Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp….Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
— Exodus 33:7,11
Before the building of the tabernacle described by God on the mountain, Moses pitched a tent outside the camp. He would go there to meet face-to-face with God and then return to camp. Joshua, however, was made keeper of this tent of meeting and remained there (Exo. 33:7–11). Given that this is the last mention of Joshua in Exodus, it seems Joshua remained there a long time. He did not feel he was being wasted; he knew that God was taking care of everything and everyone. He went through so much, yet he was content to be just a keeper at the tent Moses pitched. Even after we have received so much, we must learn patience. The more we know, the more we must learn to abide in the Lord’s government.
Adapted from Joshua: A Life of Service, page 25.
Tomorrow: “Be Prepared for the Lord’s Training”