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TOPIC: Pink, Arthur - Gleanings in Joshua (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 08.2-Symbols of Committal (Concluded) 5:1-15
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Gleanings In Joshua
8. Symbols of Committal (Concluded)
Joshua 5:1-15
The Passover
It is most blessed to observe how Israel conducted themselves upon their first entrance into the promised land, for therein is manifested not the workings of nature but the fruits of Divine grace. After God had wrought so signally for them at the Jordan, they did not rush ahead and seek to immediately possess their inheritance. The miraculous dividing of its waters so that they passed through dry-shod, must have greatly disspirited the Canaanites and thus have prepared the way for an easy triumph for the invaders. It had been natural, yea, what all military men would call "good policy" for Israel to have made the most of this terror by striking a heavy blow at once, pressing on with might and main before the enemy could recover himself, and so carry all before them in one swift campaign. But God's people follow not the ways nor employ the devices of the world. They are a "peculiar people": distinct and separate from the unregenerate, acting, not by carnal wisdom and expediency, but regulated by spiritual considerations. "He that believeth shall not make haste" (Isa. 28:16) is one of the principles by which they are required to act, for "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong" (Eccl. 9:11).
Instead of immediately assaulting Jericho, the children of Israel pitched their tents at Gilgal and tarried there for a season. Exemplary restraint was that, and one which we do well to take to heart in this feverish age of mad speed. This tarrying in the camp at Gilgal was the more noteworthy when we bear in mind the very lengthy interval which had elapsed since their exodus from Egypt, during which they were prevented from reaching their goal and realizing their eager expectation. Yet there was something far more praiseworthy than self-discipline which marked their conduct on this occasion: they had the glory of God before them. They eyed His authority, had respect for His institutions, and acted in faith and obedience to His appointments. That should ever be what marks God's people, collectively or singly. It is neither the first business of the Church to "win the world for Christ" nor of the individual Christian to seek the salvation of his relatives and companions: rather is it to "show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9) by our entire subjection to His Word. God has nowhere promised to use those who make not conscience of obeying Him in all things.
The appointments of God and not the attaining of their own desires were given the pre-eminence. First, Joshua had, in submission to the Lord's requirement, circumcised all those male Israelites who had been born in the wilderness. We have previously shown that the non-observing of that rite during those thirty-eight years was due to no sinful neglect, but was owing to the apostasy of their fathers at Kadesh-barnea, in consequence of which Jehovah declared "ye shall know My breach of promise" (Num. 14:32-34), and therefore were their children denied the token or "sign of the covenant" (Gen. 17:11). But the miraculous passage of the Jordan demonstrated that Israel was once more restored to the Divine favor, that He had resumed His covenant relationship with them that in emerging from the river of death judgment was behind them; and therefore it was fitting that this second generation should now be given that mark winch distinguished them from all other nations as bound by special obligation to serve their God. It was also observed how that the Lord's commanding Joshua to then circumcise the people presented a real test to his faith and obedience, severely handicapping for a few days his fighting forces; but counting upon God's protection, he confided in Him and triumphed over the trial.
Second, we are told, "And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover" (v. 10). Appropriately did Matthew Henry point out, "We may well imagine that the people of Canaan were astonished and that, when they observed the motions of the enemy they could not but think them very strange. When soldiers take the field, they are apt to think themselves excused from religious ceremonies (they have not time or thought to attend to them), yet Joshua opens the campaign with one act of devotion after another. What was afterwards said to another Joshua might truly be said to this: 'Hear now, O Joshua, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee are men wondered at' (Zech. 3:8); and yet indeed he took the right method." And, my reader, if we be actuated and regulated by a concern to the glory of God worldlings will wonder at us. It cannot be otherwise, for the natural man acts only from a spirit of self-love and self-will, and his end is self-pleasing and self-advancement. Thus, if he beholds any denying self, subordinating their interests to the honoring of God, he marvels at such conduct. Unless, then, we be "wondered at," yea, sneered at and regarded as crazy, it is because we have "left our first love" and become conformed to this world.
Israel's keeping of the Passover was, like the circumcising of the people, an act of obedience unto the Lord: in fact the one could not be without the other, for it had been expressly laid down that "no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof" (Ex. 12:48). For that very reason this ordinance had not been observed while the Nation lay under the wrath of God. They had kept it on the first anniversary of the event which it commemorated (Num. 9:5), but not during the next thirty-eight years. God had said "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer Me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them" (Amos 5:21, 22)- language which not only applied to the prophet's own day but also bad special reference to their sojourn in the wilderness as verse 25 evinces. But now the Lord had resumed His covenant relations with Israel and they had attended to the matter of circumcision; it was in order, yea, requisite, for them to do so. They had been strictly enjoined "Ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service." (Ex. 12:24, 25).
