Every leader will be faced with situations and decisions that demand courage. Just as God knows your current situation, He knew Joshua’s leadership situation. God knew Joshua’s need for courage and gave him guidance that would strengthen his faith. Read Joshua 1:1-9.

Joshua had some challenges that demanded courage in his leadership role. He had to contend with the military powers of the people living in the Promised Land, most of who had standing armies and professional soldiers who knew they were fighting for their homes and the survival of their families. And Joshua also knew he would be facing them with a partially trained and untested band of nomadic shepherds.

As we enter the study of Joshua as a leader please read the book of Joshua. A more detailed look at several passages will happen during the daily studies but we’ll start the study of Joshua’s leadership with a summary then move to a more detailed look at specific leadership principles over the next few days.

Joshua had been mentored by Moses but he was clearly a different kind of leader than Moses. Moses had a diplomatic and reform leadership style and Joshua was a military leader. We see the Lord lead Israel in a new and appropriate way through this new leader. The people were entering a season in which they needed to act as a military unit to conquer the land, so God raised up a different kind of leader and used Joshua’s personality and strengths to provide direction in a military style.

In the study of Joshua as a leader we have the benefit of seeing his whole leadership life from start to finish. Having the whole story of Joshua’s leadership life allows us to quickly respect him as a leader but had you been alive back in his day watching him develop as a leader, it is possible you could have had a different feeling about Joshua’s influence as a leader.  According to Numbers 14:10a “But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.” So what happened? How did Joshua’s influence grow from a man saved from being stoned only by intervention of God to a man the people willingly followed into battle when taking the Promised Land?

There are two kinds of false leaders in organizations: man-appointed and self-appointed. Yesterday, there were truths about Korah, a self-appointed leader, today truths about Balaam, a man-appointed leader. Read Numbers 22:5-24:25.