49 When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 By command of the Lord they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it. 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land. (Joshua 19:49-51)
Joshua is a consummate servant leader. As the two faithful spies from the previous generation, Joshua and Caleb had their pick of the land. As we saw a couple of days ago, Caleb picked one of the toughest places—the hill country where giants still lived. And Joshua, although he could have picked first, picked last. He graciously waited until everyone else’s needs were met, and all the land was conquered, and all the enemies were defeated, before he rested in his inheritance.
How amazing that this Old Testament Joshua (Hebrew for Yahweh Saves) foreshadows the servant heart of our New Testament Joshua! Of course, we know him better as Yeshua, or Jesus. Same name, same heart.
As the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), Jesus was entitled to first pick. And the truth is, He was already enjoying the Promised Land, in eternal fellowship with the Father and the Spirit.
And yet, Paul tells us in Philippians that Jesus,
6 ... though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)
Like the Old Testament Joshua, Yeshua fought every battle and defeated every enemy. He was crucified so that we could obtain our inheritance. And when the last enemy was defeated, only then did the New Testament Joshua sit down at the right hand of the Father:
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3)
That’s the kind of leader I will follow. That’s a leader I would give my life to. He waited until I had my inheritance before he claimed His! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
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