Old Testament (written)

Joshua 5:10-15
The Reproach of Egypt, Part II

This sermon is a tad longer than we have had of late. If I make this introduction very long (as it is the last thing I type each week), it will be even longer. So I will keep it short. But the importance of what is said and seen in these early Joshua sermons is beyond most people’s imagination.

There are many important doctrines that are either expressly seen here in the typology or that are clearly implied. For example, the heresy of reinserting the Law of Moses, or living by the Law of Moses as a means of being found acceptable to God, is explicit.

The doctrine of hyperdispensationalism, meaning the teaching that there are two gospels, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles, is clearly refuted. There is one gospel even if the term “kingdom” points to different things at different times. God’s promises to Israel the nation do not mean that there are two gospels. It means that He will keep His word to them as a nation.

Whether it will be a mid- or post-trib rapture is revealed in Old Testament typology as well. And, when Jesus speaks in Matthew 23 and 24, the passage today, especially, shows that it is something being spoken to the people of Israel. That couldn’t be any clearer.

Text Verse: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”
³³ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, “You will be made free”?’
³⁴ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’” John 8:31-36

The problem with the heresies, or faulty points of doctrine that I mentioned above, stems from a lack of study and understanding of … anyone? No, not necessarily the New Testament, but the Old. Unless one knows the Old as well as the New, many of the points of doctrine in the New either cannot be fully appreciated, or they can easily be manipulated to say something that is not intended.

Replacement theology (the church has replaced Israel), would not exist if people could understand the typology being given in the Old Testament, especially from Numbers 14 until now. Ecclesiastes says –

“That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.” Ecclesiastes 3:15

It doesn’t say this simply because the sun rises every day. Rather, it says this because He has orchestrated His word to show us what is coming by what He has already done. Pay attention to the past. In it, you will find the future. Great things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. On the Fourteenth Day of the Month (verses 10-12)

¹⁰ Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal,

va’yakhanu bene Yisrael ba’gilgal – “And camped sons Israel in the Gilgal.” This has already been noted in Chapter 4 –

“Now 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. ²⁰ And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.” Joshua 4:19, 20

As noted then, Gilgal comes from the word gilgal, meaning a wheel. It thus means A Circle, A Wheel, or, figuratively Liberty (as in a rolling away). With the rite of circumcision found in verse 5:9 (last week’s sermon) complete, the reproach of Egypt was rolled away from the people. With that noted, it next says…

^{10 (con’t)} and kept the Passover

va’yaasu eth ha’pesakh – “And made the Passover.” This is something those who were not circumcised could not have participated in during the wilderness wanderings. This is explicitly stated in Exodus 12:47-49 –

“All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸ And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. ⁴⁹ One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.’”

It can be speculated on all day long whether the older generation observed it or not, such as Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. But this is not the point of what is being conveyed. We are being shown clear and specific typology to be considered.

The people were uncircumcised, and they could not have observed the Passover. As such, this is only the third recorded Passover that Israel has observed. The first was at the time of the Exodus. The second was at Sinai, just prior to leaving on the journey to Canaan. This is now upon entrance into Canaan.

Because of this, the first is reflective of the Exodus and delivery from bondage in becoming the Lord’s people. The second is reflective of life under the law and in anticipation of entering the promise. This third is reflective of the Eisodus, or entry, into the promise. It is a snapshot of Israel’s history that has, not yet been fulfilled. For now, they have been circumcised, and the note of observance is given directly after that was accomplished. It was…

^{10 (con’t)} on the fourteenth day of the month

b’arbaah asar yom la’khodesh – “in four ten day to the month.” This was explicitly stated in Exodus 12:18 –

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.”

However, the question to now ask is, “The fourteenth day of which month?” The reason this is relevant is two-fold. First, if they were circumcised on a day after the tenth day of the first month, which is when they crossed the Jordan, and as would initially be thought correct based on a general reading of the passage, it would mean the men were still in the pain of having been circumcised.

It said in verse 8 last week that the men “stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed.” If this is in the first month, the account is exactly forty years, to the day, after having observed the first Passover as recorded in Exodus 12. However, since we saw in Joshua 5:8 that they remained in the camp, it doesn’t make sense that this would be in the first month.

But there is a second reason that will be seen soon for why it is not the first month. Either way, the Passover is when the moon is full. It is when the Lord (the Antitype) was crucified as is recorded in the New Testament in fulfillment of the type. It was…

^{10 (con’t)} at twilight

ba’erev – “in the evening.” Just as commanded in the original observance and as was to be observed henceforth, so they observed it in the Gilgal…

^{10 (con’t)} on the plains of Jericho.

b’arvoth yerikho – “in plains Jericho.” As has been noted, the word aravah, or plains comes from arav, meaning evening. This is identical to arav, meaning to take on pledge, give in pledge, exchange, become surety, and so on. As such, for the given typology, one should think of “the pledges of Jericho,” where Jericho means, “Place of Fragrance.”

Of this, Albert Barnes, not in any manner connecting the events to the typology being presented, still wisely says the following –

“The revival of the two great ordinances – circumcision and the Passover – after so long an intermission could not but awaken the zeal and invigorate the faith and fortitude of the people. Both as seals and as means of grace and God’s good purpose toward them then, the general circumcision of the people, followed up by the solemn celebration of the Passover – the one formally restoring the covenant and reconciling them nationally to God, the other ratifying and confirming all that circumcision intended – were at this juncture most opportune.” Albert Barnes

What has everything since Numbers 14 been anticipating? Without even knowing the connection and the fulfillment of the typology, Barnes’ words accurately reflect what is happening. With the observance of the Passover, it next notes…

¹¹ And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover,

va’yokelu m’avur ha’arets mimakorath ha’pesakh – “And they ate from produce the land from morrow the Passover.” Here is a word found only now and in the next verse, avur. It is translated as “produce.” It is from avar – to pass over or through, the word constantly seen concerning the act of crossing through the Jordan.

Some translations indicate that the produce mentioned here is old provisions that were carried over with them. Hence, to them this conveys the idea of passing over. But this is incorrect as is seen in the next verse where it specifically ties this produce to the produce of Canaan. Therefore, it is not that the food passed with them across the Jordan. Rather, it is food waiting for them as they passed through. They are not eating old things, but new. It is…

^{11 (con’t)} unleavened bread and parched grain,

matzoth v’qalui – “unleavened bread and roasted.” The matzoth, or unleavened bread, is bread without yeast. The word qalah, or grain that is roasted, comes from qalah, meaning to be lightly esteemed, despised, and so on. This is because the grain is shriveled and appears as such. This was eaten…

^{11 (con’t)} on the very same day.

b’etsem ha’yom ha’zeh – “in bone the day, the this.” The meaning is on the exact same day, the 15^th of the month and none other. To say, “in bone,” is to say “identical,” as in Adam’s proclamation that Eve was “bone of my bones.”

This is the fifteenth – not the sixteenth – day of the month as many commentators claim. Nor can this day of eating be considered a violation of the Feast of Firstfruits which occurred on the day after the Sabbath because these are not crops planted by Israel and intended for the harvest (see Exodus 23:16).

Rather, the people are eating what has grown of itself or what was planted by others. It is an acknowledgment that they have been circumcised, observed the Passover, and have entered into new life. With this occurring…

¹² Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land;

va’yishboth ha’man mi’makhorath b’akhelam m’avur ha’arets – “And rested the manna from morrow in their eating from produce the land.” It is the sixteenth of the month. The people now eating of the produce of Canaan is the fulfillment of the word given by the Lord to sustain Israel in Exodus 16 –

“And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” Exodus 16:35

As noted earlier, this is surely the second month, not the first. Not one commentator that I know of made the proper connection to what is being conveyed. The first reason is that the people had to heal from being circumcised, but more specifically, Exodus 16, where the manna was originally given, also says –

“And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.” (v.1)

…

“Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, ‘At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord.’” (vss.6, 7)

…

 ^“So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.” (vss.13, 14)

The manna came on the 16^th day of the second month. For Exodus 16:35 to be accurate concerning forty years (and it certainly is), the account in Joshua, that is now occurring on the 16^th day of the month would have to be the second month. It is something for which a provision had already been made –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin.’” Numbers 9:9-13

As for the word translated as “ceased,” it is shabath – to cease, desist, or rest. It was first used in Genesis 2 saying –

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested (va’yishboth) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested (shabath) from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:2, 3

As for the account now, the giving of the manna was rested exactly forty years, to the day, after it had first been given…

^{12 (con’t)} and the children of Israel no longer had manna

v’lo hayah od livne Yisrael man – “and no had again to sons Israel manna.” Forty years after the initial giving of the manna, to the day, the manna rested and did not come again…

^{12 (con’t)} but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

va’yokhelu mit’vuath erets k’naan ba’shanah ha’hi – “And ate from the yield land Canaan in the year, the it.” Instead of manna, the people ate from the tevuah, or yield of the ground of Canaan.

Canaan is derived from kana, “to humble,” or “to subdue.” That comes from a root signifying “to bend the knee.” Thus, it signifies something like humiliated, or humbled, or even subdued.

Let us keep the Passover, we are no longer defiled
We have come to the One who purifies us
We were objects of His wrath, but upon us He has now smiled
He is our Lord, He is our God, He is Jesus!

We missed Him on the first time around
And at that time of Passover, we were defiled
Upon us, His wrath grew hot; it did abound
But, finally, upon us He has smiled

We are circumcised not just in the flesh, but in the heart
We have come through His death into life
Today, we have made a glorious new start
For to us has come reconciliation after the many years of strife

II. The Commander of the Lord’s Army (verses 13-15)

¹³ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho,

v’hi bihyoth Yehoshua birikho – “And it came to pass in being Joshua in Jericho.” The wording is specific. It says, “in Jericho.” The same phrase is used four more times and it refers to being in Jericho, as in a border going through there or people residing there. Because of this, there is no reason to assume this is chronological.

Rather, it seems that this actually belongs chronologically in the contents of the next chapter, but it is being presented now for typological fulfillment. There in Jericho it is…

^{13 (con’t)} that he lifted his eyes and looked,

va’yisa enav va’yar – “and lifted his eyes and saw.” It is the exact same expression seen in Genesis 18:2 when Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the Lord (Yehovah/Jesus) with two others. There in Jericho, the Place of Fragrance, Joshua’s attention is now raptly fixed on what he sees…

^{13 (con’t)} and behold, a Man stood opposite him

v’hineh ish omed l’negdo– “And behold! Man standing to opposite him.” This is a human male that is standing right in front of him, just like in Genesis 18 where the Lord physically appeared to Abraham. The text can mean nothing else.

^{13 (con’t)} with His sword drawn in His hand.

v’kharbo sh’lupha b’yado – “And sword drawn in His hand.” It is the exact same expression seen in Numbers 22:23 & 31 where the Lord (Yehovah/Jesus) stood with His sword drawn in His hand when opposing Balaam on his donkey. The connection to Genesis and Numbers is leaving us no doubt about the identity of this Man.

As an important side note, the word kherev is identical to Horeb, or the mountain where the law was given. Certainly, a picture is being made for us to see.

^{13 (con’t)} And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

va’yelek Yehoshua elav va’yomer lo halanu atah im l’tsarenu – “And went Joshua unto Him and said to Him, “Are to us You, if to our adversaries?” Joshua has no idea who this Man is, and so he is asking whether he is one of his men or one of the adversaries. Everything about the words appears to mean that this is occurring in Jericho at some point during the time of the battle…

¹⁴ So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

va’yomer lo ki ani sar tseva Yehovah atah bati – “And said, ‘No! For I Prince(-iple) host Yehovah now have come.’” The word sar signifies the head, chief, prince(-iple) figure, and so on. It signifies the one in charge.

The host of the Lord does not simply mean Israel, but all of the powers that are arrayed under Him. This would include humans, angels, even the sun, moon, planets, stars, elements, and so on. Everything at the disposal of the Lord is considered as His host. This Man is in the position of all power and authority over all of creation. As such…

^{14 (con’t)} And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped,

va’yipol Yehoshua el panav artsah va’yishtakhu – “And fell Joshua unto his face earth and worshiped.” The word translated as “worshiped” can mean to simply bow down, but he has already fallen on his face. Hence, it means nothing other than the act of worshiping.

This is more so because of who the Man has claimed to be. If Joshua did not believe Him, an entirely different reaction would have taken place. The context itself clearly indicates that this is a Man, and this man is God, because only God has all power and authority.

^{14 (con’t)} and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

va’yomer lo mah adoni m’daber el avdo – “and said to Him, ‘What my Lord from word unto His servant.” Again, Joshua is the leader of Israel. Israel is the Lord’s people. There is none greater than Joshua in Israel because of this. And yet, he subordinates himself to this Man by calling Him “Lord” and by saying he is His servant.

The Lord has already spoken to Joshua seven times since chapter 1. Joshua is fully aware of who the Lord is, and he is fully aware of what the Ten Commandments say. The Lord alone is to be worshiped, and yet he is worshiping this Man who is obviously, therefore, the Lord.

¹⁵ Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua,

v’yomer sar tseva Yehovah el Yehoshua – “And said Prince(-iple) host Yehovah unto Joshua.” While Joshua is in the act of worshiping the Lord with his face to the ground, the command is given. From the perspective of the Bible, it is another indication that this Man is God. He is accepting worship while giving out a command to the leader of His people. And the command is…

^{15 (con’t)} “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.”

The words are emphatic: sal naalkha m’al raglekha ki ha’maqom asher atah omed alav qodesh hu – “Remove your sandal from upon your foot for the place where you stand upon, holy IT.” With only a few changes, it is the exact same words spoken to Moses at the burning bush –

Remove your sandals from upon your feet for the place where you stand upon, ground holy it. Exodus 3:5
Remove your sandal from upon your foot for the place where you stand upon, holy it. Joshua 5:15

Other than these differences, the only other major difference is that there is an additional letter, a vav, in the word “stand” in Exodus 3 that is missing in Joshua 5.

In this command, and it is a command, the Man is instructing Joshua from One who is greater to one who is lesser. In essence, “Resign yourself to me.” He is the possessor of, and in authority over, the place. Joshua’s sandals, whether made by him or by someone else, were the work of man’s hands. His footprints were created by God, implying God’s mastery over him.

There is then a uniting of the created foot with the dust from which it was created. Nothing of human origin would be considered acceptable in the presence of such a place of holiness. This was seen in Exodus 20 which says –

“And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.” Exodus 20:25

God made the stones, not man. If man’s efforts are placed along with God’s holiness, only defilement will occur. God calls, God sanctifies, and God glorifies. The process of holiness is “of and by God and God alone.” And yet, this is a Man who is, obviously, God. Because of this, and because of the command, it says…

*^15 (fin) And Joshua did so.

In compliance to the directive, and just as his predecessor Moses surely had done, Joshua removed his sandals. It is with this note that the chapter ends.

The sword of the Lord is drawn in victory
Great things for us He has done
His hand is held high for all to see
And in it is the sword by which the battle was won

He is the One who came for the battle to win
A challenge to undo the failings of our first father
He was called to live a life without sin
And in His victory, no more will the devil man bother

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
Great and mighty things He has done
With shouts of joy, our voices are raised
Hallelujah to Christ our Lord! God’s own Son

III. Pictures of Christ

Joshua 5 started with a note about the inhabitants on the west side of the Jordan being in fear and their hearts melting. It is perfectly obvious that since Numbers 14, the record has been of Israel being under punishment for rejecting the Lord and failing to enter the promise.

Everything since then has been in anticipation of them eventually being brought into Canaan. At the same time, that has been a parallel to Israel having rejected their Messiah. They went into exile and punishment according to the law of Moses.

Joshua 3 and 4 typologically anticipated the time when they will finally accept Jesus and enter into the promise. With Moses, the Law, dead, they could finally enter into God’s grace by following Jesus’ fulfillment of it. Christ went first, and Israel will join Him in His victory someday. Hence, the plural “we” was used in verse 5:1.

In verse 2, Joshua was told to make “swords rocks” and to circumcise the sons of Israel who had not been circumcised. This is a clear reference to the state of Israel during their time of exile after having rejected Christ. Paul explains this in Romans 2. Despite being circumcised in the flesh, Israel has been in a state of uncircumcision since their rejection of Jesus –

“For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.” Romans 2:25

The Jewish people today are uncircumcised. Joshua, picturing Jesus is told to make the instruments of circumcision and to circumcise the people. It was all in the singular. He was to do it. In Israel’s having crossed the Jordan, it anticipates Christ’s circumcision of the nation – by Himself. This is exactingly reflected in the words of Paul concerning those at Colossae –

“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:11, 12

Only Christ can truly circumcise according to God’s standard, of which the physical rite of circumcision only anticipated, meaning the cutting of the sin nature in man. But notice how Paul tied this circumcision in with baptism. It is the baptism that was typologically seen in Israel crossing the Jordan in Chapter 3.

In other words, and to understand what is going on, we have been seeing the process of salvation in individual passages, but they all happen at once. *Moses, the law dies. Israel accepts Christ’s fulfillment of the law. *Israel enters the Jordan (Christ); Israel is baptized into Christ’s death (Chapter 3). *Israel, signified by the stones carried to Gilgal and which are then rested there, enters its rest (Chapter 4). *Two sets of stones are set up, signifying the heavenly government of Jews and Gentiles (Chapter 4). *Israel is circumcised; Israel has put off the body of sins of the flesh / The reproach of the past is taken away when believers are circumcised by the Lord (Chapter 5). *Believers partake of Christ as their Passover (Chapter 5). *The Lord is the Leader of the people, and they are brought into “holy ground.” (Chapter 5).

