Joshua is the book of victory as the Israelites obey Joshua and Joshua obeys God. Each tribe receives its inheritance and settles down to enjoy the land of milk and honey. But Joshua dies and a new generation arrives and begins to imitate the idolatrous nations around them. The Lord raises up judges who seek to bring the people back to the Lord and defeat their enemies. The book of Ruth is a beautiful love story that builds a bridge to David, the ancestor of Messiah. Each book different but with one major theme: the Lord is God and His people must obey Him from their hearts.
Many poets and lyricists have used Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River and entering Canaan as a picture of Christians dying and going to heaven. Such art has long encouraged hurting readers and listeners to look to the hope of heaven in a profound and meaningful way. During trials, heaven is sometimes exactly where our eyes should turn. However, there are weaknesses to the analogy that are important for serious Bible scholars to understand, even if they continue to cherish much about the songs and poems. One song says, “I don’t want to cross Jordan alone,”1 and another says, “On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand / And cast a wistful eye / To Canaan’s fair and happy land / Where my possessions lie.”2 Surely there will be no armies or warfare in heaven like there was in Canaan! No, the account of Israel crossing the Jordan and taking possession of the land God promised them pictures believers today claiming their spiritual inheritance in Christ today and experiencing a victorious Christ-life today. The book of Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, uses the conquest of Canaan to instruct believers today on how to claim their spiritual riches in Christ. If we don’t, we will end up wandering through life as a generation of Jews did back in the days of Moses.
In many ways, the book of Joshua shows him as an excellent example of a confident, capable leader.
God uses leaders who begin as servants. Joshua is called Moses’ “assistant” in Exodus 24:13 and his “servant” in Exodus 33:11. His given name was Oshea or Hoshea, and Moses changed it to Joshua (Num. 13:8, 16). It means “the Lord saves” or “the Lord is salvation.” After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, the Amalekites attacked them, so Moses appointed Joshua to lead the army and Joshua won the battle (Exod. 17:8–16). It’s a basic biblical principle that if we want to become leaders, we must first be servants (see Num. 11:28; Matt. 25:21, 23). The Chinese Christian leader Watchman Nee wrote, “Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord.”3 David was a servant long before he became the king, and Jesus told His disciples, “I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27).
God uses leaders who seek His will and obey it, starting in their own homes. In his farewell address to the nation, Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15). If we cannot be spiritual leaders in our own household, how can we lead in the house of God (1 Tim. 3:5)? It is unfortunate that some of the tribal leaders in Israel did not fully obey the Lord and failed to remove the pagan inhabitants from the land as God had commanded them (see Num. 21:1–3; Deut. 20; Judg. 3:1–7). Like yeast spreading in a lump of dough, the enemy’s sins spread through a nation and lead to disobedience and defilement (see 2 Cor. 6:14–18).
God uses leaders who put others first. Joshua had the privilege of helping assign the inheritances to the tribes of Israel, and yet he received his inheritance last (Josh. 19:49–51). Paul may have had Joshua in mind when he wrote Philippians 2:3—“in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Some versions read “more important than himself.” True leaders know how to sacrifice for the sake of others.
God uses leaders who acknowledge their mistakes and seek to correct them. Joshua assumed that the city of Ai was easy to conquer, but he did not pause to consult the Lord and was defeated. When he humbled himself before the Lord, Joshua heard from God that there was a traitor in the ranks, and it was Achan. Once the traitor was judged, Israel went on to victory (Josh. 7—8). Deceived by the Gibeonites’ lies, Joshua made a treaty with them, which was against the Lord’s law (ch. 9). Joshua kept his word but made the deceptive Gibeonites slaves to the Israelites. How easy it is to walk by sight instead of by faith! Had Joshua taken time to pray instead of examining the “evidence,” the Lord would have guided him and revealed that these “visitors” were neighbors and enemies. It pays to wait upon the Lord and seek His guidance instead of jumping to conclusions on the basis of deceptive “evidence.”
The nineteenth-century British preacher F. W. Robertson said, “Life, like war, is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best Christian nor the best general who makes the fewest false steps … but he is the best who wins the most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes. Forget mistakes; organize victory out of mistakes.”4
God uses leaders who are themselves and not imitators of others. During my many years of ministry, I have followed some great men of dedication and achievement, but I have never tried to imitate their leadership style. If the Holy Spirit and I were to work together, I had to be myself—my best self—and seek to glorify the Lord. Joshua was Moses’ successor but not his imitator. Joshua was a military man while Moses was a liberator, legislator, and an organizer. At different times, ministries need different leaders in order to meet different needs, and search committees must keep this in mind. Each of us is unique and can make different contributions to the work of the Lord.
