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JOSHUA SUCCEEDS MOSES
( NKJ throughout, with some paraphrasing )
The children of Israel had wondered in the wilderness forty years as God had pronounced upon them for
their lack of faithfulness. Those over the age of twenty had fallen in the wilderness with the exception of Caleb
and Joshua. The time had come for God to fulfill his promise to allow the children of Israel to inter into that
Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Israel was camped about ten miles from the Jordon in the land of Moab. “Then Moses went up from
Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land
of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the
Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the
Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land of which I
swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have caused you to see
it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there. So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of
Moab, according to the word of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 34: 1-5)
“And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty day. So the days of weeping and
mourning for Moses ended” (Deut. 34:8).
“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the
son of Nun, Moses assistant, "Moses My servant is dead, now therefore arise, and go over this Jordan, you and
all this people, to the land which I am giving to them- the children of Israel” (Joshua 1: 1-2). After God gave
His instructions to Joshua he also gave him great encouragement to be strong and of good courage! Three times
he encouraged him.
Joshua served as Moses' direct assistant for most of the forty years wondering. It was Joshua who
accompanied Moses to Mt. Sinai at the time God gave Moses the Ten Commandments engraved on stone. (Ex.
24:12-13) He also attended Moses in the tabernacle when Moses met with God. (Ex. 33:9-10) Moses directed
Joshua to choose men and lead them into battle against the Amalekites. (Ex. 17: 9-13) and he was also one of
the twelve men who were sent to spy out the land of Canaan. (Num. 13:1-8)
The Hebrew name "Joshua" is "Jesus" in the Greek. The name means "YHWH." Joshua fulfilled the role
of a savior for God's chosen nation by leading Israel into the Promised Land and establishing the inheritance of
the tribes at the end of its forty years wandering, being anointed by Moses to be the one to lead Israel after his
death.
Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the
land, especially Jericho. "So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. (Joshua
2:1). Rahab is clearly labeled as a harlot in the New Testament however the Hebrew "Zonah" can mean
"inn-keeper." Since travelers were expected at inns, her house would have been chosen by the spy's as a place
where they would be least likely to draw attention.
Somehow the king found out that the two spies had entered Jericho and were staying in the house of
Rahab. The king sent men who came to Rahab and demanded she bring out the men who had entered her house!
For they told her, "They have corne to spy out all the country" (Joshua 2:2-3). Rahab has hidden the two men on
her house top under a bed of flax stalks but she told the king's men, "Yes, the men were here but I did not know
where they came from and at dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left" (Joshua 2:4-5).
After the men left, Rahab went up to the roof of her house and told the men it was safe to return to their
quarters and sleep for the night. She also told them she understood that the LORD had given this land to Israel
and that great fear had fallen on them. She said they had heard the LORD had dried up the waters of the Red Sea
when they came out of Egypt and how you had on the other side of Jordan destroyed Sihon and Og. She said,
“as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted, neither did there remain any courage in anyone because of
you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" (Joshua 2:10 -11).
Rahab acknowledged the true God and believed He would fulfill His intention. "Now therefore,” Rahab
said to the two men, "I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness that you also will
show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token and spare my father, mother, brother and sisters,
and all that I have and deliver our lives from death" (Joshua 2: 12-13). Rahab, by denouncing her pagan gods
through stating her belief in the true God, she clearly showed a repentant attitude. Now she seeks mercy and
deliverance.
The men told her that she must keep their mission secret and her household would be spared-but there
were conditions that had to be met by Rahab and her family. She was to tie a red cord out her window and she
and her family were to separate themselves from the rest of the city-in this-they symbolically came out of the
world. The red cord was symbolic of the blood on the door-post of the Israelites in Egypt. Each house was
"passed over." With the blood; they were protected from the death of their first born. At this time, in this place,
Rahab and her family would also be "passed over," and protected from death and eventually accepted into Israel;
and Salmon would take Rahab as his wife and she would bear Boaz and Boaz would take Ruth as his wife and
she would bear Obed, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.
Rahab let the two spy's down by a rope through the window, for the house that she lived in was part of
the city wall-the men hid themselves in the hills for three day and then returned to the camp on the seventh day
of Abib Then Joshua commanded the officers and the people to get there supplies together for within three days
they would cross the Jordon river to go in and possess the land God was giving them.
It was the seventh day of the month and they would cross the river in three days, on the tenth day of Abib
they would cross over into the Promised Land. After they arrived at the Jordan “Joshua told the people to sanctify
themselves for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you!” Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying,
"Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the Ark of the Covenant
and went before the people” (Joshua 3:5-6).
