It is interesting how promotion happens in the Kingdom of God. Outside the Kingdom of God promotion usually happens in a variety of ways: an individual is promoted because he or she is in the family, a person is so successful they are put into a leadership position, someone is a good “fit” for an organization, or lastly because a relationship between the successor and the succeeded will result in benefits for the one who is succeeded, (i.e. a CEO gives up the reigns of leadership to a successor who will ensure the CEO and his or her family is taken care of after the leadership transition.) However, in God’s nation we see something completely different. We see that even in leadership succession, trusting Him is essential. In Joshua 1:1, after, Moses’ death we see God not only promoting Joshua but spreading his fame among the nations. Interestingly, it looks like God had his eye on Joshua for a while. Look at Exodus 17:8 – 17; roughly twenty years before God promoted Joshua, here in Exodus we see the first mention of the soon to be leader of Israel during the battle against the Amalekites. In vs. 9 we see Moses commanding Joshua to “Choose…some men and go out, fight with Amalek.” The Scriptures don’t say exactly why Joshua was chosen to lead this military campaign against the Amalekites, but after God supernaturally gave the Israelites the victory (vs. 11) we see the Lord say something very peculiar to Moses regarding the young leader: in vs. 14 “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of JOSHUA, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” The point, true promotion in the Kingdom comes from God not from man. And, the question is: “Can we trust God to raise-up godly leaders?”
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