Witnessing Activities
Special Lectures
| Lecture 31 : [Moses and Jesus 5] The third journey of return of Canaan (Joshua) | |
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| Date created : 2015-04-08/ Views : 1069 | |
The providence of return centered on Moses and Jesus 5
Chapter 31: The third journey of return of Canaan.
Welcome to the path to happiness. I’m your host, Dr. Tyler Hendricks.
In our last session, we covered the failure of the second national course to restore Canaan and prepared to start the third national course. This is getting long, right? Out in the wilderness, it seems a long way from the ideal of marriage and family. But our lives, and the world around us, are pretty much way out in the wilderness too. Through the course of Moses, we are seeing how God never gives up, but is always creating a foundation to receive the living Messiah. So we study Moses’ course and Jesus’ course knowing that they are, in many ways, not so different from our own… and that God is with us as He was with them.
After the failure of the spies in Canaan, Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They finally returned to Kadesh Barnea.
While they were drifting around following God’s direction, all the people over 20 died and those under 20 grew up worshiping and dedicating themselves to the tabernacle, surviving through their faith and loyalty.
Thereby they created the ‘foundation of faith” for the third attempt to restore Canaan.
This started on the foundation of departing from Kadesh Barnea.
If the people of Israel honored the tabernacle and followed Moses without complaint, the foundation of faith would have been established, and the foundation of substance would have been fulfilled, centered on Moses, and they could have entered Canaan.
In order to complete this course, and indemnify the people’s complaining (Numbers 2:4-5), God had Moses strike the rock in front of everyone, to bring forth water for them to drink (Numbers 2:8).
On the condition of drinking the water from the rock, they would have entered Canaan, with the Foundation of substance fulfilled.
But this time the central person, Moses, made a mistake.
Moses grew angry against the people who were complaining that there wasn’t any water.
He hit the rock twice instead of just hitting it once.
Because he struck the rock twice instead of once, the providence was not established, and Moses had to stay behind in the wilderness, with the promised land right in front of his eyes. Why was it such a sin to strike the rock twice? (Numbers 20:24; Numbers 27:12-14)
The rock is the root of the tablet of stone on which was written the Ten Commandments, which represented Adam and Eve. Striking the rock symbolized turning the dead Adam into a living Adam, Jesus Christ. So Jesus was called “the rock of our salvation.” (1 Corinthians 10:4)
Therefore, to strike the rock and produce the water from it was to show that Jesus would return in the position of Adam and save humankind with the water of life.
Striking the rock the second time symbolized striking Jesus. Because Moses did so in a rage, Satan found a condition to invade Jesus Christ.
After Moses struck the rock twice, God sent down fiery serpents to kill the unfaithful people of Israel. (Numbers 21:6)
God made a bronze serpent and told Moses to hang it on a pole, and those who looked upon it were saved. (Numbers 21:9)
The fiery serpents represented the serpent Satan who made Eve fall, and the bronze serpent on the pole represented Jesus Christ, who would come as the heavenly serpent. This foretold that if the people were unfaithful to Jesus, he would have to be put on the cross, and all who believe in him will be saved.
Moses lived until the age of 120 and died on Mt. Nebo, from which he could view Canaan. (Deuteronomy 34:4-5)
Moses called Joshua to lead Israel after his death, and God blessed Joshua greatly.
God told Joshua, ‘No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go’ (Josh 1:5-7)
Joshua brought two spies and dispatched them to the city of Jericho.
A prostitute named Rahab, put her life on the line and tricked her countrymen, in order to help the spies escape. She appears on the family tree of David and of Jesus. (Matthew 1:5)
The two spies reported faithfully, and the Israelites who were born in the wilderness believed in this report.
’The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us’. (Josh 2:24)
With this, God could forgive the sins of the faithless spies.
Centered on Joshua the people of Israel established the 3-day journey. (Josh 3:2)
They followed the Ark of the Covenant, which split the Jordan River like Moses split the Red Sea. (Josh 3:16)
‘The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground’. (Josh 3:17)
This was showing how good and evil would separate in front of the Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and how the saints who are forgiven will enter Canaan.
After the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River, they had a representative of each of the 12 tribes place a rock from the river bed and built an altar.
This is showing that the 12 disciples of Jesus would unite as one.
They made camp and conducted circumcisions.
The people born in Egypt had all received circumcision, but those who had been born in the wilderness had not received circumcision. (Josh 5:5)
They were supposed to establish the history of separation from Satan before they entered the land of milk and honey, Canaan, promised by God.
Following the Passover, they attacked the walls of Jericho.
Seven chief priests blew the trumpets and marched before Jehovah, and the Ark of the Covenant followed them.
Armed soldiers marched in front of the seven chief priests, and the rear-guard cohorts followed the Ark.
For six days they circled the city once a day, on the seventh day the seven chief priests circled it seven times blowing the trumpets, and when Joshua shouted ‘God gave you this city,” (Josh 6) and the people shouted also, the impregnable walls of Jericho collapsed.
This was showing the wall of Satan between heaven and earth crumble because of Jesus.
Joshua defeated 19 kings in the battle of Beth-horon, and 12 kings in the battle of Merom.
This showed that Jesus, as the king of the creation, would defeat the reign of evil and establish heaven on earth.
The third national course to restore Canaan completed 430 years of slavery in Egypt, life in the wilderness under conditions of severe heat, thirst, hunger, and a coarse environment, and with Joshua as their new leader leading them into the land promised by God, ‘Canaan’.
After they entered Canaan, Joshua divided the land they conquered among the 12 tribes, and they settled in Canaan.
Now the national expectations were completed, centered on Joshua.
However, the Messiah could not arrive before a kingdom on God’s side was built to fight the kingdom of Satan.
As we will see, even the Israelites born in the wilderness gradually turned faithless, and the providence was prolonged to Jesus.
What are some lessons from the course of Moses? The first lesson is that God is the center of history and has an absolute purpose based upon which He leads humankind.
Second, the journey of Moses shows us that depending on the fulfillment of the human portion of responsibility, the accomplishment of God’s plan is decided.
Third, God does not interfere with men and women’s portion of responsibilities, but deals with the results.
Fourth, the greater a person’s mission, the greater is the test for that person.
So if any of you are having great hardships, temptations or tests of your faith, the lesson here is: don’t get angry, don’t worry, and be grateful. Moses gave so much, but his anger betrayed him, despite his incredible sacrifice and beautiful relationship with God. But to his eternal credit, he raised up his successor, Joshua, and selflessly gave everything to him, and accepted God’s judgment. Like Moses, let us accept the vision that God has for us. In our next session we will apply these same principles to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the founding of Christianity.
Thanks for listening, and I look forward to sharing our next session with you.
