TIME FOR CHANGE Larry W Peebles 11/30/2018 18.36
Fall is a beautiful time of year. The dog days of the summer heat pass, and the fresh cool air brings new energy and attitude. In the mountains of north Georgia where I live, a 3-4 week period unfolds where the leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow, red, gold, purple and orange. These colors can be seen for miles along the sides of the mountains, like a canvas painted by the hand of God. Squirrels scamper with nuts in their mouths looking for a spot to store up food. The male white-tail deer aggressively looks for a mate to produce the next generation. The wind and rain causes the autumn leaves to drop to the ground, leaving the forest bare. It is time for a change. When this leaf cycle is complete, the signal has been given that another season is approaching. My favorite time of year is about to end, and the onset of the cold of winter is soon coming.
In Numbers 27:12-23, it was time for a change among the children of Israel. After having been miraculously set free from the hand of Pharaoh and Egyptian slavery, the children of Israel had wandered in the desert for forty years. A significant portion of the generation that came out of Egypt would not enter into the land God had promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God had to remove from the people those who were stubborn, ungrateful and unbelieving. He had to train the former slaves for battle. The forty years passed, and in God’s perfect timing, the season of wandering came to an end. Moses had been a capable and courageous leader, but the new generation going into the new land would have a new leader.
Moses sent twelve spies into the new land to see if the people were strong or weak, few or many, and if the cities were like camps (tents) or strongholds (walls). They were to investigate whether the land (soil) was rich or poor, and if there were forests to produce timber. They were also told to bring back some of the fruit of the land. (Numbers 13:17-33)
The majority report from ten of the twelve was the land was truly abundant, full of fruit, milk and honey. However, the ten believed it was not possible to occupy the land because the inhabitants, who dwelled in large fortified cities, were too strong. Indeed there were giants in the land, and the ten felt like grasshoppers before them. They reported they would all be “devoured” if they attempted an invasion. Only two men reported favorably. Caleb believed God and encouraged the children of Israel that they should “go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome the land”. Both Caleb and Joshua reported that the land was exceedingly good. Further, because it delighted the Lord, they said He would bring them into the land and give it to them. They reminded the people that the Lord was with them, and they had nothing to fear. (Numbers 14:7-9) Only two men from the twelve spies went permanently into the new land of Canaan– Caleb and Joshua.
All twelve saw the same thing on the spying excursion. Only Caleb and Joshua saw and reported with eyes of faith. Their unswerving faith in God led to this distinction. God said of Caleb “But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” (Numbers 14:24) Forty-five years later, God fulfilled that promise to Caleb and his descendants by delivering to him the land around Hebron. (Joshua 14:9-14) Although he was eighty years of age at the time, Caleb was physically able to fight for the land. God gave him the victory.
Joshua was chosen the new leader to succeed Moses. His training went back to the days he spent with Moses in the Tent of Meeting. In Exodus 33:7-11, the Bible says Moses pitched his tent outside the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. When Moses went to the tent/tabernacle, the “pillar of cloud” descended on the tent, indicating the Lord was present. Then in verse 11, we read- “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he [Moses] would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” As a young man, Joshua experienced the presence of the Lord. He saw the Shekinah glory of the Lord hovering over the tent. He heard Moses conversing with the Lord, as a friend speaks to a friend. He closely witnessed the intimacy between Moses and the Lord. Then he lingered in the presence of the Lord after Moses had left the tent. There was nothing more important to Joshua than to spend that extra time with the Lord. Over the years he was literally filled and changed by the strength, courage, confidence, wisdom and faith that came from the time lingering in the Lord’s presence. That became the source of his report that it pleased the Lord to give them the land at the expense of their enemies. He knew the Lord was with them, and it did not matter what they saw as opposition on the spying trip. He was confident they had nothing to fear.
Moses did not lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land because of his disobedience at the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin. From the top of Mount Nebo [Abarim], Moses saw the land, and then the Lord “gathered him”. Deuteronomy 34:4-11 says “there has never been so great a prophet as Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face”. It also says the Lord Himself buried Moses where no one knows.
Before this great and beloved leader passed, he was given instruction on how to make the change in leadership. These instructions consisted of three steps, and are found in Numbers 27: 18-20- “And the Lord said to Moses: Take Joshua, the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hands on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.”
There were no closed-door deals to get the nomination, no political campaign, and no vote. God picked the new leader just as He had picked Moses. The principal qualification was that the Spirit of God was in Joshua. Notice from above this was also true of Caleb—the Spirit was in them both. In the Old Testament, when the Spirit of God is mentioned, He came upon men for a period of time. Generally speaking, it was not until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost that the Spirit is said to have come into the hearts of men to reside. Caleb and Joshua appear to be exceptions.
When the time for change came, it was outwardly smooth and simple. Moses laid hands on Joshua. He was inaugurated publicly before all the people and the priest, and Moses transferred some of his authority to Joshua. It was a tangible exchange of authority, wisdom and power from Moses to Joshua by laying- on of hands and prayer. When this was done in faith, the tribes of Israel had a new leader. The spiritual impact on the future of Israel was enormous.
Joshua proved to be a powerful leader. His birth name was Hoshea, which means “hope of salvation”, but Moses called him Joshua, which in Hebrew is Yeshua, or “the Lord is salvation.” Under his leadership, the rescue or salvation of the Israelites moved from hope to actuality. He was in fact a type or picture of Jesus Christ. Known for his courage, his accomplishments included leading the people across the Jordan River on dry ground when the flow of the river miraculously stopped. He also led the Battle of Jericho, where the walls of the city fell after the Israelites walked around the city seven times. At the Battle of Gibeon, the sun stood still until Joshua and his men were victorious. He and his army conquered the land of Canaan, thirty-one kings in all, for the occupancy of the children of Israel. He died at the age of one hundred ten.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says for everything there is a season. When God calls for the change, and anoints the work, the change can be seamless, and the results incredible and miraculous. The key, as it was for Joshua and Caleb, is unlimited faith based on intimate relationship with God. I believe that is still the number one qualification for a leader today.
