THEME:
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: ………..Mat 24:6
DATE:
June 22nd, 2013
Lagos.
“NOW after the
death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spoke
unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, ‘Moses my servant is
dead, now, therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto
the land which I do give to them, even the children of Isreal”. Verse 3: “Every
place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you,
as I said unto Moses”.
The man Moses represented a typology, an approach, a
season, a kind and time, a symbol and indeed a mentality.
In the days of Moses as the leader of Isreal, he
stretched his rod over the Red Sea and it was parted into two for Isrealites to
pass through. With the same rod in his hand, Egyptian soldiers and their
chariots were swallowed up by the Red Sea.
Moses prayed to God, and manna was provided for the
children of Isreal in the wilderness. They were led by the pillar of cloud in the
day and of fire in the night. In the war against Amalek, as long as Moses’
hands held the rod up, Isrealites were winning the battle and when his hands
came down, Isreal began to lose hence Hur and Aaron had to support Moses’ hand
for Isreal to obtain victory (Exodus 17:8-13).
In the
wilderness, Moses it was who received instructions from God on behalf of Isreal
and constructed a brass snake by which means those bitten by snakes were
healed. (Numbers 21: 4-9).”And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a
pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld
the serpent of brass he lived”.
The attributes of Moses’ leadership signified an era in
God’s dealing with Isreal. He was an embodiment of a phase in God. Without his
involvement, almost nothing was done between the people of Isreal and God. Not
only did he receive master plans from God about what to do, he was always
responsible for doing it.
All the miracles
that took place in Egypt prior to Isrealites’ departure practically involved
Moses at all levels (Exodus 2 and 3).
From the scripture Joshua 1: 1-3 above, God spoke to
Joshua unequivocally not only to take up the mantle of leadership but also to
sensitize him ahead of the new order about to unfold. In other words, God
cautioned Joshua not to entertain fear when he would begin to experience a
pattern far apart from what he had witnessed with Moses.
The Mosaic period
could be likened to that of an army of God which has a General as its commander
and “recruits” or beginners. It was a dispensation characterized by a wide gap
between the headship of the army and others therein.
Making this exposition was Pastor Ademola Akinyemi at the
maiden edition of the Christian Leadership Upgrade (CLU) held in Surulere,
Lagos recently. He explained that the leadership pattern employed by God in His
dealings with Isreal through Moses was unique and different from that of
Joshua’s dispensation. For example, to cross over the Jordan River, the priest
bearing the ark of the Lord, were mandated to step into the river and take
position. As this happened, the River parted into two for Isreal to pass
through. Joshua 3:15 “And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and
the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the
water…, that the water which came down from above stood and rose up upon an
heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came
down toward the sea of the plain, even the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off;
and the people passed over right against Jericho.
Again, the battle against Jericho involved both the
priests and the people as well. While some priests were assigned to blow
trumpets, the troop and all Israel did not only walk around the city wall but
mandated to shout at a particular point. God changed the mode of operation and
character of His dealings with Israel under the leadership of Joshua.
The onus of responsibility devolved from Joshua to others
in a way that reveals God’s intent of incorporating the people.
Pastor Akinyemi
said it was imperative for the people to be built up in order to walk with God,
adding the challenges, rigour and rough situation faced by the people of Israel
on the journey to the land of promise, served to transform them from the
position of weaklings to that of warriors.
“Your courage must be built-up; your character must be
outstanding for you to have a place in God”, declared Pastor Akinyemi.
God’s goal, he noted was to raise spiritual disciples in
all departments or segments of human endeavour, and as such, God allowed His
own people to garner experiences under tough situations and circumstances with the
aims of preparing and maturing them for the responsibility ahead.
To the Pastor, being a child of God or attending a church
regularly was not an automatic ticket to accessing an inheritance in God. The
principles represented by or in Christ must not only be inculcated but also
built up in each Christian for him or her to have a place in God’s eternal
kingdom.
To be continued.
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