In previous articles we have noted that this particular generation under Joshua was not only vastly better than the one which preceded but also far more spiritual than any that followed it. This was exemplified in the willingness of their adults to be circumcised without any demur. It appears again in what is now before us. The Lord had particularly said unto Moses almost a year after their leaving Egypt, "Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season" (Num. 9:5), as though to intimate, otherwise His command in Exodus 12:24, had not been complied with. But on this occasion no mention is made of God's reminding them of their duty. We are told "the children of Israel kept the Passover" (v. 10). And that is not all which is stated: "on the fourteenth day of the month," which is something more than a mere narration of a historical fact-it tells us that they kept the Passover "at his appointed season." Nor is that all: it is added "at even," which was as the Lord required. How the Spirit delights to notice and record the details of obedience! The Israelites did not tamper with this Divine ordinance and change it to a morning observance to suit their own convenience, as a compromising Christendom has done with "the Lord's supper." Unless we conform strictly to the letter of the Divine precept, it is not "obedience" but "will worship."
Israel's act of keeping the Passover was not only one of obedience but also of commemoration. "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. . . . And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord" (Ex. 12:14, 26, 27, 42). This feast, then, was appointed to celebrate the great goodness of the Lord unto His people and their deliverance both from death and from the house of bondage. It was designed to keep before their minds the blessed provision He had made for them in the night of their deepest need, a provision all sufficient. It was to express anew their gratitude unto God for His distinguishing favor: the original "sacrifice" was expiatory, but the memorial of it was eucharistic. It was intended to signalize those perfections of God which had been exemplified on that never-to-be-forgotten night.
The Passover had demonstrated in unmistakable manner the sovereignty of God, when He had "put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" (Ex. 11:7), that is, between the reprobate and His own elect-no lamb was provided for the former! It had manifested the grace of God. By nature the children of Israel were no better than the Egyptians, nor in conduct, as is clear from Ezekiel 20:7, 8; 23:3. It was out of His mere good pleasure and unmerited favor that the Lord exempted Israel from the destroyer (Ex. 12:23). It displayed the righteousness of God, which announced that He "will by no means clear the guilty" (Ex. 34:7). They were flagrant sinners and "the wages of sin is death": death must do and did its work in their households too when the sacrificial lamb was slain. It revealed the amazing mercy of God in providing that substitute. It placated the wrath of God: He said to the avenging angel concerning Israel's firstborn "deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom" (Job 33:24), illustrating that basic principle "without shedding of blood is no remission." It testified the faithfulness of God: "When I see the blood I will pass over you," and He did. It made known His love, which had chosen Israel to be His favored people (Deut. 10:15).
Again, the Passover was not only commemorative, but anticipative: it memorialized what was past and also foreshadowed what was to come. The institution and ritual of the Passover furnished one of the most striking representations of the person and work of Christ to be met with anywhere in the Old Testament. That it was a type thereof is clear from 1 Corinthians 5:7. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." Here then is our authority for regarding the contents of Exodus 12 as shadowing forth the cross-work of the Savior, and it is this which invests that chapter with such deep interest. The Passover was the first of those annual "feasts" which God appointed unto Israel, for it sets forth the grand truth of redemption, which is the foundation blessing of believers, the fountain from which all others flow; and the Passover was kept upon Israel's entrance into Canaan to signify that their possession of the Inheritance, no less than their deliverance from Egypt, was owing to the merits of the blood of the Lamb. Christ Himself observed it, saying to His apostles "With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15). In the light of these facts it becomes us to give our best attention to the teaching of Scripture thereon.
Observe first, the occasion of its institution. It was at the close of God's judgments upon Egypt. He had declared, "About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" (Ex. 11:4-7). Note carefully the exact wording of verse 5: it was not "all the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die," but "all the firstborn in the land of Egypt," and that necessarily included Israel's equally with Egypt's. Yet in verse 7 the Lord said, He would "put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" so that the latter should be wholly exempt from judgment. That is what infidels would term "a flat contradiction," but the Christian knows there is none in the Word of Truth. What, then, is the explanation?
Each of those Divine declarations was literally accomplished: all the firstborn in the land of Egypt died, nevertheless the firstborn of Israel were delivered from the angel of death. But how could that be? Surely both could not take place! Yet they did, and therein we have a blessed illustration of the contents of the Gospel. It was the question of sin which was here raised and dealt with by God, consequently both parties were equally involved in His righteous judgment. The Israelites were not only sinners by nature, but practice; not only sins of infirmity, but high-handed sins of idolatry (Lev. 17:7; Josh. 24:14). Divine holiness can never ignore sin no matter where it be found: when the angels sinned God "spared them not" (2 Pet. 2:4). Justice must be satisfied; sin must pay its wages. A reprieve is out of the question. Then must guilty Israel perish? It would seem so. Human wisdom could devise no way of escape. But Divine wisdom did, and without compromising righteousness. How? By means of a substitute: sentence of death was executed on an innocent victim, because guilt had been legally transferred unto it. A lamb was provided for Israel, and it died in their stead.
