The Book of Joshua E-Book

Rev. Norman Holmes

• Herausgeber: Zion Christian Publishers
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Soldiers in battle, nations at war, families and tribes living in a new land – how is this all relevant for us? Rev. Norman Holmes will show how the Book of Joshua has many important spiritual parallels and prophetic applications for today. Join us as we study the following topics and many more:Obtaining our inheritance in ChristWhy we are the Joshua GenerationFighting our battles in the heavenliesHow God turns curses into blessingsExperiencing the crucified lifeWhy “getting the blessing” is not enoughObtaining a circumcised heartHow to multiply your ministry

Leseprobe

The Book of Joshua:

Obtaining Our Inheritance

Joshua: Obtaining Our Inheritance

Copyright © 1999 by Norman Holmes

Version 1.0

This book or significantly large parts of it may not

be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers. Used by permission.

Verses marked KJV are from the King James Bible.

Verses marked NAS are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971,

1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation

Published by Zion Christian Publishers

Version 1.0

Published as an e-book on October 2014

in the United States of America

E-book ISBN 1-59665-170-9

For more information, please contact:

Zion Christian Publishers

A Zion Fellowship ® Ministry

P.O. Box 70

Waverly, New York 14892

Phone: [phone]

Toll free: 1-877-768-7466

To

the Lord Jesus Christ,

Who, like Joshua, is leading

His people into their inheritance

and to

all the "Joshuas" that our Lord

is preparing for the last days

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

The Book of Joshua is a valuable and exciting book for the maturing Christian. The history it describes has important spiritual parallels and prophetic applications for today. As we will consider in detail, Joshua is a type or prophetic foreshadow of our Lord Jesus Christ. While Joshua led a natural army of soldiers to victory, our Lord Jesus is now leading a spiritual army, the Church. Our studies will reveal how we are the "Joshua Generation" that will arise in these last days to triumph over the gates of hell.

Instead of fighting the Old Testament's bloody battles on the earth, the Christian now conducts spiritual warfare in the heavenlies. Ephesians 6:12 tells us, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." In the Old Testament we find that the Israelites fought to possess a natural inheritance, a land "flowing with milk and honey." Now the Christian is fighting, not to obtain an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual inheritance in the kingdom of God.

First the Natural, Then the Spiritual

In 1 Corinthians 15:46 the Apostle Paul gives us a key to help understand the ways of God. There we read, "However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterwards the spiritual." All throughout the Bible we see how the Lord has worked according to this pattern. The Old Testament was written about the natural children of Abraham, while the New Testament then tells us about his spiritual children of faith. The Old Testament has natural temples that God dwelt in, but now God dwells in a spiritual temple, the Church. Why was the Old Testament filled with natural things that are then spiritually repeated for us in the New Testament? God works this way to show us natural models or patterns of what He wants to accomplish in the spirit. What we cannot see of the invisible plans of God we can begin to understand from His natural works (Rom.1:20). As we study the Book of Joshua we will repeatedly see natural events recorded there which have spiritual applications for us today. The spiritual principles revealed through how Joshua and his troops obtained the Promised Land can help us to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ who will obtain our own inheritance in the kingdom of God.

The following chart will help show us these parallels:

The Book of Joshua can of course be studied as natural history. It tells us how Joshua led the people of Israel into the land that God had promised them. Israel then conquered the Canaanite tribes that had lived there, divided the land, and inhabited the areas given to their twelve tribes.

The most important message for us in this book, however, is its spiritual fulfillment. Just as the Israelites were told of the Promised Land that they could inherit, there is still a "promised land" for God's people to enter and possess. This spiritual inheritance is the kingdom of God. It includes the promises of God, the gifts and ministries, and also the eternal positions and rewards that God wants us to inherit in His kingdom.

For us, the spiritual application of the Book of Joshua is that Jesus our Captain wants to lead us into God's promises for our lives. We must conquer our spiritual enemies and establish the kingdom of God in our life, family, church, local area, and nation. We will have many spiritual battles before we can enter into all the character, ministries, and rewards of God. Yet as we begin to enter into our inheritance in Christ, we will then also need to learn how to use and keep what God has given to us. These are the keys that we can gain from fully understanding this book.

Outline of the Book of Joshua

The Book of Joshua teaches us these lessons in a clear step-by-step manner. The content of the book is broken down into two equal sections each containing twelve chapters. The first half (chapters 1-12) can be titled "Conquering the Inheritance." In this section we read about how Joshua crossed over the Jordan River and defeated the armies of the Canaanites in the Promised Land.

The second half of the book (chapters 13-24) can be entitled "Possessing the Inheritance." After the Israelites moved in and defeated their enemies, they had to learn how to settle down and take possession of the land. Each of the tribes had their own geographical area clearly marked out where they were to live. We also read about the specific inheritances which different people sought for and received; such as Caleb, Achsah, the daughters of Zelophehad, and Joshua himself.

The following chart shows us the outline of how the Book of Joshua divides into two halves:

The last row of the chart further divides the two halves of the Book of Joshua into two sections each. We could call these the four "quarters" of the book. They each deal with the main topic of their respective half, but then go on to explain in further detail how the Israelites conquered and possessed the Promised Land.

