Succession
It has to be hard to follow in the footsteps of one who was so great.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, "My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:1-9
Moses got the people all the way to the promised land and then died before they could enter it. Now it was up to Joshua, assistant of Moses, to guide them from here.
It sounds like an easy task, not having far to go, but God tells Joshua he will replace Moses as their leader.
Is he ready? Would you be?
I doubt if Moses prepared Joshua for this day, when all would be dependent upon him, the new, young leader.
As it turns out, Joshua Bin Nun was not the one Moses would have picked. Moses wanted the leadership to go to one of his children, but God had other ideas.
God saw potential in Joshua, potential Moses did not see, and I think that is the message for us in this reading.
We may have someone in mind to take over when we decide to step down from our jobs, but the best choice may be someone we haven't considered.
So, maybe, instead of taking one person under our wing and giving that person special support, we need to cast a wider net, gathering up more, offering our best to a broader audience.
Who knows, the person who rises to lead may be someone we would never have chosen.
More to come...