Joshua 1-5
The Promised Land! At long last. Forty years after he first spied out the land and urged the people of Israel to trust the LORD to give it to them, Joshua now leads a new generation into that land, the land the LORD promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joshua sends two (not 12!) spies into the land, and they — like Joshua and Caleb, but in stark contrast to the majority of the spies 40 years earlier — speak rightly:
Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.
Joshua 2:24
With that encouraging word, the Israelites enter the Promised Land by crossing the Jordan River on dry ground, which is reminiscent of the parting of the Red Sea, further establishing Joshua as the new leader in Moses’ stead.
Back on January 14 Fred introduced the notion of “typology”, mentioning that Joseph is a type of Christ, that he foreshadows some aspects of Jesus. Similarly, we can see Moses as a type of Christ as the Exodus parallels our deliverance from sin. And now we have Joshua as another type of Christ, leading the people into the Promised Land, much like Christ opens up heaven for us. Only this time the typology should be even more plain to us, because Joshua actually bears the name of Jesus; that is, “Joshua” and “Jesus” are really the same name, with the same meaning: “The LORD Saves” or “The LORD is Salvation”. It’s just Hebrew vs. Greek — just like “John” in English is the same as “Juan” in Spanish or “Johann” in German. Saint John Chrysostom says it this way:
The name of Jesus [Joshua] was a type for this reason then, and because of the very name, the creation reverenced him. What then! Was no other person called Jesus [Joshua]? But this man was on this account so called as a type, for he used to be called Hoshea.* Therefore the name was changed: for it was a prediction and a prophecy. He brought in the people into the promised land, as Jesus into heaven; not the law; since neither did Moses [enter the promised land] but remained outside. The law has not power to bring in, but grace.
St. John Chrysostom
*See Numbers 13:16.
I am not going to try to pick that statement apart, but suffice it to say that the idea of Joshua as a type of Christ is not new. It goes back to the Church Fathers, who recognized (as should we) that the entire Old Testament points to Jesus. As we read through this book, then, consider how Joshua might typify Jesus. There just might be some lessons for us to learn.