Sunday: A New Moses
Daily Lesson for Sunday 28th of September 2025
Read Deuteronomy 18:15-22 and Joshua 1:1-9. Why is it significant that the book of Joshua starts by echoing a promise related to what would happen after the death of Moses?
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Though Moses had died and a new leader, Joshua, had been appointed by God, there are parallels between them. Both men had been told by God that they would lead their people into the land promised to their fathers. As the Lord said to Joshua: “ ‘Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses’ ” (Joshua 1:3, NKJV). Joshua would finish the work that had originally been given to Moses. He was, really, a new Moses.
Read Exodus 33:11; Numbers 14:6,30,38; Numbers 27:18; Numbers 32:12; Deuteronomy 1:38; Deuteronomy 31:23; and Deuteronomy 34:9. What do these texts tell us about Joshua?
At this stage, the promise that God would “raise up” a prophet similar to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15) is only a possibility rather than an accomplished reality. The opening words of the book of Joshua remind the reader of this promise and, at the same time, create an expectation to see it fulfilled.
Though dead, Moses still dominates the first chapter. His name is mentioned ten times, Joshua’s only four. Moses is called “the servant of the Lord” while Joshua is referred to as “Moses’ assistant” (Joshua 1:1, NKJV). It will take a lifetime of faithful service and obedience for Joshua to receive the title “servant of the Lord” (Joshua 24:29, NKJV).
Even if the first chapter of Joshua captures a transition between two great leaders of Israel, the most important character is the Lord Himself, whose words open the book and whose guidance dominates it. There are no questions as to who is the real leader of Israel.
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Throughout the ages, God has called men and women to lead His people. Why is it crucial to remember who the true, invisible leader of the church is? |
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Throughout the ages, God has called men and women to lead His people. Why is it crucial to remember who the true, invisible leader of the church is?
Today’s lesson poses a very important reflective question. The highest accolade that the Bible gives to Moses is “The Servant of the Lord.”The Church of God is at serious risk when appointing its officers solely based on human accomplishments. Recently, our church experienced a change in leadership. A senior officer from the conference came to introduce the new leader. He literally took a substantial “divine hour” time to enumerate the catalogue of achievements of the new leader. I heard those seated behind me start murmuring, for they felt uncomfortable with the “expensive” introduction. Human achievements have a role to play, but must not be the key selling point to leadership.
“Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.”(Numbers 12:3,NKJV).
The question raised above is worth our reflection. As senior positions in our Church become more and more competitive due to financial attractiveness, it is very tempting to start to imitate the corporate world. The corporate world is driven by “profit madness” and hence its leaders are propelled by the pursuit of money. But the man Moses was a type of Christ, willing to sacrifice his eternal destiny for the sake of his people (Exodus 32:31–32). He was a true servant leader. Our Church, more than ever, needs the likes of Moses and not elite leaders. We, the members, should agonise to seek God’s guidance when appointing men and women to office. It is not obvious who can be an effective church leader. We need the Spirit of discernment when electing our leaders and not emotions or nepotism.
The new Moses (Joshua) was prepared and willing to walk in the steps of the old Moses. “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). So, our leaders should be willing to be true servant leaders. Joshua did not use covert means or seize leadership from Moses, but was appointed by God. In some quarters of our Church, we have experienced turbulent times in the process of leadership appointments. Self-serving individuals aspire to leadership positions for selfish motives, and this has threatened to tear the Church into factions. The “two” Moses were selfless servant leaders.
"…whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43–45 (NKJV)
Succession Planning is one of the buzz phrases of modern organisations. Anyone involved in running an organisation today knows that a change in leadership can make or break it. I remember a computer company, DEC which once held the lion's share of the mini-computer market with its PDP, VAX and Alpha computers. Ken Olsen was their visionary leader for many years but in the 1990s his leadership faltered, the company made several bad decisions and ultimately, its technology was sold off and the company no longer exists. It's downfall is complex but one of the factors was that they did not really have a good leadership succession plan.
God had a succession plan for Moses that was 40 years in the making. Joshua was among the young spies sent into the land. He and Caleb were prepared to stand up and give a minority report. He had shown leadership qualities in defending the Israelites from their enemies. Scattered throughout the history of Exodus are references to Joshua not only being there to support Moses, but taking the initiative as well.