Observe next, the nature of this transaction: "it is the Lord's Passover (Ex. 12:11). Those words bring before us a fundamental aspect of Truth which is much neglected in evangelical preaching. Gospellers have much to say upon what Christ's death accomplished for those who believe on Him, but far less upon what it effected God-wards. Yet that is clearly brought out in the first direct mention of the "lamb" in Scripture: "God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (Gen. 22:8). It was not simply that God would provide a lamb," but that He would provide Himself one! The antitypical Lamb was appointed and supplied to glorify God, to vindicate His throne, magnify His law, satisfy His justice and holiness. The life and death of Christ brought infinite glory to God though not a sinner had been saved thereby. The two leading aspects of Christ's atonement-God-ward and us-ward-were shadowed again in the ritual for the day of atonement: "Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat" (Lev. 16:7, 8)-Israel's substitute, which bore away their sins into a place uninhabited. Christ must first be "the Lord's Passover," accepted by Him, before He could be "our Passover" (1 Cor. 5:7)-received by us.
Consider now the substance of God's gracious provision for Israel, namely, "the lamb." Though we cannot dwell upon details, we will furnish a broad outline for the benefit of young preachers. How well fitted was a lamb to be an emblem of the Savior is at once apparent: so gentle and innocent, so mild and harmless, neither hurting others, nor seeming to have the capacity to resent an injury; useful in life (its fleece), valuable for food when killed. (1) The Passover lamb was taken "out from the sheep" (Ex. 12:5). "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren." (Deut. 18:18). Christ, according to His humanity, was made of the seed of David." "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same" (Heb. 2:14). (2) It was taken from the flock (not on the first, but) "the tenth day of the month" (v. 3). The Son of God did not become incarnate as soon as sin entered the world, but when "the fullness of time was come" (Gal. 4:4), after forty centuries of human history had passed: after man had been fully tested (10 is the number of his responsibility) and his probation (which 40 signifies) was completed-10 x 10 x 40.
(3) "Your lamb shall be without blemish" (Ex. 12:5, and cf. Leviticus 22:21, 22). Nothing but a perfect sacrifice could satisfy an infinitely perfect God. One who had any sin in him could not make atonement for sinners. But where was such a one to be found? Nowhere among the fallen sons of men. That lamb "without blemish" pointed to the immaculate purity of Christ (Heb. 7:26, 27; 1 Peter 1:19). (4) "A male of the first year" (v. 5): it was not to be too young or too old, but was to die in the fullness of its strength. So Christ died neither in childhood nor in old age. but in the prime of manhood-He was cut off "in the midst of His days" (Ps. 101:24). (5) "And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the month" (v. 6). For four days the lamb, separated unto sacrifice, was kept tethered, apart from all others, during which time it could be fully inspected to perceive its flawlessness. Anti-typically that may be taken two ways: on the principle of "a day for a year" (Num. 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6)-before His public ministry began (which lasted between three and four years) the Father bore testimony to the perfection of the Lamb (Matthew 3:17); taking it literally, during His last four days Christ was under the closest scrutiny of men, and even His judge confessed "I find no fault in Him."
(6) The lamb must be slain: "The whole congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening" (v. 6). That is very striking. It was not Moses and Aaron, or the Levites, who slew it, but the entire people as represented by the heads of every household. Nor was it only the chief priests and elders who were responsible for the slaying of Christ, for when Pilate decided the issue as to whether Barabbas or Christ should be released, he did so on the popular vote of the common people, who all cried "crucify Him" (Mark 15:6-15). In like manner it was the sins of each believer individually (Gal. 2:20) and of the Church corporeally (Eph. 5:25) which necessitated the death of Christ. It is also very remarkable to observe that though many thousands of lambs were slain that night, it was said "Israel shall kill it," not "them"! "There was only one before God's mind-the Lamb of Calvary" (Urquhart). (7) Its blood must be applied: "Thou shall take the blood and sprinkle it on the two side-posts," etc. (v. 7). Mental assent to the Gospel without a personal receiving of Christ avails not to deliver from judgment: there must be an appropriation of Christ, "faith in His blood" (Rom. 3:25). A Savior accepted, not a Savior provided, actually saves.
(8) The sprinkled blood gave security. "When He seeth the blood . . . the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in" (v. 23). And why? Because death had already done its work there! God's eye was not on the house or its inmates, but on the atoning blood. (9) "And the blood shall be to you for a token" (v. 13), i.e., "a token for good (Ps. 86:17). It was to assure their hearts, as the "token" given to Rahab (Josh. 2:12) was a guarantee of her preservation. God would have the hearts of His people in perfect peace, even while hearing the cries of the stricken Egyptians. No harm should befall them, and no fear distress while they rested on His sure promise! It is most important for the believer to distinguish between the foundation of his security and the basis of his peace: that which provided safe refuge from judgment was the slain lamb and its sprinkled blood; that which afforded a sure stay for the heart was the Word of One who cannot lie. (10) "Ye shall eat the flesh in that night" (v. 8). This was God's gracious provision for those within the house. Eating speaks of fellowship. It is Christ as the Food of His people, feeding by faith upon Him for strength and sustenance of soul.