God uses leaders who are disciplined. “Then Joshua rose early in the morning …” (Josh. 3:1). Our Lord rose to pray early in the morning (Mark 1:35), and Abraham rose early to do God’s will, difficult as it was (Gen. 22:3). David was an early riser (Ps. 5:3). Early in my Christian life, I learned to get up early and spend time reading the Word of God, meditating, and praying, whether I was at home, in a motel room, or in a plane headed overseas. To meet God in the morning is to have God with you all the day. To leave Him behind is to face the day alone, and that is dangerous.
God uses leaders who explain and encourage. It’s not enough to tell God’s people what they are to do; they also must understand why they are doing it. As I read the book of Joshua, I get the impression that Joshua encouraged his people and kept them informed. As our Lord made His way up to Jerusalem that final week, He told the disciples what would happen. They didn’t fully understand His plans, but they knew He was doing the Father’s will. Be an encourager!
Some people dislike and even criticize the military language used in Scripture and in hymnals, but whether we like it or not, God’s people have enemies and must fight battles. “Fight the good fight of faith,” Paul admonished Timothy (1 Tim. 6:12), and he commanded the saints in Ephesus to “put on the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11). There are political issues today that are actually religious matters that affect our basic freedoms, and if we are not ready for the battle, we will be defeated. The devil and his hosts are organized against us, and we must be awake, armed, and alert. Every Christian is important and must answer “Here” to the roll call. The apostle John tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), but we also know that Moses sang, “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name” (Exod. 15:3).
A new generation of Israelites had taken possession of the Promised Land, a generation that had never experienced the slavery of Egypt or the challenges of a long wilderness march. They took over the inheritance assigned to them and settled down to enjoy the “land of milk and honey.” They did not kill or expel all of the former idolatrous inhabitants as God had commanded them (Deut. 7:1–11; Ps. 106:34–39) and soon became interested in their neighbors’ activities, including their godless religion. God’s people began to “sample” some of their religious practices, all of which the laws of the Lord God prohibited; and the nation gradually abandoned God’s instructions. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6, and see 18:1; 19:1; 21:25; and Deut. 12:8).
“What’s right for you may not be right for me,” said a college student. “There are no absolutes.” “Does that include the statement you just made?” his friend asked. “It sounds pretty absolute to me.” That ended the conversation.
Though they had not been there personally, the Jewish people knew what had happened at Mt. Sinai—the thunder and lightning, the revelation of God’s glory, God’s voice from heaven, and the declaration of God’s commandments to His people. When the nation’s spiritual life began to decay, the Lord chastened His people as Moses, in his farewell address to the nation, said He would (Deut. 13). The Lord had called Israel to be His special people, and He had made it clear they were not to imitate the wicked practices of the pagan nations around them. When they did, He brought other nations to invade them and put them under bondage. The people would then repent of their sins, return to the Lord, and the Lord would raise up “judges” to drive out the enemy and set His people free (see Judg. 2:11–23). The Holy Spirit would empower the judges to awaken the people and lead them in defeating their enemies. It’s worth noting that, by His Spirit, the Lord empowered only the judge (see Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:16, 19; and 15:14), while in Acts 2, the Spirit filled all of God’s people. As the people of God who have the Holy Spirit, let’s focus on Acts 1:8 and make a difference in this world!
It is interesting to see the various “weapons” that were used during the time of the judges: a dagger (3:16); an ox goad (3:31); a tent peg (4:21); torches, pitchers, and trumpets (7:16–25); a millstone (9:53); and the jawbone of a donkey (15:15). Neither the weapon nor the warrior gave the victory but the power of the God of Israel.
Why was it so important that the people of Israel remain obedient to the Lord and separated from the practices of the godless nations? Because “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). The Jewish people would witness to the world of the one true and living God. They would also give the lost world the Holy Scriptures and the Savior, Jesus Christ. This they could not do unless they were separated from the deceptive and destructive religious beliefs and practices of other nations. This same principle applies to the church today: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14). To love the world and imitate it is to lose our love for the Father and the blessings that He shares with us (1 John 2:15–17).