These (and all other events) happen at the same moment, but we have seen the individual applications spread out over five chapters so far. All of this will happen to Israel someday, just as it happens to every believer now who comes to Christ.

The circumcision is performed with “swords, rocks.” The symbolism is the law (sword – kherev (חרב) / law – Horeb (חרב)) and the Lord who is the Rock (the same word, tsur, is used to describe Him in Exodus 17:6 when the water came from the rock). Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:4, citing that example, that Christ is the Rock.

In other words, the “circumcision” is Christ’s fulfillment of the law being imputed to the people and becoming their “circumcision.” The interesting addition in the Greek translation of Joshua 24:30 which we cited when looking at Joshua 5:2, and which noted that these knives were buried in the tomb of Joshua, if original, gives its own marvelous picture of Christ’s tomb being the very place where all of this is made possible.

Verse 2 finished with the note of the “second” being circumcised. It is referring to the second generation who did not die in the wilderness. In other words, it anticipates the generation that follows the disobedient generation noted by Jesus in Matthew –

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:34, 35 (refers to the generation of wilderness wanderings)

The “generation” Jesus is referring to is the same generation of Israel today. This is why he can speak of them even two thousand years later, meaning those who will enter the tribulation period – of which Matthew 24 is describing – as “this generation.” They are the first, disobedient, generation. The “second” generation has yet to call on Christ, but they will do so, as He said to them in the previous chapter –

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:37-39

In verse 3, it expressly stated that Joshua (he – sg.) circumcised the sons of Israel. That is why only Joshua is mentioned even though it would be impossible for him to do it alone. It is Jesus alone who does this. It is deliberately stated this way anticipating Christ’s work in granting them the seal of righteousness Paul writes of –

“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, ¹² and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.” Romans 4:11, 12

Israel today still cannot see what is exactingly being shown right in their own writings. They are uncircumcised and in their sinful state they have completely missed what Scripture is telling them.

Verse 3 next continued with “the hill of the foreskins,” meaning “the hill of the uncircumcised.” It is, again, telling us that Israel is in a state of uncircumcision at this time. But someday they will join the saints of Christ and the “hill of the uncircumcised” will become a reality.

They will put off the body of sins of the flesh in coming to their Messiah, Jesus, in whom the line of sin in man is “cut.” That is what is pictured in the rite of physical circumcision and is fulfilled in Christ.

Verse 4 specifically showed that Israel was circumcised under Moses in anticipation of Christ, but those who rejected Christ – either before His coming or after His arrival – were destined to die apart from God’s mercy. The circumcision of the next generation is given to correct that based on their faith in coming to Christ (as seen in Matthew 23:37-39 above).

This is why the words zakar (male – coming from zakar, “to remember) and then enosh (male – coming from anash and signifying a mortal) are used. It was to show the state of those who die apart from Christ, and those who are remembered by Christ.

It is also why the term “coming out from Egypt” is used. Until Israel enters Canaan, which anticipates Israel finally coming to Christ, they are always “coming out of Egypt,” meaning that which pictures sin. They are in bondage to the law by which is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). The Mosaic Covenant has total hold over them until they enter into the New Covenant.

Verse 5 reconfirmed this. It was anticipated in what was said in Numbers 32:13, and it will be fulfilled when Israel finally calls out to Jesus –

“So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.” Numbers 32:13.

Verse 6 continued to show this, speaking of the generation walking forty years in the wilderness. Forty, as we have seen, is the number indicating “a period of probation, trial, and chastisement … It is the product of 5 and 8, and points to the action of grace (5), leading to and ending in revival and renewal” (Bullinger). This is exactly what is anticipated in Israel’s final restoration.

Until all the “comers out of Egypt” (vs. 5) are no longer coming out, meaning they have come to Christ, the picture will not be realized. They are a nation just like any other Gentile people, reflected in the term ha’goy or “the nation,” as it says, “because they did not obey [hear] the voice of the Lord.”

The words could not more perfectly reflect Israel. They failed to believe, they did not heed His voice, and they were punished. As such, they were denied entry into the promise, exactly as the author of Hebrews states and as we saw in last week’s sermon. They did not enter into the land of milk and honey that Jesus offered them.

Verse 7 repeated the note concerning the uncircumcised generation and that Joshua (alone) had personally circumcised the second generation. At that time, I noted three things that the circumcision meant:

• This is a witness to the Lord’s acceptance of the people as being in a right covenant relationship. The sign of circumcision testifies to it. As such, the guilt of the fathers would no longer be laid upon them.
• They would now be acceptable to observe the Passover.
• With the sign of the covenant upon them, they would now be granted that which was promised to the fathers.

This all lies ahead for Israel, but it is being pictured in Joshua for them to finally see someday. Maybe they will read or watch the Superior Word sermons and realize this.

Verse 8 noted that “all the people” were circumcised. It speaks of the time of national salvation. The pun of the words of verses 7 and 8 was noted at that time. “And their sons He raised up in their place (takhtam).” It now says of those sons, “and they sat in their place (takhtam) in the camp.”

Verse 9 referred to “the reproach of Egypt” having been rolled away. The people had rejected the Lord and wanted to go back to Egypt in Numbers 14. The people rejected the grace of God in Christ and determined to stay under the law and living in sin. Only in coming to Christ is the “reproach of Egypt” rolled away.

With the crossing of the Jordan (being baptized into Christ), and with the fulfillment of the sign of circumcision (a result of that baptism), they will someday be restored to the divine favor of the Lord, Yehovah.

With that noted last week, the final words of verse 9 gave the name Gilgal, or Liberty. The people will enter into Liberty after the years of bondage to the law. (John 8:31-36; Acts 15:10, 11; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:9, 24&25, 5:1; Hebrews 2:15, etc.).

Starting with verse 10 today, it again noted the Israelites were in Gilgal, or Liberty, where they “kept the Passover.” It is an obvious reference to Christ’s death and their acceptance of that –

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7

The purging out of the old leaven is not speaking of the Passover, but of what follows it, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Christ died to make us sinless. Thus, believers are to purge the sin from their lives. In observing the Passover it signifies commemorating Christ’s death, the fulfillment of what the Passover from Egypt only anticipated.

It was “in the evening (erev), and in the plains (aravah) of Jericho.” Both words are connected to arav, which speaks of a pledge. It is thus hinting to us of the erevon found in Genesis 38, which anticipates the arrabón noted 3 times by Paul, all referring to the pledge of the Spirit, such as –

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:21

As verse 10 refers to the “plains of Jordan,” the Place of Fragrance, it means the guarantee of a return to Eden and restored fellowship with God. As Albert Barnes correctly noted concerning the circumcision and Passover observance, without ever making the connection to Christ –

“…the one formally restoring the covenant and reconciling them nationally to God, the other ratifying and confirming all that circumcision intended – were at this juncture most opportune.” Albert Barnes

This is exactly what is being pictured. As I said earlier, all these things occur simultaneously in coming to Christ, but we are seeing them in individual bites to help us understand the magnitude of what God has done for us, and of what He is still doing for Israel.

As for the unusual word avur, or “produce,” found only in verses 11 and 12, that is from avar, or to pass over or through. Both are connected to the word “Hebrew.” In other words, the people are now true Hebrews who have crossed over in both person and substance, signified by the next words of verse 11, matzoth v’qalui, or “unleavened bread and parched grain.” This is explained by Paul’s continued words of 1 Corinthians 5 –

“Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:8

The matsah is the unleavened bread Paul refers to – life without sin. The qalah is the state of man in Christ, reflected in the description of Moses in Hebrews 11 –

“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26

The food they are noted as eating reflects the state of new life that believers now, and national Israel someday will, participate in.

Verse 12, along with Exodus 16:35, clearly showed that the Passover they observed was the second, not the first, Passover. The law is fulfilled in Christ, but Israel missed it the first time. The second Passover was given for those who were unclean – meaning Israel – at the first Passover.

In other words, though the law is fulfilled in Christ, its fulfillment for Israel lies yet ahead. This is exactly why the Lord gave a second Passover in the law. It was to provide for Israel who remains in their uncleanness to this day. The death of Christ clings to them and it must be purged away through faith in what He has done. It is exactly why the author of Hebrews says –

“In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:13

The law, which is obsolete, will only vanish away for Israel when they observe the second allowed Passover. Until that time, the manna – meaning God’s supernatural preservation of Israel – will continue until they partake of the true Bread from Heaven, Christ. This is the reason for His statement to the apostles on the night before He was crucified –

^“When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵ Then He said to them, ‘With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’” Luke 22:14-16

He was the first Passover. He will be Israel’s second Passover. Israel will enter into God’s rest, His shabath, that has been anticipated since creation week of Genesis 1. The preservation of Israel, until the millennium, is absolutely guaranteed in the symbolism of the manna.

When they eat of Christ, the need to supernaturally preserve them will no longer be needed. The goal will have been attained. After that, they will dine on “the food of the land of Canaan.” The meaning is that they will eat in the land of the humbled – those who have bent the knee to Christ.

With this picture now complete, the narrative turned to Joshua encountering the Commander of the Lord’s Army. It is a picture of Israel’s leadership and their long-awaited meeting with Christ –

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” Revelation 19:11-14

The armies of heaven, those who are taken at the rapture, are a portion of the Commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua meets Him “in Jericho,” meaning in the Place of Fragrance. It is Israel’s understanding that Christ is the Lord God.

The same terms used in Joshua, and which point to Christ, were seen in Genesis with Abraham and in Numbers with Balaam. It is clearly and unambiguously telling us that Yehovah is incarnate, and that Jesus is Yehovah.

The drawn sword (kherev (חרב) is the law (Horeb (חרב) of which Jesus is the embodiment [the Word of God].) That is exactly explained in the citation from Revelation. It is saying that Christ is the victorious One over the law! He is the embodiment and fulfillment of it! He is Jesus!

When asked if He was for or against Israel, His response was, “No!” Charles Ellicott beautifully states why –

“The war is a Divine enterprise, in which human instruments are employed, but so as to be entirely subordinate to the Divine will. Jehovah is not for Israel, nor for Israel’s foes. He fights for His own right hand, and Israel is but a fragment of His army.” Charles Ellicott

Israel, to this day, thinks it is all about them. Rather, it is all about Jesus. Israel is a small, but hugely important, portion of what God is doing. Someday, the leadership of Israel (who speak for all of Israel) will realize who He is, and they will fall and worship before Him, just as Joshua did.

With that, verse 15 noted the Lord’s command for Joshua to remove his sandals. I noted then the difference between His command to Moses and the one to Joshua –

Remove your sandals from upon your feet for the place where you stand upon, ground holy it. Exodus 3:5
Remove your sandal from upon your foot for the place where you stand upon, holy it. Joshua 5:15

Other than these differences, the only other major difference is that there is an additional letter, a vav, in the word “stand” in Exodus 3 that is missing in Joshua 5.

Moses (the law) was given for all people of Israel individually (your feet) to accomplish. Joshua (Jesus, the law’s fulfillment) was given for all of Israel collectively (your foot) to participate in.

The additional vav is the sixth letter of the aleph-beth and was given to indicate man, especially fallen man, under the law. The omission of the vav in relation to Joshua indicates the fulfillment of the law (to stand) by Christ, the sinless God/Man.

This, and the account with Moses at the bush, are the only two times this was commanded. When two similar things, or two similar occurrences, are noted in the Bible, there is a reason for it. There will be a contrast between the two and yet they will confirm something.

In the case of these two accounts, one is before Israel is delivered from bondage; one is after they have been safely led into the land of promise. He is the Covenant-Keeping Lord.

One is outside of Canaan; one is in Canaan. The Lord is God over the whole earth – over both Jew and Gentile. In one there is the Lord unseen and the voice of God from “over there.” In the other, there is the Lord visible, tangible, and in human form. The Lord is the incarnate Word of God; He is Jesus.

In one, He is the Lord who will give the law – the Angel or Messenger of it; in the other, He is the Lord who defends the law which is given – the Commander of the Lord’s army. He is the Lord of the law, its herald and upholder.

And more, the bush that burned with fire but was not consumed signifies the life of Israel under the law that was to be given. They would suffer affliction under it, but they would not be consumed. Likewise, Jesus suffered under it, but He was not consumed.

On the other hand, the Man with the sword drawn is the Champion of the law, the Victor over it. Israel has now entered into the promise, following Him in this state.

In the end, we are seeing the amazing story of what God is doing in Christ, and He is confirming it through a particular group of people. To absolutely prove to the world that it is so, He has, and He continues to work through Israel, confirming His covenant with them despite their unfaithfulness to Him. We serve a great God because we serve Jesus.

Closing Verse: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” Galatians 5:1-3

Next Week: Joshua 6:1-16 It’s time for this city to go, even until it is done… (The Battle of Jericho, Part I) (11^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Reproach of Egypt, Part II

Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal
And kept the Passover on the fourteenth day, we know
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, so it was this way
Unleavened bread and parched grain
On the very same day

Then the manna ceased on the day
After they had eaten the produce of the land after many a year
And the children of Israel no longer had manna
But they ate the food of Canaan that year

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho
That he lifted his eyes, and behold
———-it appeared to be one of his contemporaries
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, I have now come
But as Commander of the army of the Lord”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped
And said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?
———-What is Your word?

Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua
“Take your sandal off your foot as now you know
For the place where you stand is holy”
And Joshua did so

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁰ Now 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. ¹¹ 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. ¹² Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

¹³ 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?”

¹⁴ 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?”

¹⁵ Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

 

 

 

Joshua 5:1-9
The Reproach of Egypt, Part I

As a fun note concerning this chapter, when we were in Numbers 9:1-14 (The Lord’s Passover), which was recorded on 18 November 2018, I mentioned a passage from this chapter in Joshua. Off the top of my head, I said that those born in the wilderness were not circumcised. I then jokingly said, “The reason for that will be addressed when we get to Joshua chapter 5, hopefully around early to mid-2022.” How about them apples…!

Concerning the passage today, as regards the end of the time of wilderness wandering, the scholar Keil somewhat correctly states what the situation for Israel was at that time, and what it meant for them as a people.

I don’t remember what Keil’s view on Israel for today is. I may have read it and forgotten it, or I may not have come across it yet in his commentary. And, since I type the introduction to the sermons last, I was just too tired to go trying to find out.

It doesn’t really matter what he thought because all that matters is what the Bible says. Having said that, if everyone read his commentary, agreed with it, and then understood the typology of what the passages since Numbers 14 anticipate, the doctrine of replacement theology would not exist.

Even without the typology, and if we only had the New Testament writings, it should be painfully obvious to even the poorest of scholars that Israel has not been replaced by the church. It is simply in a non-permanent state of punishment. But bad doctrine is easy, it is often satisfying, and eliminates the need to care about the state of the Jew for those who just don’t care about the state of the Jew. Keil says –

“This clearly means, that not only was the generation that came out of Egypt sentenced to die in the wilderness because of its rebellion against the Lord, and therefore rejected by God, but the sons of this generation had to bear the whoredom, i.e., the apostasy of their fathers from the Lord, for the period of forty years, until the latter had been utterly consumed; that is to say, during all this time they were to endure the punishment of rejection along with their fathers: with this difference alone, that the sons were not to die in the wilderness, but were to be brought into the promised land after their fathers were dead. The sentence upon the fathers, that their bodies should fall in the desert, was unquestionably a rejection of them on the part of God, an abrogation of the covenant with them. This punishment was also to be borne by their sons; and hence the reason why those who were born in the desert by the way were not circumcised. As the covenant of the Lord with the fathers was abrogated, the sons of the rejected generation were not to receive the covenant sign of circumcision. Nevertheless this abrogation of the covenant with the generation that had been condemned, was not a complete dissolution of the covenant relation, so far as the nation as a whole was concerned, since the whole nation had not been rejected, but only the generation of men that were capable of bearing arms when they came out of Egypt, whilst the younger generation which had grown up in the desert was to be delivered from the ban, which rested upon it as well, and brought into the land of Canaan when the time of punishment had expired. For this reason the Lord did not withdraw from the nation every sign of His grace; but in order that the consciousness might still be sustained in the young and rising generation, that the covenant would be set up again with them when the time of punishment had expired, He left them not only the presence of the pillar of cloud and fire, but also the manna and other tokens of His grace, the continuance of which therefore cannot be adduced as an argument against our view of the time of punishment as a temporary suspension of the covenant.”

Text Verse: “For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ¹⁷ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:16-19

With just a few amendments to Keil’s thoughts, he is right. I would disagree with the idea of an abrogation of the covenant, and the idea of a “temporary suspension of the covenant.” In other words, it is true that what occurred “was not a complete dissolution of the covenant relation, so far as the nation as a whole was concerned.”

But more, it is not a dissolution of the covenant for any of them. This is exactly why they wandered in the wilderness. It was because they were under the punishment of the covenant. The same is true with Israel of today.

They have been under the curses of the covenant, and they remain under the curses even now. The lack of being circumcised does not show an abrogation of the covenant. Rather, it shows their state under the covenant, a state which is out of a proper covenant relationship.

