Moses and Joshua

By Prophet Jacob R. Blandford

"Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it." (Deut. 1:37-38)

"Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see." (Deut. 3:27-28)

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

Because Moses disobeyed God at the waters of strife in Numbers Ch. 20, he was not allowed to take the children of Israel into the promise land. Moses died in the land of Moab on the west side of the river Jordan in the last chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. However, Joshua was commissioned to replace Moses after his death and be Israel’s new leader. This Joshua would cross the Jordan and take the children of Israel into the holy land.

Moses represents the law (see Acts 13:39). And Joshua is the greatest type of our New Testament Leader, Lord, and Saviour: Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the name “Joshua” is the Hebrew form of the Greek “Jesus”. This typology is found in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 (and this, by the way, is a KJV-only advanced revelation reading). And Jesus Christ, of course represents grace: because the gospel of Christ is called the grace of Christ. (see Gal. 1:6-7)

When you read Apostle Paul’s New Testament Epistles, he makes it clear that the LAW does not and cannot save a man. What saves a man is GRACE. (2 Cor. 3:6; Rom. 4:13-16)

Therefore, Moses (the law) cannot get you into the promise land (heaven); only Joshua or Jesus (grace) can get you there.

So what happens is Moses dies in the last chapter of the last book of Moses, and then in the next book in the canon is the book of Joshua. And in that book, the Israelites make it into the promise land.

This transition of Moses to Joshua has two applications to New Testament salvation... (1) When we are initially saved by grace and given soul salvation. We call this the rebirth. Therefore, Moses represents our slavery to sin and the law before we were saved; but Joshua represents our salvation (the names Joshua and Jesus mean ‘Jehovah saves’) and freedom. (2) Moses represents the wilderness journey: or for the Christian what would be our pilgrimage on here on earth, yea the trail of our faith until we go home to heaven (which is our promise land and eternal destination) when we will see our Jesus face to face.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Since Deuteronomy represents the Law; and since Joshua represents Grace: the transition from the Book of Deuteronomy to the Book of Joshua represents a transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament. So how does that sequentially pan out in our Bible’s canon? From Malachi to Matthew (with a blank page and a New Testament introduction between the two Books). So are there any parallels in Malachi and Matthew when compared to Deuteronomy and Joshua? You bet! Moses and his law in mentioned in the last chapter of Malachi (see Mal. 4:4): which is the last chapter in the Old Covenant. And then Rahab the harlot is mentioned in the first chapter of Matthew (see Matthew 1:5): which is the first chapter of the New Covenant. Rahab was the most prominent saint in the Book of Joshua (cf. Heb. 11:31; James 2:25).