In the book of Joshua we see
a tremendous picture of the gospel. Tremendous presentation of the
Lord's servant Joshua who followed on from Moses as a picture, as
a figure of that Joshua, that Jesus who would follow. Joshua is a type and figure of
Christ. following on from the ministry
from the work of Moses, a figure of the grace and the truth of
the gospel, which comes by Jesus Christ. As John in his gospel
states in chapter one of verse 17, for the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And as Joshua
opens, We read that 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. Moses' work
being complete, The law's work being complete, Christ, in his
gospel, takes his people into that land which the Lord has
promised unto them. God's people, having been slain
in their conscience, slain because of their sin and their corruption
and their inability to keep the law of God, their inability to
provide a righteousness before God by which they may stand before
Him blameless. That people, having no ability,
having been slain by the law, are brought in, convicted before
God. in need of salvation. And they
find that salvation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Moses'
work is done, when the law has done all it can as applied by
the Spirit of God to the conscience of the believer and brought him
in, convicted of his sin before God, God then presents unto the
believer Joshua, Jesus, his saviour, the one who will lead him through
the waters of death into the promised land. And throughout
this book of Joshua we see Christ and his gospel pictured vividly
and powerfully as he leads the people forth into that land promised
unto them and gains them the victory. Having been called and
sent forth, Joshua commands the officers of the people and in
verse 11 of chapter one we read him say, pass through the host
and command the people saying, prepare you victuals for within
three days you shall pass over this Jordan. to go in to possess
the land which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. Within three days you shall go
over Jordan, the river of death, to go in to possess the land. Within three days. And having
so commanded the people in chapter two, We read that Joshua the
son of Nun, then sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly,
saying, go view the land, even Jericho. And so they went. They went forth to view the land,
which in three days' time the people would enter into. And they went and came into an
harlot's house named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told
the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither
to-night, of the children of Israel, to search out the country.
And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth
the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine
house, for they be come to search out all the country. And the
woman took the two men and hid them, and said thus, There came
men unto me, but I wits not whence they were. And it came to pass
about the time of shutting the gate, when it was dark, that
the men went out. Whither the men went I want not.
Pursue after them quickly, for ye shall overtake them. But she
had brought them up to the roof of the house. and hid them with
the stalks of flax which he had laid in order upon the roof.
And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords.
And as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they
shut the gate. And before the spies were laid
down, Rahab came up unto them upon the roof. And she said unto
the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land. and
that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants
of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the
Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came
out of Egypt, and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites
that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly
destroyed. And as soon as we heard these
things our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any
more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God,
He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Now therefore
I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord since I have showed
you kindness, that you will also show kindness unto my father's
house and give me a true token. and that ye will save alive my
father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and
all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.' And the
men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our
business. And it shall be when the Lord
hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly
with thee. Then she let them down by a cord
through the window, for her house was upon the town wall, and she
dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, Get you
to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide yourselves
there three days, until the pursuers be returned, and afterward may
ye go your way. And the man said unto her, We
will be blameless of this thy note which thou hast made us
swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this
line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us
down by. And thou shalt bring thy father
and thy mother, and thy brethren and all thy father's household
home unto thee. And it shall be that whosoever
shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his
blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless. And
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall
be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this
our business, then we will quit of thine oath which thou hast
made us to swear. And she said, according unto
your word, so be it. And she sent them away, and they
departed. And she bound the scarlet line
in the window. And they went and came unto the
mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were
returned. And the pursuers sought them
throughout all the way, but found them not. So the two men returned,
and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to
Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them.