(11) It must be "roast with fire" (v. 8). "Fire" here, as throughout, speaks of the wrath of a sin-hating God. The "roasting" of the lamb was a solemn figure of Christ suffering what was due to His people when He passed under and endured the awful wrath of God as He was "made a curse" (Gal. 3:13). It is that which explains the deeper meaning of His cry "I thirst": it was the effect of agony of soul as He endured the fierce heat of God's wrath. "Not sodden [boiled] at all with water" tells us nothing was allowed to hinder the direct action of "fire" on the Sin-bearer: God "spared not His own Son" (Rom. 8:32). (12) "With bitter herbs" (v. 8) or remorse of conscience. The Christian cannot have "fellowship with His sufferings" without remembering it was his sins which made them needful. (13) "And thus shall ye eat it: with loins girded . . . and staff in your hand" (v. 11). Fellowship with Christ can only be had as we maintain our pilgrim character. (14) "Not a bone of it shall be broken" (v. 46 and see John 19:33-36).
All the leading features of redemption were more or less shadowed forth by the Passover, and therein God would keep those things in the minds and before the eyes of Israel by their annual memorial of the same. But not only did the Passover furnish a vivid portrayal of the Gospel, it was also a means for Israel's good, a gracious provision for their bodily needs. Before another day dawned they were to leave Egypt and start out for the promised land, and by feeding on the lamb strength was supplied for the journey which lay before them. Thus it is with the Christian: he must feed on Christ in order for strength as he passes through this wilderness, for the world supplies no nourishment for the soul. So it was at Gilgal (Josh. 5:10): as the Passover had been the prelude to Israel's deliverance from Egypt and the commencement of their wilderness history, so it was made introductory to their new experience in Canaan: it was a blessed reminder that while they walked according to the Divine precepts, they might count upon God's mighty power. As their feeding on the lamb in Egypt supplied energy for their wilderness journey, equally needful was its strength for the warfare in which they were about to engage.
"And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the selfsame day" (Josh. 5:11). Once more we would observe how the Holy Spirit delights to take notice of and place on record the details of the saints' obedience. It had been expressly commanded that the Pascal lamb must be eaten with "unleavened bread" (Ex. 12:8), and strict compliance was here made with that order. They did not say, as long as it is bread, what else matters? but subjected their wills to God's. Throughout the Scriptures "leaven" is emblematical of corruption and evil, and therefore it had been a horrible incongruity and most unsuited to use leavened bread at a feast wherein the immaculate purity of Christ was set forth in the lamb "without blemish." The least tampering with the Divine ordinances alters their significance, mars their beauty, and is an act of presumption on man's part. If they be not kept in the letter of them, they certainly are not in their spirit, for true love seeks to please its object in all things.
"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even ye shall cat unleavened bread, until the first and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel" (Ex. 12:19). Thus, when it is said in Joshua 5:10, that when the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal they "kept the Passover" we are to understand that for a whole week they observed the same. As Matthew Henry pointed out, "They kept the Passover in the plains of Jericho as it were in defiance of the Canaanites that were round about them and enraged against them, and yet could not give them any disturbance. Thus God gave them an early instance of the performance of that promise, that when they went up to keep the feasts, their land should be taken under the special protection of Divine Providence: Exodus 34:24, 'Neither shall any man desire the land.' He now 'prepared a fable before them in the presence of their enemies' (Ps. 23:5)."
"And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the self-same day" (v. 11). A supply of food was already to hand when they entered Canaan: probably in granaries abandoned by its inhabitants as they took refuge in the walled city of Jericho. The Lord is no Egyptian taskmaster, requiring His people to make bricks without supplying them with straw. Now that "the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord" was to be eaten seven days (Lev. 23:6), an abundant quantity of grain was available for them. It is blessed to observe that before they used any of it for their own comfort, it was made into unleavened cakes in their worship of Jehovah. Thus did they act on the basis of that essential precept, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase" (Prov. 3:9). And as the Lord Jesus has taught us, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). He is to be given the pre-eminence by us in all things, and accordingly as we honor Him, so will He honor us.