God did not reject the nation, but only those who rejected Him. And God has not rejected His people Israel to this day. He has just rejected those who rejected Him and those who continue to reject Him. Any who come outside the camp at this time can be saved. Someday, the entire camp will be saved.

This is the greatness of God. The disobedient nation will be made whole again someday. And disobedient us, meaning those who have come to Christ for salvation, shall be made whole someday as well. Both are absolute assurances that are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Hill of Foreskins (verses 1-5)

The words of Joshua 5 should be considered in conjunction with the final words of Joshua 4 –

“for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, ²⁴ 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 4:23, 2

What is said there immediately begins to be realized now…

So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan,

More literally it reads: “And it was, according to hearing all kings the Amorite who in side the Jordan, westward.” The people group is spoken of in the singular. Despite being many tribes, they are a united people. This is then further explained by their location, which is westward of the Jordan.

The Amorite people under Sihon and Og that were east of the Jordan had already been subdued in battle, but more Amorites lay to the west. In other words, their own people, under these great kings, had been obliterated. Now, the same group that had obliterated their people to the east was on their side of the river, and the Israelites were surely ready to snuff them out as well. Further…

^{1 (con’t)} and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea,

Again, it is singular: “and all kings, the Canaanite, who upon the sea.” Together, these two people groups – the Amorite and the Canaanite – stand for all of the people groups that are mentioned elsewhere, such as the Hittites, Jebusites, and so on.

The term “upon the sea” means that they lived on its shores. Which sea is being referred to is debated, but Numbers 13 says –

“The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” Numbers 13:29

Even with this, it is hard to be dogmatic, but it appears to be what is currently being referred to. No matter what, the Amorite and the Canaanite are the two predominant groups in Canaan proper. These groups…

^{1 (con’t)} heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel

The event would be known and talked about throughout the land almost immediately. It is not something that could be hidden from the ears of everyone. Knowing the account of the Red Sea, as Rahab already acknowledged they did, would make the event even more pronounced and terrifying.

What was once an account that could have been considered fiction was now validated by the cutting off of the waters of the Jordan. As the Lord had done this, it would truly shout out doom to all who heard what had transpired. They hadn’t just forded the river, but they had walked on dry ground…

^{1 (con’t)} until we had crossed over,

Many manuscripts here say, “until they had crossed over.” The Masoretic text supplies that as the verbal reading as well. Because of this, many translations also say “they.” But the true reading is probably “we.” If it is Joshua who wrote the words, it would be natural to say this. If it was someone else, the same is true. The writer was an Israelite, and he has written the account as such.

^{1 (con’t)} that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

A literal reading will show the closeness to what Rahab had said even before Israel’s crossing of the Jordan: “and melted their heart, and no is there again spirit before sons Israel.” It is very close to what Rahab had said: “and we heard and melted our hearts, and no stood again spirit in man from before you.”

One can see that the terror which already existed has come around again and is even multiplied by the events that are now taking place. With that noted, something important next happens…

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua,

As before, there is a direction from the Lord that will be followed by obedience to the command. A purposeful act is directed to take place, and it is one that anticipates something that is still awaiting fulfillment today. The pictures of the past anticipate events that really will occur as redemptive history continues…

^{2 (con’t)} “Make flint knives for yourself,

aseh lekha kharvoth tsurim – “Make to you (sg.) swords, rocks.” Some translations paraphrase this saying “sharp swords,” or “sharp knives.” Saying knives is technically correct, but it is the same word translated as sword, coming from the verb kharav, meaning to be dry or dried up. It is also identical to the name Horeb, the mountain where the law was given.

It is also connected to the word used to describe the dry ground of the Jordan in Joshua 3:17 and 4:18 and the dry ground of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:21.

Also, the word “rock,” is the same word used to describe the Lord several times in the Song of Moses and in typology elsewhere. Together, the two appear to be forming a picture for us to consider, and which will be explained as we continue.

As an interesting side note, there is an addition to the Greek translation of Joshua 24:30 that is not found in the Hebrew –

And they buried him by the borders of his inheritance in Thamnasarach in the mount of Ephraim, northward of the mount of Galaad: there they put with him into the tomb in which they buried him, the knives of stone with which he circumcised the children of Israel in Galgala, when he brought them out of Egypt, as the Lord appointed them; and there they are to this day.” Joshua 24:30 (Brenton Septuagint).

Joshua is to take these flint knives…

^{2 (con’t)} and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.”

Rather than “again,” it reads: v’shuv mol eth bene Yisrael shenith – “and return, circumcise sons Israel second.” During the time of wilderness wanderings, meaning judgment upon the people which began in Numbers 14, the people had not received the sign of the covenant. As such, this was the first requisite to be accomplished in order to be considered as restored under the covenant.

The word “second” is given to define who was to be circumcised, the explanation of which is given in the coming verses.

³ So Joshua made flint knives for himself,

va’yaas lo Yehoshua kharvoth tsurim – “And made to him Joshua swords, rocks.” In exact compliance with the command, Joshua alone is said to have made them. Regardless as to whether others helped or actually made them, the text speaks only of Joshua doing this. The same is true with the next clause…

^3 (con’t) and circumcised the sons of Israel

va’yamal eth bene Yisrael – “and (he – sg.) circumcised sons Israel.” Considering the huge number of people to be circumcised, it seems impossible for one man to accomplish this. In fact, assuming there were only 600,000 males eight days or older that needed to be circumcised (probably a low estimation), it would take more than a decade for one person, working nonstop, to do so.

An internet search says a circumcision takes about 10 minutes to perform. That comes out to 100,000 hours for 600,000 men. That, in turn, comes out to 4,166 days. Even if Joshua did this in one minute per person, it would still be well over a year, working 24 hours a day, to do this.

Obviously, for this to have been completed in a day, many people would have been involved. And yet, it only says that Joshua did it. As the representative of his people, it is acceptable to say it this way, but it is necessary for the typology that is being conveyed. As for the location, it is given a name because of the immense number of skins. It is…

^3 (con’t) at the hill of the foreskins.

el givath ha’aralot – “into hill the foreskins.” The Aramaic Bible says, “in The Hill of the Uncircumcised.” The word means both “foreskin” and “uncircumcised” because having foreskin implies being uncircumcised. Hence, their translation looks to the state of the past, toward the state of the present, and into the future.

Almost all commentaries state that the name of the hill where this was accomplished was afterward called by this name. However, due to the incredible number of foreskins, I would say that the hill was made out of foreskins which were then buried. It would make a large mound.

Again, an internet search says a foreskin is about three inches long. Assuming that there are 600,000 people (again, this is probably a low estimate because of children from eight days old and up), that comes out to 1041.7 cubic feet. That alone is its own hill.

Therefore, my assumption is that the hill is formed out of them, and it received its name because of this. It is only speculation, but it adds emphasis to the enormity of what occurred. Regardless of this, either way, a reason is given for what has transpired…

⁴ And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them:

v’zeh ha’davar asher mal Yehoshua – “And this the word which circumcised, Joshua.” Again, the act of circumcision is credited to Joshua, regardless as to whoever participated in performing the rite. He is the leader, and it is he alone who is named as the primary force behind the action. This act was accomplished because…

^4 (con’t) All the people who came out of Egypt who were males,

It reads, “all the people, the goers out from Egypt, the males.” The word is zakar, a male. It comes from the verb zakar, meaning “to remember.” Hence, they are “the remembered” as being the most noteworthy sex because it speaks of the form which defines him as a man.

In other words, it is what visibly defines a man as a man. As a man, he is the head of the woman and the one from whom the woman was made. It is the man who was to be circumcised according to Genesis 17, and that which was later included in the Law of Moses.

As has been relayed in numerous sermons, circumcision anticipates Christ. Man is the one who was given the command in the garden and who then sinned. It is implicit in Scripture that it is through the issue of the man that sin transfers.

But there is more to the symbolism than that. In the rite of circumcision, the organ of man – that which is the organ of remembrance – a picture is developed. When a man is circumcised, the form of the organ is changed, and thus the organ of remembrance is changed.

It is now a memorial, a sign, that reflects the coming of Christ who would be without sin. The line of sin is “cut” in Him, and this is what is anticipated in the rite. These men had not been circumcised, and thus, they were considered unclean in this regard. There was no connection to the Messiah in their uncircumcision.

It is this that Joshua is now correcting. But more, it is what has already been implicitly seen in Joshua 4 where the word zikaron, or memorial, was used. That also comes from zakar, or to remember.

At that time, in explanation of the twelve stones that were set up, we noted that the pile was a memorial in itself to the covenant that is derived from what occurred, and the covenant was set forth as twelve stones. Twelve being “the perfection of government, or of governmental perfection” (Bullinger).

One cannot have a government without a body to be governed. Those men (zakar) who were in the wilderness and who died did so according to their state of remembrance, as if uncircumcised, even if they were circumcised in the flesh.

Those that are now being circumcised form this new body represented by that memorial (zikaron). As males, they stand as representative of all the people, women included. Those males who died in the wilderness are next defined as…

^4 (con’t) all the men of war,

kol anshe ha’mikhamah – “all men the war.” Here, a different word for man is used, enosh. It is a word coming from anash, meaning to be weak or sick. As such, it is a mortal. Being men of war, it signifies their age as being acceptable for battle. These mortal men…

^4 (con’t) had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.

metu ba’midbar ba’derek b’ts’tem mi’mitsrayim – “had died in the wilderness in the way in their coming out from Egypt.” This is referring to those who had rebelled against the Lord and who had been sentenced to die in the wilderness. It excludes Joshua, Caleb, and those who were not of age at the time –

“The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. ³⁰ Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.” Numbers 14:29, 30

Those alive and who were nineteen and younger had obviously been circumcised, and so they would not be included in the number, but everyone younger than approximately 38.8 years old would have been uncircumcised based on those who departed Sinai in Numbers 10:11 –

“Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony.” Numbers 10:11

These people lived out their lives in a state of uncircumcision along with those who were sentenced because of the sins of their fathers. The details continue with the next words…

⁵ For all the people who came out had been circumcised,

This is referring to those in the previous verse. The structure of the Hebrew indicates that everyone who was born in Egypt, and who had subsequently departed in the Exodus, had been circumcised according to the customs handed down by Moses. On the other hand, it next says…

^5 (con’t) but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.

The translation isn’t clear enough because of the timeframe involved: “and all the people the born (pl.) in the wilderness in the way in their coming out from Egypt, no circumcised.”

It isn’t that the people had come out of Egypt, and were no longer coming out of Egypt. The entire process, from Exodus until they arrived in Canaan, is considered as coming out. Until they entered, they were on their way out of Egypt. It is an important point to consider.

As for the words of verse 2, they are explained in what is stated here in verses 4 & 5. There it said, “and return, circumcise sons Israel second.” It is referring to circumcising the second generation, not a second circumcising of the people.

The generation that had rejected the Lord was punished according to the word of the Lord –

“So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.” Numbers 32:13

This is seen to be correct in the next words, and it prefigures what is being seen in type and picture which will be looked at later…

Circumcise your hearts to the Lord this day
Trust Him and believe His spoken word
This is the thing you are to obey
Attentively pay heed to what you have heard

And the Lord will roll the reproach from you
He will put you in a right standing once again
Don’t do those things your fathers were prone to do
Don’t be like those disobedient men

He offers you restoration if you will just pay heed
Be attentive to the word you have heard
Live your lives rightly in word and in deed
Yes, be sure to live according to His word

II. A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey (verses 6-9)

⁶ For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,

The forty-year period is the total time in the wilderness even though the actual sentencing only came after the transgression recorded in Numbers 14:33. That was well over a year after the Exodus. This forty-year period was noted several times in Deuteronomy as well. This time of wandering was given…

^6 (con’t) till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed,

It is incorrect. It refers first to the nation, not individual people: ad tom kal ha’goy anshe ha’milkhamah ha’yotseim mi’mitsraim – “until finished all the nation men the war the comers out from Egypt.”

As we saw in Joshua 4, the term ha’goy is used at times when speaking of the nations of Gentiles and the nation of Israel when they are in a state of disobedience. That is exactly what is seen here with this unbelieving nation.

And so, the sentence was upon the entire nation which is then broken down into the men of war, meaning those old enough to be accountable for their actions, and who represent all the people, by not entering Canaan in order to possess the land. As it next says…

^6 (con’t) because they did not obey the voice of the Lord

asher lo shameu b’qol Yehovah – “which no heard in voice Yehovah.” The word “obey” is a correct translation. The word means to hear, but in hearing, there is to be belief in the word. That is equated to obedience to the voice. This did not happen. That was clearly seen in our text verse where the words “obey,” and “belief” were both used to describe them.

^6 (con’t) —to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us,

The Hebrew is a bit more precise: “whom swore Yehovah to them to not show them the land which swore Yehovah to their fathers to give to us.” Notice again that the first person “to us” is used. The Lord had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the land would be given to them, but due to their lack of faith, it was denied them. This land is…

^6 (con’t) “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

This is the only time that the phrase is mentioned in Joshua. It was mentioned six times in Deuteronomy, and every time it was accompanied by a note concerning the fathers in the immediate context. That is the same now in Joshua. It is a good land and one that comes by promise. As this is the only time the term is used in Joshua, it would be good to review its meaning again.

A land flowing with milk and honey implies richness and fertility. Milk comes from cows and so it means abundant pasture lands. Honey comes from bees which pollinate flowers and so it implies all sorts of fruit trees, herbs, and flowers.

And more, for Israel, the term “a land flowing with milk and honey” will also possess a spiritual connotation. For them, it doesn’t just speak of the physical abundance but also of spiritual abundance because of the Lord, and because they are the Lord’s people, through whom the word of God comes.

The word of God is said to be sweeter than honey. It is also equated with milk which nourishes. Thus, this is a reference to that as well. The land would literally flow with milk and honey for sustaining Israel’s physical lives. It would also flow with milk and honey for sustaining their spiritual lives.

All of this was being given to them, but it had been denied to those who failed to believe the voice of the Lord. For those now entering, they had done nothing to deserve it, but it was simply an act of grace based upon a promise to their fathers. The Lord promised, He has fulfilled, and He has now delivered. With that noted, it next says…

⁷ Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place;

This confirms the words of verse 3, once again stating that Joshua accomplished the action. In reality, this could be accomplished by others though, such as when Paul circumcised Timothy in Acts 16. As such, the procedure could have been done in a rather short amount of time.

For the typology, however, only Joshua is mentioned as accomplishing the act. This reason for the rite is next stated again…

^7 (con’t) for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

As we noted in the introduction, Keil was partly right in his comments there. The punishment was to be borne by the sons. As such, they were not circumcised. It didn’t mean they were not under the covenant, but that they were not in a right standing under the covenant.

This is exactly what took place and why no circumcision occurred. It is also a perfect match to the typology that we have seen and continue to see concerning Israel of today. Several points for both the wilderness generation and the generation who rejected Christ, can be noted:

• This is a witness to the Lord’s acceptance of the people as being in a right covenant relationship. The sign of circumcision testifies to it. As such, the guilt of the fathers would no longer be laid upon them.
• They would now be acceptable to observe the Passover.
• With the sign of the covenant upon them, they would now be granted that which was promised to the fathers.

With the rite complete, it next says…

⁸ So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people,

Again, it refers to the nation, not the individual people – “And it came to pass according to which finished all the nation to be circumcised.” The corporate nature of the words is not to be missed.

If a bunch of people from other nations came together, you could say, “All the people who came today were circumcised.” But with the words here, it is a corporate entity comprised of individuals. After this occurred, it came to pass…

^8 (con’t) that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.

va’yeshevu takhtam ba’makhaneh ad khayotam – “And they sat in their place in the camp until they were living.” There appears to be an irony in the words here. In the previous verse, it said while speaking of the sons replacing the disobedient generation, “And their sons He raised up in their place (takhtam).” It now says of those sons, “and they sat in their place (takhtam) in the camp.”

Despite the pain of healing, the words are reminiscent of the words of Psalm 133 where the same word, yashav, or sit, is used. It speaks of those who are united as one and the blessing of sitting together in that state. If one understands the typology here in Joshua, the psalm could not be more perfect to the occasion –

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity! [properly: to sit down]
² It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.” Psalm 133

The fathers had died, the Lord raised up sons in their place, and they sat in their place until they were “living.” As for the time of healing, it is known that it takes between seven and ten days for a person to heal from this rite. This is an important point to consider when we get to next week’s verses. This is seen, for example, in Genesis 34 –

“Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.” Genesis 34:25

Because of this, I suggest that what is detailed in the verses next week is not the time people may normally think it is when reading them. What I present will be based on what has been seen and what will next be recorded. As for the rite of circumcision being complete, with this noted, the Lord again speaks…

⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.”

There are a wide variety of opinions about what “the reproach of Egypt” means, but in considering the typology, it does seem obvious. In Numbers 14:4, it said, “So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.’”

This thought is repeated by Stephen in Acts 7:39. Instead of entering into the promised rest, the people had rejected the Lord, they had broken the Mosaic Covenant, and they had desired to go back to the bondage of Egypt.

