Let me welcome you to Eager Avenue
Grace Church this morning. It's good that the Lord has brought
you out here to hear the gospel. I hope we'll each one get a blessing
from this message that he's given me to prepare. The title of my
message today is Joshua and the Land of Promise. Now this is
going to be an introduction to the book of Joshua. I plan to
do a series of messages through this book, and that's what I'll
be preaching over the next few months or years, however long
it takes me. But let me explain this title
just a little bit. You know, the land of promise,
it was a physical land that God has promised to give this nation,
Israel. And they were given this land,
but this land is also a type This land to the nation Israel
was a rest, a rest from their wanderings. But it's a type of
that eternal rest that God gives each of his elect in each successive
generation. They rest in the work of Christ. And so that's what we'll see
in this lesson today. And Joshua is the one who was
appointed by God to lead Israel into this land. And he, of course,
is a type of Christ who leads each of his sheep into that rest
that he's provided them in each successive generation. So that's
what we're gonna see in this lesson today. It's come time
in the history of Israel for them to be given a land. Up to
this time, they've lived in tents and in caves. They've wandered
about. Up to this time, they've lived
on land that someone else possessed. Now, it's time for them to be
given the land that they were promised. Let's read the first
three verses here of Joshua, chapter one, starting in verse
one. Now, after the death of Moses,
the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto
Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant,
is dead. Now, therefore, arise. Go over
this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I
do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place
that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given
unto you, as I said unto Moses. Now, as I said, this is a land
of promise. This land had been promised to
the nation Israel for generations. God promised this land to Abraham
and to his seed after him. Look at Genesis chapter 13 and
verse 14. It says, and the Lord said unto
Abram, after that lot was separated from him, lift up now thine eyes
and look from the place where thou art. northward and southward
and eastward and westward. For all the land which thou seest,
to thee will I give it into thy seed forever. I will make thy
seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise,
walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth
of it, for I will give it unto thee. Now that's God's promise
to Abraham. And then he reiterated that promise
to Isaac. Look at Genesis chapter 26 and
verse 2. And the Lord appeared unto him,
that's unto Isaac, and said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell
in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land,
and I will be with thee, and will bless thee. And unto thee,
and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries. And I will
perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father. And
I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will
give unto thy seed all these countries. And in thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed. because that Abraham
obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes,
and my laws. So he reiterated it to Isaac.
And then that promise of this land was also carried on to Jacob.
Look at Genesis 28 and verse 13. Now this is where Jacob saw
a ladder came down from heaven and Jacob saw angels ascending
and descending on that ladder. And he said to Jacob, he said,
and behold, the Lord stood above it, that's above Jacob's ladder
there, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and
the God of Isaac. The land wherein thou liest,
to thee will I give it. and to thy seed. And thy seed
shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad
to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the
south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of
the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and
will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land. For I will not leave thee until
I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. Now, Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob are the patriarchs of Israel. They're the fathers.
We refer to them many times. Abraham, the father of the faith. They're the ones to whom God
promised this land. Each of these men lived on this
land, but neither of these men owned or possessed this land.
Look at Hebrews 11 in verse 8. It says, by faith, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither
he went. By faith, he sojourned in the
land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God. God promised Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob that he would give them and their descendants a
land. Now the book of Joshua is all
about the nation Israel taking possession of that land which
God promised to these men. But as we'll learn today and
throughout the study of Joshua, it's not just about a land. It's
more than just a history lesson. There is a physical land and
we're going to see a lot of history, the history of this nation Israel.
But if all we learn here is just a history lesson about the nation
Israel, we missed it because there's much more to it than
that. This study is more about what this land typified. We must
see how every regenerated sinner in every generation has a spiritual
connection to each one of these men, to Abraham, to Isaac, and
to Jacob. And therefore, we have a spiritual
connection to this land, especially what this land typified. God
promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations.
And this is a spiritual promise. Look at Genesis 17, verse 4. This is Abraham talking to God,
and he said, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee. No,
this is God talking to Abraham. As for me, behold, my covenant
is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name
shall be Abraham. For a father of many nations
have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding
fruitful, and will make nations of thee, and kings shall come
out of thee. And this is a promise given to
Abraham when he was yet without a child. He had no child of his
own. God is speaking here when he says, I'll make a father of
many nations, have I made thee? He's speaking here of those chosen
and redeemed and regenerated sinners in every generation.
It's a spiritual promise, and it has spiritual implications.