This supply of corn upon Israel's first entrance into Canaan was an earnest of that promise which God had made through Moses: "It shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not, and houses full of good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not" (Deut. 6:10, 11), the complete fulfillment whereof is recorded in Joshua 24:13. Typically, the "old corn of the land," equally with the manna, spoke of Christ (John 12:24), yet in a very different character. The manna-"a small round thing" (Ex. 16:14), which lay on the ground and was Israel's wilderness food-was an emblem of Christ in His humiliation; but the old corn of Canaan pointed to Christ in His exaltation. The Christian needs to meditate and act faith on Christ not only as he is presented to us in all His moral perfections in the four Gospels, but also upon His official glories as they are set forth in the Epistles, particularly does he need to be occupied with Him as portrayed in Hebrews as our great High Priest and Intercessor.
In the earlier articles of this series we laid considerable emphasis on the fact that the spiritual value and the practical use which we should make of the book of Joshua is, that we should see unfolded therein the principles by which the Christian is to enter into a present possession and enjoyment of his inheritance, and the secrets of successfully fighting the good fight of faith and the spiritual warfare to which he is called. We sought to make plain what are some of those basic principles and essential secrets as they are illustrated and exemplified by the historical incidents recorded in the first four chapters of this book, and before turning from the first two sections of chapter 5: let us stress the truth that two more of them are here intimated as foreshadowed in the circumcising of the Israelites and their keeping of the Passover The Christian must be diligent in mortifying his lusts if he would walk in newness of life, and equally necessary is it that he feed daily on Christ-considered both as the sacrificial Lamb and as the great High Priest-in order to obtain strength to overcome the flesh, the world and the Devil. Practically, the corn of Canaan is a portion of our Inheritance which faith is to now appropriate.
"And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year" (v. 12). "To show that it did not come by chance, or by common providence as snow or hail does, but by the special designation of Divine wisdom and goodness; for as it came just when they needed it, so it continued as long as they had occasion for it, and no longer" (Matthew Henry). The practical lesson which we are to draw therefrom is, that we are not to expect extraordinary supplies when they can be had in an ordinary way: God works no unnecessary miracles. It is blessed to remember that the Lord had not discontinued the manna when the people despised it (Num. 11:6), nor even when He severed His covenant-relation with that evil generation; but had mercifully continued to give it for the sake of their children, who had now grown up and entered Canaan. Here ends the first main Division of the book: Joshua 1:1-9 is the Introduction; Joshua 1:10 to 5:12, concerns the passage of the Jordan; Joshua 5:13 to chapter 12: the conquest of Canaan.
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man over against him with His sword drawn in His hand: and Joshua went unto Him and said to Him, Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?" (v. 12). Though this verse begins a new section of the book yet it opens with the word "And"-not simply to preserve the continuity of the narrative, but especially to link this incident with what immediately precedes. God has promised to honor those who honor Him, and Joshua had done so in the circumcising of the people and in the strict observance of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread; and now the Lord bestows a signal favor upon His servant. How much we lose by failing to render unto our God that full and implicit obedience which is His due! "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them. he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21) declares the Savior. That is exactly what He was here doing unto obedient Joshua! It is of His spiritual manifestations to the soul we deprive ourselves by disobedience.
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked." Probably he was here engaged in reconnoitering the walled city with a view to determining his best plan of campaign against it, for as Israel's leader that was his obvious duty; nor would the firm expectation that the Lord should show Himself strong on behalf of His people discharge him from the performing of it. Even when we are fully assured that God is for us and will undertake for us, it is required that we act as rational creatures, use all proper means and precautions, and put forth our best efforts. To refuse doing so on the pretext of relying wholly on God to do all for us is not faith but presumption. Though Christ was about to supply a miraculous draught of fishes, yet He bade Peter "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets" (Luke 5:4). True, we must not lean unto our own understanding nor rely on our own strength, vet both the one and the other are to be exercised by us. It was, then, while Joshua was in the path of duty discharging his responsibility, that the Lord met with him! Only while similarly engaged are we warranted in expecting His help.
"And it came to pass, that when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked." The doubling of the verb seems to intimate a twofold significance about Joshua's action-a natural and a spiritual: that after viewing the enemy's citadel, he supplicated the Lord. The usage of the verbs confirms this. The "lifted up" his eyes in a natural way, taking a comprehensive survey of things, occurs in Genesis 13:10, 14; while it is found in a spiritual sense in "unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul" (Ps. 25:1); for "looked" see Genesis 8:13 and Exodus 2:25. "And behold, a Man over against him, with His sword drawn in His hand." This represented a real test to Joshua's valor. God had bidden him "Be strong and of a good courage" (Josh. 1:6), and now he is put to the proof. There is nothing whatever here to intimate that Joshua beheld this Man in a vision, but rather that He appeared before him objectively and tangibly. Even though He had a "drawn sword in His hand," Israel's leader did not panic and flee, but boldly advanced "unto Him." We should harbor no fear while in the path of duty, but count upon the Divine promise "The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."
