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. – Joshua 24:31

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 20, 2019): Joshua 24

Max Lucado argues that “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” A true leader does not discern where the river is running and then sets a course that follows the river’s path. A true leader decides where the river needs to go and then takes the necessary measures to encourage the river to take that path. And a true leader never points toward a goal that they are unwilling to pursue in their own lives.

Joshua had never tried to discern the will of the crowd. He had been a follower of Moses who had blazed a new trail for Israel, often against the complaints of the people. Joshua wanted to continue to follow Moses’s trail. He was an able administrator who took the model that was given to him by Moses and made that dream a reality. Joshua was not the visionary that Moses had been. He didn’t have to be. He just had to find a way to complete the path that had been started by the great lawgiver of Israel.

And every step of the way, Joshua looked to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to help him with the task that had been set before him. This was another lesson that he had learned from his experiences following Moses. Joshua had come to believe that no task was too big for Israel to undertake if God was on their side.

Joshua led Israel and the elders who led the nation with him, by turning his back on the whims of the crowd and demonstrating the behavior that he wished Israel to follow. And as long as Joshua and the elders who led the nation lived, the nation followed God, keeping his instructions and decrees. The strength of Joshua is found in this willingness to follow God and the ability to set a path for the nation also to follow.

But after Joshua and the elders who outlived him died, all of that changed. Israel became a very different nation; one that followed whatever it believed was right. The theme of the next book containing the history of Israel, the Book of Judges, was very different from the one that was demonstrated during the days Joshua. The Book of Judges is summed up with these words. “In those days Israel had no king [and no Joshua – or Moses]; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6). In those days Israel lacked the one who would turn his, or her, back to the crowd and simply do what was right. They lacked the one who dared to decide where the river should run. Everyone decided what was right in their eyes and, as a result, the nation descended into dark and evil days.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 17