Each of these four sections needs to be spiritually fulfilled in the life of every Christian who presses on to complete God's plan for their life. The maturing Christian needs to first begin entering into the promises of their inheritance in Christ. This will secondly bring them into facing the conflicts that must be overcome to obtain these promises. Thirdly, as they begin to receive the character, ministries and rewards of God, they will need great wisdom to organize and establish these blessings. Then to complete God's plan for their life, they will need to keep and multiply their inheritance by passing it on to their following generations of natural and spiritual children.

Authorship and Date

Jewish tradition and the Talmud declare that Joshua himself was the author of the book. Near the very end of the book we read, "Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God" (Josh.24:26). This at least refers to Joshua's last sermon, but possibly refers to the entire book. Joshua was the most qualified person to write this account, both as an eyewitness of the events and as a man of God who was skilled in declaring the word of the Lord. There are a few sections of the book (such as the death of Joshua in chapter 24:29-31) which must have been inserted by the final editor of the book, perhaps one of the high priests or early judges of Israel. Yet if the book was not basically written by Joshua himself, then it was written by a contemporary of Joshua who was an eyewitness of what he wrote. This is confirmed by the author using the word "us" in Joshua 5:6, and by the fact that Rahab was still alive when Joshua 6:25 was written. This would place the writing of the book during the early part of the fourteenth century B.C.

Chapter 2

THE PREPARATION OF JOSHUA

Before we study the Book of Joshua it is important to consider the preparations of the leader for whom the book is named. The Lord singled out Joshua from among more than one-half million men because of some very clear qualifications in his life.

In our day, the Lord is still looking for men and women whom He may choose and anoint to bring victory to families, congregations, and even to nations. Who will qualify for such an awesome privilege? As we learn how the Lord prepared Joshua, we also learn valuable lessons that can help us to be chosen by God.

Joshua became a Good Soldier

The first time Joshua is mentioned in the Scriptures is in Exodus 17:9, where Moses chose him to lead the soldiers against the army of Amalek. Joshua and his troops defeated the Amalekites, and Joshua went on to become a courageous and wise soldier. If we want to be chosen to lead the people of God to great victories, we must also learn to "be strong and of good courage," even as Joshua was exhorted many times (Josh.1:6, 7, 9, & 18).

In 1 John 2:12-14 we read about three categories of Christians. In these verses the Apostle John compares our spiritual growth with the natural development of a person from a child to a father. In verse 14 we read, "I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one."

Just as a young man can mature and become qualified to join an army, the maturing Christian should develop into becoming a "good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Tim.2:3). This will cause us to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might," and will help conform us to the image of Christ- for Exodus 15:3 tells us, "The Lord is a Man of War."

There are times when the people of God will be attacked by demonic powers or those under their control. Will we be strong and bold when it is time to fight the battles of the Lord? Remember, this is what often separates the men from the boys!

There are many times I have faced battles that in my natural self I wanted to avoid. It can often be as simple as getting out of bed at night to pray. It may be a conflict at church. Once when I was an assistant pastor, I had to stand outside the church's front door and tell a drunk demon- possessed man that he was not welcome to come in. This big, strong man became violent, and went out to the road to grab the church sign. Then he came charging back to the church, prepared to throw the sign through our large front window. Just on the other side of that window our senior pastor was preaching at the pulpit! Right then I wished that some of the bigger men of the church were out there instead of me; but as I was the only one there, I pointed my finger at this violent man and rebuked him in the name of the Lord. He reacted to this as though someone had hit him in the chest with a baseball bat, and turned around to stagger away.

Another time I was teaching a pastors' seminar in a province of the Philippines that was largely controlled by the communists. The message that the Lord told me to speak was that if the churches would boldly preach the gospel, the Lord would change the province and break the power of communism there. That preaching earned me a death threat which in the natural made me want to get on the next plane out! However, I knew that if I left in fear my ministry would become of no effect and could even leave the pastors in defeat. So I prayed through, and stayed the next few days until the seminar was completed with victory.

That seminar helped encourage some of the ministers in their aggressive evangelism. Within eight years they had over 10,000 converts while the strength of the communist movement was broken! I then started a Bible school there for 120 pastors and workers in the church of a local pastor who had formerly been a part of the local communist assassin squad.

What is our reaction when the battles get tough? The Lord wants to teach us how to "endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Tim.2:3). This is a qualification that we need in order to become leaders that are chosen by God and followed by men.

Another lesson to be learned by Joshua's defeat of the Amalekites concerns the heritage of Amalek. He was a grandson of Esau, who represents the carnal man and the works of the flesh (Gal.4:22-29). If we want to become successful Christian leaders, we must battle the works of the flesh in our own lives. We must declare war against the "Amalekites" that would seek to destroy our own spiritual ministries. King Saul was a leader who compromised with the Amalekites when the Lord told him to destroy them, and in the end it was an Amalekite who boasted that he killed Saul. To become a good leader, we must not be content with only gaining temporary victories over the lusts of the flesh. We must declare total war and seek to eradicate them from our lives, or else in a time of difficulty or personal weakness they may return to sneak up and destroy us.

