Chapter 1
THE Book of Joshua gives us, in type, the subject of the Epistle to the Ephesians. The journey across the desert had come to an end, and the children of Israel had now to cross the Jordan led by a new guide, and to take possession of the land of promise, driving out the enemies who dwelt there. It is the same for us. The heavenly places are our Canaan, into which we enter by the power of the Spirit of God, who unites us to an ascended Christ, and seats us together in Him in the glory, so that thus we enjoy anticipatively this glory which He has acquired for Himself, into which He will introduce us, and which we shall share, ere long, with Him.
But, meanwhile, we have to fight the fight of faith against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, in order to appropriate every inch of ground which God has given us to inherit. The difference between the type and the reality is, that the wilderness journey was over for Israel 'before they entered Canaan, whilst for us the desert and Canaan exist together, but this only increases the blessing. If the wilderness teaches us that we still need to be humbled and proved to know what is in our hearts, it is there that, in answer to our infirmities, we experience the preciousness of divine resources in the midst of this " dry and, thirsty land where no water is:" God opening His hand to feed us with manna, to refresh us with water from the rock, and to make us taste the inexhaustible resources of His grace, for His people have " lacked nothing." "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years." (Deut. 8:44Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. (Deuteronomy 8:4).) Moreover, we find ourselves at the same time, if not at the same moment, in the green pastures and still waters of a rich country whose first-fruits we taste; we can sit at peace at the table spread on the other side of Jordan, and enjoy its food, delighting ourselves in a heavenly Christ seated in the glory at God's right hand.
The Leader.
At the moment when this new stage of Israel's history begins, Joshua is called to take the leadership of the people. This remarkable man appears for the first time in Ex. 17, at the time of the war against Amalek, and this gives us the key to his typical character. Whilst Moses, type here of divine authority intimately associated with the heavenly priesthood and the righteousness of Christ, stands on the top of the hill during the combat, there is a man down in the plain associated with the people whom he leads, a man " in whom is the spirit," as the Lord said to Moses, (Num. 27:1818And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; (Numbers 27:18)) and who conducts the battle of the Lord. This Joshua is Christ, but Christ in us, or amongst us down here, in the power of the Holy Ghost. Moses, as their leader, had been inseparable from Israel in the desert, and so it will be with Joshua as leader of the people in Canaan. It is said of this last: a man " which may go out before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.... And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient" (Num. 27:17,2017Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. (Numbers 27:17)
20And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. (Numbers 27:20).)
The Land and Its Boundaries.
In verse 2, the Jordan is mentioned, a barrier between the people and the promised land which they must cross under the guidance of Joshua to enter Canaan. Their inheritance was a pure gift of the grace of God: " The land which I do give to the children of Israel." They were entitled to it by God, but it was a question for the people not only of possession, but of entering into possession: " Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you." (Ver. 3.) So it is with us spiritually: we have all these things, but we cannot enter into them, except as having passed through death with Christ, and entering by the power of His Spirit where He is. In short, it is as we occupy ourselves with these things, and enter into them diligently and personally, that we lay hold of each one-of our blessings, and prove their heavenly reality. In one word, the Christian must himself appropriate them by faith in order to enjoy them otherwise he would be like a poor king, ill and living abroad, who had never traveled in his own kingdom..
In verse 5, we find another important feature which characterizes the land; the enemy is there, obstacles are there, wherever we put our foot an adversary arises. We see here clearly, as has often been remarked, that Canaan is not heaven( in the sense in which we shall reach it by actual physical death, but heaven in which the enemy is found, heaven the scene of present warfare for the Christian. But, precious promise: " There-shall not any man be able to stand before thee,"' said the Lord to Joshua, " all the days of thy life;" that is to say, until he should have established the people definitely in possession of the land. And what security there was for the-people in this promise. Scarcely, says God, will you have encountered the enemy on your path, ere he shall be dispersed. The people might have shouted: Victory! Satan cannot stand before us!-Poor Israel, you will soon see it before Ai; you are but a toy in the hands of Satan, you have no strength to resist him, but the power is in Christ. " There shall not any man be able to stand before thee," said the Lord to Joshua; whilst the promise to the people was (ver. 3): I have given unto you."