And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into
our hands all the land, for even all the inhabitants of the country
do faint because of us. Now what a tremendous account,
what a tremendous account of the impact upon this land and
upon Jericho that the reports of God's dealings with his people
had had. The word, the report had gone
forth into this wicked land and this wicked city of how God had
delivered his people from Egypt, of how God had brought 400,000 Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt,
brought them forth through the Red Sea and fought battles for
them, destroyed the Amorites, He was in the midst of his people
and even their enemies knew it. Jericho knew it and they were
afraid. This great company, this people
of God, this people in whom the true and the living God dwelt,
were approaching. And this nation and this city
had heard and they knew. And this woman not only heard,
she was not only afraid as the others in her land and her city
were afraid, but she knew that the one true and living God was
in the midst of that people. And she knew that that God could
deliver her. not only from the destruction
which could come upon that city, not only from the troubles which
she might endure in the land in which she dwelt, but she knew
that that God could deliver her from her sin, from her corruption,
and from the wrath to come. She knew that this was a God
who saved, this was the God, the one true and living God,
the God whom she must worship. God had sent forth his message
before the people and God had spoken to the heart of this wretched
sinner because that's what she was, Rahab. the harlot a wretched fallen
hopeless sinner captive in a land and a city where she must serve
the system in which she lived in order to survive but she knew
the depravity of her ways and she looked for salvation and
she knew that that salvation lied in the God of Israel. And here we see Joshua sending
forth two men into this city who go directly to this sinner
in whose heart God has already worked. And they come with the
message of salvation and they come with a promise to deal with
her graciously and kindly kindly and truly they come under her
thankful for her reception telling her from whence they have come
from who has sent them and they promise that when they come into
that land that they will deliver her and having met with her and
having been spared capture from the others in the city they go
and they go to the mountain and she instructs them and they dwell
in the mountain for three days whilst they are pursued by those
who would take their lives and when their pursuers are gone
after three days they come back to Joshua bring their report,
and then Joshua leads the people across the sea and towards Jericho. Now all this is full of the gospel. All this is full of hope for
fallen, wretched sinners. If God could take a sinner like
Rahab in the midst of a heathen city, a dark and an evil place
like Jericho, and speak to her heart. though she dwelt amongst
sinners and though she was a great and a filthy and a corrupt sinner
herself if God could have mercy and grace upon her and send two
messengers unto her two men sent of Joshua who promised her salvation
and who in the end delivered on their promise if God could
deliver her then he can deliver you and I Though we may be such
great sinners, though we may be lost and fallen and nowhere
lost and fallen, without strength, without righteousness, without
any goodness in our hearts, though we may never have sought God,
though we may have never cared for his ways, though we may have
used all our strength and ability to serve the corrupt world and
its ways and gain the riches and the applause of man all around
us. Though we may have wasted all
our living as that prodigal son did and now we are lost and fallen
and feeding swine without any way of escape without any ability
to deliver ourselves though we may be in such a state though
you may be in such a state if God could save Rahab he can save
you and if God could bring his people into a land which he promised
them which ultimately would for them be flowing with milk and
honey, then He can take you from your sin, bring you to salvation,
and lead you into such a land. Go, view the land. Joshua, the son of Nun, Sent
out of Shedim two men to spy secretly saying, go view the
land. Even Jericho. Go view the land. Sent two men. Two spies, two
men, two witnesses to view the land. Go view the land. two men sent by Joshua, sent
by Jesus, into the foreign land. A picture of those witnesses
that God sent forth, as Christ did, to preach His gospel. Christ sent forth preachers into
His kingdom, into the kingdom of heaven on this earth, with
His gospel to spy out the land and to find those lost sinners
in the midst of it, whom he will deliver. This is what these two
men are a figure of. Sent by Joshua into Jericho,
they head directly to the house of this wretched sinner. But
a wretched sinner. whose heart had been prepared
by the Holy Ghost, both to receive them and to receive salvation,
that they came preaching because they came from Joshua. They came from that people amongst
whom the one true living God walked. Two preachers And what
God did then in sending these men to spy out the land, to go
view the land, he does now and he's doing today. Jesus Joshua
on high has sent forth his witnesses, sent forth his preachers into
the four corners of this world, the four corners of the kingdom
of heaven on earth, the kingdom of God as it is seen on earth. to go into this physical land
