Maranatha Fellowship Church

Yesterday morning I began a new expository sermon series in the book of Joshua, entitled “Acquiring God’s Promise.”  I started with an introduction to the book, and did a brief exposition of verses 1 and 2.  The series got off to a good start, but I can already see that it will be a tremendously rewarding and enriching journey.

As I was making some final preparations last week, I discovered a wonderful book written by A.W. Pink called “Gleanings in Joshua.”  I understand that he had written several commentaries like it on other biblical books, but according to the publisher’s preface, “these studies in the life and times of Joshua were some of the last expositions to come from the gifted pen of the late Arthur W. Pink.”  Unfortunately, he died in 1952 before completing the book, leaving three or four of the final chapters for another to finish.

While I reviewed only the first two chapters of the book, including the introduction and Joshua’s Great Commission, I’ve become intrigued by the remarkable ability of Pink to connect the experiences of Joshua with the deliverance and new life that we have in Christ.  If the rest of the book is anything like the first two chapters, I’m sure it will be a tremendous blessing and a great resource for me as I mine through all the rich treasures of wisdom, making application for our own benefit.

Pink draws attention to the teachings of two equally significant, yet seemingly contradictory doctrines that are found in Joshua.  They are the doctrines of divine sovereignty and human responsibility.  Both are valid biblical teachings that cannot be denied.  And both are found immediately in the first verses of Joshua.  Charles H. Spurgeon once said of these two great truths that they run parallel through the Scriptures like separate rails on the train track.  But they come together where the tracks meet the horizon, a metaphor for how we’ll understand them better in eternity.

Another of Pink’s insightful contributions is the way he shows from Joshua the relation between the Law and the Gospel.  Of course, we know from the New Testament that the Law cannot save, but only reveals the perfect standard for us, exposing our inability to comply in full obedience.  But Pink makes a clear argument that Moses represents the Law and Joshua represents grace.  He says, “as Moses preceded Joshua, so God employs the Law as an instrument for convicting the sinner of his need for Christ, for ‘by the Law is the knowledge of sin.’”  He also suggests that “as Joshua was Moses’ minister, so Christ was made under the Law and satisfied its every requirement, both preceptive and penal, that a perfect righteousness might be provided for His people.”

Perhaps most of my readers will already recognize that the name Joshua is an Old Testament equivalent to the name Jesus.  Joshua means “Jehovah saves,” and it is one of the mega-themes throughout the book.  The book of Joshua was designed and written, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not as a mere piece of historical literature, but as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and His saving purposes for mankind.  The promised land is commonly regarded as a “type” of heaven.  But the new life that it represents doesn’t come without cost.  This is not to be understood as a kind of “easy-believism” or shallow faith.  Rather, it more adequately describes the Christian life as a struggle against the enemy, involving all kinds of challenges and trials.

There’s so much more to learn about Joshua’s conquest than what meets the eye.  I’m going to enjoy the study time that I put into this preaching series.  I hope that you will join me as we follow the journey of the people of Israel into the promised land.