As such, they had lost the right to the sign of the covenant, circumcision. They were in a state of uncircumcision and stuck under the bondage (Galatians 4:24) of the very law that they had rejected. This means that they were under the punishment of the law with no chance of entering into the promised rest on a national level.

With the crossing of the Jordan, and with the return of the sign of circumcision, they were now restored to the divine favor of Yehovah. Remembering the typology of the past sermons, it should be evident what is being pictured. If not, it will be explained in the next sermon as the chapter is complete.

With the people back in right covenant standing, the verses for today end with…

*^9 (fin) Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.

As we saw in the previous sermon, Gilgal comes from the word gilgal, meaning a wheel. It thus means, A Circle, A Wheel, or, figuratively Liberty (as in a rolling away).

This is exactly what has occurred. The people have the reproach of their actions rolled off of them and they stand in a position of liberty because of being in a right covenant standing with the Lord.

For Israel at Joshua’s time, it still meant the bondage of the law was upon them, but the law provided for atonement of sins and a propitious relationship with the Lord. For what this is picturing in Christ, it goes beyond the law. Considering the previous sermons, it is perfectly evident.

As we saw at the beginning of the sermon with Keil’s lengthy commentary, which was mostly correct, if people can see that what he said doesn’t just apply to the wilderness generation, but to all of the time of the law, there wouldn’t be a believing Christian on the planet that would hold to replacement theology.

It would be perfectly clear that once the covenant is made, God will never fail to uphold His side of it. Everything we have seen since Numbers 14 continues to be seen in the people and nation of Israel to this day. Their extreme unfaithfulness in no way negates the Lord’s faithfulness.

And if we can understand that Israel as a nation is a template for the individual believer’s position in Christ, then we would not make the unfounded and egregious error in thinking that claims that a person can lose his salvation.

When God casts off Israel and breaks His covenant with them, you can start worrying about your own salvation. But as He has not yet done that, through two thousand years of unfaithfulness on their part (actually more, because they were never really faithful to Him), and as the book is written that tells us He will bring them to Himself, you really have no need to worry about your failing Him to the point of being cut off.

As this is so, we should strive all the more, not less (how perverse to even think it!) to be pleasing to Him. When we fail, we can reengage and thank Him for His infinite grace for continuing to accept us through such times.

Closing Verse: “Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The Lord of hosts is His name):
³⁶ ‘If those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.’
³⁷ Thus says the Lord:
‘If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the Lord.’” Jeremiah 31:35-37

Next Week: Joshua 5:10-15 From their backs, it has been stripped, it is true… (The Reproach of Egypt, Part II) (10^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you. 

The Reproach of Egypt, Part I

So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites
Who were on the Jordan’s west side
And all the kings of the Canaanites
Who were by the sea, where they did abide

Heard that the Lord had dried up the waters
Of the Jordan from before the children of Israel
Until we had crossed over
That their heart melted, fearing things would not go so well

And there was no spirit in them any longer
Because of the children of Israel, whose God is surely stronger

At that time the Lord said to Joshua
“Make flint knives for yourself, not for committing a crime
And circumcise the sons of Israel
Again the second time”

So Joshua made flint knives for himself as the task begins
And circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins

And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them:
All the people who came out of Egypt who were males,
All the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way
After they had come out of Egypt, who followed Satan’s tales

For all the people who came out had been circumcised
But all the people born in the wilderness
On the way as they came out of Egypt
Had not been circumcised; their lives were a total mess

For the children of Israel
Walked forty years in the wilderness, a wandering horde
Till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt
Were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord

To whom the Lord swore
That He would not show them the land
———-not for a million in cash money
Which the Lord had sworn to their fathers
That He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey”

Then Joshua circumcised their sons
Whom He raised up in their place that day
For they were uncircumcised
Because they had not been circumcised on the way

So it was, when they had finished
Circumcising all the people; in this covenant they were sealed
That they stayed in their places in the camp
Till they were healed

Then the Lord said to Joshua
“This day I have rolled away
The reproach of Egypt from you”
Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” ³ So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. ⁴ And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. ⁵ For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. ⁶ For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” ⁷ Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

⁸ So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.

 

 

Joshua 4:15-24
Twelve Stones – Part II

We have seen how the Jordan pictures the incarnation of Jesus. It reflects His life, coming from heaven, spending much time in Galilee, zigzagging throughout all of Israel, dying, resurrecting, and ascending again.

The passage today marvelously uses the Jordan, its cutting off, the actions of the priests with the ark, the leadership of Joshua, the stones from the river, and so much more to detail exactly what God is doing in Christ for the people of the world. We will go through the final verses of Chapter 4 and then analyze the entire chapter.

And all of this has a marvelous purpose. When God did what He did to Egypt, using the ten plagues served a special purpose. And then, in the final great act against them, He brought Israel through the Red Sea, luring Egypt in behind them. In His destruction of Egypt, we read this, which is our text verse for today –

Text Verse: “Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.” Exodus 14:31

As for Moses, his life was used as a steppingstone to bring Israel to another great event. The two crossings, through the Red Sea, and through the Jordan, beautifully reflect what the number two signifies in Scripture. Bullinger says that two “affirms that there is a difference – there is another.”

Moses stands for the law. The people’s passing through the Red Sea reflects the people’s being brought into the law. Joshua stands for the grace of Christ. The people’s passing through the Jordan reflects this occurring in the people.

The law is of works; grace is a gift. The two contrast, but they also confirm the work of God in Christ. Christ did the work of the law, and Christ bestows the gift of grace.

If you follow along carefully with the verses today, you will be able to weed out some real heresies that have arisen in the church. People go running down crazy avenues of theology in the New Testament, simply because they are unwilling to do the hard work and look at what God has already told us in the Old Testament.

If we carefully follow what is said here, so so so much of that can be alleviated. Thank you for sharing in these Old Testament passages with me. May you be blessed as we look into them today. Great things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. What Are These Stones? (verses 15-24)

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying

It is letter for letter the same as the final clause of verse 4:1, saying, vayomer Yehovah el Yehoshua lemor – “and said Yehovah unto Yehoshua to say.” As noted then, the difference between said and spoke is small, but it carries with it the general sense of working together rather than simply speaking forth a command. Joshua is told to…

¹⁶ “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.”

In the same manner that has already been seen several times in the early Joshua sermons, these words now have already been accomplished in verse 4:11, but the story is now going back to fill in the command that brought about the action there –

“Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.” Joshua 4:11

This then sets off the coming verses as their own independent section. This is the opening verse of that section. The Lord commands, Joshua’s obedience in conveying the command is recorded, and then the action is taken by those to whom the command is directed.

Here, instead of the ark of the Lord or the ark of the covenant, it is called aron ha’eduth, or “ark the testimony.” This is the only time in Joshua that it is called this. The word ed signifies a testimony or witness, coming from ud – to repeat or go around again. It is as a warning, something to be heeded. The symbolism here seems quite obvious; the warning has been heeded by the people. Next, and in immediate obedience to the word of the Lord, it says…

¹⁷ Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.”

With the people fully passed over, the time for the priests to come out of where the water was stopped up has come. In typology, Joshua anticipates Christ, the Leader of His people. The priests are typical of Christ in His mediatorial role. The ark bearing the priests is typical of Christ the fulfillment of the law and the One who then died in fulfillment of it. The Jordan, the Descender, pictures Christ who descended from heaven to earth, and the waters picture the life within Him. With these things in mind…

¹⁸ And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord

v’hi ba’alot ha’kohanim nos’e aron berith Yehovah – “And it came to pass in the ascending the priests bearing ark covenant Yehovah.” The name of the ark now returns from the word eduth, or “testimony” to berith, or “covenant.” It is the “covenant of Yehovah.”

The main focus is on the priests who bear the ark. They are a single entity for all intents and purposes. As a whole the focus is on the covenant, meaning the Mosaic covenant. Together they…

^{18 (con’t)} had come from the midst of the Jordan,

mitok ha’yarden – “from midst the Jordan.” The waters had stopped when the feet of the priests had been submerged in the water. The priests stood in that spot until all the people had passed through. Now, the priests have fully crossed and ascended, coming out of the riverbed where the waters had ceased…

^{18 (con’t)} and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land,

It is a heavily pregnant construction: nitequ kapoth ragle ha’kohanim el he’kharavah – “tore up soles feet the priests unto the dry ground.” The word for “tore up” is nathaq. It comes from a primitive root signifying to tear off. Most of its uses in the Old Testament are very forceful, like breaking something off, tearing off fetters, snapping ropes, and so on.

As a side note, and interestingly enough, even though this word in modern Hebrew is much more mellow and conveys the idea of “disconnection,” the three uses of it in the Hebrew NT perfectly match the normal uses of the ancient Hebrew. They are found in Luke 8:29, Acts 16:29, and Acts 27:32.

In this, we can see that in the action of the priests there is as a severing of what was. It is without a doubt that this is recorded history. The soles of the feet of the priests were in the spot where they had placed their feet in the water. The ground remained moist under their soles but dried around them. They had to forcefully pluck up their feet from the ground. In this, it is next seen…

^{18 (con’t)} that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place 

va’yashuvu me ha’yarden limqomam – “And returned waters the Jordan to their place.” The text of this verse implies that the waters were there at that moment. As before, the timing of the event wasn’t just “step out and then the waters come later.”

Instead: 1) the waters from very far away, up in Adam, released; 2) the people continued to cross through until the last one crossed; 3) the command from the Lord to Joshua was given; 4) the command from Joshua to the priests was given; 5) the priests tore their feet from the riverbed, and they came out of the Jordan, and (6) the waters were there at that moment.”

The plan of the Lord had started to be worked out with the waters releasing in Adam. It was fully realized the moment the priests stepped out of the bed and onto dry ground. The timing of the event was perfectly executed by the foreseen knowledge of the Lord, as is evidenced with the words…

^{18 (con’t)} and overflowed all its banks as before.

va’yeleku kitmol shilshom al kal gadotav – “And went from yesterday day before yesterday upon all His banks.” The meaning is that just as it had previously flowed, so it returned to just as it was then. In these words, we should note the term “all His banks.”

¹⁹ Now the people came up from the Jordan

v’ha’am alu min ha’yarden – “And the people ascended from the Jordan.” The Jordan is the Descender. The words thus give the interesting sense of “The people ascended from the Descender.” This occurred…

^{19 (con’t)} on the tenth day of the first month,

b’asor la’khodesh ha’rishon – “In tenth to the month the first.” This is the tenth day of the year 2555 Anno Mundi. It is a most incredible date, for two reasons. The first is that it is exactly forty years, to the day, from the time the Passover lamb was selected as noted in Exodus 12:3-6.

Secondly, the day is especially notable, based on a discovery that goes back to a study I did over fifteen years ago when looking for something completely different. This date is exactly fourteen thousand days, to the day, from the day the people departed Mount Sinai as is recorded in Numbers 10 –

“Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. ¹² And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran. ¹³ So they started out for the first time according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.” Numbers 10:11-13

The calculation is simple and uses the standard biblical day of a 360-day year –

Starting: 30 (the first month of second year) + 20 (of second month) + 360 (the first year) = day 410.
Finishing: 10 (of first month of forty first year) + (360×40 = 14400) (forty years) = day 14410.
Subtract: 14410 – 410 = 14000.

The perfection of the dating, unknown until around the year 2005 is telling us something. The number 14 is defined by Bullinger as –

“being a multiple of seven, partakes of its significance; and, being double that number, implies a double measure of spiritual perfection. The number two with which it is combined (2×7) may, however, bring its own significance into its meaning, as in Matthew 1, where the genealogy of Jesus Christ is divided up and given in sets of 14 (2×7) generations, two being the number associated with incarnation.” EW Bullinger

With this astonishingly precise figuring, a dating used even by rabbis in Israel today (now that it has been found), we have a picture of something that God has been carefully planning all along. With that seen, it next says…

^{19 (con’t)} and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

va’yakhanu ba’gilgal biqtseh mizrakh yerikho – “And they camped in the Gilgal in extremity east Jericho.” Gilgal comes from the word gilgal, meaning a wheel. It thus means, A Circle, A Wheel, or, figuratively Liberty (as in a rolling away). The last meaning is derived from Joshua 5 –

“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.’ Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.” Joshua 5:9

It is a marvelous picture that is being conveyed for us to consider…

²⁰ And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan,

v’eth shetem esreh ha’avanim ha’eleh asher laqehu min ha’yarden – “and two ten the stones, the these, which they took from the Jordan.” These are the twelve stones the Lord instructed Joshua to have taken from where the priests stood. They are not the same ones set up at the spot where the priests stood. Of these…

^{20 (con’t)} Joshua set up in Gilgal.

heqim Yehoshua ba’gilgal – “raised up Joshua in the Gilgal.” Joshua is said to have accomplished both the setting up of the stones in the midst of the Jordan as well as these now. After this…

²¹ Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying:

va’yomer el bene Yisrael l’mor – “And said unto sons Israel to say.” It is Joshua who now speaks, after the setting up of the stones, as he addresses the “sons of Israel,” meaning the twelve tribes descended from Israel…

^{21 (con’t)} “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying,

There is a stress in the words: asher yishalun benekhem makhar eth avotam l’mor – “When (certainly) ask your sons tomorrow their fathers to say.” It is with all certainty that the stones, which are to be erected in the Gilgal, will cause the children to ask of their fathers…

^{21 (con’t)} ‘What are these stones?’

mah ha’avanim ha’eleh – “What the stones the these?” As noted in the previous sermon, stone signifies establishment, as in setting up a pillar to establish something. It signifies permanence in that which is established is set to stand firm. It signifies resiliency and strength, as in that which is fixed and unyielding. For the fathers, when asked by their children of these stones…

²² then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’;

The stones were to be a perpetual reminder of the event that occurred. The entire nation, as one, passed through the Jordan ba’yabashah, or “in the dry ground.” It is the exact same expression used to describe the event of passing through the Red Sea on dry ground. And the reason for this being possible is…

²³ for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you

asher hobish Yehovah elohekhem eth me ha’yarden mipenekhem – “which dried up Yehovah your God waters the Jordan from your presence.” Joshua notes that the waters of the Descender were dried up right before their faces…

^{23 (con’t)} until you had crossed over,

The words are all in the plural as Joshua speaks. The nation as a whole crossed through, but the nation is comprised of all of the people. And all of the people had crossed through in the same manner…

^{23 (con’t)} as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over,

The words are carefully stated as Joshua includes himself in the narrative saying mipanenu, “from our presence,” and av’renu “our crossing through.” Just as had been the case with Israel and the crossing of yam suph, or “Sea the Ending,” so is the case with the people now. Moses led the people in the former, and Joshua now leads them in the latter. This is so…

²⁴ that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty,

The words bear an emphasis: l’maan daat kal ame ha’arets eth yad Yehovah ki hazaqah hi – “to end purpose may know all peoples the earth hand Yehovah for mighty IT.” This is the purpose of what took place. The word ha’arets can be translated as “the land,” and for Israel in Canaan, that is probably a better intent.

However, because this is given as typology of Christ, I rendered it “the earth” as in Genesis 1:1 because what is done by the Lord in Christ demonstrates the mighty hand of the Lord to all peoples of the earth. This is the ultimate intent of what is being pictured. And there is a personal purpose for Israel as well…

*^24 (fin) that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

l’maan yeratem eth Yehovah elohekhem kal ha’yamim – “to end purpose you have feared Yehovah your God all the days.” The idea of “fear” here is that of reverenced fear, not of being afraid. For Israel today and for much of the church as well, for example, there is no reverenced fear of the Lord.

But this is the end purpose of setting forth these twelve stones in Gilgal. It is so that they will be a witness to what the Lord has done so that the people will remember His works and reverence Him for all their days, meaning forever.

What are these stones for? Why are they there?
Are they just something someone raised up for fun?
What are they for? Should I care?
Who can I ask about what has been done?

Surely, these rocks were raised up with purpose and intent
They are a witness to what the Lord has done
They were taken from the Descender when the waters were spent
Like when the life ceased in God’s own Son

They have been raised up for all people to see
And those who understand will glory at what God has done
When the waters of the Descender were cut off completely
When the life left the Man from heaven, God’s own Son

II. Pictures of Christ

How does one describe what is going to happen to an entire nation that has been disobedient to the Lord for two thousand years when they finally do what they should have done before being exiled for their rejection of Jesus?

From Numbers 14 until now, the entire panorama of what has been seen has typologically anticipated Israel’s rejection of their Messiah, their exile into the wilderness (meaning, their second exile from the land after rejecting Him), their chance at individual salvation (such as in those who were bitten by snakes and looked to the serpent on the pole), their judgment under the law that Christ had fulfilled, the ending of the law for them as pictured by the death of Moses outside of the land of Canaan, their acceptance of Christ, their entering into the New Covenant, and their state of salvation once that occurs. All of this, and so much more, has been seen since Numbers 14.

This is the last step of that process, but it is not the last event of it. For example, in Joshua 5, the people will be circumcised. That is a part of what happens when the nation comes to Christ. Each account is a part of the greater story, and each conveys truths that will actually occur, in Israel’s future, whether they accept that now or not – which they obviously do not.

What is now being displayed is Israel’s national salvation, while also giving hints of other events that occur in and through the work of Jesus Christ. Joshua 3 already conveyed much of what was then repeated early in Joshua 4. However, in order to fill in more typology of Christ, parts of the account are repeated with different and additional information.

