Lesson 10 The True Joshua
Lesson 10 The True Joshua
(Romans 5, Hebrews 3-4, Joshua 6)
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.
Introduction: Did you know that newspapers and popular magazines are written at a level that those with a seventh- grade education can read and understand? Why is that? My answer is that you use words that are simple enough that the reader understands. You do not want to make understanding difficult. When I write legal briefs, I generally write at a “low” level. Not because judges are uneducated, but rather because if I want to win, I want judges to be able to easily understand. I take that same approach when writing these Bible study outlines. This week our subject can be described in theological terms like “type” and “antitype.” These are uncommon words. I prefer to use the more common terms “illustration,” “symbol,” or the phrase “acted out prophecy.” Simply put, Joshua is a symbol or illustration of the coming Jesus. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible to learn more about symbols and illustrations and why they have practical value!
I. Symbols and Types
A. Read Romans 5:12. Who is the “one man” who caused death to spread to all men? (Adam.)
B. Read Romans 5:14-16. We read that Adam was a “type” of the One who was to come. Who does verse 15 tell us is the one that Adam typified, symbolized, or illustrated? (Jesus.)
1. Is saying that Adam teaches us something about Jesus some sort of needless puzzle? Or is this something that will make it easier to understand the work of Jesus? (Paul’s point in Romans is that Adam made all of us sinners even if we did not commit the same sin as Adam. Just as Adam automatically made us all sinners, so Jesus automatically gave us all the gift of God’s grace so we need not die eternally because of our sins.)
a. Does this comparison help you understand what Jesus did for you and me?
C. Read Hebrews 4:14-16. These verses refer to Jesus as “a great high priest.” What did the people of Joshua’s time understand about the work of the High Priest? (The sanctuary service with its sacrifices and the Day of Atonement was the way in which the people dealt with their sins.)
D. Read Hebrews 9:11-14. What does the symbolism of the sanctuary service on earth teach us about the future work of Jesus?
1. How does the earthly High Priest compare to Jesus, our High Priest in heaven?
a. Does the sanctuary service in the Old Testament help us to understand Jesus’ present work in heaven?
2. In the Bible there are several symbols for Jesus. What are some you can think of? (Lamb. Word. King.)
E. Can you think of any other acted-out symbols of Jesus in the Old Testament?
1. Read Genesis 22:1-2. Is Abraham being told to sacrifice Isaac a symbol of what Jesus will do in the future?
2. We are not going to read it, but Genesis 37-50 are the chapters of the Bible that describe Joseph being sent into slavery, going down into the depths of prison, rising to become the prime minister and, as a result, saving his family. Is that an illustration of the coming Jesus?
II. Joshua a Type or Symbol of Jesus
A. Read Numbers 13:16. Do you see that Joshua has two names?
1. Why is that? (We find that Moses changed his name from Hoshea to Joshua.)
B. “Hoshea” means salvation or “the saved,” and “Joshua” means the Lord is salvation or “Yahweh saves.” Looking at the meaning of these two words, why do you think Moses made the name change?
1. If I said you were in need of salvation, what would that say about you? Anything good? (It would mean that you are lost and have no power to do anything about it.)
2. What if I said you are in need of salvation and the Lord is your salvation? Does that put a different light on the problem? (This means that you have the power of the Lord to get out of your terrible situation.)
C. Read Joshua 6:1-2 and Joshua 6:20. In light of this defeat of Jericho does this name change make sense? (The important ingredient is that the Lord saves!)
D. Read Deuteronomy 18:15. Who is speaking here? (Moses is speaking to the Hebrews in the wilderness.)
1. What is Moses saying about the future? (That God will raise up a prophet like Moses.)
E. Read Deuteronomy 18:16. Why do the Hebrews need a prophet? (They asked for one. They did not want to have direct communication with God. They wanted Moses to tell them what God had said.)
F. Read Deuteronomy 18:17-18. Who is this promised “Moses” who will speak for God? (Joshua!)
1. Let’s explore this. Do you think Joshua symbolizes Jesus? Does he illustrate in some way the work of Jesus?
G. Read John 1:14 and John 1:17-18. What does this tell us was the work of Jesus? (To make God known to humans. That is the same work as Moses and Joshua when they told the people what God had in mind for His people.)
1. How does Jesus build on the work of Moses and Joshua? (He brings the grace and truth that are so important to understanding the law.)
III. Joshua and Rest
A. Read Hebrews 3:5-6. Are we like the Hebrews in the wilderness? Those who repeatedly disobeyed Moses?
1. Verse 6 says that we “are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence.” Does just living in this world make us part of God’s house? (No. It seems that we are not automatically God’s house. We need to have confidence in Jesus.)
2. How was Joshua, who took over from Moses, worthy of being God’s house? (He had the courage to go in and take the land God had promised. He had confidence in God.)
a. How is this a symbol for us today? (When we hear God’s voice, we should confidently obey and not rebel.)
B. Read Hebrews 3:7-11. What “rest” did those who were in the wilderness for 40 years not find? (They died in the wilderness, they did not enter into the rest of the promised land.)
C. Read Hebrews 4:6-11. At the end of the 40 years the Hebrews under Joshua entered into God’s rest in the land promised to Abraham. What is the “another day” rest spoken of here? Is it the Sabbath? (God’s ultimate rest for us is heaven. But the rest in the salvation provided by Jesus is the key to the ultimate rest in heaven.)
1. When the Hebrews entered Canaan they began a bunch of battles. How can that be considered a rest, or like heaven? (We do not have to wait for heaven to enter into God’s rest. God will give us His rest right now in the midst of battles.)
D. Look again at Hebrews 4:4 and Hebrews 4:7–10. How many symbolic rests do you see? (I think we have three “rests” that are symbols: The first rest is after Jesus created the world. The second rest is when God’s people entered the promised land with Joshua leading. The third rest (verse 7) is where we hear God’s voice and let it enter our hearts rather than harden our hearts.)
E. Friend, do you see how Joshua and Moses symbolized what Jesus did later? Not only did they share the words of God with the people, but they gave leadership on the path to the land promised to Abraham. Jesus gives us a path to heaven. God’s offer is to give us rest if we believe. He offers not only a rest from current problems, but He is the path to eternal rest in the joy of heaven. Will you enter into that rest today?
IV. Next week: Living in the Land.