On the other hand Joshua did not rashly draw his own sword and engage this Man in conflict. Instead, he inquired, "Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?" which challenge intimates Joshua recognized that this Stranger was no Israelite. A moment later he was to discover this Person was more than "a Man." Previously the Lord had spoken unto Joshua (Josh. 1:1; 3:7; 4:1, 15), but had made no visible manifestation of Himself unto His servant until now. Observe well how God suits the revelation of Himself unto His saints according to their circumstances and needs: to Abraham in his tent He appeared as a Traveler (Gen. 18:1, 2, 13), to Moses at the backside of the desert in a bush (Ex. 3:1, 2), to Joshua at the beginning of his campaign as "a Man of war" (cf. Exodus 15:3). In the celebrating of the Passover Christ had been prefigured as the Lamb, slain (v. 11); here in verse 13, with drawn sword in hand, He appeared as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Rev. 5:5). It was one of the pre-incarnate appearings of the Son of God in human form, which brings before us a most blessed yet profoundly-mysterious subject, concerning which the reader will probably welcome a few details.
In respect to Their Godhead, each of the three Divine Persons is equally invisible: the Triune God is seen alone in Christ. The invisibility of the Divine Being to mortal eyes is clearly taught in Old and New Testament alike. "There shall no man see Me, and live" (Ex. 33:20), "no man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18), "dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto: whom no man hath seen nor can see" (1 Tim. 6:16). That raises the question, How are we to understand those passages in the Old Testament where it is said "Jacob called the place Peniel [the face of God]: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Gen. 32:20), "and they saw the God of Israel" (Ex. 24:10). In many passages it was not only that God was seen in vision or symbol, but corporately and actually. As, for example, by Moses: "If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude ["form" or "likeness"] of the Lord shall he behold" (Num. 12:6-8). Those are what infidels term "contradictions."
The New Testament makes it known that another Person of the same essence as the Father has had for His office the making known of God unto His people: "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18), "he that hath seen Me," said Christ, "hath seen the Father" (John 14:9), "Who is the Image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15 and cf. Hebrews 1:3). The intimate communion between the two Persons appears in Exodus 23:20, 21: "Behold I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in thy way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey Him, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in Him." Observe how such language is used there by one Person about another Person as precludes our identifying Him as a single Person; yet both are certainly Divine. Thus, we must not exclude Jehovah the Father wholly from these communications to the Old Testament saints and attribute all the messages unto the Son immediately. We are to admit the presence of the first Person per se (by Himself), as well as the second: two Persons with Divine attributes, employing the name of Jehovah in common, the one the Sender, the other the Sent-the latter communicating directly with men.
In each instance the theophanic manifestation was made by God the Son, sometimes in the form of an angel, at others in the form of man. It is the same person, whether called "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," "the God of Israel" or "the Angel of the covenant." Those mysterious appearances were so many intimations that the Son even then personated the character of the Mediator, under which He would yet reveal Himself openly. It was God the Son who thus appeared to Hagar (Gen. 16:7), Abraham (Gen. 18:1), Jacob (Gen. 32:24-30), Israel (Judg. 2:1), Gideon (Judg. 6:12-18), Manoah (Judg. 13:21). In Malachi 3:1, "the Messenger" or "Angel of the covenant" is called "The Lord of His temple." Those theophanies not only disclosed a personal distinction in the Godhead, but show the pre-existence and Deity of our Redeemer. That the Jehovah who manifested Himself again and again unto Israel in the wilderness was none other than the Mediator, is unequivocally established by 1 Corinthians 10: "for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ. . . . Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents" (vv. 4, 9). See also Hebrews 11:26.
The appearing of the Son of God to men in human form-sometimes in vision (Ezek. 1:26; Daniel 10:5, 6), sometimes in prophecy (Ps. 89:17; Daniel 7:13), sometimes tangibly (Gen. 32:24; Joshua 5:13)-were so many anticipations of the Word becoming flesh, and were in order to acquaint the Church with the Person of her Head by providing a blessed intercourse between them. They were endearing manifestations of Christ to His saints (and to none other!) of His love, that "His delights [even then] were with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:31). It is most blessed to observe how many and varied ways the Lord Jesus took to display His personal love unto His people by vision and open revelation, by type and tangible similitude, in the early ages of the world, until the time that He became incarnate and tabernacled among men. They were all designed to prepare the minds of His people for His becoming the Son of man and furnishing the supreme proof of His love for them in New Testament times. He graciously adopted such methods to indicate how much He longed for the fullness of time when He should put away their sins and bring in an everlasting righteousness for them.
