when he heard God, in his spirit, telling him not to get on the plane. He learned later that the plane crashed and there were no survivors. When he shared his experience with someone, they said, “You mean to say that you were the only one God told not to get on that plane?” Jones said, “By no means, but it is possible that I was the only one listening.”
Folks, it’s important for us to develop our ability to hear God, and to listen to His leadership. In our Bible passage today, we find a story of Joshua listening to God’s instructions. Let’s read 5:13-15.
God was preparing His people to take the Promised Land. This event is the last of 5 key preparation events. The 1st was a statement about the morale of the inhabitants of the land (5:1). You see, part of spiritual victory is our understanding that in Christ, all the enemies we face are, in essence, defeated foes. Colossians 2:15 says that Jesus, “having disarmed the powers and authorities, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Victory in Jesus is already ours.
The 2nd preparation event was the renewal of the rite of circumcision (5:2-9). We looked at this before camp. Circumcision stood for Israel’s faith in God’s promises, which included the possession of the land as their inheritance. It was an act of faith and spiritual preparation.
The 3rd event was the observance of the Passover (5:10). Passover was a reminder that God had saved their forefathers from slavery. And just as crossing the Red Sea in Exodus was followed by the destruction of the chasing Egyptians, likewise, the crossing of the Jordan would be followed by the defeat of the Canaanites. Understand: Remembering the past is a great way to prepare by faith for the tests of the future.
The 4th event was eating the produce of the land, and the manna’s end (5:11-12). Manna, food from heaven, was how God provided for His people for 40 years. That was over. The days of the past were done. God was about to do a new thing in His people. All these things led finally to the 5th event: Joshua’s encounter with the Captain of the armies of the Lord (5:13-15).
Who was this guy? Well, to be honest, it was likely Jesus. Joshua worshipped Him, and He accepted it. He was likely no angel, but the very Son of God. He had arrived to bring about victory for His people.
Now, there are 4 things that stand out in my mind about Joshua’s attitude and actions when getting directions from God. The 1st thing we can learn about listening to God’s leadership is: 1) Get on God’s side. This sounds silly at first – I mean, of course I’m on God’s side. Joshua was on God’s side. But look at what the captain said: v14a. What he said was, “I am here, not to take sides, but to take over and take charge as Commander of the Lord’s army.”
You see, we tend to see the battles we face as our battles and the forces we face as forces organized against us and our individual causes, concerns, agendas, and even our theological beliefs or positions on doctrine. And in a sense, yes, that’s true, if we’re really standing in the cause of Christ. But there is another sense in which that is just not true, and that’s the issue here.
It was not for Joshua to claim God’s allegiance for his cause no matter how right and holy it might be. Rather, the need was for Joshua to acknowledge God’s claim over Joshua for God’s purposes. We tend to approach our battles and causes backwards; we turn things all around and try to get God to support us rather than to submit and follow Him. Certainly, the battle was a cooperative work, God and the people of Israel under Joshua’s leadership as appointed by the Lord.
But Joshua, as with all of us in the army of the King, must be following the Lord, submitting to His authority, taking our orders from Him, and resting the battle in His hands. We must realize it is really His battle as the Supreme Commander. Rather than asking Him to bless our efforts, we must ask what he wants us to do.
The 2nd thing we can learn from Joshua about listening to God’s leadership is: 2) Humble yourself to His authority. V14 says Joshua fell facedown before the captain. That’s a sign of humbling himself before a greater power. Humility is confidence properly placed. Humility is not about making fun of yourself or insulting yourself or putting yourself down. Humility is understanding who you are and where you came from. Pride is thinking too much of yourself, or thinking too little of yourself, for that matter. Humility is having a true understanding of who you are in Christ.
Tony Campolo said, "If you ever start to feel proud, just remember that soon after your body has been lowered into the grave, your family and friends will be eating potato salad and telling jokes, and you’ll be history." That’s a humbling thought, but it’s true. Joshua knew that any success in life would come from God. You need to know that if you want to listen to the Lord, you have to understand, it’s not about you.
It’s about what pleases Him. Listening to the Lord requires saying no to what you want, and yes to what He wants. In the end, for someone who really wants to please God, what He wants is what you want. What makes Him happy is what will make you the happiest. Humble yourself.
The 3rd thing we can learn from Joshua about listening to God’s leadership is: 3) Ask Him to reveal His will. Joshua asked at the end of v14: “What do you want me to do or know?” Now, I must admit, I sometimes have a hard time understanding what God says. Looking back over my life, even fairly recently, what I thought at the time was God’s voice was my own. I do not have any easy answers to this. I wish God spoke to me as clearly as He did that day to Joshua.
I do know 3 things about it, though. 1) It takes time. Getting the answers to major life decisions doesn’t happen overnight. 2) It takes patience. You don’t get the answers exactly when you want them. God is not a drive-thru. He’s more interested in cultivating character than in dishing out easy answers. And 3) it takes work. It doesn’t come easy. To know what God wants for you, specifically, is a challenge. Some things are clear – the commands in the bible. Others a bit foggy. But understand this: God wants you to know His will.
Henry Blackaby wrote a life-changing book called Experiencing God. One of the truths of having an encounter with God is this: “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. “ God uses his Word. He speaks to us in a still small voice in prayer. He uses events in our lives. And He speaks to us through other people. I don’t have easy answers, but I do believe that He reveals His will. Press on.
And finally, the 4th thing we can learn from Joshua about listening to God’s leadership is: 4) Obey Him when He does reveal His will. V15 shows that Joshua responded with obedience to the captain’s command. I’d like to tell you a story that ties this together.
A young pilot had just passed the point of no return when the weather changed for the worse. Visibility dropped to a matter of feet as fog descended to the earth. Putting total trust in the cockpit instruments was a new experience to him, for the ink was still wet on the certificate verifying that he was qualified for instrument flying.
The landing worried him the most. His destination was a crowded metropolitan airport he wasn’t familiar with. In a few minutes he would be in radio contact with the tower. Until then, he was alone with his thoughts. His instructor had practically forced him to memorize the rulebook. He didn’t care for it at the time, but now he was thankful.
Finally he heard the voice of the air traffic controller. “I’m going to put you on a holding pattern,” the controller radioed.
“Great!” thought the pilot. However, he knew that his safe landing was in the hands of this person. He had to draw upon his previous instructions and training, and trust the voice of an air traffic controller he couldn’t see. Aware that this was no time for pride, he informed the controller, “This is not a seasoned pro up here. I would appreciate any help you could give me.”
“You’ve got it!” he heard back. And for the next 45 minutes, the controller gently guided the pilot through the blinding fog. As course and altitude corrections came periodically, the young pilot realized the controller was guiding him around obstacles and away from potential collisions. With the words of the rulebook firmly placed in his mind, and with the gentle voice of the controller, he landed safely at last.
The Holy Spirit guides us through the maze of life much like that air traffic controller. The controller assumed that the young pilot understood the instructions of the flight manual. His guidance was based on that. Such is the case with the Holy Spirit: He can guide us if we have a knowledge of God’s Word and His will established in our minds.
Like Joshua, in order to follow the Lord’s leading, we must get on God’s program, and decide to do what He wants. We must humble ourselves before Him. We must ask Him to reveal His will. And we must obey Him when He does. This will lead to spiritual victory in our lives.