Every sinner in every generation who worships the God of Abraham,
the same God he worshiped, who has the faith of Abraham, every
one of those sinners is a spiritual descendant of Abraham. Look at
Galatians 3. In verse 6, Even as Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, know ye
therefore that they which are of faith the same are the children
of Abraham. They're the spiritual descendants
of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before
the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed. So then, they which be of faith
are blessed with faithful Abraham. Those that have the same faith,
those that look to Christ and Christ alone for all of salvation,
they are the spiritual seed, the spiritual descendants of
Abraham. Also, every regenerated sinner
in every generation is a child of promise, just like Isaac was
a child of promise. Abraham had two sons. He had
the one Ishmael by Hagar, Sarah's handmaid, and then the other
was Isaac by Abraham's wife, Sarah. Isaac was the child of
promise. He was a type of Christ who is
the promised seed. Isaac was a promised seed. He
was a physical descendant of Abraham, promised to Abraham
and Sarah, but he was typifying Christ who is that promised seed. Brethren are those born of God
in every generation and are therefore spiritually connected to Abraham
and to Isaac, the child of promise. Look at Galatians 4, 28 and 31. It says, now we, brethren, as
Isaac was, are the children of promise. So then, brethren, we're
not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. We're spiritual
descendants of Abraham and children of promise just like Isaac. Also,
every elect sinner is connected to Jacob because we all have
the nature of Jacob. Now, what nature is that? The
nature of a supplanter, a trickster, a deceiver. You know how Abraham
tricked his brother into selling him the birthright for a bowl
of porridge. And he was a trickster from birth. He came out of the womb clutching
the heel of Esau, his elder brother's son. And Esau had the right to
that birthright, but Jacob tricked him out of it. Nevertheless, Jacob was loved
by God with an everlasting love. It says in Romans, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. God always loved Jacob. He never
hated Jacob. He never loved Esau. He always
hated Esau. And that simply means, that hatred
simply means he never purposed to save Esau, to give him a surety
and a savior. He never purposed to save him
in Christ. We're the sons of Jacob. God always reminds his people
who we are by nature, because it's who we are by nature that
reminds us of our need to have a salvation that's totally outside
ourselves. We have to be saved by a substitute. That salvation can't have anything
to do with anything found in us. Who are we? We're the sons
of Jacob. Malachi 3 and verse 6 says, For
I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. It's not because of who we are
in ourselves that a sinner is not consumed. It's because of
who God is. It's because He changes not.
We can see then that we're spiritual, the elect of God, those regenerated
in every generation have a spiritual connection to these fathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And there's another thing we
need to see if this study is to be more than just a history
lesson. God has not just written a bunch of facts and collected
them in this book we call the Bible. No, he's called sinners
to actually live out these facts. In other words, he didn't just
tell Abraham and Sarah about a child that they were gonna
have. He actually promised them a son, and then he waited till
they were too old, naturally speaking, to have children, and
then he gave them that son. He actually had them to live
out these facts. They're not just something written
in a book. These are things that, that God had people actually
live out. Isaac was a miracle child. Physically
speaking, Abraham and Sarah shouldn't have been able to have children
at that time, but Isaac came. Isaac is a type and a picture
of that greater promised seed who is Christ. So we're going
to learn not only what's stated in the scriptures in this book
of Joshua, we're going to learn what's typified by those things
that are written. You and I know the whole Bible
is about Christ. It's about his person as God
and man in one person, that unique person who's both God and man
in one person. It's about his offices of prophet,
priest, and king. It's about his work of redeeming
his chosen people. And there are many pictures and
types of Christ in the Old Testament. Joshua and his land of promise
are but two of these types. Up to the point of the writing
of this book of Joshua in Israel's history, they wandered. Their
fathers wandered. They went down to Egypt and became
bondmen to them for 400 years. Most recent to the writing of
this book, they wandered 40 years in the wilderness because their
fathers rebelled against God's promise. He brought them to this
land and they refused to go in just because God promised it.
All that's described in the first five books of the Bible. The
book of Joshua is about rest. It's about rest to the people
of God. God gave this nation rest from
their wanderings. He gave them rest from their
bondage. He gave them rest from their
idolatry. I think we'll see this land of
promise as a type of the eternal rest that God gives his people
in Christ. Now, the nation Israel didn't
start out in this rest. Remember, they wandered. They
wandered 400 years in Egypt in bondage. They wandered. They
first had to wander. They first had to be enslaved.
They first had to be delivered from bondage in Egypt, but they
were promised this rest, and they were promised this rest
even before they needed it. They didn't even know they were
going to need this rest when God promised it. Remember what
God told Jacob in a verse we looked at earlier? Look back
with me at Genesis 28 and verse 15. He's talking to Jacob here,
and he said, And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee
in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into
this land. I will not leave thee until I
have done that which I have spoken to thee of." Jacob was living
in Canaan, the land of promise. But God told him that he wasn't
going to remain in that land uninterrupted. He'd leave this
land. He'd go into Egypt. The promise
is to bring Israel, that nation, again back into this land of
promise. He's telling Jacob about a deliverance
for his people years before there was even a need for such a deliverance.