"And He said, Nay, but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto Him, What saith my Lord unto His servant?" (v. 14). Joshua now discovered it was far more than "a Man" who stood before him, and therefore did he prostrate himself before Him and humbly sought His will. Had this Visitor been only an angel, he had rebuked Joshua for worshipping him (Rev. 19:10; 22:8, 9); but this Person accepted it, thereby evincing His Deity! This faithful servant of His now had a special visit from his Lord to inaugurate the great enterprise on which he was about to engage, namely, the putting of the inhabitants of Canaan to the sword. It was the sign and token that complete victory should be Israel's, a guarantee that success should be granted their warfare. This "Man over against him, with drawn sword in His hand" had come as no idle Spectator of the conflict, but to command and direct every movement of their battles. "As Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come": at the head of the angelic hierarchy stands the Angel of the Lord, "the Captain of our salvation" (Heb. 2:10).
"And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so" (v. 13). Here was further proof that the One speaking to Joshua was infinitely above the highest celestial creature, for the arch-angel's presence had not rendered the very ground whereon he stood sacred. It was in fact none other than the august Person before whom the seraphim veil their faces and cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts" (Isa. 6:3 and cf., John 12:41). It will be noted that the token of reverence required from Joshua was identical with that demanded of Moses by "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5, 6). That order for the removing of his shoes not only linked together the two incidents, but supplied a further assurance of God's promise to His servant "as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Josh. 1:5). What an encouragement for faith was that! Who could stand before the Captain of the Lord's host? What was there for Israel to fear under such a Leader! Note how the Spirit again registers Joshua's obedience to the command to remove his shoes: "And Joshua did so." Nothing is too small for God's notice. Our every act is recorded by Him-how solemn! how blessed!
8. Symbols of Committal (Concluded)
Joshua 5:1-15
The Passover
It is most blessed to observe how Israel conducted themselves upon their first entrance into the promised land, for therein is manifested not the workings of nature but the fruits of Divine grace. After God had wrought so signally for them at the Jordan, they did not rush ahead and seek to immediately possess their inheritance. The miraculous dividing of its waters so that they passed through dry-shod, must have greatly disspirited the Canaanites and thus have prepared the way for an easy triumph for the invaders. It had been natural, yea, what all military men would call "good policy" for Israel to have made the most of this terror by striking a heavy blow at once, pressing on with might and main before the enemy could recover himself, and so carry all before them in one swift campaign. But God's people follow not the ways nor employ the devices of the world. They are a "peculiar people": distinct and separate from the unregenerate, acting, not by carnal wisdom and expediency, but regulated by spiritual considerations. "He that believeth shall not make haste" (Isa. 28:16) is one of the principles by which they are required to act, for "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong" (Eccl. 9:11).
Instead of immediately assaulting Jericho, the children of Israel pitched their tents at Gilgal and tarried there for a season. Exemplary restraint was that, and one which we do well to take to heart in this feverish age of mad speed. This tarrying in the camp at Gilgal was the more noteworthy when we bear in mind the very lengthy interval which had elapsed since their exodus from Egypt, during which they were prevented from reaching their goal and realizing their eager expectation. Yet there was something far more praiseworthy than self-discipline which marked their conduct on this occasion: they had the glory of God before them. They eyed His authority, had respect for His institutions, and acted in faith and obedience to His appointments. That should ever be what marks God's people, collectively or singly. It is neither the first business of the Church to "win the world for Christ" nor of the individual Christian to seek the salvation of his relatives and companions: rather is it to "show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9) by our entire subjection to His Word. God has nowhere promised to use those who make not conscience of obeying Him in all things.
The appointments of God and not the attaining of their own desires were given the pre-eminence. First, Joshua had, in submission to the Lord's requirement, circumcised all those male Israelites who had been born in the wilderness. We have previously shown that the non-observing of that rite during those thirty-eight years was due to no sinful neglect, but was owing to the apostasy of their fathers at Kadesh-barnea, in consequence of which Jehovah declared "ye shall know My breach of promise" (Num. 14:32-34), and therefore were their children denied the token or "sign of the covenant" (Gen. 17:11). But the miraculous passage of the Jordan demonstrated that Israel was once more restored to the Divine favor, that He had resumed His covenant relationship with them that in emerging from the river of death judgment was behind them; and therefore it was fitting that this second generation should now be given that mark winch distinguished them from all other nations as bound by special obligation to serve their God. It was also observed how that the Lord's commanding Joshua to then circumcise the people presented a real test to his faith and obedience, severely handicapping for a few days his fighting forces; but counting upon God's protection, he confided in Him and triumphed over the trial.
Second, we are told, "And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover" (v. 10). Appropriately did Matthew Henry point out, "We may well imagine that the people of Canaan were astonished and that, when they observed the motions of the enemy they could not but think them very strange. When soldiers take the field, they are apt to think themselves excused from religious ceremonies (they have not time or thought to attend to them), yet Joshua opens the campaign with one act of devotion after another. What was afterwards said to another Joshua might truly be said to this: 'Hear now, O Joshua, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee are men wondered at' (Zech. 3:8); and yet indeed he took the right method." And, my reader, if we be actuated and regulated by a concern to the glory of God worldlings will wonder at us. It cannot be otherwise, for the natural man acts only from a spirit of self-love and self-will, and his end is self-pleasing and self-advancement. Thus, if he beholds any denying self, subordinating their interests to the honoring of God, he marvels at such conduct. Unless, then, we be "wondered at," yea, sneered at and regarded as crazy, it is because we have "left our first love" and become conformed to this world.