If we are searching for an application today, we could look at our local churches and think a little bit about succession planning, by training young people to take responsibility and mentoring them. Encouraging them to be participants rather than just being recipients.
My boss a few years back came up to me privately, he said read 2 Timothy 1:7. I am sure that he silently wanted that I would read verse 8 also, I do believe there are many times the shoe fits in verse 2 Timothy 1:8. Some call that context and some call it exegesis. I do believe exegesis means, to take things in context in the Bible, you need several text through out the Bible, before and after the text to explain and/or interpret the individual text. Take for instance Roman’s 8:16. Yes we know that Paul was a complicated courageous writer for the Lord, a character quality he was trying to instill in Timothy. To me it seems as Romans 8:16 stands alone, unlike the character of Joshua. Joshua we may get the opinion that being courageous he stood alone. Yet being courageous does not necessarily mean standing alone. In Joshua’s case when reading the memory verse today, and use of exegesis, we know without a doubt He stands courageous with God.
Yes sometimes we need to remember the memory text when in Sundays lesson. Joshua 1:7.
Each local church is just one generation short of extinction, and unless we teach and train new leaders, we jeopardize the future of our homes, churches, and nation..Though Moses was about to die, he didn’t think about himself but about the future of the nation. His great concern was that God provide a spiritual leader for the people, for they were sheep (Num. 27:17; see Pss. 74:1; 79:13; 95:7; 100:3; 2 Sam. 24:7), and sheep must have a shepherd (1 Kings 22:17; Zech. 10:2; Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34). God answered this prayer by appointing Joshua, who during his years of service with Moses had learned valuable principles of spiritual life and service, principles that still apply today. The Book of Joshua, is concerned about the glory of God and the welfare of the people, and that he was careful to obey the orders God gave him. The two times Joshua didn’t seek God’s will, he brought the nation into shameful defeat (Josh. 7 and 9), but to his credit, he trusted God to make his mistakes work out successfully in the end.
Under Joshua’s leadership, the nation worked together to defeat the pagan nations in Canaan and then establish the nation of Israel. Before he died, he called the leaders and the people together and led them in dedicating themselves and their families to the Lord, affirming to them, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). In this way, Joshua acted as the “new Moses,” carrying forward God’s plan and ensuring the people had a shepherd to lead them. One of the responsibilities of Christian leaders today is to see to it that the next generation is equipped to carry on the work.
You wrote:
I hear you, Dan! And this is probably the biggest mistake our leaders, both in political and church leadership circles, do. This absence of policy or shared vision creates a "Frankenstein monster", of a sort and look at what we have become as generations after. We need a Moses-style leadership now more than ever – leadership that shares and cares for the future.
Many times when we talk of Moses, it seems like natural human habit to focus on the negative over the positive. We dwell on his failed areas – his excuses at the beginning, his wrath, his striking of the rock thrice, and some even view his action of defending the Israelite slave by killing the Egyptian oppressor as murderous. However, we miss a crucial point: his exceptional leadership qualities. Moses:
1. Mentored Joshua
2. Worked for God with zeal
3. Knew from the start that his leadership would eventually end, so he prepared Joshua for the task ahead
4. Had a clear mission in sight, from Egypt to Canaan
5. Worked with and for God
6. Admitted his liability and used his failures to guide Joshua
7. Identified talents and dreamed big for them to be better and greater than themselves
The result was an honorable and young man of valor called Joshua of Nun from the little-known tribe of Ephraim – a rare choice indeed.
There are four things that stand out about Joshua's character:
1. When God spoke to Joshua, he didn't respond or try to rationalize; instead, he listened, learned, and took action (Joshua 1:10).
2. Unlike many "born slaves" who let their past define them, Joshua appreciated his liberation from Egypt and had purposed in his heart to serve God entirely.
3. God Himself describes this character in Joshua (Numbers 27:18), and it's emphasized again in Deuteronomy 34:9. This quality remains a major mention in leadership qualities in scripture and leadership today.
