Brief history
• Joshua was born as a slave in Egypt, about 40 years before the Exodus. He was the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chro. 7:20,27)
• Originally named Hoshea (Numbers 13:8), meaning salvation, Moses renamed him Joshua, meaning The Lord is Salvation (Numbers 13:16)
• Joshua is best known as Moses’ second in command who takes over and leads the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses’ death.
• Joshua is considered one of the Bible’s greatest military leaders for leading the seven-year conquest of the Promised Land.
• He is often held up as a model for leadership and a source of practical application on how to be an effective leader.
What Joshua does well as a leader
• His rock-solid faith in God. He believed in the promises of God. He was not intimidated by the size of the warriors or the strength of the cities.
• Brilliant military strategist. Possessing considerable knowledge of military strategy, Joshua felt that it was essential first of all to secure what information he could concerning the current strength of their enemies, that he might know what to expect after they crossed the Jordan.
How did Joshua fail or how did he struggled in leadership
• Disobedience. The Lord instructed Joshua to take the whole army and attack Ai but he listened to the advise of his spies to only send two or three thousand men instead of the entire army.
• Failed to seek the Lord’s will. The Israelites were supposed to destroy the Gibeonites but Joshua and the leaders were ignorant of the schemes of their enemies. Even if they did all the inquiries and interrogation, they were still deceived. They did not do the one thing they should have done: they did not inquire of the Lord (Joshua 9:14).
How do you identify with Joshua as a leader