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Joshua: Utilizing Wisdom to Uphold Standards
Issue #400, June 11, 2025
After a great victory over the city of Jericho, Joshua sent a few of his troops to the small city of Ai, expecting an easy victory. Instead, his army was routed. Joshua rightly asked God what went wrong and God responded.
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies... 14 “ ‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’ (Joshua 7:10-12a, 14-15, NIV).
God revealed to Joshua that the reason for the military defeat was a violation of the covenant He had commanded. God’s instructions gave Joshua the wisdom he needed to uphold community with clarify and grace. His example helps serving leaders wisely uphold the standards of their organization.
Joshua utilized wisdom by identifying the standard.
What went wrong? “They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied...” The standard of obedience was clearly identified and the behaviors that were not consistent with obedience were articulated. Joshua made a public declaration of what was wrong (see 7:13).
Some leaders don’t clearly articulate their standards yet still hope for the best from people. But serving leaders make the values and standards of the organization clear to everyone. They explain what behavior is acceptable and what is not. They are quick to say, “This is the way we do things here” and “This is not the way we do things here.” Wise leadership begins by clarifying and communicating standards.
Joshua utilized wisdom by allowing time for change.
The standards were broken and there would be consequences. But Joshua used wisdom in providing a bit of time before the punishment would be applied. In this situation he did not know the person involved. He provided a public announcement that evening and told people to prepare themselves for the following day. The next day there was a public process of finding out who did wrong. Achan, the guilty party, had plenty of time to come forward and admit his mistake and ask for a way to be restored but he did not respond until it was too late.
Some leaders recognize a values violation and immediately respond by implementing consequences such as firing or disciplinary action. But serving leaders care about the people involved and prefer that they change their behavior to align with the standards of the organization. So, they allow some time for the person to change. Ultimately, if there is no change, they continue to serve the organization by upholding the standard which may mean releasing that person. Wisdom provides people time to change and align with the standards of the organization.
Joshua utilized wisdom with consistent enforcement.
“Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire....” Joshua wisely enforced the cost of violation of the standards, in this case using capital punishment! While today’s consequences look different, leaders still face hard decisions, sometimes needing to ‘fire’ those who are not willing to change.
Some leaders overlook violations of standards and hope that over time things will improve. But serving leaders take action to ensure that standards are consistently enforced. They model the standards and require that everyone in the organization also align with these values. Wisdom requires that standards are uniformly enforced.
For further reflection and discussion:
- Read the entire account of Joshua and the experience at Ai (Joshua 7:1-8:28). What additional insights about upholding standards do you gain from this story?
- Are the standards in my organization clearly identified? Does everyone understand what behaviors are expected and what will not be tolerated? Do I regularly remind people of our standards? Am I currently aware of someone who is not upholding our standards? If so, when will I address this?
- When standards are not upheld in my organization do I allow enough time for people to change? Do I allow too much time? What changes should I make to apply wisdom in the timing of addressing broken standards?
- How consistently do I uphold my organization’s standards in my own life? Are there areas in which I need to make a change before expecting others to follow? Are there times I am tempted to accept a violation from one person that I would not accept from another? What can I do to be more consistent in enforcing my organizational standards?
- In addition to these reflections from Joshua’s life, consider the following verses from Proverbs, the book of wisdom, that relate to wisely upholding standards: Proverbs 3:11-12; 9:8-9; 10:9, 17; 11:3; 12:1, 22; 13:8; 15:5, 12, 31-32; 19:20; 22:6; 25:28; 27:5-6; 28:5; 29:1.
Until next time, yours on the journey,
Jon Byler
In the next issue, we’ll look at how Joshua applied wisdom in strategic decisions. |
