Author: SymCast
Company: SymCast, LC

©1998  Joe Griffin		     						98-08-11/JSH-006

Introduction: Joshua, The Man; Joshua, the Book: Four-Fold Message

B. Joshua, the Man:

1- Joshua is said to be the son of Nun and a prince of the tribe of Ephraim.  His given name was Hoshea /Ho-SHE-ah/ which means “salvation.”  However, Moses changed his name in Numbers 13:16 to Joshua.

2- Joshua is the English translation of the Hebrew name   Yehoshua‘ /Yeh-HO-shu-ah/ which means “Jehovah is salvation.”

3- The name used to communicate this idea in the New Testament Greek is ’IhsouV, Iesous, translated “Jesus.”

4- Consequently, it can be seen that Joshua is a type of Christ.

5- Such was also the case for Moses.  He was typical of Christ in many ways not intelligible until Jesus followed as the antitype.  Here are some examples:
1) Both were miraculously preserved in infancy.  Moses in Exodus 2:2-10 and Jesus in Matthew 2:14-15.
2) Both were divinely chosen to deliver Israel; Moses in Exodus 3:1-10, the Lord in Matthew 10:5-7.
3) Both were rejected by Israel; Moses in Exodus 2:11-15, the Lord in Matthew 26:62-67.
4) During the period of rejection, each gained a bride; Moses in Exodus 2:16-21, the Lord as indicated in 2 Corinthians 11:2.
5) After the rejection each was presented to Israel as its deliverer and both are accepted; Moses in Exodus 4:29-31, the Lord in Romans 11:26-27.
6) Both were prophets summed up by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 and Acts 3:22.
7) Both function as an Advocate, Moses as per Exodus 32:30, and the Lord in 1 John 2:1-2.
8) Both function as an Intercessor, Moses as illustrated by Numbers 21:7-9, our Lord in Hebrews 7:24-25.
9) Both were leaders of the people, Moses appointed in Exodus 3:10 and the Lord is called King in 1 Timothy 6:15.

10) Both reappeared after their physical deaths, Moses by resuscitation at the Transfiguration in Matthew 17:3-4, the Lord by resurrection in Matthew 28:5-7.

6- There are also several ways that Joshua served as a type of Christ:

1) As already mentioned, their names are the same, Joshua and Jesus being both translated “Jehovah is salvation.”
2) Both the ministry of Joshua and Jesus followed that of Moses; Joshua 1:1-3 compared with John 1:17.
3) Joshua led the Jews to victory over earthly foes while Christ leads us to victory over spiritual enemies; Joshua for example led the Jews to victory over Jericho in Joshua 6, the Lord over the forces of cosmos diabolicus in Romans 8:37-39.
4) Once victory is gained, Joshua conveys the inheritance to the tribes of Israel beginning in Joshua 13.  Once experiential sanctification is   achieved as a result of victory in the spiritual warfare, Jesus Christ conveys the inheritance of the temporal escrow to the believer; Ephesians   1:3-4.

7- Joshua is first mentioned in Scripture in Exodus 17 where he is ordered by Moses to assemble from among the Israelites a division of men to confront the army of Amalek.  Joshua and the Israelites are victorious at the  Battle of Rephidim; Exodus 17:9-13.  A summation of the victory is given in:

Exodus 17:13 - So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.  [NAS]

8- Joshua was chosen by Moses to be his aide-de-camp during his 40-day Law School training on Mount Sinai.   As we have studied in the past, Moses was taught the entire Law by our Lord Jesus Christ assisted by a faculty of teaching angels.  Obviously, Moses was not   awake during the entire 40 days.  He was apparently permitted to rest, sleep, eat, and do homework and during these times Joshua was his assistant.  Joshua’s appointment by Moses is found in:

Exodus 24:13 - So Moses arose with Joshua his servant and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

9- Joshua was among the princes of Israel who were assigned by Moses the duty of reconnoitering the land of Canaan in Numbers 13.  We will note the details of this operation in an upcoming study.

10- When the Lord decided to retire Moses, He then had Moses commission Joshua as Governor (promotable) in:

Numbers 17:18 - So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Holy Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

v 19 - and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight.”

11- When Moses completed his commencement address to the graduates of the Sinai Seminary and Military Academy, he participated in a change-of-command ceremony transferring power and authority over to Joshua as Governor of Israel and General of the Armies.

Deuteronomy 31:23 - Then the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

12- Joshua assumed command of the people and the army on the Plains of Moab following the 30-day mourning period for Moses.

Joshua 1:1 - Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying,

Joshua 1:2 - “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.

13- Joshua lived to be 110 and was buried in Timnath-serah /TIM-nath SEE-rah/.

Judges 2:8 -  Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten.

v 9 - And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of mount Gaash /GAY-ash/.

C. Joshua, the Book:

1- There is a four-fold message in the book of Joshua:

1) The faithfulness of God even when Israel is faithless.  When we are faithless, it never hinders God’s faithfulness toward us.  This is grace.

2 Timothy 2:13 - If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.

2) The believer can only enjoy God’s gracious provisions as he appropriates them by faith.

1 John 4:4 - Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

3) Divine essence can never co-exist with sin.  The emphasis in Joshua is the sin of the Canaanites.  They were so degenerate that God had to remove them from the earth in order to protect the rest of the human race.  This was an expression of divine love for those who loved Him.

Deuteronomy 20:17 - “You shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has commanded you,

v 18 - in order that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the Lord your God.”

4) Typology: We have noted this aspect of the book but remind you that the military warfare in Joshua is analogous to the spiritual warfare we have noted briefly in Ephesians 6 and will note in the future in great detail.