Are You Filled with a Spirit of Wisdom?

Deuteronomy 34:9 – And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him, and the children of Israel hearkened to him and did as the Lord commanded.

    Moses was the kind of spiritual leader that the world had not seen before. He was used by God to confront one of the most powerful leaders and greatest military strategists of the earth: Pharaoh, King of Egypt. God instructed Moses on how to approach and deal with Pharaoh, but we can only imagine the kind of faith and courage it took to go face to face in conflict with this ruthless and formidable dictator. God worked through Moses in an unusually amazing way, and the children of Israel were miraculously released from four-hundred years of collective slavery. Moses’ successor had some very large shoes to fill, and Joshua was the one whom God chose to step into them.

    If Joshua was going to be able to succeed Moses as leader of the newly formed, rebellious, and ragtag nation, he was going to need, among many other things, a spirit of wisdom. Wisdom is the supreme need of all leaders. One can be strong and courageous but have a wrong motive. One could be able to influence and direct others, but be headed in the wrong direction. One could have many resources, but use them in the wrong way. Wisdom gives us precisely what we need and more, and it is vital that we acquire it. The principles of wisdom must be instructed, line upon line, but the spirit of wisdom must be imparted, time after time. The laws of wisdom must be learned, but the force of wisdom must be earned. 

       Joshua had served Moses from his youth. He spent many hours with Moses; watching, waiting, listening and obeying. He served Moses daily and helped him in whatever way was needed. He was up in the morning before Moses was up; he got him water and a basin; he brought him food and drink. He climbed the mountain with Moses to meet God. He was always close by, as Moses prayed and talked to God. He could hear Moses reciting the powerful spiritual truths that God had shown him. Joshua watched as Moses endured the pain of misunderstandings and betrayals from people that should have known better. He watched Moses suffer under the weight of responsibility and the sense of loneliness that comes with any leadership burden but, especially one of that magnitude and capacity.

    The laying on of hands is one of the foundational principles of the New Testament and it is a fascinating subject and practice. However, there may be more involved in it than we have experienced. I do not believe that Joshua was full of a spirit of wisdom because of a one-time event of Moses placing his hands on him. No doubt, that would be a very powerful experience for any of us, but, I believe, that it was over a period of years that Moses, by Joshua’s close association and proximity, continually laid his hands on him. Something was happening deep within Joshua as he served the man of God and spent much time in his presence. Something was transpiring within him, something was being transferred to him; and all of it was taking place slowly and silently, incrementally and incessantly, purposely and precisely. This wasn’t something that Moses was intentionally doing, per se, and it wasn’t something that Joshua was especially conscious of. It was something that God was doing, and He was doing it in the way that only He can. Every act, every thought, every prayer, and every circumstance were being woven together by the Master Designer, weaving the fabric of wisdom with which He clothed Joshua.

     Moses had brought the Israelites out of Egypt but, for some reason, he failed to bring them in. God wants us to be brought out, but the job is not complete until we are also brought in. Joshua brought them in. The spirit of wisdom which was within Joshua made it obvious to the children of Israel that God had equipped him to assume leadership. So, they listened and obeyed, and God brought them into the land of promise and inheritance. There is so much more that God desires for us, but we must desire it, as well. We will need that same spirit of wisdom so that we can enter our promised land, drive out the illegal squatters, and reclaim our rightful, God-ordained inheritance.