The Burning Question:
It’s Whistleblower Appreciation Day. When did you need to blow the whistle?
Morning Devotional:
I had the opportunity not too long ago to chat with someone who was offering leadership training to young military personnel overseas. After hearing me share some recent thoughts I was having about Joshua in the scriptures, he knew he had to talk to me. His comment left me intrigued. He said, “It never occurred to me that being in the presence of the Lord was something you had to train for.”
The scripture he referred to was Exodus 33:11 which says, “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”
The tent referred to here was the tent of meeting, the place Moses built to meet with the Lord. If you sit with that verse for a while, you’ll start to ask yourself some questions. Why did Moses take Joshua with him to the tent? Did Joshua actually go into the tent, as implied in the wording of the Scripture, or was he sitting just outside it? And why didn’t Moses seem to care that Joshua stayed behind?
Not only did Joshua stay in the tent, but scripture says he refused to leave it. Why? Was this time in the presence of God preparation and on the job training for Joshua’s soon to be leadership position? I believe so, because something happened in that tent time that forged Joshua into who he needed to be in his next ministry position. Moses, shortly before his death, would later commission his young protege to lead the people into the Promised Land.
Joshua would prove to be a godly leader, modeling patience, wisdom, humble service, an unwavering trust in God and a deep devotion to Him – all things that would have been fostered in that sacred time in the tent with the Lord. Something tells me we all should be spending a little more tent time with God.
– Beth
Bible Quiz:
Question: What was the name of Melchizedek’s mother?
Answer: We don’t know. (Hebrews 7:3)
Storytime: My Jaw was on the floor!