Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Leadership lessons from Joshua

Ex 32: 17 - 18

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "There is the sound of war in the camp."

18 Moses replied:
"It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear."

One of the greatest skills a leader must have is the gift of discernment. In this stage of Joshua’s development we could easily focus on the leaders need to understand the holiness of God. However, this particular verse highlights a different aspect of this young leader’s maturation process. This particular scripture focuses on discernment; the leader’s ability to contextualize what is not evident to the average person. This is a skill Joshua would need to develop in order to overcome the variety of challenges he would face once he entered the Promised Land. In vs. 18 the verb singing is transliterated from the word anah in Hebrew which means to be to be occupied or to be afflicted with. So literally Moses responded to Joshua saying “it is the sound of being oppressed I hear.” (or it is the sound of sinning I hear) Because we have the vantage point of hindsight we can see where Moses gained his perspective of the noise he heard in the camp. God told him…what the Israelites were doing. Conversing with God heightens ones ability to discern correctly. This was a skill this young leader never developed to its fullest potential, and it ended up becoming a hindrance to his success once he became the leader of Israel. In Joshua 9, we see that the Gibeonites ended up deceiving Joshua and luring him to make a convent with them. The root of Joshua’s lack of discernment is made evident here as well. Joshua did not consult God before he made covenant with the Gibeonites. Point: As a Spiritual leader you will often have to make correct decisions with incomplete information; therefore, it is paramount the leader is seeking God’s wisdom first before making any Kingdom decision. Is the church teaching its leaders how to make vital decisions; especially under pressure?

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