God's the only one that knew they'd need deliverance. When
God appointed Christ the surety of His chosen people and gave
us grace in Him before the world began, He gave grace to His elect
before the world began. He's doing the same thing. He
was ensuring the deliverance of His people, His chosen elect
people. He was ensuring a deliverance
which at that time only He knew that His people would need. Joshua
led the children of Israel into the land that they had been promised
to their fathers. Each family in the 12 tribes
was given an inheritance in that land. They were given rest from
their wanderings, rest from their slavery, rest from their idolatry. But that was just a picture,
a type of the eternal rest that Christ gives each of his elect
in each successive generation. Look with me at Hebrews chapter
4 in verse 8. It says here, for if Jesus, now
Jesus here is the, that's the Greek name for Joshua, same name. Joshua and Jesus are the same
name. He's talking about Joshua here. If Joshua had given them
rest, the children of Israel rest, then would he not afterward
have spoken of another day? There remaineth therefore a rest
to the people of God. If Joshua had given Israel eternal
rest, there wouldn't be the mention of another rest. But Joshua's
rest was temporal. It was typical. It was typical
of that eternal rest that God God's people were promised when
Christ was made their surety in the everlasting covenant of
grace. And it was typical of the eternal rest Christ's sheep
will be given in each successive generation. That's what this
age is all about that we live in. This age from Christ's ascension
until he comes again. We're in the last days. This
is that final age. And that's what this age is all
about. It's about God bringing us His elect in, look at Deuteronomy
chapter six and verse 21. He says, then thou shalt say
unto thy son, we were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt and the Lord
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed
signs and wonders great and sore upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, upon
all his household before our eyes. And he brought us out from
thence, that he might bring us in to give us the land which
he sware unto our fathers. This age is about God gathering
his elect from wherever he's sent them, from the four corners
of the earth. He sent them, he scattered them
all over this world. And he will deliver them out
of every kindred, tribe, and nation. Look at Jeremiah chapter
32 and verse 37. He says, Behold, I will gather
them out of all countries, whither I have driven them, in mine anger,
and in my fury, and in great wrath. And I will bring them
again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. And
they shall be my people, and I will be their God. And I will
give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever
for the good of them and of their children after them. and I will
make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn
away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their
hearts that they shall not depart from me." This age is all about
Christ delivering his sheep from the fear of death that holds
all of us in bondage by nature. Look at Hebrews chapter 2 and
verse 14. It says, for as much then as the children are partakers
of flesh and blood, he, Christ, also himself, likewise, took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is, the devil. Now, that word
destroy means render him powerless. Christ rendered the devil, Satan,
powerless over his people by his obedience unto death there
on the cross. He can't hold them under his
power when the Spirit of God comes to them with the revelation
of Christ. Look on at verse 15. He's going
to destroy the works of the devil and deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
The devil holds every sinner born into this world, including
the elect of God, in bondage, under the fear of death, going
about trying to work out their own acceptance with God, going
about trying to work out a righteousness of their own. That's how he holds
them, in a false gospel, looking to a counterfeit Christ and an
idol of their imagination. Christ will deliver each one
of his elect from such bondage in each successive generation.
He'll bring them, sit them under the gospel, send the spirit into
their hearts to give them life and to give them regeneration
and to give them faith and repentance and deliver them out of that
bondage. That's what the gospel is commanding every sinner who
is privileged to hear it. The command is be delivered. Rest where God has rested. Rest in the righteousness Christ
worked out in his life and in his death. Look back here at
Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 10. It says, for he that is entered
into his rest, now he's talking about Christ here. He also has
ceased from his own works as God did from his. Let us labor,
therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after
the same example of unbelief." When did Christ rest from His
works? God rested on the seventh day
after He created the world, not because He was weary. God doesn't
get weary. He rested because He had revealed
all the declarations of His character that He intended to reveal in
creation. The rest of it he reveals in
Christ. He reveals himself as a just
God and Savior through the work of Christ. And when Christ had finished
his work of glorifying his Father as a just God and Savior by his
obedience unto death and that righteousness he worked out,
he rested. When he had put away the sin
of his people, Hebrews 1.3 says, when he had by himself purged
our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high. Christ sat down. Why did he sit down? Because
his work was done. He rested. because everything
necessary for the final glory of his sheep was finished. He
had taken care of that work. Now God commands sinners to rest
their whole salvation right there, right there in the doing and
dying of Christ alone. I believe the land of promise
is a type of the rest found exclusively in the finished work of Christ
alone. Now, not one sinner starts out
their religious lives there, that is, resting in Christ alone.
