What We Can Learn about Leadership from Joshua

Joshua was Moses’s loyal assistant for most of the years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. Joshua was a firsthand witness to the special relationship between Moses and God. He saw Moses at his best as well as in his weakest moments.

Here are a few of the key moments in Scripture when we see Joshua’s proximity to Moses as he went about his work with God:

• Moses brought Joshua up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God (Ex. 24:13).
• Joshua observed Moses’ righteous indignation when Moses smashed the two tablets (Ex. 32:17-19)
• Joshua witnessed the holy communion Moses shared with the Lord as he guarded the tent of meeting. “The Lord would speak to Moses face-to-face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent” (Ex. 33:11 NASB).

Think about the impact it would have on you to sit and listen to someone converse with God and be called his friend. I believe these opportunities bolstered Joshua’s faith deeply. Joshua was one of the twelve spies who explored Canaan for the first time (see Numbers 13) and one of two who trusted God who came back and advocated for crossing over, as he believed God would protect the Israelites if they chose to take the promised land. He stood up to the entire Israelite nation with Caleb and called on the people to trust God’s character.

I don’t know if Moses instinctively invited Joshua to be his aide or if he noticed Joshua’s leadership potential. But we do learn from the first mention of his name that God guided Moses on how to develop Joshua as a leader. Exodus 17: 8-16 says:

At Rephidim, Amalek came and fought against Israel. Moses said to Joshua, “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God’s staff in my hand.”

Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. While Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed. When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.  So Joshua defeated Amalek and his army with the sword.

The Lord then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”

And Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.” He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (NIV)

This is a significant moment. It’s the first time the Israelites fight in a battle with the knowledge that they are God’s chosen people. Moses physically held up his hands, and God allowed Israelites to prevail in the battle as long as his arms were raised.

Aaron and Hur helped Moses raise his arms during the battle to ensure the Israelites’ victory. This is important, but what stands out to me is when God tells Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”

God ensured that Joshua understood exactly why the Israelites won the battle against Amalek. God was planting seeds of trust in Joshua and helping Moses raise a strong leader.

Moses led Israel until his death. He asked God to appoint a leader to guide them like a shepherd, and God appointed Joshua to lead the Israelites into the promised land (Num. 27:15-19).

Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him  (Deut. 34:9).

After the death of Moses, the Lord speaks to Joshua for the first time. In Joshua 1:6-9, God says,

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (NIV)

Joshua led the Israelites for 52 years. Before his time ended, he gathered the Israelites together and recounted their history:

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:14 NIV)

Joshua begins and ends his season by committing to strong and courageous leadership. He learned from the moments Moses was meek, and his boldness served the people well. As a result, Joshua’s legacy lasted beyond his lifetime. Joshua 24:31 says, “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel” (NRSV).

We can learn from Joshua’s leadership arc as we seek to raise strong leaders ourselves. Joshua first observed leadership from the prophet God knew face-to-face (see Deuteronomy 34:10), and then he worked as Moses’s assistant. He successfully led the Israelites in battle, gaining hands-on experience alongside them. Joshua was a leader in significant moments, such as the exploration of Canaan. He received God’s blessing and the spirit of wisdom. Next, God gave him specific directions on how to lead, and Joshua obeyed God’s command to be strong and courageous, allowing him to lead the Israelites successfully for 52 years.

Raising leaders is challenging; however, we have many excellent examples in the Bible of what strong leadership looks like as well as how those leaders were developed. Joshua is someone we can all learn from.

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.

Photograph © Sixteen Miles Out, used with permission