Claiming the Promised Land

MEMORY SELECTION: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” —Joshua 1:9

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Joshua 4:4-7; 5:10-12; 6:1-3

MOSES, that great man of God and leader of the people of Israel, was dead; and with his death the record of the Pentateuch was closed. As the nation of Israel encamped on the very borders of the promised land of Canaan, God raised up another servant to lead his people. That servant was Joshua, a man of outstanding organizational ability and possessing a keen sensitivity to God.

The crossing over into the promised land had been contemplated with much anticipation; indeed, the Israelites had wandered about in the wilderness for forty years awaiting that time. Still Canaan had to be conquered, and the land had to be divided among the twelve tribes. Those obstacles did not discourage Joshua; but he took courage in the great promise of God which assured him (Josh. 1:5,9): “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. … Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Armed with that security, Joshua went forward to accomplish the will of God.

The name Joshua means “Jah saves” (Young’s Analytical Concordance) and is a contraction of the Hebrew “Jehoshua.” The Grecian form of the name is “Jesus” and is so translated in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 (see marginal readings). In this connection it is observed that as Moses represented the Law of God, which had been given to him at Mount Sinai, even so Joshua prefigured the Savior of mankind, who was revealed to the world in the man Christ Jesus. The world needs a savior and is otherwise unable to receive the blessings associated with the land of promise because of inability to keep the Law.

Having received his commission to go forward, Joshua acted without delay. Spies were sent to survey the enemy territory, and the people were instructed to prepare food and other necessities for the crossing into Canaan. The spies, in turn, returned with a good report, and the Israelites crossed the Jordan according to plan.

The crossing of the Jordan occurred exactly forty years from the time Moses led his people from bondage in Egypt. The scriptural authority for establishing this date is found in Joshua 4:19, which reads, “And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.” The first month was the “beginning of months” (Exod. 12:2), and was called Abib. Abib was the month in which the passover was celebrated, as we read (Deut. 16:1), “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.” The first month, or the beginning of the Jewish new year, was changed from Abib to Nisan, according to the scriptural record in Esther 3:7. And Deuteronomy 8:2 confirms the forty-year sojourn in the wilderness from Egypt to Jordan.

The crossing into Canaan suggests the entrance of all who love God into the blessings that are to be a part of the future kingdom of Christ. In this sense Joshua, whom we have previously shown to represent the Savior of all mankind, leads the people. The world of mankind follow him and are represented by the company of Israelites who made their way across the dry riverbed. The ark, in turn, was borne by the priests, who picture the faithful members of the Lord’s antitypical body during the present Gospel Age.

In this illustration the world of mankind will still have enemies to contend with even after they have experienced the blessings associated with the kingdom. They will still have the weaknesses of the flesh to overcome. However, the better Mediator of the New Covenant will be ready and anxious to assist all to a clear knowledge of truth and righteousness, and every effort will be made to help the weak ones to come back to the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The world of mankind will, in the future, rejoice in their privilege of claiming their inheritance in the promised kingdom.

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