TO ANOTHER GENERATION

Nearing the end of his life, Moses knew he had to pass leadership to the next generation. Regretfully, he had to leave his task of leading the Israelite people into their new land unfinished. Good leadership knows when it is time to let go and pass it on to the next generation. It celebrates what has been achieved but acknowledges that there is always more to do and that, building on what has been achieved, the next leaders will have opportunities beyond those of the current leader. With this in mind, it is natural that leaders who have invested so much in a task, community, or organization want to ensure that the ongoing work will be in safe hands. Joshua “had been Moses’ aide since youth” (Numbers 11:28) and had led Israel into battle against its enemies on a number of occasions. Even at risk to himself, Joshua had proved his faithfulness and courage, particularly in the minority report he brought back as one of the twelve spies sent across the river into the land of Canaan. Now Moses gave his final commands and prepared himself to hand over leadership to Joshua. Moses wanted Joshua to know the ultimate Source of any success that he had achieved and any victories the people had enjoyed under his leadership. Even though Moses had worked hard leading the people for more than forty years, it had always been God who had truly led. It was He who had rescued the people from Egypt, and He had fought all their battles since. This was the foundational understanding that Joshua would need for his new role, as it is for all faithful leaders. Moses’ unfinished task, as well as Joshua’s new responsibilities, would be in safe hands because they were always in God’s hands.