The first thing to remember is the symbolism of the Jordan. We saw this in Chapter 3. In fulfillment of the typology, Jesus Himself expressly tells us that He is what the Jordan pictures –

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38

Jesus said, “I have come down.” ha’yarden, the Jordan, means “the Descender.” Jesus is the Descender. In their crossing through the Jordan (the Descender, meaning Christ) the Lord tells Joshua, who then tells the people, to take for themselves twelve stones according to the tribes, one man from each tribe is to take a stone.

As noted in Joshua 3, the word “over” used by the NKJV is better translated as “through.” This is to fit the typology repeatedly used of faith in Christ in the New Testament –

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through [dia] faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22

As for the number twelve, it signifies “perfection of government, or of governmental perfection.” A governmental order is being represented by these twelve stones. Obviously, because these stones are according to each tribe of Israel, the order is a government set forth for the nation as a whole.

They are taken “from the midst of the Jordan,” meaning Christ Jesus – the Descender. The government is based upon the Person and work of Christ. That is clearly seen, for example, in Matthew –

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” Matthew 19:28

That is coming, but it is only coming when the nation comes to Christ. This is confirmed throughout both testaments and it is noted innumerable times. It is the finished work of Jesus under the law, and His death in fulfillment of it, symbolizing the cutting off of the waters, that makes this possible.

This is why the death of Moses occurs outside of Canaan. That death is now explained in the Joshua account, one story overlapping and building upon the next. The stones were taken from where the priests holding the ark stood, signifying the priestly duties accomplished by Christ in His death – all carefully explained in the book of Hebrews.

The word describing the cutting off of the waters, karath, is used when a covenant is cut. In this, the death of Jesus in fulfillment of the Law of Moses is seen (Moses dying outside of Israel) and then the cutting of a New Covenant is seen at the same time.

As we saw in verse 7, this explains the difference between “ark Yehovah your God” (Jesus, the embodiment of the law), and “ark covenant Yehovah” (the sacrifice of Christ). Verse 7 also gave us the symbolism saying, “in His crossing through the Jordan were cut off waters the Jordan.”

Jesus, the Man, had His life cut off from Him, symbolized by the cutting off of the waters. And yet, the deity of the Lord stood in the Jordan (the priests with the Ark – the presence of the Lord accepting His priestly work).

As I noted at that time (still verse 7), it doesn’t matter that the stones are lost to history. The written record means that the memorial of the stones still exists. As the stones represent the twelve tribes of Israel, it means that the same group of people who were exiled are the same group of people who are now – two thousand years later – regathered according to Scripture.

In other words, God is showing us that He has faithfully kept this group of people who rejected Jesus, just as He did in the forty years of punishment after they rejected the words of Joshua to enter the land (Numbers 14). That was typical of what we see, even today, with their continued disobedience. Someday, this people will come to Christ, and this typology will be fulfilled!

Of those stones that were selected, in verse 5 it said each was to be taken up on the shoulder of the man carrying it. These twelve tribes, under the authority of Christ, are pictured in this. As we saw, the shoulder signifies the place of bearing a burden, as in a yoke.

As such, it emblematically signifies authority and/or responsibility. It is the authority of their Messiah seen in Isaiah 9 that “the government will be upon His shoulder.” The burden of the government, and thus the responsibility for it, will be His.

The stone signifies 1) establishment, as in setting up a pillar to institute something; 2) permanence in that which is established: it stands firm; 3) resiliency and strength, as in that which is fixed and unyielding. That is also seen in Isaiah –

“Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:7

In verse 8, the stones representing the people of the twelve tribes were said to have been carried into Canaan by the twelve men and were laid down (yanakh, rested) at the place where they lodged. It is what was promised by Jesus in Matthew 11 and what is confirmed in Hebrews 4 –

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

“For we who have believed do enter that rest.” Hebrews 4:3

“For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:10

In verse 9, something highly unusual occurred, however. It says that Joshua raised up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan. Why would he do this? The answer is because national Israel is NOT the whole point and focus of Scripture. How many elders are around the throne in Revelation? Twenty-four.

This is another government being set up. It is one that takes another group of people into account. While Israel had rejected Christ, God didn’t just put things on hold; He continued on with the redemption of man. John the Baptist spoke of exactly this –

“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Matthew 3:8, 9

He said this while baptizing “in the Jordan” (Matthew 3:6). But more, according to John 1:28, it is in this exact same location –

“These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” John 1:28

Bethabara means “House of the Crossing.” It would have had this name based on what occurred here in Joshua 4. Whether the twelve stones that Joshua raised up were still visible at the time of John the Baptist or not is irrelevant; the account is recorded in Scripture, and the people would know exactly what he was referring to if they simply thought it through for one second.

An important point to consider is that this second set of stones is credited solely to Joshua having set them up, no one else is mentioned. The church is solely established by Jesus Christ, and it came out of His death in fulfillment of the Old and establishment of the New Covenant. And more it is set up even before Israel finishes crossing through the Jordan.

The second government set forth, and which is included in the twenty-four elders of Revelation, is that which the apostles proclaimed, and which was rejected by national Israel. And yet, it is the same gospel preached to both Jews and Gentiles by them.

As one can see in this, there is one – and only one – gospel. It is preached to Jew and Gentile alike today. But there is also another thing that God is doing. That is the keeping of, restoration of, and exaltation of the nation of Israel according to the promises made to the patriarchs (see Leviticus 26:42-45).

This is not a different gospel, but a different outworking that serves an entirely different purpose in redemptive history. The salvation of Israel the nation will occur in exactly the same way as the individual is saved today – all seen right here in Joshua 4.

The reason for raising up these stones “in the midst of the Jordan” (verse 9) is obvious. When the waters returned, the people who are symbolized by these stones (both Jew and Gentile) would be “in Christ” (the Descender) –

“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:4, 5

Those stones were raised up in the exact spot that the priests and ark were standing (takhat – under, meaning “in place of”). They signify the government of Christ over the church – comprised of both Jews and Gentiles who have come to Him during this dispensation.

This is “in place of” the law of Moses, signified by the ark of the covenant. Christ’s priestly role established the New Covenant and set aside (replaced) the Old –

“For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:18, 19 (and etc.)

The words “and they are there to this day” (verse 9) clearly indicate the permanence of what took place. As for where this was, I gave several options in the last sermon. I would argue that it was on the other side of the Jordan, exactly where the priests first placed their feet, not in the middle of the river.

The main reason is that they were clearly visible to the people after the Jordan once again filled. But more, the text says nothing of the priests moving once their feet were planted. Therefore, it seems likely that they were set up on the other shore where the banks overflowed, but not enough to cover them.

Next, verse 10 said that the priests with the ark stood there until all was tamam, or finished. The waters were finished (Christ’s death). The nation finished crossing (salvation of national Israel). And “everything was finished … according to all that Moses has commanded Joshua” (verse 10).

The law of Moses, meaning the command and the charge for Christ Jesus in His earthly life, was finished. The New Covenant was introduced, and only after all of this do the waters return. This is why Hebrews 8:13 says –

“In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

Christ’s work is complete, the New Covenant is introduced, but national Israel has not yet accepted it. Until they do, the Old is only “ready to vanish away.” Coming soon to a tribulation period and entry into the millennium near you.

Verse 11 noted the alacrity with which Israel crossed through. Once they realize who Jesus is, there will be a national rush to accept Him, and thus “all Israel will be saved.” It is reflective of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:2 –

“For He says:
‘In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Only after the nation crosses through does the aron Yehovah, the ark of Yehovah, Jesus, the God/Man, then cross through. In type, this reveals that only in the acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah will He finally appear before them –

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Mathew 23:37-39

The symbolism of reintroducing Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh is more difficult to pin down, but I would guess that these are typical of those who are of Israel, but who remain outside of the promise – meaning those who are not in the land when Jesus returns, and of those who are born in the land after Israel’s acceptance of their Messiah.

Not all from these three tribes crossed through, and thus they reflect those who must later choose to believe or not, and there are those who will not believe, even in the millennium as several verses reveal, such as Isaiah 65:20.

With the crossing through recorded as complete in verse 14, it said of Joshua that “they feared him, as they had feared Moses.” Understanding that Joshua is typical of Christ, we noted the four causes previously mentioned to reflect this. Here that is again –

The priests bearing the ark are the material cause (Christ’s priestly/sacrificial role in His Person). Their entry into the Jordan (His cross) is what makes the thing (like wood in a table) to be. The formal cause, the design, is the parting of the Jordan (His death). The efficient cause, what brings it about, is the Lord’s presence working on behalf of Jesus. And the final cause, the purpose, is the exaltation of Jesus in the eyes of the people.

With that complete through verse 14 last week, the account then went back in time starting in our verses today where the priests and the ark were still in the Jordan. The Lord told Joshua to command the priests who bore the aron ha’eduth, the ark of the Testimony (the law of Moses) to come up from the Jordan.

It is the command for Christ’s resurrection. He has been found worthy under the law according to Leviticus 18:5, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”

The people have realized that Christ is the fulfillment of the law, and they have entered into Him, crossing through Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. Joshua is typical of Christ, the Leader of His people. The priests are typical of Christ in His mediatorial role. The ark borne by the priests is typical of Christ the fulfillment of the law and the One who then died in fulfillment of it. The Jordan, the Descender, pictures Christ who descended from heaven to earth, and the waters picture the life within Him.

As soon as the note about the ark of the testimony was said, it immediately returned to aron berith Yehovah, the ark of the Covenant of Yehovah. Christ is the embodiment and fulfillment of the Old, and He is the Initiator of the New. The use of the forceful word nathaq, tore up, concerning the feet of the priests gives us a marvelous picture of Christ’s work.

He was there, cut off and without life, symbolized by the priests with the ark standing there. His sacrificial death brought about the sudden and abrupt ending of the law. With the sacrificial work complete, the veil was torn, and the law was ended. Israel has accepted this, and they are now included in what Christ has done –

“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound in affliction and irons—
¹¹ Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the counsel of the Most High,
¹² Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces. [nathaq]
¹⁵ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
¹⁶ For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.” Psalm 107:10-16

With this complete, it says “that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place” (verse 18). Israel has been saved through the work of Christ! The promises to the nation have been fulfilled in their acceptance of Jesus, and the Jordan, the Descender, Jesus Christ “overflowed all His banks as before.”

Remember that as long as the priests with the ark stood there, it was as if the waters never stopped, except in Jesus. In other words, the typology is showing us that these people are being baptized into the death of Jesus, just as they once were baptized into Moses. The words of Paul clearly show this –

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. ⁵ But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

This is exactly what has been seen since Numbers 14. The law could not save them except as it is fulfilled by Christ –

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3, 4

With this noted, it next gave the dating of when the events took place. It was exactly, to the day, forty years after the Passover lamb was selected (see 1 Peter 1:19) on the first Passover. On this day, the people “ascended” from the Jordan, meaning they were spiritually raised in Christ (Ephesians 2:6).

Bullinger notes that forty is the number of probation, trial and chastisement of a covenant people. It is the product of 5 and 8, and points to the action of grace (5), leading to and ending in revival and renewal (8).

From the presentation of Jesus as Israel’s true Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), until their acceptance of Him, they have gone through the exact process and care by the Lord for them as is defined by Bullinger. But more, it was also 14,000 days, to the day, from their departure from Sinai, signifying life under the law.

Bullinger’s definition of fourteen perfectly describes their state –

“being a multiple of seven, partakes of its significance; and, being double that number, implies a double measure of spiritual perfection. The number two with which it is combined (2×7) may, however, bring its own significance into its meaning, as in Matthew 1, where the genealogy of Jesus Christ is divided up and given in sets of 14 (2×7) generations, two being the number associated with incarnation.” EW Bullinger

In accepting Christ Jesus in His incarnation (the God/Man), they will have a double measure of spiritual perfection. They will be both individually and nationally saved in Christ.

From there, it noted that the people camped in Gilgal (Rolling Away/Liberty) on the east border of Jericho (Place of Fragrance/Paradise Restored). Where were the cherubim placed in the Garden? At the east of the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24). Because of the work of Christ, the people of Israel will come to that spot of Liberty at the door of Paradise that has been anticipated since the fall of man.

There in Gilgal, Joshua set up the twelve stones, just as he did in the Jordan. Christ is the one to set up the government. This one is for national Israel during the millennium, and which is incorporated with the government of the church to form the heavenly government described by Bullinger –

“Twenty four being a multiple of twelve, expresses in a higher form the same signification. It is the number associated with the heavenly government and worship, of which the earthly form in Israel was only a copy.”

The final verses of the chapter spoke of the reason for the setting up of the stones. They point to Christ in His many roles seen in this passage. They are a memorial of what He would do and now of what He has done. And all of it was said to be so “that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty.”

As our text verse noted, “Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.” Those deeds included the crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of Egypt.

With the events of Joshua 3 and 4, the Lord has exalted his new leader, Joshua (verse 3:7). Joshua is a type of Christ, and it is Christ Jesus whom God has exalted to the highest degree because He is the Lord God Almighty.

The twelve stones, times two piles, were to be a witness to Israel concerning the great acts of the Lord. The first ones collected were explicitly stated to be taken, one for each tribe of the nation of Israel. The second ones were actually raised up first by Joshua though. Weren’t they?

Those were then explicitly stated by John the Baptist to reflect something entirely different, and a completely different outworking of the Lord. The one chosen first was set up last, but they were, in fact, set up. God will remember His covenant with Israel, and they will receive the promises made to them in Scripture.

And yet, the process of salvation was identical for both, even if they occur in a separate way. Those of the church (individually and collectively) and those of national Israel (individually and collectively) all have to come through the same single gospel which is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This applies to each member of the church, and each member of Israel. And this applies in the same manner collectively to the church (the rapture) and to the nation of Israel (the Second Coming). Joshua 3 and 4, when properly analyzed, clear up a lot (a lotta lot) of bad theology through simple typology.

If you are stuck in replacement theology, the typology clears that up. If you are stuck in a return to the law (such as Hebrew Roots), it clears that up. If you are deceived by hyperdispensationalism, it clears that up too. I could go on with lots of points of really bad doctrine, or even heresy, concerning what this passage clears up, but I will – instead – implore you to keep reviewing our sermons and our weekly Bible studies.

We do our best to cover all such things from time to time. Joshua 3 and 4 just put them all into a simple, easy to swallow, power pack. What a wonderful thing God has done in these precious pages. And it is all centered on one thing: the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

I would ask you to consider the simple gospel today and yield your life to Him. It is beyond comprehension that these patterns simply occurred by chance. The details are too perfect, the pictures are too exacting. Call on Jesus and be a part of what He is doing in human history to redeem the sons of man. Yes, please call on Him today!

Closing Verse: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

Next Week: Joshua 5:1-9 Off it will be stripped, yes, it shall be done… (The Reproach of Egypt, Part I) (9^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Twelve Stones, Part II

Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying
These words to him He was relaying:

“Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony
To come up from the Jordan, so I say
Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying
“Come up from the Jordan, he did relay

And it came to pass
When the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD
Had come from the midst of the Jordan
And the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land
———-according to the word

That the waters of the Jordan returned to their place once more
And overflowed all its banks as before

Now the people came up from the Jordan
On the tenth day of the first month as we now know
And they camped in Gilgal
On the east border of Jericho

And those twelve stones which they out of the Jordan took
Joshua set up in Gilgal as is now recorded in the Joshua book

Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying
“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying
‘What are these stones?
Then you shall let your children know, saying
———-Yes, you shall be conveying…

‘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 He promised, So the Lord did do

As the LORD your God did to the Red Sea
Which He dried up before us until we had crossed over
———-(here comes a rhyme so clever)
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

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ¹⁶ “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.

¹⁹ Now 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. ²⁰ And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹ Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; ²³ for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, ²⁴ 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.”

 

 

 

Artwork by Doug Kallerson

Joshua 4:1-14
Twelve Stones, Part I

As you know, the Lord works through various literary devices in order to reveal Himself and His intentions for us. We constantly see typology concerning something anticipating Christ, the law, and so on. There are metaphors where one thing is equated to another, such as the tongue being a fire, a world of iniquity.

Various things like water, a stone, or an olive tree will symbolize other things. When seen, they are very consistent in their representation. Numbers are like this. In today’s passage, we will see twelve men of Israel select twelve stones that are to be set up later. Stones have their own meaning as do the number of them.

After they set up these stones, Joshua will set up another twelve stones in order to make another picture. These will have their own meaning as well. But there is also the truth that twelve and twelve equal twenty-four. And so, it is an obvious number to consider –

“Twenty four being a multiple of twelve, expresses in a higher form the same signification. It is the number associated with the heavenly government and worship, of which the earthly form in Israel was only a copy. We are told that both Moses and David ordered all things connected with the Tabernacle and Temple worship by direct revelation from God, and as a copy of things in the heavens, [Hebrews 8:5; 1 Chronicles 28:12, 19]. And the sevenfold phrase (in Exo 40) ‘as the LORD commanded Moses’ witnesses to the Divine ordering of all. It was so with the twenty-four courses of priests in the earthly Temple; these were formed on the ‘pattern of things in the heavens.’” EW Bullinger

Text Verse: “And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God.” Revelation 11:16

Bullinger says more about the number twenty-four, but you get the point. It signifies heavenly government and heavenly worship. Here we have two sets of twelve stones. How would that fit into what is being said? That is, if it does at all.

