Called to lead, but not by name! Leadership lessons from Joshua

Exodus 24:1-2, 13-14

¹ Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, ² but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."

¹³ Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."

As we continue to look at leadership lessons from the life of Joshua we begin to see how much God’s ways are different than our own. The Israelites, at Sinai, are about to “confirm the covenant” with God. Here we see that God calls by name those He wants to venture into His manifest presence to “confirm the covenant.” What a powerful moment in history; surely God would choose all of those who would play a prominent role in the shaping of this special nation.

Let’s look at who is on this list. (vs. 1) We see Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, but where is Joshua? Where is the future leader of Israel? Where is the name of the man who would lead God’s people into the Promised Land? Now, it’s easy to speculate why his name was not called. It’s probably even easier to speculate how he felt when he did not hear it called. One could even sympathize if Joshua was offended. It would be even logical to imagine Joshua responding to Moses saying, “No, I will not go into God’s presence because He did not ask me to go.” Or, better yet Joshua could have said to himself, “Man, God is not even thinking about me!” Yet, that was not the kind of heart Joshua had. Even though he was not called by name, God still allowed Him into His presence, which is evidence Joshua was not the type of person who sought recognition.

Point: It is the responsibility of all who feel like they are called into leadership to guard their hearts in every situation even when he or she is not being recognized; God is in control of the process not man. The bible exhorts us to humble ourselves and He will exalt you in due time.