There was no indication how the priests would get the Ark across the raging river at the time Joshua told
them to go. Just as Israel was unable to come out of Egypt without God's miraculous intervention, so they could
not cross over into the Promised Land except by God's power.
So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the
ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the
priests dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflowed all its banks during the whole time of harvest,
“that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, ... and
the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood
firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan until all the people had crossed over, when all had crossed over
the Jordan; and all the Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the
Jordan. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan
and the soles of their feet touched the dry land that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed
over all its bands as before” (Joshua 4:16-18).
The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on
the east border of Jericho. Joshua had commanded the people to gather twelve stones before the water returned.
Now Joshua set the stones up in Gilgal. Then he spoke to the children of Israel, and told them that when their
children ask in times to corne, what are these stones? Then you shall tell them, "Israel crossed over this Jordan
on dry land'; for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over,
as the LORD did to the Red Sea, which He dries up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of
the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God
forever."(Joshua 4:20-24)
“So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings
of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan and the
children of Israel had crossed over, that their hearts melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because
of the children of Israel” (Joshua 5: 1)
This may very well be symbolic of what will come to pass that is recorded in Revelation 6: 15-16, “And
the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every
freeman, hid themselves in the caves and the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall
on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb."
The Children of Israel after forty years in the wilderness were able to cross over into the land that God
had provided for them and their descendants. They had crossed over the Jordan on the tenth day of Abib and the
time of the Passover was soon upon them, but before the Passover could be partaken off all the males had to be
circumcised for none had been in the forty years wanderings. Just as under the New Covenant; only those who
have "circumcised hearts" can partake of the bread and wine at Passover. “So the children of Israel camped in
Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. And they
ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain on the very same
day” (Joshua 5: 10-11 ).
They ate the produce of the land on the day after the Passover. With this information we can know that
the Passover that year was on a weekly Sabbath for the Children of Israel could not eat the produce of the land
until after the Wave Sheaf was offered and that is always on the first day of the week, a Sunday. On the day that
the waves sheaf was offered the Children of Israel would have eaten of the produce of the land.
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man
stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for
us or for our adversaries? So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come. And
Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, what does my LORD say to his servant?" (
Joshua 5: 13-14). The drawn sword represented God's involvement in the overthrow of Jericho; this was symbolic
of Jesus being prepared to overthrow this present evil world at His second coming. (Rev. 19:15).
It must have been soon after the wave sheaf offering, possible on the very day, that Joshua had his
encounter with the LORD, (which we know was Jesus, the Christ). This was symbolic of what would come to
pass in the future when Christ would fulfill His role as the Wave Sheaf offering, after His death on the stake and
three day and three nights in the grave, He walked out of the tomb and on the first day of the week ascended to
the Father to be accepted as the first of the first-fruits and on that same day, returned to earth.
Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandals off your foot, For the place
where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:13-15). And the LORD said to Joshua; "See! I have
given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men
of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven
trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the
priests shall blow the trumpets. Then it shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and
when you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city
will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."(Joshua 6:2-5)
The first six days were treated the same way. The priests carried the shofars which were normally used
for sounding warnings. The sounding of the shofars for six days were symbolic that God has warned humanity
throughout its 6000 years' that this present world will be ultimately destroyed. The seventh day would be
different; the long blast of the shofar and the loud shout of the people symbolized the time of the Seventh
Trumpet when Babylon the Great and the present evil world will be destroyed. “Then a mighty angel took up a
stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be
thrown down, and shall not be found anymore ...” (Revelation 18:21).
“So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them. “Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and let
seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the LORD." And he said to the people,
"Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD" (Joshua
6:6-7). As we have seen the Passover that year was on a weekly Sabbath and the wave sheaf offering was the
next day, on a Sunday which would have been on the first day of Unleavened Bread.
The scripture strongly indicates that Christ appeared to Joshua on the day of the wave sheaf and
the first march around Jericho was also on that day. Josephus records: " ... so on the first day of the feast
[of Unleavened Bread, which the Jews call Passover] the priests carried the ark round about. .. "
(Antiquities, 1.5). With this understood we can deduce that the seventh and last day of circling of
Jericho was on the last day of the festival, the last day of Unleavened Bread. and the weekly Sabbath.
These encirclements represented the outpouring of the seven Trumpet Plagues which will
lead to the complete destruction of this present evil world. ☜
Carlos & Louise McGuire