We won’t answer that today, but it is a good thought to consider. For now, we have a sermon full of information to look over. It will be a sermon that will necessarily be followed by another in order to understand the entire chapter and what it is telling us.

This means that if you are hearing this sermon now, unless the Lord comes for you by death or rapture, you’ll need to be here for part two next week. Yes, the rapture would be far preferable if one of the two happens, but there is no guarantee of that.

As such, it is always best to be prepared to meet your Maker on friendly terms, and always be prepared for whatever lies ahead. Death, rapture, another sermon. It is all in God’s hands, but where you will go, if it is death, is in yours. Jesus has made the offer. Be sure to respond appropriately.

And one thing is for sure: what He did in order to make that offer possible continues to be pictured in today’s verses. I hope you will enjoy what we see today and will consider it while waiting for next week’s sermon.

Great stuff is to be found in God’s superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Waters of the Jordan Were Cut Off (verses 1-9)

And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan,

Rather than “people,” it more appropriately refers to the entire nation: vayhi ka’asher tammu kal ha’goy la’avor eth ha’yarden – “And it was, according to which finished all the nation to cross through the Jordan.”

As noted in Joshua 3, the word “over” is better translated as “through.” This is to fit the typology repeatedly used of faith in Christ in the New Testament –

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through [dia] faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22

As for the narrative, it continues exactingly from the previous chapter with words that detail the fulfillment of what was just recorded as Chapter 3 ended –

“…and all Israel crossed through on dry ground, until all the people [nation] had crossed completely through the Jordan.”

“…when all the people [nation] had completely crossed through the Jordan.”

The focus is not on individuals, but the entire nation. But more, it is a term, ha’goy, used at times when speaking of the nations of Gentiles and the nation of Israel when they are in a state of disobedience. As such, it is as if it is saying, this “uncircumcised nation had crossed through.”

It is what was seen in the previous sermon: the salvation of Israel that Paul wrote about when he says that someday “all Israel will be saved.” It is not saying that every Israelite will be saved, but as a nation, those who are a part of it when it calls on Christ will be saved. It next records…

^{1 (con’t)} that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:

Rather, it reads: va’yomer Yehovah el Yehoshua lemor – “and said Yehovah unto Joshua to say.” The difference between said and spoke is small, but it carries the general sense of working together rather than simply speaking forth a command. Joshua is told to…

² “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people,

Even though the Lord is speaking to Joshua, the words are in the plural, “take for yourselves.” The order will be transmitted by Joshua to the tribes because each tribe was to select a person. Also, it now rightly says, “the people.” Of the people who have crossed, and in fulfillment of verse 3:12, this action is to be taken –

“Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.”

Verse 3:12 said “from the tribes” but here it says, “from the people,” but that is then explained by…

^2 (con’t) one man from every tribe,

ish ekhad ish ekhad mi’shavet – “man one man one from tribe.” Again, it is a little different from 3:12. There it said, “from the tribes (pl).” Here it is “from tribe (sg).” But the meaning is the same for both. One man is to be taken from each tribe of the people…

³ and command them, saying,

The plural continues here, “and command you (pl) them, saying…” The Lord is speaking to Joshua in the manner in which Joshua is to speak to the people. This pictures Jesus in John 12:50 where it says, “Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” And he is to say…

^3 (con’t) ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan,

seu lakhem mizeh mitokh ha’yarden – “lift to you from this from midst the Jordan.” This takes us back to verse 3:17. What does “the midst of the Jordan” mean? Is it referring to “between the cut off waters?” Half was cut off upriver, and half continued downriver. Or is it from the middle of what is a normal flowing river? At this point, it would appear to be the same thing, but the next words must be considered…

^3 (con’t) from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm.

mi’matsav ragle ha’kohanim ha’kiyn – “from post feet the priests’ established.” There is a new word here, matstsav. It is a standing place or a fixed spot. Figuratively, a garrison, and that is how it is most often used. The priests had posted themselves firmly, as if a military garrison, remaining unmoved until the task was complete.

As such, the waters had separated, and the bed of the river was dry. Hence, referring to the post where the priests’ feet are would be the area of the actual separation of the waters. All of the people maintained a two-thousand cubit separation from where the priests were, but these men went to that exact location and obtained their stones from there. Once obtained…

^3 (con’t) You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’”

“And have carried them through with you and have rested them in the lodging place which you remain in the night.” The word yanakh signifies to place, set, lay down, and so on. It is derived from the same as nuakh, to rest. In this case, using “rested” gives a better typological hint as to what is happening.

It is the responsibility of the chosen men to each select one stone from where the priests posted themselves, to carry it with them from that spot to the place where the people would encamp and rest it there. That will be identified in verse 19 as Gilgal.

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe;

This is now the fulfillment of the Lord’s words from the previous verses. It is also a repetition of what was said in verse 3:12 –

“Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe.” Joshua 3:12

There is no contradiction here. The Lord’s words would have come first, and Joshua’s words of Chapter 3 follow after, even though they are recorded first in the narrative. With this in mind, and in fulfillment of the word, Joshua calls unto these twelve men whom he had prepared, one from each of the tribes…

⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan,

ivru liphne aron Yehovah elohekem el tok ha’yarden – “Cross through to face (meaning ‘in the presence of’) ark Yehovah your God into midst the Jordan.” This is the direction that Joshua was told by the Lord to convey to these men.

^5 (con’t) and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder,

v’harimu lakhem ish even akhat al shikhmo – “and raise up to you man stone one upon his shoulder.” It is a different word than in verse 4:3. There it was nasa – to lift or carry. This is rum – to raise up or exalt. The stone is to not only be carried, but to be raised up and placed upon the shoulder.

The shoulder signifies the place of bearing a burden, as in a yoke. As such, it emblematically signifies authority and/or responsibility. For example, it says of the Messiah in Isaiah 9 that “the government will be upon His shoulder.” The burden of the government, and thus the responsibility for it, will be His.

The stone signifies establishment, as in setting up a pillar. It signifies permanence; that which is established is set to stand firm. It signifies resiliency and strength, as in that which is fixed and unyielding. These twelves stones were selected…

^5 (con’t) according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,

Although the meaning is understood, rather than “according to” (k’) it simply says “to” (l’): l’mispar shivte bene Yisrael – “to number tribes Israel.” There are twelve tribes, and there are twelve corresponding stones. These are selected in order…

⁶ that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come,

There is an emphasis in the words. It is not just that the children might ask, but they will certainly ask: l’maan tiyeh zoth oth b’qirb’kem ki yishalun benekem makhar – “To end purpose shall be this sign in your midst for (certainly) asking your children tomorrow.” The word “tomorrow” signifies in the time to come.

A sign isn’t a thing in itself. Rather, it is something that points to something else. As such, when the children see it, the question is to then receive a response as to why they were set up in the first place. Bearing the emphasis in the words, any time after the day the stones are set up, it is certain that those who see them will ask…

^6 (con’t) saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

l’mor mah ha’avanim ha’eleh lakhem – “to say, ‘What the stones the these to you (pl)?’” It is a general question to any and all who are aware of their purpose. The question is on the same lines as that which accompanied the Passover where the children were bound to ask, “What do you mean by this service?”

There is an intended meaning beyond the thing itself, pointing to its ultimate purpose. In the case of these stones…

⁷ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord;

With some differences, it is similar to the words of verse 5, “that were cut off water the Jordan from face (meaning ‘in the presence of’) ark covenant Yehovah.” Here, the words “were cut off waters” brings in a change in the terminology concerning the ark –

• ark Yehovah your God.
• were cut off waters … ark covenant Yehovah.

The ark is the place where the Lord is present. In using the words “cut off waters,” the covenant is remembered. As was noted in chapter 3, the word karath, or cut off, is what is used when a covenant is made, or literally, “cut.”

Remembering the symbolism already seen, the waters (the life) of the Descender (Christ) is cut off in an act of cutting a New Covenant. Thus, it explains the difference between “ark Yehovah your God” (Jesus, the embodiment of the law), and “ark covenant Yehovah” (the sacrifice of Christ).

^7 (con’t) when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.

The repetition of “the Jordan” more perfectly helps to give us the appropriate mental image: b’av’ro ba’yarden nikr’tu me ha’yarden – “in His crossing through the Jordan were cut off waters the Jordan.” The ark is where the presence of the Lord is. As such, translating it “His” is not inappropriate. It is a masculine singular word.

But more, it much more clearly helps us make the connection to Jesus who is the embodiment of the law, and whose life was cut off in His descending from heaven to fulfill the law. Understanding this, we can now translate it in the form of typology: “in His crossing through the Descender, were cut off life the Descender.” Think of Jesus. This is the sign of the stones. As such…

^7 (con’t) And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

v’hayah ha’avanim ha’eleh l’zikaron livne Yisrael ad olam – “And it shall be, the stones the these, to memorial to sons Israel unto futurity.” This is what the sign of the stones is to be. It is to point to that which God has done in the cutting off of the Jordan, but that is given in typology of Christ.

As the stones eventually were moved or lost to history, one might say that this is a failed sign, but that is incorrect. The sign is recorded in the word, and the word continues to this day. It has always been with Israel. And so, in the reading of the words, the sign still exists, even if the stones are gone. That is an important point to remember and that will be expanded upon later.

⁸ And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded,

ka’asher tsivah Yehoshua – “according to which commanded Joshua.” Here, it shows compliance to the words of Joshua, the leader. Remembering that he anticipates Jesus the Man who is the Messiah and Israel’s true Leader, the wording will more clearly reveal what is intended. The children of Israel did so…

^8 (con’t) and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan,

The stones came out of the place where the priests stood in the midst of the Jordan, meaning where the waters were cut off. This was accomplished…

^8 (con’t) as the Lord had spoken to Joshua,

ka’asher dibber Yehovah el Yehoshua – “According to which spoke Yehovah unto Joshua.” The words of John 12:50 cited above are clearly indicated in what is stated here – “Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

The people did as Joshua (the Lord Jesus) spoke, and Jesus the Man did as the divine Lord spoke to Him. The communication within the Godhead is clearly revealed in this, from Father to Son – the God/Man which reveals God’s intent from the divine to the human.

This is the anticipation of the future when Israel will finally heed the words of Jesus as He conveyed them from His Father, and it is seen in typology after the death of Moses (the law) when Israel finally realizes what they have missed for so long. For now, it is…

^8 (con’t) according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,

l’mispar shivte bene Yisrael – “to number tribes sons Israel.” The number of stones, as before, is twelve. As there are twelve sons of Israel, descending from them come the twelve tribes of Israel, meaning all of Israel. Next, it says…

^8 (con’t) and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

va’yaabirum imam el ha’malon va’yanikhum sham – “And crossed through them, with them, unto the place and rested them there.” The designated representatives for the tribes crossed through the Jordan with the stones. As they are designated to represent each tribe, it is as if all of Israel accomplished this. Hence –

“And the children of Israel did so…and took up twelve stones…and carried them through with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.”

The action of the twelve men is reckoned as the action of the entire congregation. The twelve stones are reckoned as the action of the twelve men. What happens to them happens to the congregation. The stones were rested at the designated place. After that…

⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan,

u-shetem esreh abanim heqim Yehoshua b’tok ha’yarden – “and two ten stones raised up Joshua in midst the Jordan.” There is a ton of speculation concerning this. Some believe that this should read mi’tok, or “from midst.” This is how the Aramaic Bible reads.

Because of this, and because of the seemingly pointless nature of setting up stones that will be covered with water, some translations run with this, such as the NIV –

“Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.” Joshua 4:9 (NIV)

This then would make it in agreement with the pile to be erected in verse 20, which says, “And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua raised up in Gilgal.” However, this is not what the Hebrew says. It says, “In (b) the midst,” not “from (m) the midst.” All Hebrew texts say this, the Greek and the Latin, both translated out of the Hebrew, also say this.

But more, both of those qualify the words by saying “other twelve stones” (ἄλλους δώδεκα λίθους / alios quoque duodecim lapides) to ensure that it is understood that these were not the same stones. These “other” twelve stones were heqim or “raised up…”

^9 (con’t) in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood;

takhat matsav ragle ha’kohanim nos’e aron ha’berit – “under post feet the priests bearing ark the covenant.” By saying “under” it signifies “in place of.” In other words, it wasn’t just in the general area, but in the exact spot where the ark of the covenant had been borne by the priests.

Therefore, it is a memorial in itself to the covenant that is derived from what occurred, and the covenant is set forth as twelve [other] stones. Twelve means “the perfection of government, or of governmental perfection” (Bullinger). With these noted, it says…

^9 (con’t) and they are there to this day.

va’yihyu sham ad ha’yom hazeh – “and they are there to the day, the this.” Where the priests stood is of less importance than the fact that they stood in the overflowing waters.

In other words, if they stepped into the waters on the bank, and the descending waters ceased, and they continued to stay right there on the bank of the Jordan, it is no different at all than if they proceeded into the middle of the empty basin and stood there.

The point is that the waters were descending, they were cut off, and the priests with the ark stood where the waters had been. The rocks may have simply sat on the banks of the river in full sight. When the Jordan overflowed, the rocks would be bathed in water.

Or it could be that the priests moved to the middle of the Jordan and the rocks were covered over (which seems unlikely based on the fact that people could still see them, as it says, “to this day.”)

Or it could be that the rocks set up in the middle of the Jordan could have been whopping in size, even big enough to not get washed down the river, and large enough to rise above the flowing waters.

Or the priests could have walked into the Jordan and ascended a large boulder so that everyone could see them. When Joshua set up the rocks, it was exactly on that boulder where they stood and when the Jordan flooded again, the rocks were there in full sight. It isn’t worth fighting over what cannot be known. However, I would go with them being set up on the riverbank, right where the priests stood.

What matters is that Joshua raised them up, both here and in verse 19 to come, that they represented the waters that were cut off, and that they stood as a witness to what occurred. As noted, even if the stones are no longer there, the sign is recorded in the word, and the word continues to this day. Therefore, the sign still exists.

What are these stones for? Why are they there?
Are they just something someone raised up for fun?
What are they for? Should I care?
Who can I ask about what has been done?

Surely, these rocks were raised up with purpose and intent
They are a witness to what the Lord has done
They were taken from the Descender when the waters were spent
Like when the life ceased in God’s own Son

They have been raised up for all people to see
And those who understand will glory at what God has done
When the waters of the Descender were cut off completely
When the life left the Man from heaven, God’s own Son

II. The Lord Exalted Joshua (verses 10-14)

This section begins with a marvelous set of words…

¹⁰ So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan

v’ha’kohanim nos’e ha’aron om’dim betok ha’yarden – “And the priests bearing the ark, standers in midst the Jordan.” With the immense number of people crossing through, this process could have taken awhile. However, the priests never stopped their standing and bearing the ark…

^{10 (con’t)} until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people,

ad tom kal ha’davar asher tsivah Yehovah eth Yehoshua l’daber el ha’am – “until finished all the word which commanded Yehovah Joshua to speak unto the people.” Again, as in verses 3:16 and 3:17, the word tamam, or “finished” is used.

In 3:16, it was referring to the waters being finished. In 3:17, it referred to the nation finishing its crossing through the Jordan. Now, it is referring to the word that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people. But that is next stated as…

^{10 (con’t)} according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua;

k’kol asher tsivah Mosheh eth Yehoshua – “according to all which commanded Moses Joshua.” Suddenly, and with seemingly no obvious reason, Moses is reintroduced into the narrative. It is the Lord who has been commanding Joshua, and Joshua has either done what the Lord said directly, or he passed on the command to the people.

There is nothing recorded concerning instructions from Moses in regard to this operation that has taken place, and yet, the people’s entrance is based upon “all the word that the Lord commanded to Joshua,” and that is based on “all that Moses had commanded Joshua.”

It is as if the words of Moses, the law, continue on until Israel has fully passed through the Jordan…

^{10 (con’t)} and the people hurried and crossed over.

vay’maharu ha’am va’yaaboru – “And hastened the people, and crossed through.” There is a sense of urgency, but it would not be one of either weak faith or fear.

The people understand that the waters above are being held back, and that the priests bearing the ark would not move until all was complete. With what was surely a sense of appreciation for the priests’ effort, and with the anticipation of entering into the promise, the people rushed across in joy and confidence. With this complete…

¹¹ Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over,

Though the intent is the same, it more closely reads, “And it came to pass according to which all the people completed to cross through.” The precision of the wording tells us that every person had crossed through, and only then was it…

^{11 (con’t)} that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people.

Here, the most basic term is used, aron Yehovah, “ark Yehovah.” It speaks of the ark (Jesus, the embodiment of the law), and Yehovah. It is clearly a reference to Him as the God/Man. Further, the priests are mentioned after the ark.

The priests signify the priestly role of Christ. Thus, it is Christ in His duties being named after Christ in His Person. Together they now cross through liphne ha’am – “to face (meaning in the presence of) the people.” With that noted, necessary words of compliance are stated…

¹² And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.

This is in fulfillment of what was said in Joshua 1, and which had been previously commanded by Moses to these men –

“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, ¹⁵ until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” Joshua 1:13-15

The words “before the children of Israel” do not necessarily mean “in front of them.” Rather, it says “to face,” meaning “in their presence.” It is a necessary inclusion to be recorded at this time. Of them, there were…

¹³ About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.

