Rev. Don Campbell
Joshua 19-20
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, March 28, 2019
“JOSHUA AND THE INVERTED PYRAMID”
Most societies have a pyramidal approach to life. Sitting at the apex of the pyramid is the top dog, the chief executive, the king, by whatever he or she may be called. Next are the “important” people, the rich, the powerful, the influential. Those at the bottom of the pyramid are the disposable and easily replaceable.
One day the mother of James and John came to Jesus asking him to place them just under him on the apex of the pyramid. Jesus turned the pyramid upside down, saying, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:25-28).
Joshua, whose Hebrew name is the equivalent of the Greek Jesus, practiced what Jesus preached. He had been appointed by God as the successor to Moses and he had faithfully led the nation in victory after victory. Each tribe had received its inheritance. In a pyramidal culture, Joshua’s inheritance would have been the first. Not so: “After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a piece of land to Joshua as his allocation. For the Lord had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there” (Joshua 19:48-50, NLT). Joshua went last.
CONNECTIONS<
1. What lessons should all who aspire to be leaders, whether in religion, politics, industry, medicine, or any field, learn from Joshua?
2. “The hero of Flight 1549, pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III, walked the aisle of the downed US Airways jet twice looking for passengers before exiting the plane he safely ditched in the Hudson River, saving the lives of more than 150 people onboard” (ABC News). What might have been the outcome, had the captain had an I’m-the-most-important-person-on-this-plane mentality? What happens to nations, churches, families, and every organization on earth when the people at the top don’t know or don’t care that the last man off the ship should be the captain?
