Moses and Joshua: Israeli Idols?

The people of Israel at the Jordan crossing "stood in awe of [Joshua] just as they had stood in awe of Moses" (Joshua 4:14). In awe of a man? So were the people of Israel guilty of having their eyes on men and not God? Was this a case of idolatry?

Joshua was awesome because God made him awesome “in the sight of all Israel” (3:7). The beginning of the book of Joshua clearly shows that God handpicked Joshua as Moses’ successor promising him, “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:5) But Just like Moses Joshua needed to demonstrate in tangible fashion to all of Israel that God was truly with him as Israel’s new leader. Miracles had previously served as Moses’ credentials (see Exodus 4:1-9, 28-31) when he first appeared to Israel during their enslavement in Egypt and so they would also need to serve as Joshua’s credentials. God specifically said that the reason he was providing Moses with accompanying miracles was so “that [Israel] may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to [Moses]” (Ex. 4:5). Therefore as the people readied to cross the bridgeless Jordan God said he’d do the same for Joshua by telling him, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 3:7). God commanded Joshua to give the priest specific instructions on crossing the Jordan. Joshua delivered the instructions and then made a prophetic utterance to all of Israel saying,

"Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God…Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you…Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan…And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap" (Joshua 3:9-13).

We know what happened next. The Jordan crossing happened just as Joshua had said it would and thus it verified him as a true prophet. The waters of the Jordan stopped flowing and divided so that the entire nation crossed on dry ground. Joshua 4:14 says, “On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel…” What was the result of God intentionally “exalting” Joshua “in the sight of all Israel”? The result was that Israel “stood in awe of [Joshua] just as they had stood in awe of Moses” (Joshua 4:14). Therefore, no, God was not serving as an accessory to idolatry. He wasn’t being “man-centered,” but he, as is commonly his custom, was using a man on the ground to accomplish his purpose. God chooses to use men and just because one admires and recognizes the work of God in their lives and ministry does not automatically mean that one is being idolatrous. Whether one is or isn’t idolatrous is hard to tell because we ultimately cannot see the hearts of men. In our lack of discernment we are too prone to make the idolatry charge towards others when they are simply being grateful for benefiting off the God-given gifts of men (Eph 4:7-16). The idolatry trigger-happy charge that many people seem to posses reminds me of the lack of discernment in the priest Eli (1 Samuel 1). He failed to recognize a broken and contrite woman praying with fervor to God at the altar so he rudely interrupts her and charges her with drunkenness saying, "How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you" (1 Samuel 1:14). Seriously, how bad had things come to in God’s house that one arrives at a place where one no longer recognizes genuine heartfelt prayer when they see it? God answered the prayer of the falsely accused woman, Hannah, and she eventually gives birth to the prophet Samuel who eventually anoints King David from whom the Messiah is promised: Jesus Christ.