Moses was not good enough to take Israel into the promise land. This task was left to Joshua. It had to be Joshua, and none but Joshua, that could lead the people into the promise land. The typology here is incredible and undeniable. Only Jesus can take his people into the promise land.
Many people are aware that Jesus' name in Hebrew is
Yeshuah, with is correctly translated as Joshua and means, ‘The Lord Saves’.
Jesus is not incorrect, it comes to us through the Greek ‘'Iesous’ and also
means Joshua and is transliterated as Jesus. The Joshua that takes his people
into the promise land points to the true and final Joshua who will truly
achieve this. This typology is not even hidden, it is so powerful and obvious and the
New Testament confirms this for us. Hebrews notes that Jesus is the true Joshua
who takes us into rest, which is what the land represents, “8 For if Joshua had
given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then,
there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered
God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Heb. 4:8-9) The
Joshua of the Old Testament could not fully achieve this. The promised land was
given to the Israelites (Josh. 24:14-16), however, not in its completeness
because Israel was unfaithful (Judg. 2:1-5). Therefore, the first Joshua
failed, but the true Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, can succeed and did. So, if
you want to inherit the land, or rest, you must trust in Jesus.
Hence neither the conquest of Canaan or the conqueror,
Joshua, are ends in themselves. They are both shadows or symbols pointing to
the greater fulfilment in Jesus Christ. The Conqueror who will not fail his
people and all who trust in him will find rest.
But it gets even cooler, because Joshua is a full-blooded
Israelite. Of all military age males of the first generation only he and Caleb
were allowed to enter the land. Caleb is accounted of the tribe of Judah, but
he did not originate as one the Israelites, Caleb is called a Kenizzite, Caleb
the Kenizzite, again and again. The Kenizzites are mentioned in Genesis
15:18-19 as among the Gentiles inhabiting the land God promised to Abraham. So,
of all the previous generation of men over the age of twenty in the wilderness after
Israel left Egypt, only one Israelite and one Gentile, or a Jew and a Gentile
in New Testament speech, inherited the land. A Jew and a Gentile inherit the
land together, which was always God's intention. His people were never a people
of flesh, but always of faith. Which is why the faithless generation perished
in the wilderness.
The promise was never, ever, for the flesh but only for
the people of faith. And it is finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the true
Joshua who takes his people, Jew and Gentile, into the promise land. This
cannot be fulfilled in the modern state of Israel, which is clearly an attempt
of the flesh to fulfill that which is the Spirit's job to fulfil, and that is
why there is no rest, constant war and never-ending danger. The flesh cannot
understand or fulfill the things of the Spirit. This inheritance can only be
fulfilled at the coming of Christ, who establishes his kingdom.
Which is why the churches, or congregations, are promised they'll rule in
Jerusalem:
"11 I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who
is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will
they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city
of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God;
and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear
what the Spirit says to the churches." Revelation 3:11-13.
Which is more than likely fulfilled in the future
millennial reign of Christ, but carried over into heaven, because the Lord Jesus Christ says,
“25 Only hold fast what you
have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the
end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them
with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself
have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning
star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’”
(Rev. 2:25-29).
And he also says this, “21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’” (Rev. 2:21-22).
The Old Testament prophesied many times that God’s people
would rule the world from Jerusalem. This will be fulfilled in the Church, who
will hold the power of this world, alongside Jesus, with an iron sceptre. The
Church will rule the nations from the centre of the Lord’s glorious kingdom.
Joshua may have failed to achieve that kingdom, but a fallen earthly man was
never meant to achieve the true victory, this was always something the Lord
himself was going to achieve. And he has achieved it and when his kingdom
comes, it will be glorious for all who have trusted in him.
Great stuff, especially about Caleb. Did not know that.
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