The Hebrew is more precise and doesn’t say “about.” It says, “According to forty thousand drawn off for battle.” In other words, at the very recent census, there were more than seventy thousand men of age to fight. However, these were drawn off from that total to begin the campaign with the other tribes.

After that, others could be rotated in and out while a contingent stayed with the families and farms east of the Jordan. These men, however, came along liphne Yehovah la’milkhamah el arvoth yerikho – “to face (meaning in the presence of) Yehovah to the battle unto plains Jericho.”

¹⁴ On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel;

This was what was promised in the previous chapter –

“And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.’” Joshua 3:7

It then takes us back to what was said there concerning Joshua and everything that was to occur, and which has now been recorded as having occurred –

The priests bearing the ark are the material cause. Their entry into the Jordan is what makes the thing (like wood in a table) to be. The formal cause, the design, is the parting of the Jordan. The efficient cause, what brings it about, is the Lord’s presence working on behalf of Joshua. And the final cause, the purpose, is the exaltation of Joshua in the eyes of the people.

And this is exactly what happened…

*^14 (fin) and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

The final clause is speaking of Joshua, not the Lord. To make it clearer, it can be rephrased, “and they feared him all the days of his life, as they had feared Moses.” The highlight is upon Joshua, noting that during his entire life, from that point on, Israel feared him because he had been exalted by the Lord in the eyes of all Israel.

With that stated, our verses for today are done. Like Chapter 3, the final verses have to be completed before we can fully understand the typology that is being seen here. Enough of it has been explained for you to possibly have a pretty good idea of what is going on, though.

In the end, all of this is given in typology to point us from the type, Joshua, the priests, the ark, and so on, and to lead us to the Antitype – Jesus. He is the fulfillment of all of these things. And yet, to this day, Israel has not clued into this.

However, the account is given to show us that they will, someday, get it. They will pass through Christ and into the true promise and rest that is only prefigured in the passage. But it is certain that not just Israel is included in the story.

God sent Christ Jesus into the world to redeem man, all men from all nations, who will come to Him through faith in what Jesus has accomplished. This is as obvious as the nose on one’s face when looking at the greater picture.

Israel, to this day, thinks that everything in Scripture is about them and that God’s Messiah will come to them alone and place them, above all people. In some ways, this is true. It is what has been prophesied in Scripture. But the promise of a Messiah goes all the way back to Genesis 3.

Israel only came about as God’s covenant people in mid-Exodus, even if the line became clearer in many ways at the time of Abraham. In other words, Jesus is the Christ of all nations who descend from Adam.

The select line in Scripture is narrowed down for the purpose of bringing Him into the world so that He could then accomplish the necessary redemptive requirements for it to be so. Once that is complete, the offer is made to any and to all who will come to Him.

Ironically, the very people who think they are His chosen people are currently not God’s people because of their failure to recognize this. That will be corrected, but for now, the offer is open to anyone who will receive it – Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. The call is made. Come to Jesus! May you do so today.

Closing Verse: “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:16, 17

Next Week: Joshua 4:15-24 Those others aren’t to be left alones, it is true… (Twelve Stones, Part II) (8^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Twelve Stones, Part I

And it came to pass
When all the people, as the words are so relaying
Had completely crossed over the Jordan
That the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying:

“Take for yourselves twelve men
From the people as I am now conveying
One man from every tribe
And command them, saying

‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here
Out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the
———-priests’ feet stood firm – from that very site
You shall carry them over with you
And leave them in the lodging place where you rest tonight

Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed
From the children of Israel
One man from every tribe
And Joshua said to them, so he did tell:

“Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God
Into the midst of the Jordan as to you I tell
And each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder
According to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel

That this may be a sign among you
When your children ask in time to come, saying
‘What do these stones mean to you?’
What I say, that is what you shall then be relaying

Then you shall answer them
That the waters of the Jordan were cut off
———- their momentum was lost
Before the ark of the covenant of the LORD
When it over the Jordan crossed

The waters of the Jordan were cut off
And these stones shall be
For a memorial to the children of Israel forever
This is how it is as directed by Me

And the children of Israel did so
Just as Joshua commanded
And took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan
As the LORD had spoken to Joshua, as the divine word demanded

According to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel
And carried them over with them, just one each – not a pair
To the place where they lodged
And laid them down there

Then Joshua set up twelve stones
In the midst of the Jordan, putting them on display
In the place where the feet of the priests who bore
———-the ark of the covenant stood
And they are there to this day

So the priests who bore the ark
Stood in the midst of the Jordan, their knees not getting weak
Until everything was finished
That the LORD had commanded Joshua to the people to speak

According to all that Moses had Joshua commanded
And the people hurried and crossed over
———-as the situation demanded

Then it came to pass
When all the people had crossed over completely
That the ark of the LORD and the priests
Crossed over in the presence of the people, they all could see

And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad
And half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over without haw or hem
Armed before the children of Israel
As Moses had spoken to them

About forty thousand prepared for war
Crossed over before the LORD for battle
To the plains of Jericho
The clash of their swords and spears surely made quite a rattle

On that day the LORD exalted Joshua
In the sight of all Israel
And they feared him, as they had feared Moses
All the days of his life, so the word does tell

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ² “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

⁸ And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰ So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. ¹¹ Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. ¹² And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. ¹³ About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴ On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Doug Kallerson.

Joshua 3:14-17
And the People Crossed Over, Part II

In Numbers 14, the people failed to believe the Lord. They complained against Him, and they rejected Him. The typology clearly pictured Israel’s rejection of Jesus. Because of their faithlessness, they were sentenced to turn into the wilderness where none of that generation, save Joshua and Caleb, would enter into the inheritance.

The next day, they decided, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!” But the Lord had already spoken, and the sentence had been pronounced. Instead of trusting the Lord and having Him lead them, they decided it was by their effort and works that they would take the inheritance.

This is what Israel has now done for the past two thousand years. They rejected Christ, and they decided to make up their own plan of salvation through works. After the people were turned to the desert to wander, God gave them a provision for salvation when they had been bitten by snakes in the wilderness, looking to a bronze snake on a cross (picturing Jesus).

That was given to show any Jew since the coming of Christ that he could be saved if he looked to Jesus. But it is only an individual salvation. The nation, all of them who have not come to Christ, have perished and will someday be cast into the Lake of Fire.

But there is a time when the nation as a whole will enter the inheritance. That day has been anticipated in all of our sermons since Numbers 14. With Moses (the law) dead, they will enter. They will now have what was lacking in their attempt to enter after their sentence –

Text Verse: “But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.” Numbers 14:44

The ark was not with them, nor was Moses. In Christ, Israel has both. He is the ark, and He is the embodiment of the Law of Moses. With Him at their head, pictured by Joshua, they will enter. It is Jesus Christ, and He alone, by which man can enter into the inheritance. And it is by Him alone that all Israel will someday be saved.

The typing of this sermon actually got started some years ago, probably around the Numbers 14 sermon. I was looking at this passage from Joshua and noticed a pattern that will be revealed in today’s sermon. I sent it to Sergio and Rhoda, and Sergio – responding for both of them – said this about what I sent –

Cut off !! Wooow! And then Josh 3:16 says it was cut off by Adam by the Dead Sea!!! And the words used there are “cut off” and “finished” (Tam) – Just like Christ had said – it is finished!!
And the word for “dipped” in Josh 3:15 says the priests “nitbeli” – same word for Baptism!
…
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!’!!!!

Never underestimate Sergio and Rhoda’s zeal for the word of God. I have held onto those comments since then and have anxiously awaited putting all of this together. I certainly hope you will enjoy what God has placed in His word.

Before going on, it is true that modern Hebrew is not the same as biblical Hebrew, but there is overlap, and there must be a common understanding of biblical concepts in translations. Hence, what is presented here does not violate the typology at all, it is clearly supportive of it.

These are words of surety for Israel, and thus, they are words of surety for us. If you are struggling with the idea of eternal salvation, you shouldn’t. What God is doing is not about your faithfulness – you unfaithful soul. It is about His.

Cast off the arrogance concerning your (or another’s) inability to remain saved. It is not about you. God has made the promise. God has done the work. God has given the pledge. If it were about you, and it isn’t, you would lose your salvation. Don’t poke at the Lord’s covenant looking for holes in it. There are none.

Great things such as eternal salvation are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. On Dry Ground (verses 14-17)

¹⁴ So it was, when the people set out from their camp

The symbolism being conveyed is lost. It says tents, not camp: v’hi bin’soa ha’am meaholehem – “And it was, in setting out the people from their tents.” The word translated as “set out” means to pull up and relocate, especially the pulling up of tent pegs.

It is what occurred when the people left Mount Sinai in Numbers 10 and began their journey to Canaan. It is the final pulling up and heading out on that long, arduous trek (a self-inflicted wound) that began forty years earlier. Although getting ahead in the narrative, we are told the exact day that this occurs in Joshua 4:19 –

“Now 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.”

This is an important day. First, it is exactly forty years, to the day, from the event recorded in Exodus 12 –

“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶ Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.’” Exodus 12:3-6

The first year was spent at Sinai, and then the people departed, disobeyed, and were sentenced to exile. It is forty years to the day from when the lamb was selected as the Passover until the people are to pass through the Jordan.

Further, this is exactly a period of fourteen thousand days, to the day, after the people set out from Mount Sinai as is recorded in Numbers 10. That will be reviewed when we get to Joshua 4. For now, the purpose of this pulling up and setting out is…

^{14 (con’t)} to cross over the Jordan,

la’avor eth ha’Yarden – “to pass through the Jordan.” The word avar signifies to pass over or through, but it is certainly to be rendered “through” in this case. There is no bridge. Rather, the waters will cease, and the people will pass through to the other side of the Descender. The people will go through…

^{14 (con’t)} with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,

As we have seen, the priests symbolize Christ in the performance of His duties. The ark symbolizes Christ in His Person and what that specifically speaks of is concerning the law and His death in fulfillment of it. To more fully appreciate this and grasp what is being conveyed, reviewing the Exodus sermons concerning its construction are necessary. As for these things…

¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan,

u-k’bo nos’e ha’aron ad ha’Yarden – “And according to coming those bearing the ark unto the Jordan.” This means that as they bore the ark, according to the moment they arrived at the Jordan – at just this moment – but which is next further explained…

^{15 (con’t)} and the feet of the priests who bore the ark

v’ragle ha’kohanim nos’e ha’aron – “and feet the priests those bearing the ark.” As soon as the bearers of the ark arrived at that spot and…

^{15 (con’t)} dipped in the edge of the water

nitbelu biqtseh ha’mayim – “had immersed in extremity the waters.” The word is taval, normally translated as “dipped.” It means “immersed.” When one dips, the thing dipped is immersed. Hence, it is the same word used in the Hebrew New Testament when translating the word “baptize.” Likewise, the word “baptize” comes from the Greek word baptizó which signifies immersion, not sprinkling or pouring.

^{15 (con’t)} (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest),

v’ha’Yarden male al kal g’dotav kol y’me qatsiyr – “and the Jordan full upon all his banks all days harvest.” Here is a new word, gadah. It comes from an unused root signifying to cut off. Hence, it speaks of the bank or border of the river as it is cut into the stream.

The water is full “upon” all its banks, meaning it is overflowing. This is because of the rainy season now mixing with the melting of the snow on Mt. Hermon. All of this water is flowing into the Jordan which descends through this single gorge all the way to the Salt (Dead) Sea. The harvest being referred to now is the barley, not the wheat, as seen in Exodus 9 –

“Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops.” Exodus 9:31

That the flax was in harvest at this time has already been seen in Joshua 2:6 where it was noted that Rahab had stalks of flax arranged on her roof. This would have been for drying them after harvesting them. In other words, the account is precise and there is no doubt that it was as is now described.

This doesn’t mean, however, that the waters were not overflowing through the wheat harvest as well, and it can be inferred that they do. Today, this is not the case. So much water is drawn off from the Jordan for agriculture that it is no longer that way, but there is no reason to assume that the overflowing didn’t last much longer in the past.

Because of this immense flow of water, rushing to its termination in the Salt Sea, the miracle which will now be described is all the more pronounced. At the very moment the feet of the priests were immersed, it came about…

¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still,

A verb is being used as a noun here: vayaamdu ha’mayim ha’yor’dim milmalah – “And stood the waters, the descenders from above.” What this means is that the waters ceased flowing where the priests are. However, this does not initially occur at the spot where they stand, making the event even more miraculous. The waters stood…

^{16 (con’t)} and rose in a heap very far away at Adam,

qamu ned ekhad harkheq meod ba’Adam – “risen heap one far very in the Adam.” What this means is that the waters actually stopped earlier in time than when the priests stepped into the water.

In other words, the water is backed up at a location very far upriver. If the waters backed up a long distance away, then the water that was cut off continued to recede from that point as a full flowing river for a certain amount of time so that when the priests stepped into the flow and the waters stopped for them, it was when the receding water from above finally reached them and passed by.

As such, the miracle is all that much more pronounced. The Lord knew exactly when the feet of the priests were going to step into the water. Planning for that event, in advance, He stopped the waters upriver to accommodate its occurrence.

It is irrelevant how He did this, but it is still not inappropriate to speculate. Maybe He caused a logjam. Maybe a tremor caused a slope of rock and gravel to produce a dam, and so on. Even if a natural explanation like at the parting of the Red Sea exists, where an east wind is said to have caused it, the miracle is that it occurred at exactly the moment specified by His word.

The name Adam is the exact same in Hebrew as Adam, the first man. That, in turn, is the same as the word adam signifying “man” and “mankind.” Next, the words “in the Adam” are explained as…

^{16 (con’t)} the city that is beside Zaretan.

ha’ir aher mitsad tsar’than – “the city which from side Zaretan.” The name Tsar’than comes from a root signifying adversary or oppression. The “n” at the end is believed to indicate “place of.” Hence, the name means “Place of Oppression,” or “Place of the Adversary.”

^{16 (con’t)} So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea,

v’ha’yor’dim al yam ha’aravah yam ha’melakh – “and the descenders upon sea the Arabah, Sea the Salt.” The word aravah, comes from the word arav, meaning to become evening or grow dark. This is identical to arav, meaning to take or give on pledge. Hence, this can be typologically paraphrased as, “and the descenders upon the Sea of the Pledge.”

The narrative goes on and explains what the “Sea of the Arabah” means by saying, “Sea the Salt.” The words are being precise to definitively show us that it is the Salt Sea that is being referred to. The fact that two names are used is also a very clear indication that typology is being provided for us to consider. The waters…

^{16 (con’t)} failed, and were cut off;

tamu nikratu – “finished, cut off.” This is speaking of the waters (the descenders) that are coming from above and flowing to where the Dead Sea is located. The words are extremely precise concerning what is happening, even before Israel’s eyes. With this complete, it next says…

^{16 (con’t)} and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

v’ha’am av’ru neged yerikho – “and the people crossed through in front of Jericho.” They are directly facing Jericho as they pass through the Jordan. The word neged comes from nagad, signifying to be conspicuous. As such, it means “the part opposite,” and thus a counterpart or mate. Because of this, it is used to describe a helper for Adam –

“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’ ¹⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18-20

As such, that translation can mean exactly what is here in Joshua. There is the historical event – “and the people crossed through in front of Jericho.” But there is also what is typological – “and the people crossed through comparable (meaning suitable) Jericho.”

¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground

v’yaamdu ha’kohanim nos’e ha’aron b’rith Yehovah b’kharavah – “And stood the priests bearers the ark covenant Yehovah in dry.” It is the same word used in Exodus 14 concerning the parting of the Red Sea –

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.” Exodus 14:21

This standing in dry ground is explained with the next words…

^{17 (con’t)} in the midst of the Jordan;

b’tok ha’Yarden haken – “in midst the Jordan – established.” What is debated is whether the priests remained standing in the spot on the banks of the river where they had first stepped, or did they enter into the riverbed after the waters stopped once the descending water was gone? This is actually important to at least consider. Many translations say, “in the middle of the Jordan.” A couple paraphrase it saying, “in the middle of the riverbed.” This may give a false impression.

If the priests stood where they first touched the water on the overflowing banks of the river, the “in the midst of the Jordan” may not mean “in the physical middle of where the river flows,” but “in the middle of where the river had flowed.”

In other words, “midst” may be referring to “between the cut-off waters.” Half was cut off upriver, and half continued downriver. Hence, the physical separation of the waters is what is being described, not the middle of what is a normal flowing river.

No matter what, this was a sign of safety and security to the people that the waters would not suddenly break loose above and drown them. The Lord, represented by the ark of the covenant of Yehovah, stood in the crossing to ensure that the people were, in fact, safe to cross. For the sake of clarity, the word kun (haken), or established was placed in the previous clause by the NKJV, translating it as “firm.”

However, it is standing alone in the Hebrew, thus providing emphasis. It is a common word that signifies, “to be firm” or “establish.” Despite it being common, it is an important one to consider when we are done with the verses.

^{17 (con’t)} and all Israel crossed over on dry ground,

v’kal Yisrael ov’rim b’kharavah – “And all Israel crossers through in dry.” The meaning is obvious, as literally millions of people cross over below the ark, they were all able to do so in a spot that was dry. It is the same word just translated as “dry” in the first clause of the verse.