here and there seeking out those who are citizens of that spiritual
land of which Canaan was a figure. Seeking out the Rahabs, seeking
the wretched lost sinners wherever they are however lost they are,
however evil a land they may live in may be, however wretched
a city they may dwell in, however depraved they may be themselves,
however deep into sin they may have fallen, they go with the
gospel to find them out and to preach of Christ and his salvation. Go view the land. The harvest
fields are ripe for harvesting. Who will go into them? Who will
go? Go view the land. Go find my people, Joshua says
unto his servants. Go find them. I have a land which
I will lead my people into. and I have people whom I will
save. Go view the land." They were
sent to seek and to find the lost sheep of Israel. Have you heard their message? Has Joshua, Jesus, sent a messenger
unto you? with a message of His grace,
with a message of salvation. Are you a Rahab, trapped upon
the wall of Jericho with no escape, having to serve an evil country,
caught by your sin and finding no escape from it? If you are, have you heard the
message that God has sent by His preachers? of Christ and
his salvation. Well they were sent and they
came to this woman, to a sinner, to the worst of sinners, in this
city, in the pecking order, in this city. She was at the bottom. She was not the king of Jericho. She was not an authority in Jericho. She was not one that would be
applauded and thought well of. But she was a harlot, a sinner,
a nothing, depraved. And yet she was the one that
God had spoken unto. You may be nothing, in this world's
eyes. You may have little to boast
of in the manner in which this world will be impressed. And you may have little to boast
of spiritually. You may know that there's no
good in your heart. You may know that you have done
no great good works. You may know that your attendance
to the things of God has been scant if any, that even if you
have turned in any way to religion, That it's just in the letter,
in the form. Perhaps you've picked up the
Bible once or twice. Perhaps you've been forced to
read it from time to time. Perhaps someone's taken you to
a meeting on occasion. But you know your heart cares
little for Christ. And you know that nothing that
you've done could ever please a God that demands perfection.
And yet here's an example of one like you. But when the gospel
came, she believed, and she received, and she received those whom God
sent with his gospel, and pleaded that they would remember her,
and looked by faith unto the God that sent them, knowing that
he could deliver her. While she received these men,
She protected them from the adversaries because there are many adversaries.
The gospel is not welcome in this world. And the messengers
of the gospel were not welcome in Jericho. There are many that
will turn against those who speak of Jesus Christ. these spies,
these men sent of Joshua would have been put to death had the
king of Jericho got his hands upon them. And spiritually speaking
this world puts to death all who stand up to declare the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Blessed are ye if ye are persecuted
for righteousness' sake, Christ says. You will know persecution. You will know the hatred of this
world. You will see in their eyes that
they would put you to death literally if they could. And even if they
won't because Civilization is such that they do not go to that
extent, perhaps in this country, though they do in others. Even
if they won't resort to physically putting you to death, they'll
certainly do it in their hearts. This world hates Christ, and
it hates his gospel, and it hates the messengers of the gospel.
And it will pursue them, and seek to devour them, and to destroy
them if it can. And that's what these men found.
But here was one who received them, who loved what they stood
for, who believed in the report of that from which they came,
and who saw in them and in their people and in their God sure
and certain salvation. And so having been dealt with
kindly by Rahab, The men make her a promise, that when they
come into the land, they will deliver her. The men answer to
her, our life for yours, if you utter not this our business.
And it shall be, when the Lord have given us the land, that
we will deal kindly and truly with thee. They promised her,
when we return, hang the crimson cord from your window and when
we see it, we will destroy the city but we will deliver you
from that window. We'll know that you're there.
We'll know what that cord means and we will spare you and your
family. and they were true to that promise.
When the people of God circled that city and blew the horns,
the trumpets, the sound of the gospel and the walls of the city
fell down flat, they delivered Rahab and her household. She was saved, her faith was
rewarded, it was sure, it was based on solid rock. She believed
that which would come to pass and they were true to the promise
to her. They made a promise, there was
a covenant made here. She made a promise, they made
a promise, we will deliver you Rahab. If we see that court,
if we know it's you, if we see the faith that you have put in
us, we will deliver you. It's a picture of the Gospel
and of the covenant of the Gospel. And that crimson cord is a picture
of the blood of Christ. Because there's only deliverance
from sin, and only deliverance from the judgement of God, as
pictured by the walls of Jericho falling to the ground, when there
is a sacrifice offered. Our life for yours, they say.
