The people of Israel were just on the border of the promised land when their leader, Moses, died. Their ancestors had been enslaved in Egypt for about 400 years. Moses reminded them of their destiny and reconnected them with their God. With God’s help he led them out of bondage amidst miraculous signs and wonders. You may remember the stories of the plagues that were visited on the Egyptians because of Pharaoh’s refusal to let the Israelites go. These included an explosion of frogs so numerous they invaded kitchens and bedrooms; dust becoming lice; and boils on the skin of the Egyptians. After the tenth plague Pharaoh gave in and said they could go worship God in the desert. After the huge group started on their way, Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after them to bring them back.^
This led to the Lord pushing back the waters of the Red Sea so that Israel could cross on dry land. When the Egyptian army was crossing in pursuit, the waters collapsed over the road and wiped them out. Despite these multiple proofs of God’s good will and ability, the Israelites were afraid to enter the land of promise. When they came to the border of the promised land the first time, they sent 12 scouts to get the lay of the land. They brought back some of the amazing fruit including a cluster of grapes so large that it had to be carried on a pole supported by two men. However, the scouts also noticed that there were giants in the land and the people became very afraid. In fact, they wanted to stone Moses and return to Egypt.#
Therefore, God marched them all around the desert for forty years until all of the doubtful adults had perished. These adults had decided not to trust God so they put in a lot of miles in the wilderness, but they weren’t moving toward the promises of God. Once all of the adults died (and their children had grown up), Moses died too, in sight of the land which he never entered
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Joshua had been selected as Moses’ successor. The book which carries his name starts with the Lord commissioning him as leader of the Israelites. He received assurance of God’s presence and favor, as well as a reminder to diligently observe and follow the instructions he received from Moses. Then God presented a concept that many of us find strange: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8, emphasis added).” Good success? Isn’t success good by definition? It seems redundant. Doesn’t the term “good success” make as much sense as “wet water?”
Of course, there are many definitions of success. One of my favorites is “progress toward your potential.” Becoming more like the person you were created to be is good success. Bad success might be progress, but not in the direction of what God has in mind for you. In the example of the Israelites who left Egypt, they walked around for 40 years, but didn’t get closer to the promised land. They were moving, but not in the direction of God’s plan for them.
One example of bad success is to work hard to reach goals, only to find that they don’t actually make you happy. Stephen Covey put it like this: “It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall (7 Habits of Highly Effective People).”
Good success is a vector. A vector is speed, plus direction. It is moving at some speed in the direction of what God intends you to be.
Motion is not always progress. Good success is synonymous with becoming more like who you were designed to be.
^See Exodus 14:5-6
#See Numbers 14