What is Discipleship? Focusing on Moses as a Model

We are exploring what "discipleship" means and how it relates to a 21st century person. I have asserted that discipleship is a mentoring relationship between God and man (and person-to-person) and that this relationship is the warp and woof of life.

This was evident in God's walk with Adam, and among other, Enoch, Noah, the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), Joseph -- Jacob's son, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Daniel, Nehemiah and Jesus. These are all "high spots" on the landscape. Of course, between each raised point there were countless others in the scriptures or not who had the same sort of thing going on in their experience of life.

Psalm 103:7 states that God "made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel." Exodus 33:7-11 talks about the tent of meeting outside the camp. This is where Moses went to have his "sit-down" face-to-face meetings with God, his friend. When Psalm 103:7 talks about God's "ways" it is talking about the "why's" of life. "How come" this and "how come" that. It is also talking about 'what makes things tick". God was letting his friend Moses in on the "behind the scenes" reasons for what was happening and giving Moses the rational for proper decision-making. The sons of Israel only saw what God did. Moses got to know why he did it.

Packed into this narrative is mention of Moses' future replacement, Joshua. Joshua was Moses' aide. After Moses had his sit-down with God, Joshua would hang around so he could get some of the same. No mystery why he became Moses replacement in the future. Joshua was a disciple, too.