Appointed to substitution. One must lay down his life if
your life is to be set free. And Joshua who sent them. is a picture of that Saviour,
that Jesus, that Christ, that Joshua, who came into this world,
into this Canaan, into this Jericho, into this evil land, seeking
out the Rahabs. And He came to save sinners,
to save Rahabs, to save sinners like you and I. He came for the
worst. And to save, He had to go to
a cross. and be nailed upon it and shed
his blood as he took their sins upon himself and was judged for
them. Oh what a promise, oh what a salvation, what a picture in
that crimson cord we see of that blood which washes from all sin,
which could wash Rahab clean, the harlot the wretched sinner. That blood washed her clean from
head to toe as though she had never sinned. When God looks
upon Rahab today, as she is in that promised land of glory with
her Saviour, He sees not one sin because that blood washed
it away. and if you're to go to be with
Rahab around the throne of Jesus Christ and if you're to go across
the river into that land and to dwell with Him forevermore
it will be because that blood was shed for you and washed away
your sin and when the Father looks upon you He will see no
sin and He will say not guilty because he will see blood and
he will see the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ and he
will say in him in him I am well pleased and you my servant my
friend are in him are you in him have you hung a crimson cord
outside your window when the day of judgment is coming upon
you. Is that your hope that God will see the blood and pass you
by? Do you know it? Well Rahab knew it. Rahab knew
it. And when these servants, these
men, promised her salvation, she in return directed them to
go out of the city She let them down from her window by a cord
and she told them, go into a mountain and abide there for three days
and then the pursuers who seek your life, the persecutors, those
who hate the gospel, your enemies will return and be gone. And
after three days you can descend the mountain and you will be
safe. Get you to the mountain lest
the pursuers meet you. Hide yourselves there three days
until the pursuers be returned and afterward may ye go your
way. And so they did. Three days. Three days. Now three days is
mentioned in this book of Joshua repeatedly. In just these two
chapters we've looked at we've read of three days three times.
Later in chapter 8 we read of Joshua going down into the valley,
a picture of Christ's death. The three days point us to the
cross And here in these two chapters we see three days, thrice told. Joshua commands the people in
chapter 1 verse 11, pass through the host and command the people
saying, prepare you victuals, for within three days ye shall
pass over this Jordan to go in to possess the land which the
Lord your God giveth you to possess it. It takes but three days to
bring you through Jordan into the promised land. Destroy this
temple Christ said of his body and within three days I will
build it again. It will take three days to accomplish
your salvation. In three days you shall pass
over this Jordan. Immediately he sends these men
into Jericho. They go to Rahab. She lets them
out and sends them to the mountain and promises them that if they
dwell in that mountain for three days then their enemies will
be gone. So they do. Verse 22, they went
and came unto the mountain and abode there three days until
the pursuers were returned. And the pursuer sought them throughout
all the way, but found them not. So the two men returned, and
descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to
Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them. Three days. And thence from then
Joshua rose, and led the people into the land. Three days, Christ
told. a picture of the cross they took
Joshua, Jesus and they delivered him up to be crucified and they
led him outside of the city on the Mount of Jerusalem and nailed
him to a tree and there they crucified him and he suffered
in the place of his people bearing the sins of his people being
made sin drinking the cup of God's wrath for all that they
are and all that they had done. And in the end when all the wrath
had been poured out and every last sin had been blotted out,
he cried out, it is finished. And the soldiers came to break
the legs of those who were crucified. that they should die but when
they came to Jesus they found he was dead already so they broke
not his legs so fulfilling the scriptures that not one bone
of his body should be broken but instead they pierced his
side with a spear as also was promised by the prophets that
they should pierce him and out flowed blood and water and then
they took his body And they laid it in a grave. They wrapped it
and laid it in that tomb. And there it laid. And on the
third day, the stone of the tomb was found rolled away. And the
tomb was empty. because Christ Jesus Joshua had
risen from the dead having wrought his people salvation having led
that people in his death through the rivers of Jordan into the
promised land every last one of them and in him risen again
from the dead they are led forth and he says unto them in his
gospel by his messengers go view the land in three days i have
led you through jordan to go in to possess this land this
is yours this is your inheritance this is what i saved you for
view the land Go. View the land. Free days. That's all it took
to lead the multitudes of God's people throughout all time, through
death, through judgment, through hell, into glory. Delivered from all their enemies,
delivered from sin, delivered from death, delivered from the
judgment to come. Through death into glory. Three
days. Three days. pictured here three
times over. Joshua promises the people in
three days I'll lead you into the promised land. His servants
are sent into that land to find sinners such as Rahab under whom
they bring the promise of the gospel and they're hounded, they're
persecuted, they're hated by the world in which they are sent.