4. Joshua was tutored by Moses, trusted Moses' God, learned the statutes, and watched closely. When Moses handed over to him, Joshua clearly understood his purpose and mission and immediately began his service to God and for Israel.
What can we learn from this and for guiding our church today?
I am realizing now that there is so much in leadership! I too found myself not seeing the resultant effect of Moses in the preparing of Joshua for future leadership. Today, very old leaders fight for the very leadership that should progress and end killing the future of a nation or a church. By the way as the church what happened to our mentorship programs?
One thing we left out is what we learned last quarter. 1. Joshua was Moses assistant. 2. As Moses assistant Joshua proved himself trust worthy. How? He stood by the tent meeting place while Moses talked with the Lord and He remained after Moses went back to the camp, from the external temporary Tabernacle. Joshua, was a faithful assistant any way you look at it, I do believe. Moses did not have any more love in his concern for his protege then did Paul for Timothy. In my opinion they both loved their intern so much that they went out of their way to mentor them. They saw some real potential in them. Also never gave up on them.
The Bible is full of godly pairings. In volleyball terms, it's like the first player is the one setting the ball into position for the second player to move in and hit it over the net. Here are some examples that come to my mind of God using two people to get the job done: Mordecai laying the groundwork for Esther to deliver the final blow to Haman and the enemies of the Jews; Elijah mentoring Elisha to receive the double portion of Elijah's Spirit and continue on God's work as a prophet; and John the Baptist in the wilderness teaching repentance and baptizing, preparing the way for Jesus' Messianic ministry.
Another Biblical pairing I'm thinking of that reminds of old Moses and young Joshua is King David and his son King Solomon. On his deathbed, David admonishes Solomon to be obedient to God so that he may prosper....just like Moses did with Joshua (1 Kings 2:1-4). Then God Himself meets with Solomon, just as He did with Joshua...the story is in 1 Kings 3:5-15. And when God grants Solomon the fulfillment of any wish, Solomon humbly asks for God to be with him and to give him the wisdom he would need to be a godly ruler. At this time, Solomon showed that he knew the recipe for success. He had seen it in his own father David's life of being strong in faith and of good courage, walking closely and boldly with the Lord and the many associated blessings for God's people, ....and then David falling into a murderous, adulterous sin with many after-effects on God's people. And so God gladly grants Solomon's desire for wisdom and understanding (1 Kings 3:12)....and now here is the amazing part, God throws in all the other things Solomon could have asked for, such as riches and honor (1 Kings 3:13)....but it is all conditional on remaining in faithful relationship with God (1 Kings 3:14). Just as Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). Sadly, unlike Joshua who it seems remained faithful to God all of his life, Solomon's heart clung to his pagan wives who worshiped idols and he turned away from God (1 Kings 11:1-4). He lost the recipe for success. Hopefully, if Eccl. 12:13-14 was Solomon's final conclusion at the end of his life, seems he repented and turned back to God.
Moses was a member belonging to the family of the 'children of Israel'; all learned together to trust, obey, and follow their God Yahweh – 40 years. When it was time, God chose Joshua to lead them to secure their appointed lands, to keep them save from their enemies, and to help them establish their new life in God’s Promised Land by remembering to do that which Moses received from God to establish them in their homeland.
I do not see Joshua to be a new Moses. I consider them, as well as the leaders before them and those coming after them, to stand separate when fulfilling their specific call, but singularly united in the Spirit of God as they accepted their commission to secure and foster the children of Israel’s faith-relationship with God!
I consider God selecting and starting to prepare His leaders through the influence of His Holy Spirit. Just as it was then, our unity's strength is found only in God’s Spirit and Truth, not in the name of a leader, creed, or cause.
It is God's Spirit which prepares His leaders for their commission. We may differ in our calling, the time of our calling, and the specifics preparing us for our calling. God's only pre-requisite when calling us is to be in unity with His Spirit - John 4:23-24.
The Holy Spirit does not work in a vacuum. It works in and though others. Moses had a direct influence on Joshua. The effectiveness of that influence came through the Holy Spirit.