We may notice another point in verse 4. God -gives them an exact description of the boundaries of Canaan. What are they? In their full extent they were never reached by the people, but will be given to them in millennial glory. Likewise for us, the heavenly places are our present conquest wherever we place our foot, but shall we ever measure the extent of our inheritance? Now we " know in part," but the day is at hand when that which is perfect shall have come, and that which is in part shall be done away; "then shall I know even as also I am known."
The boundaries of the land were a great desert, a great 'mountain, a great river, and a great sea. That is what was to be found outside this fertile country, that on which the people could not or ought not to tread. Do we not find here the world with all its moral characteristics: its aridity, its power, its prosperity, and its agitation? As to its aridity, Israel had gone through it, only to prove that it had no resource for them, and that the bread from heaven alone could feed them in these solitudes. Such, beloved, is the character of the things which are not ours. But Canaan-heaven, is ours; Canaan with its warfare no doubt, but its victories; Canaan with the peaceful enjoyment of infinite possessions, resuming themselves in, and concentrating themselves around the person of a risen Christ seated in the glory.
The Moral Qualifications Requisite for Entrance Into Canaan.
In verse 6, we find spiritual energy, what the apostle Peter calls " virtue." Faith led them to tread everywhere with the sole of their feet; " virtue " was to be added to faith; but it is worthy of note that this energy is not to be found in us; for the people it is found in Joshua; it is in Christ for us. " Be strong and of good courage, for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them." " Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee.. they go from strength to strength." This principle is of the utmost importance. How many Christians there are who seek to discover strength in themselves, to feel themselves strong for the combat! Their quest, if it does not lead to discouragement, ends in what certainly is not worth more, self-satisfaction. Power is not there, it is in Christ, but in Christ for us. And-why is it given to us? Is it to render us great in our own eyes, or to puff us up.? Far from it; but to lead us into the path of obedience. (Ver. 7.) It is little children who, learn to obey. Strength makes us small; it makes an atom of man, in order that the power of Christ may be exalted.
We find a beautiful example of this truth in Judg. 6 " The angel of the Lord appeared unto Gideon and said unto him: the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." These two things are closely united: strength was his in the Lord Himself. " Go in this thy might," said the Lord looking upon him; and he is immediately seized with the sense of his own nothingness: his family was the poorest in Manasseh, and he the least in his father's house. And the Lord said unto him: " Surely I will be with thee."
Obedience is always governed by the word of God. God gives strength to Joshua, in order, He says, " that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law of Moses." But besides the spiritual energy necessary to obey, there must be something more. He adds in verse 8: " This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein." There must then be, besides divine energy, diligent care to appropriate the thoughts of God. He says: meditate therein, in order to obey. ' Is that our aim when we study the word of God? Often we like to read for the sake of instruction, which is of itself a good thing; at other times, so as to be able to impart to others, also an excellent thing in its place; but, let me say again, do we habitually read it for the purpose of diligently obeying? If it were so, how it would change the whole current of Christians' lives!
He adds: " Meditate therein day and night." There are some Christians who read a chapter (alas, a verse perhaps!) every morning as a sort of amulet to preserve them throughout the day. Is that meditating day and night on the word of God? What about our occupations? do you say? Well, let me ask you in return: In the midst of your occupations, is it the word given by God which nourishes you-that word given for your soul's enjoyment, and to guide you in the path of Christ? That is the way to " have good success in our ways and to prosper."
In verse 9 we find a further principle: " Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage." What power the assurance of God's mind gives! All indecision as to the path, all terror, all fear of the enemy disappear. Satan cannot harm us; has not God commanded us? Such then are the principles which should govern the heart that would enjoy heavenly things and fight the battles of the Lord. It is blessed to see them stated quite at the beginning of this book, before Israel has taken a single step, in such a way as to place him in possession of well-furbished weapons wherewith to obtain the victory.
Those Who Enter Canaan.
