Seeing Jesus in Joshua.
A better hero for a greater promise.
A version of this article originally appeared on Core Christianity.
The Old Testament has, unfortunately, become a breeding ground for sermons and Bible lessons that leave parishioners devoid of Christ. The thirty-nine books that comprise the Old Testament are sometimes treated as a compendium of sources from which we can extract moralistic seminars inspired by our favorite biblical “heroes.” This, to be sure, isn’t to say that there are no moral or ethical lessons to be gleaned from the stories of the Old Testament, but truer and better meanings are embedded in every story and on every page. “The Bible,” Jeramie Linne once put it, “is not ultimately an instruction book for life or a moral encyclopedia of do’s and don’ts. It’s a great drama, an epic saga in which Jesus Christ is the heroic leading man whose death and resurrection enable us to know him and be like him.” In other words, God’s Word has a singular point around which every narrative revolves, and that point is the person and work of Jesus Christ.
There is, perhaps, no better paradigm in which to understand this revelatory work of God throughout biblical history than through the personal history of Joshua. For as much attention that is often given to Moses, and rightly so, it is actually his successor who exceeds him in pointing us to Jesus. Joshua’s succession of Moses is one of the early hallmarks of the book that bears his name (Josh. 4:14), culminating in Chapter 12, where each of their victories is tabulated, the result of which is clear: two is no match for thirty-one! In the end, Joshua becomes the true “servant of the Lord” (Josh. 1:15; 24:29), achieving what was promised to Moses by bringing God’s people into the Land of Promise. The law-giver — Moses — is eclipsed by none other than Joshua, the law-fulfiller, which echoes the beginning of John’s Gospel (John 1:17). There are other ways the connective tissue between Joshua and Jesus can be discerned, however, three of which are examined below.
1. Their names are symbols of salvation.
Perhaps the most obvious connection between Joshua and Jesus is their names. Upon the death of Israel’s luminary, his assistant assumes the responsibility of shepherding God’s covenant people into Canaan (Josh. 1:1–3). Taking up the mantle of Israel’s liberator was no small undertaking. Joshua’s daunting assignment, though, was freighted by the weight of actually fulfilling God’s timeworn promises to his people. He would be the one to bring about all the things “promised to Moses” (Josh. 1:3). Accordingly, the Lord reassures him of his unabating presence for him (Josh. 1:5–9), which is what imbues him with strength and courage for the very task hidden within Joshua’s own name.
“Joshua” is a Hebrew name meaning “Jehovah is salvation,” an apparent indication of the promised salvation of God’s people that would be realized through him. Israel’s wandering would be over. A nation of nomads and former slaves would finally be home. They who were lost would be found in the oasis God had prepared for them. This, of course, coheres with the person and work of Jesus, whose name is Greek for “Jehovah is salvation.” Jesus, then, is quite literally the true and better Joshua, whose arrival signals the realization of God’s promised salvation of his people. As the angel informs Joseph, “That which is conceived in [Mary] is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:20–21).
2. Their victories are triumphs in God’s promises.
Joshua’s victories on the battlefield are nearly unparalleled in the annals of Israelite lore. A significant part of his legacy is his résumé of victories, which are archived for us in the book that bears his name. Joshua’s military conquests constitute some of the more memorable skirmishes on record. Jericho’s downfall leads the way in Joshua’s tour de force, as we are also told about his tactical triumphs at Ai (Ch. 8), Gibeon (Ch. 10), and throughout the rest of the northern quadrant of Canaan (Ch. 11). Through Joshua, therefore, Israel wins decisively and comprehensively. Kings and kingdoms fall and are left utterly defeated in the wake of Joshua’s overwhelming triumph.
Each of these victories was accomplished “according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses” (Josh. 11:23). It was God’s word that won the victory for his people, not Joshua’s strategic acumen. Over and over again, God’s people are assured that no enemy stands a chance against them (Josh. 1:5; 10:8; 11:6). All that was required of them was to put their faith in the Word that would triumph for them, which is evocative of Jesus, the one who disarms every ruler and authority, putting them to an “open shame” in his triumph on the cross (Col. 2:15; cf. 2 Tim. 1:8–10; Heb. 2:14–15). This, of course, was the reason he appeared — namely, “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Consequently, just as Joshua stepped on the necks of Israel’s enemies (Josh. 10:24), so, too, does Christ put all of sin and death under his feet (1 Cor. 15:25–26) through his death and resurrection.
3. Their rest is the fulfillment of true peace.
Joshua’s God-given responsibility was immense. As he led God’s people across the Jordan River, a colossal event marked the realization of God’s promises to Moses and Abraham before him. Accordingly, the Lord goes to great lengths to ensure this incident is properly memorialized for each successive generation (Josh. 4:21–24). It was the handiwork of God, after all, that brought his people into his promised rest (Josh. 1:13; cf. Deut. 12:10). The newfound peace in the Land of Promise signaled the completion of the exodus and the establishment of the house of Israel in the land (Josh. 21:43–45). But this rest was merely a shadow of the better rest to come.
The rest afforded to God’s people in the Land of Promise was nothing but a foretaste of the true rest that would be found in the true and better Joshua (Heb. 4:8–10). “A greater ‘Joshua,’ namely ‘Jesus,’” R. C. H. Lenski comments, “brings us this rest, and he does that by faith alone” (136). Jesus’s rest is the postponement of all our striving and scratching to earn God’s favor (Matt. 11:28–30). It is rest that is found in the “it-is-finished-ness” of the cross and the empty tomb, where those who are weary and burdened by sin find everlasting rest and relief in righteousness that is given to them. In every way, then, Jesus eclipses Joshua as the one who consummates salvation for sinners according to Jehovah’s word of promise. Joshua’s story, therefore, is merely the beginning of the story that finds its climax in Jesus, the one who gives us life by laying down his own.
Works cited:
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of Hebrews (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1961).