Maurice - yes - I agree! It was never my understanding, or conveyed through my comments, that I believed the Holy Spirit is working in a vacuum. I always hold that the true believer, being a vessel used for the outpouring of the Holy Sprit, needs to acknowledge His preeminent role in all things done in the name of God.
Moses and Joshua both accepted being filled and guided by God’s Spirit. They came to believe that without Him, one cannot be a leader in any capacity when engaging in God’s work; for that matter, can do anything in any capacity! I am sure you would be able to formulate an equation representing this Truth.😊
I am puzzled by the application of Deuteronomy 18:15-22 to Joshua. I have always understood these verses to refer to Jesus and both Peter and Stephen make this application. Also, I don't see anything that indicates Joshua was a prophet. When Moses gave his last speech to the nation which included the words in Deuteronomy 18, Joshua had already been commissioned as noted in Numbers 27. If Moses' words about another prophet referred to Joshua, you would think Moses would say that.
Now certainly Joshua was given the Spirit to carry on Moses work, but we need to be careful about how we interpret the texts.
I thought the same thing, Christina, and agree with you that this passage refers to Jesus. As you say, Peter specifically said that this promise in Deuteronomy was fulfilled in Jesus (Acts 3:22-23) and Stephen did too (Acts 7:37). Additionally, Philip understood that Jesus ticked all the boxes for being the One whom Moses wrote about (John 1:45) and Jesus Himself said that Moses wrote about Him (John 5:46). I'm glad you're inviting us to join you in this stop-and-think question, though, because as I dig deeper I have an idea about why the lesson writer included this text when contemplating the role of Joshua.
For context, Moses wrote about the office of a king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. He wrote about the office of a priest in Deuteronomy 18:1-8. And, he wrote about the office of a prophet in Deuteronomy 18:15-22. Briefly, a king is taken from among the brethren, is appointed by God, and knows, does and administers the law. A priest is also chosen from among the brethren, has no inheritance in the land as far as personal property, abides in the service of God and is ministered to by the people of God. And finally, a prophet is also of his brethren, and is individually chosen by God to deliver messages directly from God, being a vessel for the Word of God in its entirety and without adding or taking away anything.
I'm guessing that as Moses completed his descriptions of these three leadership roles, he must have been overtaken by the Spirit in realizing that the Messiah to come would fill all of these offices ... King, Priest and Prophet.... and he waxed poetic and prophetic specifically about Jesus' prophetic role as God's language of love, Jesus the Word of God made flesh, Jesus the ultimate messenger of God, the fulfiller of God's promises.
And now back to Joshua and the question of why this passage may apply to him? Joshua was not a king of Israel; Israel was still under a theocracy at this time where God Himself gave and administered His Law (for instance, the 10 faithless spies were punished by God Himself, struck by a plague and died). Joshua was not a priest of Israel; Aaron's son Eleazar filled this role and worked with Joshua in matters of state (Josh. 14:1). So that leaves prophet....I think the point is that Joshua was, like Moses, a prophet of God. He was the leader chosen to lead God's people in receiving God's spoken promises. Joshua was a mouthpiece for God, speaking directly with God as we see in Joshua 1:1-9 and delivering messages to Israel for God. His position as leader would not be passed on to his eldest son, as would happen if he were a king or high priest. Instead, prophets were often mentored by the previous prophet, like Elijah and Elisha.
Yes! this get's confusing. The use of this text varies a lot.
I don't think the author intended to imply that Joshua was "a prophet like me." (Deuteronomy 18:15-22) But the wording does allow for such confusion.
The author goes on to ask, "Why is it significant that the book of Joshua starts by echoing a promise related to what would happen after the death of Moses?"
Is it that Joshua wanted to point the minds of the people to the promise of the prophet that God would raise up?
Throughout the ages, God has called men and women to lead His people. Why is it crucial to remember who the true, invisible Leader of the church is?
When Moses passed leadership to Joshua, Israel had to learn that their true Leader was not Moses but God Himself. Leaders may change, inspire, or even disappoint, but Christ, the Head of the church, never fails. Because God is the actual Leader, we are not to be tempted to leave the church or break our relationship with Him when human leaders fail. Remembering this keeps our faith anchored in Him and helps us support those He calls without losing sight of the One who truly guides His people.