After showing us the Leader, the land, and the moral qualifications' necessary for entrance therein, the word of God speaks to us (vers. 10- 18) of those who are called to enter in. They comprise the people, and also the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. `These last do not refuse, as the previous generation had done, to enter, when the spies caused their hearts to Melt. On the contrary, they associate themselves with their brethren, and are in the first rank of combatants, but not to take possession of the 'land. Their portion is on the other side of Jordan. It was their circumstances which led them to choose it: they had much cattle: " the place was a place for cattle," adapted to their circumstances. (Num. 32:11Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; (Numbers 32:1).)
It is the same with numbers of Christians; indeed, one might say that to-day it is rather the nine tribes and a half who have chosen their dwelling on the other side of Jordan. The main point in the Christian life of believers is the circumstances of this life, the everyday needs, abundance or want, enclosures for their cattle, or Cities for their families. (Num. 32:1616And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: (Numbers 32:16).) Moreover, these Christians are not, properly speaking, lacking in faith: on the contrary they experience that the Lord can enter in grace into all their circumstances, adapting Himself to them, and that He does-so, He who came down to bring divine blessing to this earth. Theirs is not a worldly Christianity, but an earthly one. Israel were a type of worldly Christianity, when they refused to go up to the mountain of the Amorites. " Is it not better for us to return to Egypt? And they said one to another; let us make us a captain and let us return to Egypt." (Num. 4:3,43From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 4This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: (Numbers 4:3‑4).) Also their carcases fell in the wilderness. The-two and a half tribes are the type of those who lower Christianity to a life of faith for the earthly circumstances they traverse, making their-life to consist in these things. " They had much cattle." Moses is at first indignant, but he afterward bears with them, seeing that although their faith was weak; still it was faith, and that, these earthly links did not separate them from their brethren.
Beloved, this tendency to lower Christianity vaunts itself on every hand as a tenet in the present day. With much pretension to power, little is known beyond a Christ in whom to trust for. His providential care, and in the details, great or small, of daily life. Christ is known as a Shepherd: " Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me;'" but even in this way, how feebly the extent of His resources is appreciated! If He leads us through this world, it is not here that He gives us rest. The green pastures and the still waters are not the fields, nor the sheepfolds, nor the cities of Gilead, but the rich pastures of the land of Canaan.
It is blessed to confide in Him for everything, and God forbid that we should seek to diminish in the saints aught of this confidence; but let us know something of the joy of entrance even now there where a glorified Christ is to be found, of being attracted outside this world, drawn away from this scene, to be introduced, dead and risen with Him, into a heavenly Canaan. There, the motive for our walk will no longer be " much cattle;" it will not be a question of arranging our life more or less faithfully according to what we possess; but, having left all behind, self, and the affairs of this life, in the bottom of the river of death, we have now to fight to take possession of all our privileges in Christ, realizing them by faith, and enjoying them in the power of the Spirit.
Notice, too, that whether they will or not, all cross the Jordan. Our brethren fight with us against infidelity, and against the power of Satan, who displays his tactics in the-world; but death and resurrection is for them only a fact (it is so for all), not a realization. The soul must -realize it in order to take possession of the land.
Chapter 2 Rahab.
IN the second part of chapter 1 we have seen two classes of persons called to cross the Jordan to enter the land of promise, type of heavenly places: the people and the two and a half tribes whose moral character is not on a par with their vocation, but who take part in the combat to ensure to Israel the possession of their inheritance. In Rahab we find a third class of persons; the Gentiles who share by faith the enjoyment of the promises in common with God's ancient people. Rahab the harlot was a Gentile; she belonged by birth to that large company of which the Epistle to the Ephesians speaks; "-Ye being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from ' the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." But more than this, Rahab was a degraded person amongst the Gentiles themselves.
But the word of God comes to her: " We have heard," she said to the spies. It was a word which assured grace and deliverance to some, and judgment to others. Faith in this word places her immediately, as to her conscience, under the weight of the judgment. " As soon as we heard it our hearts did melt." (Ver. 11.) Like her people she is filled with fear; but whilst they had lost all courage, for her this very fear is the beginning of wisdom, for it is the fear of the Lord, a fear which makes her look to God, and immediately she acquires the certainty (" I know," ver. 9) that this God is a God of grace for His people. She seeks her resources in this God who is the resource of His own. Faith is not mere human imagination which likes to deceive itself, and which sees things in whatever light it pleases. It is not the human mind building its conclusions on possibilities or probabilities; she says simply, " I know," because she has heard what the Lord has done.
