Joshua's Awe and Humility
Humility before God
“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Prov 3:34, Jam 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5). God loves someone who is humble and teachable. When we remain in awe of God and humble ourselves before Him, He will use us mightily for his glory.
Joshua was such a man. He was so in awe of God that when Moses left the tent of meeting to go back to the camp, he remained behind in the presence of God (Ex 33:11). In Joshua 1:1-9, God appoints Joshua to succeed Moses and gives him the most explicit letter of appointment recorded in the Bible. He had a precise job description of what he had to do to invade the Promised Land. God also promised Joshua that he would give him every place he set his foot on. No-one would be able to stand up against him. Three times God encouraged him to be strong and courageous. And finally, God promised Joshua that He would never leave nor forsake him and would go with Joshua wherever he went. Who would not want such a letter of appointment from the Lord?
So, Joshua took up the leadership of Israel and they set out to invade Canaan. They sent out spies, crossed the Jordan and were about to take Jericho. But then something strange happened. The commander of the army of the Lord checked in on them (Commentators believe this could have been Jesus Himself.) And how did Joshua respond? He didn’t say, “It would have been nice if you made an appointment, because I’m very busy right now, but thanks for checking in. Let me assure you, I know what I am doing. After all, you probably saw my letter of appointment as leader here. So, there is no uncertainty about my God-given mandate. Of course, you’re welcome to watch as we complete the mission.” Who could have blamed Joshua if that had been his response? We read his letter of appointment, didn’t we?
But no, that was not the response of this humble servant of the Lord! On the contrary, in awe and humility – that same awe and humility that kept him behind in the tent of meeting – Joshua immediately fell flat on his face and asked, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (Jos 5:14) This humble response enables the messenger to reveal God’s inexplicable, outrageous, miraculous plan to conquer Jericho – just march around the city for a week and make some noise and its walls will come tumbling down! (See chapter 6.) The awe and humility of Joshua was the direct cause of God performing a breath-taking miracle and receiving all the glory. Make no mistake, this would not have happened if Joshua was a proud man saying, “Don’t bother me, I know what I’m doing”. A proud man would have been resisted by God. God would have left him to his own schemes to conquer Jericho – schemes that would have failed dismally.
So this is who Jesus is calling today – men and women who are so in awe of God and so humble that they remain flat on their faces before Him. Men and women who do not rely on their own understanding and strength, but who keep waiting on the Lord. Men and women who stay on their knees in his presence, watching out for when He turns up to reveal his glorious plans for the nations. May every worker and leader in All Nations be a Joshua whose awe and humility become the key for God to perform miracles as He touches the nations through us and as He glorifies Himself throughout the earth.
About the author: Rassie Malherbe is a member of the Board of All Nations International and is also a member of the Board of the All Nations Cape Town Hub. He and his wife live in Cape Town and serve the Cape Town hub of All Nations mainly in the field of member care. Before his retirement, Rassie taught constitutional law at the University of Johannesburg.
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