All will come to pass
This is the thirteenth study in a series of studies about shadows in scripture
So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Joshua 21:43-45 (NKJV)
When Jesus stood in the Jordan, being baptised by his cousin John, he was moving in the footsteps of Joshua who had led the Israelites, after their forty years wandering in the wilderness, across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. The waters of the river had been held back while the priests stood on the dry bed of the river, with the Ark of the Covenant, containing the two tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4). This was God confirming his choice of Joshua as the leader of these people: ‘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). And 1400 years later God confirmed the identity of his Son as he came out of the waters of the Jordan as he declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).
Under God’s direction Moses had instructed the people in keeping the Passover before they left Egypt. There is no record of how they kept the Passover during their time in the wilderness, but there is a record in Joshua 9:12 of the first Passover being kept when they entered the Promised Land. There is an echo here of Christ, in the middle of the sobering events of the Last Supper, looking forward to the fullness of his kingdom and saying to the disciples, “…I will not drink of this fruit of the vine… until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29).
Joshua leading the Israelites into the land was a picture of Christ leading his people into his kingdom. Christ describes the symbolism of the wine: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20). And back in the story of Joshua, which the disciples would have been aware of, Joshua asks the people to reconfirm the covenant that Moses had mediated back in Sinai, and they promise, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” (Joshua 24:24).
Under the Lord’s guidance, and with his protection, Joshua led the Israelites in occupying the land that had been promised so long ago to their father Abraham. Beginning with the remarkable defeat of Jericho it is reckoned to have taken about seven years – seven years of continuous fighting – and then, ‘The Lord gave them rest all around…’ (Joshua 21:44).
The unfolding of God’s kingdom is not without its spiritual battles (Eph 6:12) – but Christ has gone before us and knows intimately what this is like, as he continues to guide and direct his church (Eph 1:22). He defeated everything that evil could throw at him – from the slaughter of the innocents to the crucifixion. Bringing us into the fullness of his kingdom, as expressed in the Lord’s prayer, “…On earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), is still to be completed.
There is comfort in Joshua’s story – that there was peace and they dwelt in the land. That will happen. It is no accident that the name Jesus – in Hebrew yeshua – that God gave to his son, has the same root as Joshua, meaning: ‘God (yah) is salvation’ or ‘yah saves’. Jesus is our salvation.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we look forward to a time when there will be ‘rest all around’ and everything you have promised has come to pass. Amen.
Study by Maggie Mitchell
About the writer:
Maggie Mitchell attends the Market Harborough congregation of Grace Communion International
Local congregation:
GCI Market Harborough
9 The Point
Rockingham Road
Market Harborough
LE16 7QU
Meeting time:
Sunday 4.00 pm
Local congregational contact:
Sinead Henderson
Email: sinead.henderson@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church