The nation of Israel asked for a king so they could be like the other nations and fight off their enemies (1 Sam. 8). Where was their faith in the Lord? Could a human leader do for the nation what God had already done? The more the church becomes like the world, the less influence it will have on the world, and our witness will be ineffective. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we compromise with the world, and He removes His power from us. You meet all sorts of people as you study the judges in this book. Some abused the office by putting themselves ahead of their ministry while others were faithful to the Lord and His people. Keep in mind that the judges did not rule over the entire nation as would a king but primarily over different tribes and areas.
Samson, one of these judges, had great strength when the enemy tested him, but he was very weak when the ladies tempted him. He was raised in a godly home, given great physical strength, and handed an opportunity to lead the nation to victory, but his life ended in shame. He played with sin, and it robbed him of power. Judges 16:21 describes the blinding effects of sin, the binding effects of sin, and the grinding effects of sin. It wasn’t worth it! Samson went from the dynamics of conquest to the disgrace of captivity. Yes, he gave his life to defeat the enemy, but it would have been better had he given his life fully to the Lord and done the will of God.
In a sense, we are living in the times of the judges today, for “doing your own thing in your own way” is the most popular way of life for young and old. George MacDonald called this philosophy of life “respectable selfishness.”5 The late star Lucille Ball said, “I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.”6 People who live only for themselves inevitably get tired of the company they keep and miss out on what Jesus called “abundant life” (see John 10:10).
It’s remarkable that the events in this beautiful story occurred “in the days when the judges ruled” (Ruth 1:1)! Yes, the book opens with a famine and three funerals, but it closes with a wedding and the birth of an ancestor of King David (Ruth 4:17–22). Ruth is named in Jesus’ genealogy (Matt. 1:5), which is quite an honor for a widow from the land of Moab: “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation” (Deut. 23:3). But Ruth got in! All of this tells us that the worst of times may turn out to become the best of times when we trust God and depend on His grace. This love story encourages us not to give up but to obey the Lord and trust Him to work things out. Romans 8:28 had not been written yet, but the truth that “all things work together for good to those who love God” is certainly demonstrated in the life of Ruth the Moabite.
There was no king in Israel, but there was a King in heaven, and Ruth trusted that King as her own Lord and Savior (Ruth 1:15–18). In spite of three painful funerals, Ruth still trusted the Lord God of Israel and became spiritually a member of the nation God had chosen. Three graves seemed to testify that death was in control, but Ruth trusted God to guide and provide. Take time now to read Romans 5, and as you read, identify four “kings” that reign in this world: death (vv. 14, 17), sin (v. 21), grace (v. 21), and those who trust Jesus (v. 17). Jesus enables us to “reign in life” because we are members of the kingdom through faith in King Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
What does it mean to “reign in life”? It means to trust Christ to be in control, no matter what feelings are within us, circumstances are around us, or consequences are before us. It means to live victoriously “on top of the circumstances” and not be smothered “under the circumstances.” It’s Moses trusting God day by day as He led Israel through the wilderness. It’s David doing God’s will as King Saul pursued him and tried to kill him. It’s Jesus going up to Jerusalem, knowing that there He would be rejected, humiliated, and crucified. To reign in life is Paul aboard a sinking ship in a terrible storm, encouraging his fellow passengers, and publicly thanking God (Acts 27). It means God is King of my life and your life and that we gladly “trust and obey,” walking in faith and not by sight.
You can see the Lord’s hand and heart in every event recorded in the book of Ruth. Naomi and her husband and two sons were wrong to leave Bethlehem (“house of bread”) and go to Moab, but when we don’t allow God to rule, He over-rules. The three men die, leaving three widows behind. One returns to her pagan home, the second journeys with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. The wealthiest unmarried man in Bethlehem comes to his fields just as Ruth is there gleaning after the harvesters—I think it was love at first sight, but I can’t prove it! Ruth submitted herself to her mother-in-law and ended up at the feet of Boaz, her kinsman redeemer. He took every step necessary to take her as his wife, they wed, the entire community rejoiced, and God gave them a special descendant—David, the beloved king of Israel!
Judges is the book of “no king,” but Ruth is the book of “the Lord is King”; and because He is King, we can “reign in life through One. Christ Jesus.” All of this can take place now, in spite of what is going on in the rest of the world around us. And because we reign in Christ and serve in Christ, we can make a difference in this world.
How is it possible for the beautiful experiences described in the book of Ruth to take place during a period in history when selfishness reigned and God was ignored? How do we locate the good and wholesome events when bad news saturates the media? It’s easy to enjoy the happy events, but how do we endure the sad events? Find some Bible verses that deal with this problem.