Joshua was a Servant

In many of the early references to Joshua we read that he was called the servant of Moses (Ex.24:13, Num.11:28, Josh.1:1). In his youth, Joshua was not one of the leaders of Israel, nor did he come from a priestly family. He did not look like a promising leader. In modern terminology we could say that he was not an elder in the church or the son of a minister. Joshua was like a deacon whom God chose to promote and make the next senior pastor! Even Moses did not realize that Joshua was God's choice to be the next leader until the Lord showed this to him near the end of his life (Num.27:15-21).

Being a servant (or according to the Greek language, a deacon) is not in the natural seen as an important ministry or a steppingstone to greatness. Yet God's thoughts are different from our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways. The Lord Jesus Himself taught us, "whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant" (Mk.10:43). It is as we learn to serve that we are becoming prepared to be able to lead. The reason for this is because every leader is still a man under higher authority- unless you want to be a dictator or a pope! The more we learn to be faithful servants and channels of the authority over us, the more we can be promoted and entrusted with higher levels of that authority. This is the opposite of the ways of carnal man, which will teach that you must promote yourself and climb the ladder of success to become a high ranking professional leader. If we would follow God's ways and gain His promotions, we should instead heed the exhortations, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up," "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might," "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much" (Jam.4:10, Eccles.9:10, Lk.16:10).

As Moses' servant, Joshua also learned many valuable lessons as he was close to Moses and learned his wisdom. In Numbers 11:26-29 when Joshua wanted to stop the two elders who were prophesying in the camp, Moses helped show him how open the heart of God is. If Joshua had not imparted this same nonsectarian attitude to Israel, the tribes that settled west of the Jordan might have destroyed the tribes east of the Jordan when they built the altar as recorded in Joshua 22:10-34.

Joshua had his Name (and Character) Changed

A very important key to Joshua's preparation was that God changed his name. This signified that the Lord was changing Joshua's character and calling. After Joshua had already served Moses as his assistant and military captain, we read in Numbers 14 that he was also chosen as one of the 12 spies that were sent into Canaan. There in verse eight he is called Hoshea according to his original name, but in verse 16 we further read, "And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua."

Names are often prophetic of our character and calling. Abigail correctly discerned how her husband's name corresponded to his character when she said, "For as his name is, so is he," 1 Sam.25:25. If we find out the meaning of a name, we can often gain understanding from the name about God's calling. We know that Abraham fulfilled his name to become a "Father of Nations," and that Jesus' name prophetically meant "The Lord is Salvation."

The name that Joshua was given at his birth was Hoshea, which means "salvation" or "save." Moses was led by the Holy Spirit to change his name by adding to the beginning of Hoshea's name. This addition was a "J," and made his new name to become Jehoshua, or Yehoshua. Today this is spelled Joshua, Yeshua, or Jesus in its modern shortened form. The complete meaning of his name became "the Lord Saves" or "the Lord is Salvation."

The great importance to Joshua's new name can be seen when we compare his name with the name given to our Lord at His birth. In the original Bible languages, Joshua and Jesus were the same name! An example of how these two names can be interchangeably used is shown to us in Hebrews 4:8. The King James Version of this verse says "if Jesus had given them rest," while most modern translations say "if Joshua had given them rest." In this verse it is actually Joshua who is being spoken about, but because these two names are interchangeable from the original Bible languages, the King James translators put the name "Jesus" in this verse.

Joshua became an Old Testament type of Christ, even to the exact similarity that they both have the same name. They both entered into a similar calling of becoming deliverers, as their name means "The Lord is Salvation." When the Lord appeared to Joshua in chapter 5:13-15, He manifested Himself as the "Commander of the Army of the Lord." This was also the major aspect of the character of Christ that Joshua entered into. The Scriptures tell us in 1 John 3:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we are changed to be like the Lord when we see Him. For this reason Christ revealed Himself to Joshua as the Commander, to transform Joshua into becoming a victorious army commander.

Joshua became the Old Testament leader that conquered the enemies and led the people of God into their inheritance. In this way he was like Jesus, who has conquered sin, hell, and death to lead the New Testament believers into their inheritance. Moses the lawgiver could lead the people of God out of darkness, but it took Joshua to lead them into the Promised Land. The New Testament now similarly teaches us that while the law given by Moses begins the redemptive work of God in our lives, it takes the grace of Christ to lead us into its completion.

The transforming work of God's grace that prepared Joshua is still seeking to prepare Christian leaders for today. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Revelation 2:17, "To him who overcomes I will give ... a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." Just as Christ gave Joshua a new name, character, and calling, there are now a multitude of believers who are being prepared to be the "Joshua Generation" of church history. (We will study this further in chapter three.)

Eighteen years ago I was a very discouraged minister. God had given me gracious promises about what He wanted to accomplish in my life, but up to that time I had seen very little results. At my lowest point of discouragement the Lord chose to intervene and begin to prepare me for my calling.