The Israelites were not happy campers.  In spite of a miraculous early morning escape from Egypt, and a dramatic miracle at the Red Sea when God delivered them from the power of the Egyptian army, their focus was still on survival, not victory.  They had rejoiced when God led them out of Egypt with displays of great power, but many of them still thought and acted like the downtrodden slaves that they had been all their lives.  They had some  serious doubts about this trip across the desert to a Promised Land that they had never seen, but only heard about from God’s servant Moses – a land that God had reportedly long ago given to their ancestor Abraham and his descendants, but that no Israelite had seen for over 400 years.

Suddenly, with no warning or provocation, they were attacked by the Amalekites — a hostile tribe bent on their destruction (read the full account here).   Not only that, Moses – who had been Israel’s leader in all their dealings with the Egyptians, confronting Pharaoh on their behalf  over and over again, and holding back the waters of the Red Sea with his staff so that the Israelites could cross in safety – was not going to lead the troops into this battle.  Instead, he had chosen a young, untested leader by the name of Joshua for this task.

If I were Joshua, I might have had mixed feelings about this assignment.  True, it was an honour to be chosen by the great man Moses as his personal assistant – but to be Israel’s military commander was another story.  The troops were untrained, inclined to grumble, and had never fought a battle.  Only a few weeks previously, they had all been slaves.  For generations they had been beaten down by the Egyptians, and this had shaped their perspective on life.  From the later account of the spies who were sent into the Promised Land (Numbers 13-14), we know most of that generation were timid, fearful, and doubleminded.

Joshua, however, was a fighter, a man of courage.  This is the first time he shows up in the narrative, but as we follow him through the pages of Scripture we discover that he was not one to shrink from a challenge.  He took up the mantle of leadership and won the battle, and because of his heroic exploits the Israelites were delivered.

It wasn’t just Joshua’s military prowess that made him a hero.  No doubt he was a courageous man and a good fighter – but more than this, he was a man of God who had counted the cost and placed his trust firmly in the God of Israel.  In the obedience of faith he chose to step onto the battlefield, lead Israel’s untested troops, and face the enemy.  In the obedience of faith he chose to pick up his sword, raise his voice, and lead the charge.  The reason he is a hero is not just because he did these things, but because he did them in faith, not looking only to himself and his own ability, but looking to the One who is invisible.   That’s why we remember Joshua – because he was victorious not only on the military battlefield with the Amalekites, but on the spiritual battlefield of faith.  His confidence was not in himself but in his God and his people’s God.

A factor that we sometimes overlook is that Joshua not only had God on his side, he also had the backing of a trusted spiritual father.  When Moses recruited Joshua to fight this battle, he didn’t just turn the battle over to his young assistant, he backed him up by praying for him – not from a distance but in full sight of Joshua and the army.  For the duration of the battle he stood on a hillside in full view and lifted his hands in prayer to God, and this prayer support was crucial to the victory.  Scripture records that as long as Moses had his hands raised in prayer, Israel prevailed in the battle, but when he grew tired and lowered his hands, they began to falter and it looked as though they would be defeated.   So we see that it wasn’t just Joshua, the young leader, who needed human support as well as support from God.  Even the great man Moses needed others to assist him, to strengthen him, to hold up his arms in prayer so that he in turn could hold Joshua up before the Lord, and the battle would be won, and no Israelite would ever think that they had won this battle by themselves.

God’s people are in a war with Satan’s kingdom, and this battle will continue until Jesus returns in power and glory.  While the ultimate victory is assured, our actions make a big difference in the sphere that God has assigned to us.  This little gem of a story reminds us of several key insights that can help us in the daily battles of faith – little and big.

• When the odds seem impossible, we need to put our trust in God, offering Him our resources but placing our trust in what only He can supply.
• Our faith needs to be active, not passive.  Faith without active obedience is not faith at all.  (See Spiritually Aggressive Christians in my other blog)
• Joshua was a man with a vision, and his allegiance was undivided.  He was committed to seeing the Israelites cross the desert and enter the Promised Land as God had promised them.  He was committed to fighting the Lord’s battles.  He knew his allegiance before the battle began.  Godly vision and an undivided heart keep us motivated.
• Spiritual fathers and mothers need to uphold, encourage, pray for and believe in young leaders.
• Young leaders need to rely on the protection, encouragement, counsel and prayer support that spiritual fathers and mothers can provide for them.
• Even leaders of leaders (like Moses in this story) need support.  No-one in the Body of Christ is meant to be independent.  We all need others to cover our weaknesses; every member needs to be linked to others in relationships of support and accountability.
• When a leader (or anyone, for that matter) has an area of weakness, the rest of us are called not to undermine, but to step in and support and help the leader succeed.  The person with the weakness needs to be gracious and humble enough to accept this and know that it is for the ultimate good of all.  Since the glory is God’s, not ours, and since we all have areas of weakness and we are all saved by God’s mercy and not our own goodness, none of us has a point to prove anyway, so this should be no big deal.