Further, as has been seen before, the word translated as “crossers through” is a verb that is identical in spelling to the word ivrim, or Hebrew. Thus, this can – and should – be taken as a pun indicating just that. All the people that cross are Hebrews. The crossing through continued…

*^17 (fin) until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

The word “people” is not appropriate. That word, ha’am, the people, was used in verses 3, 5, 6, 14, and 16. This is a different word. Translating it as “people” completely destroys the typology: ad asher tamu kal ha’goy la’avor eth ha’yarden – “until which finished the nation to cross over the Jordan.”

The entire nation of people who are there safely cross over while the priests stood and bore the ark in the midst of the Jordan. The miracle is complete, and the record of it stands as a witness to the world of the miraculous workings of the Lord on behalf of the nation of Israel.

This is the day! We are headed into the promised land
Christ has done it all for us
Look at the waters, taken away! See how they stand
Look at the marvelous work of our Lord Jesus

We shall enter in and receive the promise today
After so long, our eyes are opened to our Christ
He came and did it all! And we now behold the way
It is Jesus alone who for our sins was priced

Glory be to God who has done such things for us!
Glory to our Lord who has opened to us the way
Praise be to our God! Yes, our Lord Jesus!
We shall enter in. Yes! Today is the day!

II. Pictures of Christ

How does one present the future in a way that will explain exactly what will happen but also in a way that can easily remain hidden from those who are not yet ready to see it? The answer, as we have seen, time and again in the first five books of the Bible, is “through typology.”

Israel was given the law, Israel failed to enter into the inheritance, and Israel was punished and sent into exile, remaining under the law. Moses could not enter the inheritance because he typifies the law. And it is clear in understanding New Testament theology that no one under the law can obtain the inheritance without what is offered in Christ.

As such, Moses had to die outside of the inheritance. But Israel under their Messiah, typified by Joshua who is the leader of his people, will enter the inheritance now that the law is dead. That is the marvelous story that is seen in Chapter 3. The years of punishment and exile are over.

This chapter is pointing to Israel of today, set to enter in. They are not yet ready, but these words of Joshua show us that it will come to pass. There was a period of three days from the time of the command until the time of entrance. As we saw, in verse 1, it literally reads “in until three days.” This is what Hosea prophesied concerning Israel’s time of punishment –

“Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
² After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
³ Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3

There is a time when Israel will be healed. It will be “after two days,” meaning after two thousand years (see Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8), and “on the third day,” meaning in the third period of a thousand years – the millennium.

What needs to be understood is that Moses’ death signifies the ending of the law. That happened at Jesus’ time. Hence, the three-day period now given explains that. As such the typology of Numbers 14, where they rejected entrance into Canaan and went into exile, even until the time of Moses’ death, is typologically included in this three-day period.

But more, during that time, individual Jews could be saved by faith by looking to the bronze serpent. Thus, it is the same gospel as that proclaimed to the Gentiles. So much for hyperdispensationalism.

All of that time between Numbers 14 and this event now is like an insert story that is seen again and again elsewhere in the Bible. It is at the end of this two-thousand-year period that the promises to Israel will finally be realized. So much for the church replacing Israel. I’m sorry for replacement theologians, but this is exactly what is being pictured.

The people are moving from Acacia Grove (ha’shittim) to the Jordan. As we have seen in previous sermons, including Joshua 2, the word Shittim is derived from shotet, a scourge. That word is used only once in the Bible. In Joshua 23:13, it says –

“…know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” Joshua 23:13

It is also true that the law itself can be equated to scourges, simply because “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). In Joshua 23, the people of Canaan are equated to scourges who would afflict Israel. Thus, the scourges are that which draw the people away from faith in the Lord and to that which is false.

The law is what caused Christ to be scourged for His people, and it is what Israel has been under. With Moses dead, they are now leaving the law – something that is going to happen when they call on Christ. From the law, they are going to ha’yarden – the Jordan, meaning “the Descender.” It is a picture of Christ.

The Descender starts at Mount Hermon, meaning “Sacred.” It is capped in snow all year, signifying purity. It is emblematic of heaven, the Sacred place. The water then descends to and passes through the area of Dan, or Judge. Christ descended from heaven to the world to be the Judge of sin and to have sin judged in Him.

The waters flow south into the Galilee where they linger. Christ’s life and ministry were centered on this area where He lingered, spending most of His recorded time there. The Jordan then travels in a very long zigzagging path along the border of Canaan. Christ, the Descender, went through all Israel, traveling and preaching.

The Jordan terminates in the Salt Sea, the Sea of the Arabah. It is the Dead Sea. Christ, the Descender, went to His death. But there was no corruption found in Him, typified by the salt of the Salt Sea – a picture of incorruption. In His death, the pledge, typified by the “Sea of the Pledge,” is given. It refers to the Spirit, the pledge (arrabon – from the Hebrew eravon) of Ephesians 1:13, 14 –

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee [arrabon] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14

From this sea, the waters do not continue on. Rather, they evaporate – a picture of the resurrection and ascension. As for the fulfillment of the typology, Jesus Himself expressly tells us that He is the fulfillment of what the Jordan pictures –

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38

Though modern New Testament Hebrew is different than biblical Hebrew, there are overlapping words. In the Sar Shalom Hebrew translation of Jesus’ words, v’yaradti, “and I have come down,” is used. The name Jordan is from the same word, yarad. Jesus is the Descender.

Next, the ark was introduced in verse 3:3. As was explained, that pictures Christ, the embodiment of the law. The priests who bear it picture Christ in His work, bearing the sacrificial and priestly requirements of the law. The people are told that when they see it, they are to get ready to move after it.

There is to be a space of two thousand cubits between the ark and the people. Some say the distance signifies the two-thousand-year interval already mentioned, but that has already been dealt with. Though ultimately the same, there is more in what it is pointing to.

Rather, this is a Sabbath day’s walk, and it anticipates following Christ into His rest as is indicated in Hebrews 4:3 where it says, “For we who have believed do enter that rest.” That is explained by the idiom that was used, ki lo avartem ba’derek mit’mol shilshom – “for no you have passed through in the way from yesterday, day before yesterday.”

This more perfectly explains the time from Christ until Israel enters. It is a way of saying, “This is not something you have done before.” But typologically it is the two days (the two thousand years) they, as a nation, failed to follow Christ.

The people sanctifying themselves in verse 5 signify their preparing themselves mentally, turning their hearts to the Lord and away from the law. The external rites that came at the giving of the law were ineffective in changing the people. Instead, they must have hearts properly directed to Christ’s fulfillment of it.

In verse 7, it was said that Joshua would be exalted in the eyes of the people. This is pointing to that time when Jesus, of whom Joshua is the type, will be exalted in the eyes of Israel. That verse contained a strong emphasis, “that they may (certainly) know.” There will be no doubt when Israel at last comes to their Messiah. He will finally take the place of Moses in their eyes.

In verse 10, it referred to the waters being stopped up as a means of telling that el khai – a Living God – is among them. This is exactly the purpose of Christ’s incarnation and work: to prove that He is the living God and that He is among His people.

He is not like the dead gods of the nations, but He is the Lord of all the earth. It is He, Jesus, the embodiment of the law who was going before the people as the Descender, God in Christ. The deity of Jesus Christ, when the typology is understood, is inescapable.

In verse 13, this was again clearly seen in the words, “ark the covenant [even] Lord all the earth.” The ark of the covenant, meaning Jesus, the embodiment of the law, is Yehovah – God incarnate – the Lord of all the earth. It clearly anticipated the incarnation, where the physical is merged with the spiritual.

In verse 14, it referred to the people setting out from their tents. This is a picture of Israel leaving the tent of the law, the ohel moed, the tent (tabernacle) of meeting, to come to Christ who is the true Tent (Tabernacle) that the law only prefigured –

“And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (YLT)

Though it is actually found in Chapter 4, we saw earlier, that this is said to be taking place on the same day that the Passover lambs were selected. They were lambs that were accepted only after they were deemed to be without blemish. It is reflective of “Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).

Israel will come to realize that Christ is the One who these pictures anticipate, and they will come to Him. This is what is being pictured. It is exactly forty years, to the day, from that original selection of the lambs.

Forty “points to the action of grace (5), leading to and ending in revival and renewal (8)” (Bullinger). Israel was given grace by not being destroyed. They are now arriving at a time of revival and renewal.

In verse 15, the priests (Jesus in His work) with the ark (Jesus the embodiment of the law) came to the Jordan (Christ, the Descender) and their feet dipped (were baptized) into the edge of the water.

In Scripture, the placement of the foot signifies possession. Where the foot stands, that place is the person’s possession (see Deuteronomy 11:24, 28:35 & 65, and Joshua 1:3). The priests symbolize Jesus in His duties. When His duties are complete and his sole rests, the waters (life) are cut off.

The significance of the feet being “baptized” is that they then represent the possession of the waters into which they stepped. Hence, even though the people will pass through on dry ground, it is as if they are being baptized in their passage through. This concept is seen, explicitly, concerning the passing through of the Red Sea in 1 Corinthians 10 –

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” 1 Corinthians 10:1, 2

Likewise, in the death of Christ, being pictured now, believers are baptized into Him –

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” Romans 6:3

Hence, these people typologically anticipate Israel of the future being baptized into Christ as they pass through the Descender (Jesus) and into the promised inheritance.

Further, this was when the river was overflowing during the whole time of the harvest. As it says in verse 3:15, it overflows all “His” banks during this time. The harvest is the time of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as Jesus said –

“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, “There are still four months and then comes the harvest”? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!’” John 4:34, 35

It is at this time, and when the priests’ feet are baptized into the Descender (Jesus’ work under the law filled with the Spirit of God), that the waters (the descenders) stood and rose in one heap very far away, “in the Adam.”

Water symbolizes life. The life of the Descender, God in Christ, is standing all the way back in a heap to Adam, the man, and thus all who are in Adam. It is the fulfillment of the promise to man even from the time of the fall. It is why Adam named his wife Khavah, Life. He anticipated the life that was lost, but which would come again to quicken the dead of humanity.

When Christ was baptized into His death, that life was gathered all the way back to our first father, and all the faithful since then –

“But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” Luke 12:50

Christ performed His work under the law (the priests/priestly role), He embodied that law (the ark), and in His death, the waters of the Descender (God in Christ) stopped and reverted all the way back to Adam for fallen man in order to allow any who have believed or who will believe in Him to pass through.

As for the location, Adam, that is said to be beside Zaretan (Tsar’than ) the Place of Oppression or the Place of the Adversary. Whichever is closest, the meaning is obvious. Spiritually dead man has been vexed and oppressed since the fall when Adam was expelled from Eden, where Satan, the Adversary, did his work. The waters backed up to revive those in Adam who come through the work of Jesus Christ.

With that, the waters downstream of the priests standing with the ark went all the way down to the Sea of the Pledge, the Salt Sea. It is a picture of Christ, after His being cut off in death. He remained incorruptible in His death (see Acts 2:27), and it is through His death that the pledge – the Holy Spirit – is received.

It is in the death of Jesus, the cutting off of the waters (symbolizing life) that these things came about. As it said, the waters tamu nikratu – “finished, cut off.” One cannot help but see Jesus’ fulfillment of the law in this.

There are several words that signify “finished” in Hebrew, such as shalam, kalah, and tamam. Each is close in meaning. The word used here, tamam, is in accord with the idea used in John 19 where Jesus says, “It is finished.” This word is used to indicate the end of the words of the Song of Moses and the end of the words of Job in his discourse.

It was also used when speaking of finishing the work of the pillars in the temple, and so on. It signifies finished, come to an end, complete, etc. The next word karath, or cut off, is used when speaking of death, in this case, it is death in the cutting of a covenant. Here are the verses needed to understand this –

The promise of the New Covenant –

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” Jeremiah 31:31 (karath/cut – see fulfillment in Hebrews 8:8).

The cutting off of Christ –

“And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; (karath/cut off)
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” Daniel 9:26

The fulfillment of the law by Christ –

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’” John 19:28 (tamam/fulfilled)

“It is finished!” John 19:30 (tamam/finished)

The cutting of a New Covenant in the blood of Christ –

“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. ²¹ But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. ²² And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!’” Luke 22:20-22 (karath/cut – see Jeremiah 31:31 above)

In Israel’s realization that Christ died in fulfillment (tamam) of the law and then cut (karath) a New Covenant in His blood, they will then – finally then – cross through His death and into the promise.

That was seen in verse 16 with the words “and the people crossed through suitable Jericho.” They are now suitable as a people, because of passing through the Descender – which is because of the cutting off of Christ in fulfillment of the law – that they will be a people suitable for the place of fragrance – restored perfection.

The priests (Christ’s work) with the ark of the covenant of Yehovah (Christ the embodiment of the covenant of Yehovah and the fulfillment of the law) standing “in dry” (a picture of the death of Christ) is what allows the people to pass through.

Of them, it said, b’tok ha’Yarden haken – “in midst the Jordan – established.” As I said, the word haken (kun), meaning “to be firm, or establish,” is an important one.

Christ’s work, being established, is what then allows Israel to be established. This is seen in Isaiah 54, and it refers to the future, when Israel will come to Christ. There the word kun is used –

[All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established; [kun]
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.” Isaiah 54:13, 14

This is based on what is said in Isaiah 54:1 –

“’Sing, O barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,’ says the Lord.” Isaiah 54:1

Paul cites this in Galatians 4 explaining that this is a metaphor for Sarah and Hagar representing the two covenants. Those of the Old Covenant are in bondage (not established). Those who are of the New Covenant, are free (established). They are a part of “the Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26).

This is just what is being seen. Israel is being established in Christ by passing through His death. This is seen elsewhere as well, such as in Jeremiah 30:20 where the same word is again used.

With this understood, verse 17 said that all Israel crossed through on dry ground. It contained the pun on the word ov’rim (crossers over) which is the same as ivrim (Hebrews). Those who had rejected Christ are not true Hebrews, but someday, they will be those who cross through Christ, and it will be “all Israel.”

The anticipation of Israel’s redemption is that the nation as a whole will come to Christ. Paul speaks of that day which is yet ahead in Romans 11 –

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
²⁷ For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.’” Romans 11:26, 27

Paul is not saying that “all Israel of all time” will be saved. Rather, he is saying that Israel the nation, all of them, will be saved when they – as a nation – call out to God through Christ Jesus. This is what is being seen in verse 17 with the final words of the chapter, ad asher tamu kal ha’goy la’avor eth ha’yarden – “until which finished the nation to cross over the Jordan.”

Every person and the entire nation will be saved. This is the culmination of what has been anticipated for the people since they turned away from believing the Lord in Numbers 14, and it will be the culmination of what has been needed since they turned away from the Lord’s Messiah, Jesus Christ, when He came.

During the first sermon, I explained the four causes of what was being seen. In typology, however, this is what is seen: The priests bearing the ark (Jesus’ work under the law) is the material cause. Their entry into the Jordan (the people’s entry into Christ) is what makes the thing (like wood in a table) to be. The formal cause, the design, is the parting of the Jordan (the death of Christ in fulfillment of the law). The efficient cause, what brings it about, is the Lord’s presence working in and through Jesus. And the final cause, the purpose, is the exaltation of the Lord Jesus in the eyes of the people.

This is the marvel of what God is doing in Christ. It is not two gospels, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles, as some heretically claim. It is one thing for all people: faith in Messiah going all the way back to Adam. But along with individual salvation, there is also the promised national salvation of Israel.

Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved today through the finished work of Christ – very clearly depicted in today’s passage. However, national Israel will also be saved – meaning every one of them – when the nation calls out to Him.

This is a promise to no other nation, and it is given to demonstrate the covenant-keeping faithfulness of the Lord to those He swore to keep as a people forever. But this also shows us the nature of His covenant-keeping for all.

Just as He has kept, and He will continue to keep Israel, despite their unfaithfulness to the covenant, so He will keep us in Christ. The surety of our salvation is tied up in the surety of Israel’s national salvation. If He will violate the agreement made with them, then our salvation is just as dubious.

But the story in Joshua 3 tells us that Israel will be saved and come into the New Covenant. Paul tells us this as well. And the apostles go on to show us that this is the same faithfulness that we can expect in Christ.

If you are a Christian who believes you can lose what God has promised you, your theology is lacking, and your faith is not properly directed to God in Christ. Rather, your faith is tied up in your own supposed righteousness. As such, you should probably question your salvation. Don’t lose out on the reward, but trust in Christ, rest in Christ, and be confident in Christ.

Closing Verse: “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:17, 18

Next Week: Joshua 4:1-14 It is Christ’s blood that atones, and it is done… (Twelve Stones, Part I) (7^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

And the People Crossed Over, Part II

So it was, when the people set out
From their camp to cross over the Jordan
———-every Tom, Dan, and Gordan
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 who bore the ark
Dipped in the edge of the water that did the Jordan fill
(for the Jordan overflows 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
The city that is beside Zaretan as you surely know
So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah
———-the Salt Sea, failed
And were cut off; 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
———-By the waters they were not tossed
And all Israel crossed over on dry ground
Until all the people had over the Jordan completely crossed

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁴ 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, ¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.