Cursed Be the Man…
Joshua of the O.T. was a type of the Savior Jesus Christ. He was chosen by God to succeed Moses to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Like Jesus' real name Yeshua a variant of Joshua, Joshua’s name means; 'God is Salvation', he was one of the two spies who scouted the land of Canaan and gave a good report of the land. He and Caleb gave a good report because of their faith in the God of Israel; where the other ten spies gave unfavorable reports of the land and its inhabitants. They said that they were as 'grasshoppers in their sight' they were so small compared to them, they didn’t have faith in the God of Israel. The sins of Canaan had finally reached maturity, and God gave the command for Israel to to cross the Jordan river. Once on the soil of the Promised Land, God made covenant with them there and had Joshua circumcise the men because most of them were born in the wilderness and had not yet received the sign of the covenant. After they healed they celebrated their first Passover there. Jericho was chosen by God to be the first of the cities to be destroyed by Israel. Jericho was a microcosm of everything that was wrong with the inhabitants of the Promised Land. The sins of the people were so bad, like the wall around it, it separated them from the True and Living God of Heaven. Jericho was a mighty fortress who’s walls were so thick and high, they seemed impenetrable; so Joshua relied upon God to conquer this foe. Joshua followed God’s instructions on how to bring the walls of Jericho down. They were commanded to devote the inhabitants and every living creature to destruction. Joshua 6:25-26 reads, "But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
— Jim
continued in Wednesday Night Class Articles