Into the Good Land

 

Outline of biblical history, Joshua, Judges, Ruth: [1] “Under Joshua’s leadership the Israelites crossed the Jordan and began the task of driving out the inhabitants of Canaan.  After the conquest the land was divided between the tribes, each being allotted its own region.  Only the tribe of Levi was without an inheritance of land because of its special priestly relationship to God.  There remained pockets of Canaanites in the land and, from time to time, these threatened Israel’s hold on their new possession.  From the one-man leaderships of Moses and Joshua the nation moved into a period of relative instability during which judges exercised some measure of control over the affairs of the people” (156).

 

1.       A Reminder

a.        Looking at the OT under the assumption of ‘progressive revelation’

                     i.            God’s plan of redemption is one, unfolding story through the Bible

                    ii.            As the drama unfolds, God’s plan is revealed with increasing clarity

b.       Type / Antitype

                     i.            OT people, events, etc. are ‘typical’ of NT counterparts (the antitype) insofar as they pattern the fulfillment, which is yet to come

                    ii.            Essential to distinguish between pattern and fulfillment and to realize that every OT type falls short in some aspect of its representation, plainly leaving room for the future saving event

                  iii.            At the same time, types are clear enough to point people to salvation by faith in God

                  iv.            NOTE:  Especially concerning prophecy, people sometimes speak of ‘physical’ and ‘spiritual’ fulfillments, but this is misleading and fails to recognize that all types look forward to their perfect fulfillment

2.       The Promises

a.        What were the promises God made to Abraham?

                     i.            Promised ‘seed’ / descendants (Gen 12.3, 15.4-5, 17.5-6)

                    ii.            Blessing / be a blessing (Gen 12.3)

                  iii.            His presence (Gen 17.7)

                  iv.            Land (Gen 12.1, 15.18-21, 17.8)

b.       Evaluation of their fulfillment to date?

                     i.            Promised ‘seed’—fulfilled in type (cf. Dt 1.10, 10.22)…the antitype of the promised ‘seed’ is Christ (cf. Gal 3.16)

                    ii.            Blessing / be a blessing—beginning its typical fulfillment, which is developed further in the OT…the antitype is Christ (cf. Gal 3.7-9)

                  iii.            God’s presence—typically fulfilled in the tabernacle, more completely (but still imperfectly) fulfilled in the believer’s union with Christ today through the Spirit…the antitype awaits face-to-face presence of God at the consummation of the age (cf. Rev 21.22-22.5)

                  iv.            Land—the patriarchs were described as ‘sojourners,’ but Israel is prepared to inherit the land (deemed fulfilled in Joshua 23.14)…the antitype awaits its fulfillment in the new earth/Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21-22) [2]

c.        Joshua

                     i.            Next in the line of God’s chosen leaders, Moses’ replacement

                    ii.            God’s famous promise / command to Joshua (Josh 1.7-9) is a restatement of earlier promises / command to Moses (cf. Deut 5.32-33)

1.       Promise:  God has / is giving Israel the land

2.       Command:  Joshua (as leader) must be obedient to God’s word

                  iii.            Though not a king himself, obedience of Israel’s leader is foreshadowed in Deut 17.14-20

1.       As Israel was called to reflect the character of God to the nations through their holiness, Israel’s leader was to epitomize God’s character

2.       Theologically, God’s rule over his people is mediated through a human ruler who reflects the holiness of God to the people [3]

3.       This theme (as a type) develops with increasing clarity in the OT, it is also important for our understanding of the Kingdom of God in the NT, where Christ (the antitype) acts as the kingly figure perfectly worthy to lead God’s people into the promised kingdom

3.       The Fulfillment

a.        The book of Joshua in a ‘theological nutshell’ can be determined from reading chapters 1, 23, & 24

                     i.            God will give them the land (ch 1)

                    ii.            God gives Israel rest in the land he has given them (23.1-13)

                  iii.            God deems his promise completely fulfilled (23.14) [4]

b.       The bulk of the book describes the conquest in great detail

                     i.            Spies sent in to scope out the land (with better results this time)

1.       Rahab provides a great example that outsiders could come into Israel (i.e. God’s covenant) by faith

2.       Through the faith of Rahab, an entire family is saved

                    ii.            Another miracle to bring his people into the land

1.       Tangible display that God is with his people and by his strength they may inherit / conquer the land

2.       Stone memorial provides another teaching opportunity for Israel’s young as they ask ‘Why?’ (cf. Josh 4.21-24 [and earlier Deut 6.20-25])

3.       Again and again, God’s saving acts in the OT are presented as the way to understand an Israelite’s existence and practices

                  iii.            Conquest…ups and downs

1.       Jericho

a.        Clearly demonstrates God’s power / acts as the reason for victory

b.       Angelic commander and the Ark at the front of the procession tangibly remind Israel that God fights for his people

c.        Yet the destruction / victory is not without human involvement, continuing the theme of God sometimes mediating his acts through certain people, deeds, etc.