Rahab looks to God. She is threatened with judgment, but she sees that God takes interest in His people. She says to herself: If God is to be gracious to me, I must be with His people. So when the spies appear, Rahab by faith receives them " with peace " (Heb. 11:3131By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11:31)); and whilst the world seeks them everywhere, so as to rid itself of the testimony of God, she hides them safely, and values them as being the means which God would use to preserve her from future judgment. Her deliverance depends on their preservation. Not only does she believe in Israel's God, but, as some one has said, " she identifies herself with the Israel of God," and her faith receives an immediate answer. She does not need to acquire the certainty by seeing Jericho surrounded by the army of Jehovah. That would not be faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Notice how perfect and worthy of God is the answer. She had said: " Swear to me. that ye will deliver our lives from death;" and the messengers reply: " Our life for yours." Her faith finds in others (we, in Christ) the guarantee by substitution that death would not reach her.
This is not all. A scarlet thread, unpretending type of the death of One who could have said: `" I am a worm and no man," suffices her as token and safeguard. Just as the blood of the paschal lamb on the lintels of the doorposts averted the judgment of the destroying angel, so the scarlet thread suspended from the window of a house which was "upon the town wall," was to preserve the house and all in it when the wall itself should fall down at the noise of the trumpets of Jehovah.
One more point: they are living witnesses who are the guarantees that death is Rahab's safeguard. In the same way for us; Christ is the living witness before God of the perfect efficacy, in redemption, of His blood shed for us on the cross. " Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption?' (Heb. 9:1212Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12).)
Dear reader,' how beautiful is Rahab's faith! She does not wait, as recommended by the spies, until the people " be come into the land (ver. 18)' to bind the scarlet line in the window they are scarcely gone when she hastens to put it there, testifying thud to what she has believed; her faith does not linger, it speaks henceforth loudly; she proclaims from her window' Christ and the efficacy of His work to save the most miserable of sinners.
Finally, Rahab is not only an example of faith, hut also of works. " Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way." (James 2:2525Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? (James 2:25).) Works -must follow faith. There is such a thing as dead works which are not the product of faith; and there is a dead faith which does not produce works; but Rahab's works can only be the fruit of faith. An Abraham to offer up his son as a burnt offering, a Rahab to betray her country, or a Mary to break a costly box of alabaster to waste her all, an odor of great price-human wisdom condemns, and the authors of such deeds are blamed or punished by the world; but what renders them approved of God, is the faith which is the motive spring, and faith which sacrifices all for God, and which surrenders all for His people.
Rahab finds her recompense: a place of honor is reserved for her with those who, amongst God's earthly people, form the lineage of Messiah. (Matt. 1:55And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; (Matthew 1:5).)
The Jordan. Chapter 3
THE two preliminary chapters with which we have been occupied bring us now: to the main point of the narrative. Israel had to cross the Jordan to enter Canaan, and what is the Jordan?
From Egypt up to this, the deliverance of the people is characterized by two great events; the Passover and the Red Sea; and in order to understand the third great event, that is the crossing of the Jordan, it is well to seize the meaning of the first two. All three are types of the cross of Christ; but its aspects are so rich, so various, so infinite that we need all these, and, many others, in order to comprehend its depth and extent.
The Passover shows us the cross of Christ as a shelter from the judgment of God. "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all, the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment." (Ex. 12:1212For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. (Exodus 12:12).) Now Israel themselves could only be sheltered by the blood of the paschal lamb placed between the people as sinners and God as a Judge who was against them. This is expiation. The blood stays God, so to speak; keeps Him outside, and places us in safety inside. " When I see the blood; I will pass over you." Only let us not forget that it is the love of God which provides the sacrifice capable of meeting His own judgment. Love thus spares the people who could not of themselves escape judgment any more than the Egyptians.
