Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Good morning, special ones.
It’s below freezing. So we’ll dress accordingly when we venture out for our walk/jog in another 10 minutes or so.
After that…all kinds of stuff can happen. My work plate is very full. Before Becki takes off for the Bible Study session she leads in Woodburn, I’d like to take the car into town to have a tire repaired on the car…a slow leak…that’s getting faster.
I’m sure having a tough time being as brief as I would like with these compositions. And it’s tough to keep from going longer yet. So many things can be said. I guess I’ll just try to relax and let things fall where they will.
Blessings on your day. Love, Dad/Ray.
Moses reaches the finish line of his spectacular life of service to the LORD as prophet/leader of Israel. What a guy! The last three verses of Deuteronomy gives this note concerning Moses: “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt — to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:10-12).
Enter Joshua—another amazing man. The FOCUS VERSE offers a brief description. Besides having a range of background experience like none other (with the exception of Caleb—witnessing Israel’s history all the way back to the plagues of Egypt), it says he was “filled with the spirit of wisdom.” Was it only “because Moses had laid his hands on him?” I think not. There was something going on inside of Joshua before Moses “laid his hands on him.” Back in Numbers 27 there was this entry: “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him’” (Numbers 27:18-21).
Both Moses and Joshua were clearly God’s choices for special leadership roles. I want to cut through the historical record and raise the question, WHY?—why were Moses and Joshua God’s special selections? (You will probably already anticipate my answer—so I won’t surprise you.) I don’t think it was necessarily because of their unique backgrounds. I don’t think that it was because they were necessarily trying to be great men of God and do great things for God. It was not because they were necessarily men of handsome stature or big preacher voices. It was certainly not because they were conformists to their socio-spiritual environment. The bottom line reason, as I see it, was that they both really and truly “feared the LORD”—really and truly chose a HEART AFTER GOD over any other options.
And the reason this simple point is so profoundly important (and worth repeating) is because this has to be the same standard the “LORD of the harvest” still uses today (Matthew 9:38).