THE PEOPLE’S RESPONSE

Reading this verse extracted from its context—as above—might lead to some troubling conclusions. This was not Joshua promising to grimly defend the name and word of God with violence as “necessary.” Neither was this God giving Joshua free rein to invoke His name in enforcing a potentially tyrannical rule. Instead, this was the people—particularly the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh—committing to follow Joshua across the river and into the Promised Land. Leadership is a perennially popular topic in publishing, conferences, workshops, and other church training and discussion.

We are all leaders in our own ways and in our particular spheres of influence. But we should also spend more time talking and thinking about what it means to follow well. As much as we focus on and value godly leadership, we should also learn and commit to faithful followership. It is not about the people merely serving the needs or demands of the leader. Nor should a leader be exploited only for what he or she can offer to those they lead.

The dynamics of healthy leadership will always include mutual commitment and will support the community as a whole in achieving their goals together.

In doing this, we will discover that good followers can make their leaders better and encourage them to live up to the calling God has given them.

As we see in this story, the response of the people committing to follow and support Joshua echoed the command of God: “Be strong and courageous.” They recognized that God would be with Joshua as He had been with Moses, and the people’s commitment to God was expressed in their support of Joshua and the task to which God had called all of them.