Early the next morning Joshua gathered the men together. Then Joshua and the leaders of Israel led the men to Ai
Joshua 8:10 (ERV)
When it was time to conquer the city of Ai, Joshua did not lead the men alone, instead he and the leaders of Israel led the men to Ai. This teaches another important lesson about leadership; leaders don’t lead alone, they surround themselves with other leaders.
When Joshua’s predecessor, the great Prophet Moses assumed the mantle of leadership, he did not understand the principles of leadership; he thought he could lead the people alone.
So he would sit from morning until night judging the people. When Jethro, Moses’ father in-law visited him and saw this, he was shocked and asked Moses why he was the only one judging the people.
Jethro counselled Moses to be wise and to choose men to lead with him who are able, who respect God, men who will not change their decisions for money.
He advised Moses to find such men and make them rulers over the people. He explained that there should be rulers over 1000 people, 100 people, 50 people, and even over ten people. Moses was to let these rulers judge the people.
If there was a very important case, then they could come to Moses and let him decide what to do. But they could decide the other cases themselves. In this way these men will share his work with him, and it will be easier for him to lead the people. If he did it this way then he would be able to do his job without tiring himself out.
Moses was a humble leader, so he listened to the counsel of Jethro. He chose good men from among the Israelites and he made them leaders over the people (Exodus 18).
Jesus Christ Who is our example, did not do all that the Father sent Him to do alone. When He was on earth, He chose 12 ordinary men to be His disciples. He invested His time in them and trained them so that they could carry on and do even greater works than He did (John 14:12). As believers in Jesus we are His body through which He still saves, heals, and delivers humanity (1 Corinthians 12:27, Mark 16:15-18).
We learn from both Jesus Christ and Joshua that as leaders, we should always be on the lookout for other leaders to surround ourselves with, whom we can train to share the mantle of leadership with, as well as to equip to lead when we are no longer around.
Prayer
Dear Father, please help me to surround myself with men and women who are able, who fear God, men and women of truth, who hate covetousness so that they can share the mantle of leadership with me. Please help me to invest in such people and train them so that they can carry on with the work You have entrusted in my hands in Jesus name, amen.
Listen to the Message
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BTM0RU3sPc
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