But we learn more than this in the Passover. The blood was that of the paschal lamb wholly roast with fire; a type of Christ who endured in the fullest way both externally and in the depths of His whole being the judgment of God for us and in our stead. Whilst under the shelter of the blood, the Israelites, and above all the believers amongst them, found food for their hearts in the thought of Him in death, yet with a deep feeling of the bitterness of sin, as typified by the bitter herbs, but of a sin completely atoned for.
At the Red Sea we find a second aspect of the cross of Christ, which is redemption: Thou in thy mercy hast led forth thy people which thou has redeemed." (Ex. 15:1313Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. (Exodus 15:13).) Now if God delivers and redeems us, He is for us instead of being against us; indeed, it says: " The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.'
(Ex. 14:1414The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (Exodus 14:14).) The Passover stayed God Himself as a Judge, and set Israel in safety; at the Red Sea God intervenes as a Savior (15:2) in favor of His people, who have nothing to do but to look on at their deliverance: " Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." (Ex. 14:1313And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (Exodus 14:13).) In redemption God, so to speak, acts as if the enemies which were against us, and which we were quite powerless to overcome, were against Him.
What a terrible and critical situation was that of the people of God at this solemn moment The enemy seeking to recover possession of his prey, pursuing hard after Israel and driving them to an extremity towards an impassable sea. It is the same with sinners. The power of Satan hurries them on towards death, and death is the judgment of God: " It is appointed unto man once to die, and after death the judgment." Now, the soul must have to do with this last directly and personally, must come into immediate contact with death which is the expression of it. There is no means of escaping. The people were weaponless and resourceless in presence of the enemy and the power of death, and it is in this extremity that God intervenes. The rod of judicial authority is stretched out, not over Israel, but in their favor, over the sea, and death becomes, instead of a gulf, a pathway for the people. They can cross it dry-shod. What a new pathway it was, and what a solemn hour for Israel as a nation, when they passed between these liquid walls formed on their right hand and on their left by the action of " the east wind," between these floods, which instead of engulfing them proved their rampart! The solemnity of the scene remained; the horror of it was forever obliterated.
We find in this scene a type of death and judgment borne by another, and for us the Lord presents Himself in it: " For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me." " The waters compassed me about even to the soul." (Jonah 2:3,53For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. (Jonah 2:3)
5The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. (Jonah 2:5).) Christ endured to the full the horror of death, and felt it alone in the infinite depths of His holy soul.
But the people cross the sea dry-shod. Judgment finds nothing in them, because it has spent itself in death, and for us on the person of Christ on the cross.
They come out on the other side safe and sound, and here we have a type not merely of the death of Christ, but also of His resurrection for us.
This is what may be learned from the Red Sea. The army of the adversary is overthrown, and finds its grave where we have found a pathway. All fear is over; we can stand in peace on the opposite shore in the power of a resurrection-life which has passed through death.
It is by faith that we share in this blessing: ".By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned." (Heb. 11:2929By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. (Hebrews 11:29).) Whilst faith passes through it, the world, which seeks of itself to meet death and judgment, will be engulfed.
Having now considered the meaning of the Red Sea, typical of the death and resurrection of Christ for us, let us ask ourselves, What is the extent of the deliverance therein operated in favor of the people?
It is salvation, a simple word in itself, but one of unparalleled importance for our hearts. Salvation has its negative and its positive side. The first comprises the destruction of the enemy, of his power and all its consequences. Grace, in the person of Christ, has taken our place in death under all this: " It is the grace of, God that bringeth salvation." Thus, Satan's power, the world, sin, death, wrath, and judgment, are overcome and destroyed for faith in the cross of Christ.
Infinite blessing! The people have not only escaped, but they have arrived by a new and living way which has brought them to the end, into the presence of God Himself, a God whom we know as the Father. " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God." (1 John 3:11Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1).) Let us celebrate with Israel, only in a higher key, the song of deliverance! No more separation, or distance; the port is gained, which is God Himself He whom, by the Spirit, we call " Abba, Father."
What share did Israel take in all this work? Absolutely none. Salvation is brought to us by the free grace of God who exacts nothing, and who does not claim His rights over us, but who finds His satisfaction in being a sovereign and an eternal Giver.
(H. L. R.)
(To be continued.)