We don't start out there. But every sinner chosen in Christ
ends up there. Every sinner redeemed by Christ
ends up resting all their salvation in Christ's work and in His work
alone. Not one sinner God has chosen,
not one sinner Christ has redeemed will be left wandering in a religion
that fails to tell them about a Savior who's done everything
to save His people from their sins. The Spirit of God will
bring each of them to rest in Christ, in Christ alone. The
question for sinners under the gospel is, where? In whom are
you resting? Where am I resting? Are you resting
in a so-called Savior who only made a way for sinners if they'll
meet a condition? Or are you resting in the Savior
whose obedience unto death has brought salvation to every sinner
he lived and died for? The land of promise was a literal
land, but it's also a type of the rest God gives each elect
sinner in each generation. Now that's what we'll learn about
the land of promise as we study through the book of Joshua. Now,
let's look at Joshua, that one that God chose to lead his people
into this land of promise. God had told Moses that he would
not be the one to take Israel into the Promised Land. Now Moses
pleaded with him, but after God told him, I told you you're not
going to do it, and I don't want to hear any more about this from
you. And when Moses knew that God's mind would not be changed
on this matter, then Moses asked God to give the people of Israel
another leader. Look at Numbers chapter 27 and
verse 16. It says, And Moses spake unto
the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all
flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them,
and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out,
and which may bring them in, that the congregation of the
Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. Moses didn't want
the children of Israel to be left unto themselves. He had
seen what they could do when they were left unto themselves.
He didn't want that. And God responded to his request.
Look at Numbers 27, 18. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit,
and lay thine hand upon him, and set him before Eliezer the
priest, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their
sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that
all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. He
said, Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit,
Joshua had many qualifications to be the leader when Moses was
gone. He was well qualified. He had been with them since the
exodus in Egypt. He came out of Egypt with this
nation. He had been Moses' minister from
early on. He had been the successful commander
of Israel's armed forces since they came out of Egypt. He had
accompanied Moses to the mount. He went to that mount with Moses. Only Moses went up, but he went
to it with him when Moses received the Ten Commandments. Joshua
and Caleb were the two of twelve tribes to give a good report
concerning the land of promise. You remember, he sent twelve
spies in into the land of promise to spy it out. Ten came back
and disturbed the people with an evil report saying there were
giants there and they couldn't take that land. But Joshua and
Caleb were the two that said, yeah, we can take it. God's given
it into our hands. Let's go in and possess it. That
was Caleb's words. But they gave a good report.
So Joshua was well qualified to be the leader of Israel. He
had many qualifications. But the only qualification stated
here in Numbers is a man in whom is the Spirit. He was a man who
would listen and wholly follow the Lord. Christ alone is the
shepherd of his sheep, and the only qualification an under-shepherd
needs is a willingness to follow Christ. Look back at Joshua 1
in verse 1. It says, now after the death
of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the
Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
the Lord spake unto Joshua. That's what we'll find throughout
this book of Joshua. The Lord spoken to Joshua, and
Joshua carried out the Lord's instructions. As the land of
promise was a type of the rest, the people of God must and shall
be given. We'll see in Joshua another type.
You see, Joshua is a type of Christ. He's the one chosen by
God to bring the nation Israel into that land of promise, and
as such, he's a type of Christ. Joshua led Israel into the land
of promise, and he made sure that each family received the
inheritance that they had been promised. But that's typical
of Christ bringing his people, his sheep, into that rest that
they were promised in eternity and must and shall be given in
each successive generation. Now we'll close this introduction
to Joshua with the final words Joshua spoke to Israel. These
are words that we've heard quoted many times in many messages in
our religious lives. Now this is after every household
has been given their promised inheritance. Joshua has finished
his mission. He's at the end of his earthly
life. Look at Joshua 24 and look at
verse 14. Joshua is instructing the children
of Israel here in his final words. He says, And if it seem evil unto you
to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods which your father served that were on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land
you dwell. But as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord. The honor of God's character
demanded that he give every family of Israel the land that he had
promised them through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Failure to
do that would have dishonored his great name. He had to bring
them into that land. He had to actually give them
that land. A just God fulfills his promises. They must and did possess that
land. Now God has rested the honor
of His character as a just God and Savior in His Son. He's rested
His redemptive glory in the righteousness Christ worked out in His life
and death. And that's the only place of
true rest for any sinner. There is no other place but in
Christ, in Christ alone. And Christ will not fail to bring
every sinner He's redeemed and God has justified in Him into
that rest. So I'm going to leave everyone
listening today with this encouragement from the book of Hebrews. There
remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God. Let us
labor, therefore, to enter into that rest. The book of Joshua
will reveal many more pictures and types, but each of these
pictures and types is designed to bring sinners to the Christ
of the scripture, the Christ whose obedience unto death put
away the sin of every sinner he died for and established the
one righteousness by which God is just to justify ungodly sinners. I hope that you'll pray for me
as I as I study this book of Joshua. Pray that we will all
learn more of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.