2.       Achan

a.        Certain areas placed under ‘the ban,’ to demonstrate that the earth belongs to God, not to them

b.       In these areas, everything was devoted to destruction, an offering of sorts

c.        Against this background, the sin of Achan becomes clear

d.       Though more difficult for us to accept than Rahab’s account, Achan represents his whole family, and they all suffer consequences for his sin

e.        Theological side note:  Again we see the biblical principles of corporateness, representation, and substitution as they continue to develop

i.         The whole human race sinned in Adam

ii.        Noah found grace with God and his whole family (and the human race) was saved

iii.      In Abraham a nation was chosen and ‘seed’ promised

iv.      By one priest on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), the whole nation is reconciled to God

v.       Joshua mediates the saving and judging (in Achan’s case) acts of God

vi.      Finally…substitution, representation, and corporateness are epitomized in Christ—the second Adam, the promised ‘seed,’ and the reconciling priest and sacrifice

c.        What about the Canaanites?  Some sticky questions and not-so-easy answers…

                     i.            Doesn’t the notion of an all-loving God commanding the complete destruction of people groups (i.e., genocide) raise some potential moral or ethical issues?

                    ii.            Just as bad, how can God command the deaths of Canaanite children alongside their parents when he spared Israel’s children for their parents’ rebellion?

                  iii.            Doesn’t the conquest throw into the question the goodness, justice, and love of God?

4.       All Nations Will Be Blessed

a.        One nation (the priestly nation) is said to mediate God’s blessings to all nations

b.       Christ, of course, is a clear fulfillment of this promise

c.        The seed of Christian missions also lies in the promise…in a qualified sense

                     i.            Though reading the OT in light of the NT, we mustn’t read the NT (later revelation) back into the OT and suggest Israel had an evangelistic mandate like the church does

                    ii.            There was a temporal aspect of this promise too as Gentiles were brought into the covenant people by faith and shared the promises of God

                  iii.            As David’s genealogy in Ruth 4 and Jesus’ genealogy in Matt 1 point out, Gentile converts became Israelites by their faith [5]

5.       Kingship in the Kingdom

a.        How does God rule his Kingdom? 

                     i.            Indirectly and imperfectly, through people (mediators)

                    ii.            The failures of these saving figures all point out that the true saving event was still future (the cross)

b.       Examples:

                     i.            In Eden…Adam and Eve were given dominion over creation

                    ii.            At Sinai…Moses mediated between the people and God as God gave the Law thru him

                  iii.            During conquest…Joshua filled the role previously filled by Moses

                  iv.            In Israel…An mostly unsavory lot of Judges judged (Ehud, Gideon, and Samson, for example), depicting a downward spiral within Israel

                   v.            Later in Israel…Kings ruled, though even the greatest David and Solomon had major stains on their character, not to mention all the lesser characters

6.       An Aside:  The Pattern of Salvation and the Christian Life [6]

a.        As mentioned before, many OT events give us pictures of the realities of salvation

b.       Exodus—a picture of redemption

                     i.            Freedom from bondage

                    ii.            Salvation for God’s people / judgment for their enemies

                  iii.            God is the actor, the people must only believe and follow

c.        Conquest and the Judges—a picture of the coming Kingdom

                     i.            Conquering the land, battles ensue but are never totally completed…battles against the sin and godlessness as the Kingdom crashes into a sinful, alien world

1.       On a corporate level—the kingdom vs. the world

2.       More cautiously, on a personal level—our sanctification

                    ii.            In the land, the people come into bondage as a result of their disobedience…actually living in the Promised Land but not enjoying the covenant blessings because of sin

                  iii.            God, in his covenant faithfulness, raises up judges to save the people from their foolishness, empowering the judges by his Spirit to do for Israel what they could not do for themselves

7.       Maps

a.        Several maps are provided on the following pages to illustrate:

                     i.            Just how the conquest played out as Israel conquered Canaan

                    ii.            Some of the battles described in the accounts from Judges

b.      Anyone interested in biblical geography, maps of movements / battles / events, timelines, etc. will want to invest in a good Bible atlas.  One of the best resources of this type, by far, by Dr. Thomas Brisco, is the Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History, (Broadman & Holman, 1999, ISBN 1558197095).


[1] Section outline taken from Goldsworthy, According to Plan:  The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1991).

[2] Disclaimer (or a ‘Plea for Charity’):  Clearly, my ‘old-fashioned’ understanding runs counter to the view held by many contemporary Evangelicals (known as Dispensationalism) that makes a great distinction between Israel and the church in the saving plan of God.  Based on Paul’s teaching in Gal XX, I reject this distinction and view believers in Christ as the true Israel, in essence the antitype of the people of God that was typified in national Israel (an imperfect fulfillment).  That said, both views are accepted within the pale of conservative Christian theology and are better suited for discussion around a cup of coffee rather than being made into tests of fellowship and orthodoxy as some try to do.  Ultimately, this is not a doctrinal matter of primary (or even secondary) importance, and we should allow for variations as we all labor together to understand God’s word.

[3] Though not explicit in the text, it seems reasonable to conclude that the ‘harsh’ consequences given Moses for striking the rock are a direct result of God holding these mediators to a higher standard of personal holiness (cf. XX)

[4] How can God consider the promise fulfilled while some land remains to be conquered (23.4-5)?  Unless we continue to remind ourselves of God’s progressive plan and type/antitype relationships, there is no easy answer!

[5] This truth illuminates the fact that Israel was much more than a racial pedigree and was intended to be a nation composed completely of believers (and their children)…anyone of faith could become Israelite just as faithless Israelites were supposed to have been cut off from their people.  That said, as an imperfect type, Scripture will not let us escape the fact that this intended design did not find perfect fulfillment in the old covenant, and the idea of a faithful remnant quickly emerged.  Scripture and experience also point out that the new covenant people [i.e., the church] is intended to be composed entirely of believers…something that has not yet found perfect fulfillment either.

[6] Again, we must stress the shortcomings of types in any discussions like this.  In some way, these OT pictures fall short of their NT realities…but they are clear, valuable pictures nonetheless.  As with Jesus’ parables, we must be cautious of pushing them too far and making them say or depict things they were not intended to represent.