But they find deliverance from all their enemies in a mountain
where they dwelt for three days. That mountain being a picture
of the mount of Jerusalem, Mount Zion. A picture of that people
found safe in the sight of Jesus Christ upon the mount. Dwelling
in Christ before God the Father until all their enemies are scattered. and then they can come to Joshua
knowing that their enemies cannot touch them. So when the spies
were sent to Rahab she promises them safety they go to the mountain
they wait in that mountain three days and then they return to
Joshua all pointing to the cross all pointing to that three days
upon the cross and pictured here three times over pointing to
the free-fall work of God in free persons in salvation. Joshua
promises salvation, Jesus the Son promises salvation in three
days. The Spirit of God speaking through
Rahab sends these men to a mountain. and in the mount as it were in
the presence of the father they find their salvation from all
their enemies. Three days Christ told. pointing
to the cross because there, when Christ suffered for his own,
when Joshua laid down his life, there lies the victory. There
alone lies the assurance of victory. There lies the certainty of victory. There lies the sinner's hope. Where are you looking? Where
are you looking? Joshua promised victory to the
people in three days. Do you hear His promise? Are you like Rahab, a sinner
whose heart has been opened by the Spirit of God to the truth
that salvation is found in Christ and what He did in three days? Have you heard God's witnesses? his preachers whom he sends with
his gospel, who know the experience of the reality of that salvation
which was wrought in three days. Those men who abide in the mountain
of God, those men who have dwelt with God, those men who know
what it is to be in Mount Zion. who know what it is to see Christ
in his glory as those disciples saw when they went up in the
mount with Christ and saw Moses and Elijah with him and then
saw them fade from view and saw Jesus only they saw him transfigured
in the mount. Those witnesses, those two disciples
with Christ saw him in the mountain, they knew what it was to see
his glory and they knew that his salvation would accomplish
all that he promised it would. Three days, have you heard the
words of the witnesses? who have abode in the matin and
seen their deliverance from all their enemies in the three days
of the cross, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Is that where you're looking for salvation? Because you'll
find none in the Jericho of this world. There is coming a day
when the trumpets will be blown and the walls of the city will
fall down flat and if you seek wealth and prosperity if you
seek life if your hopes are set upon anything in the Jericho
of this world then you'll find a day comes upon you when the
trumpet blast sounds A trumpet blast that you will recognize
to be the sound of the gospel that you once heard and once
shut your ears to. And the walls that you trust
in will fall down upon you and you will be crushed under the
judgment and the wrath of God. Don't be the fool like that King
of Jericho that sought to slay the messengers of God who came
preaching peace and salvation. But hear the message of Rahab
and God's grace in her heart that taught her that these men
had come from the people of God in whom God dwelt. That God that
could deliver her from all her enemies, all judgment, all sin,
all trouble. and bring her with them into
a land flowing with milk and honey. Three days. Three days. Three days to deliver us from
sin. Three days to deliver us from
judgment, from hell, from our enemies. Three days to lead us
into an everlasting kingdom, an eternal inheritance, a land
flowing with milk and honey. Three days. Oh God give you grace
to open your eyes to behold what Joshua did in three days and
to be taken by his hand to view that land into which he brings
all his people. I view the faith of Rahab Have
you heard? Do you believe? If you do, then
believer, believer, go view the land. Go view the land. Amen.