Biblical Logos Blog

In this post, we will look at how Joshua’s recorded life in the Bible may have been a pattern for the Lord’s first and second coming.

The Abrahamic Covenant

Let’s take a look at what God promised Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant as our starting point.

¹³ And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; ¹⁴ And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. ¹⁵ And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Genesis 15:13-16

This is God’s promise to Abraham, as part of the covenant he made with him to give his descendants the land in Israel, that his seed will return to the land he is receiving after 400 years. We find that God did just that as part of the Exodus from Egypt. After 400 years, the Children of Israel left Egypt, wandered 40 years in the wilderness and finally entered into the Promised Land. Here are a few of the items from the passage to note:

• This land covenant was for the Israelites
• The Israelites would be in a foreign land (Egypt) for 400 years before returning to the Promise Land
• They will become blessed with “great substance” from the gentiles on their way to the Promise Land
• In the 400 years before Joshua leads them into the Promise Land again, the iniquity of the Amorites (also called Canaanites) will be filling up

The parallels to note from above with Jesus’ second coming:

• Jesus will fulfill the land covenant promised above as noted in Ezekiel 47:13-23. And, where Joshua failed to drive out the Canaanites as did the Israelite leaders after his death (Joshua 15:63, 16:10, etc..) Jesus will drive out the Antichrist and all his armies at his second coming (Rev 16:14-21, Zechariah 11,12,13,14).
• Just as it was 400 years from the time Jacob’s children were in Egypt until Moses / Joshua led them out and into the Promised Land. It has now been 3500 years since Joshua’s conquest failed to remove the Amorites, and now the land of Israel and the whole world is filled with the sins of the Amorites (pagan worship, violence, sexual deviance, witchcraft and child sacrifice).
• The Children of Israel were led out of Egypt with “great substance”. The Lord inclined the Egyptians to give the Israelites gold, silver and all sorts of wealth as they left Egypt after seeing the miracles that had been performed in judgment of their pharaoh. In Zechariah 14:13-14, a “tumult” will break out among the Antichrist’s people in Jerusalem and they will kill each other in a massive attack leaving behind great wealth for the children of Israel when they return to the land at the second coming.

Joshua’s Conquest (1st attempt)

Let’s now look at the actual events involving Joshua to see the parallels to the Lord’s coming for his people. It is interesting to note that Joshua in Hebrew is actually “Yehoshua” which comes from the same root word for salvation as Jesus name in Hebrew which is Yeshua. I believe this begins to add to the coincidence of these parallel events.

The first parallel that I think is significant is the work of the Holy Spirit in commissioning both Joshua’s and Jesus ministry. For Joshua, we have in Deuteronomy

Deu 34:9  And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

Deuteronomy 34:9

And in the case of Jesus, his ministry started with his baptism

Luk 3:21-22  Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,  And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 

Luke 3:21-22

Everyone will remember the first attempt of the Lord, through Moses, trying to lead the Israelites into the promise land just after their deliverance from Egypt. Moses sent 10 spies into the land including Joshua and Caleb. Upon seeing the giants in the land, all the spies except Joshua and Caleb gave a bad report:

Num 14:6-12  And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. 
But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. 
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. 

Joshua being one of the spies of the land came back with Caleb (a gentile who joined the Israelites in the Exodus) and gave a good report of what the Lord would do for the Children of Israel if they entered the land. Since the other spies said the people in the land were giants and disbelieved the promise spoken to them by the Lord, God sent them for forty years wandering in the wilderness. Let’s look at the parallels in the above passage to Jesus’ first coming:

• The children of Israel were promised a land flowing with milk and honey if the would only believe in the Lord’s word and enter the land. Similarly, the Old Testament is filled with promises for the Israelites of the coming Kingdom with their Messiah on the throne and peace in the land of Israel (Zechariah 14, Ezekiel 40-48, Amos 9: 11-15, Isaiah 65-66 etc..).
• But in the case of Joshua and Caleb’s good report (good news), they didn’t believe Joshua and Caleb and they actually called to have them stoned to death. Jesus in his first coming tried to bring the good news of the coming kingdom to the Israelite people (Matthew 4:12-17), and they did end up killing him!
• Then after the calls for stoning Joshua and Caleb, the Lord appeared at the Tabernacle and pronounced a judgment on the disbelieving Israelites. When Jesus report was not believed, he also pronounced a judgement on the disbelieving Israelites (Matthew 23:37-39).
• In Joshua’s time, the children of Israelite wandered for 40 years without a home. After Jesus judgement, the children of Israeli have been wandering for 2,000 without a Temple, “The House of the Lord” (Matthew 24:1-2). In the Old Testament timeframes were often measured in shmita cycles (Exodus 23:10–11, Leviticus 25:1–7). A shmita was a 7 year period. Seven shmita cycles was followed by a Jubilee year, the year of release / 50th year (Leviticus 25:8–13). There have been approximately 40 Jubilees since Jesus was last on Earth. Was the 40 year wilderness wandering a parallel to the 40 Jubilees that have happened since?

Joshua’s Conquest (Second Attempt)

After the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses leads the children of Israel back to the Promise Land. He reminds them of all that the Lord has done for them and the commands the Lord has given them (the Book of Deuteronomy) and exhorts them to trust in the Lord this time while entering the Promise Land. Here are some of the key events of Joshua’s conquest:

• The Lord of Heavenly Armies goes before them (Joshua 1:5, 4:23-24, 5:13-15). Jesus goes before the Heavenly Armies upon his second coming (Revelation 19:11-16)
• Six days of trumpet blowing followed by 1 day of of seven times around Jericho blowing the trumpet (Joshua 6:3-5). Six trumpet judgments (Revelation 8-9) followed by a seventh trumpet with seven bowls (Revelation 11, 16)
• The city of Jericho falls. The city of Babylon falls (Revelation 16:19, 17-18)
• The battles with the Amorites in all the land leads to Israel’s conquest of the land. Jesus at the time of Armageddon leads to the conquest of all the land by his own arm (Isaiah 63:1, Robes dipped in blood / Rev 19:13)
• During Joshua’s time, the Lord is their king (they don’t need a king like the nations around them). At the second coming the Lord physically becomes their King on the throne in Jerusalem

²¹ Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Zechariah 14:21

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