Israel's keeping of the Passover was, like the circumcising of the people, an act of obedience unto the Lord: in fact the one could not be without the other, for it had been expressly laid down that "no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof" (Ex. 12:48). For that very reason this ordinance had not been observed while the Nation lay under the wrath of God. They had kept it on the first anniversary of the event which it commemorated (Num. 9:5), but not during the next thirty-eight years. God had said "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer Me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them" (Amos 5:21, 22)- language which not only applied to the prophet's own day but also bad special reference to their sojourn in the wilderness as verse 25 evinces. But now the Lord had resumed His covenant relations with Israel and they had attended to the matter of circumcision; it was in order, yea, requisite, for them to do so. They had been strictly enjoined "Ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service." (Ex. 12:24, 25).
In previous articles we have noted that this particular generation under Joshua was not only vastly better than the one which preceded but also far more spiritual than any that followed it. This was exemplified in the willingness of their adults to be circumcised without any demur. It appears again in what is now before us. The Lord had particularly said unto Moses almost a year after their leaving Egypt, "Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season" (Num. 9:5), as though to intimate, otherwise His command in Exodus 12:24, had not been complied with. But on this occasion no mention is made of God's reminding them of their duty. We are told "the children of Israel kept the Passover" (v. 10). And that is not all which is stated: "on the fourteenth day of the month," which is something more than a mere narration of a historical fact-it tells us that they kept the Passover "at his appointed season." Nor is that all: it is added "at even," which was as the Lord required. How the Spirit delights to notice and record the details of obedience! The Israelites did not tamper with this Divine ordinance and change it to a morning observance to suit their own convenience, as a compromising Christendom has done with "the Lord's supper." Unless we conform strictly to the letter of the Divine precept, it is not "obedience" but "will worship."
Israel's act of keeping the Passover was not only one of obedience but also of commemoration. "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. . . . And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord" (Ex. 12:14, 26, 27, 42). This feast, then, was appointed to celebrate the great goodness of the Lord unto His people and their deliverance both from death and from the house of bondage. It was designed to keep before their minds the blessed provision He had made for them in the night of their deepest need, a provision all sufficient. It was to express anew their gratitude unto God for His distinguishing favor: the original "sacrifice" was expiatory, but the memorial of it was eucharistic. It was intended to signalize those perfections of God which had been exemplified on that never-to-be-forgotten night.
The Passover had demonstrated in unmistakable manner the sovereignty of God, when He had "put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" (Ex. 11:7), that is, between the reprobate and His own elect-no lamb was provided for the former! It had manifested the grace of God. By nature the children of Israel were no better than the Egyptians, nor in conduct, as is clear from Ezekiel 20:7, 8; 23:3. It was out of His mere good pleasure and unmerited favor that the Lord exempted Israel from the destroyer (Ex. 12:23). It displayed the righteousness of God, which announced that He "will by no means clear the guilty" (Ex. 34:7). They were flagrant sinners and "the wages of sin is death": death must do and did its work in their households too when the sacrificial lamb was slain. It revealed the amazing mercy of God in providing that substitute. It placated the wrath of God: He said to the avenging angel concerning Israel's firstborn "deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom" (Job 33:24), illustrating that basic principle "without shedding of blood is no remission." It testified the faithfulness of God: "When I see the blood I will pass over you," and He did. It made known His love, which had chosen Israel to be His favored people (Deut. 10:15).
Again, the Passover was not only commemorative, but anticipative: it memorialized what was past and also foreshadowed what was to come. The institution and ritual of the Passover furnished one of the most striking representations of the person and work of Christ to be met with anywhere in the Old Testament. That it was a type thereof is clear from 1 Corinthians 5:7. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." Here then is our authority for regarding the contents of Exodus 12 as shadowing forth the cross-work of the Savior, and it is this which invests that chapter with such deep interest. The Passover was the first of those annual "feasts" which God appointed unto Israel, for it sets forth the grand truth of redemption, which is the foundation blessing of believers, the fountain from which all others flow; and the Passover was kept upon Israel's entrance into Canaan to signify that their possession of the Inheritance, no less than their deliverance from Egypt, was owing to the merits of the blood of the Lamb. Christ Himself observed it, saying to His apostles "With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15). In the light of these facts it becomes us to give our best attention to the teaching of Scripture thereon.
Observe first, the occasion of its institution. It was at the close of God's judgments upon Egypt. He had declared, "About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" (Ex. 11:4-7). Note carefully the exact wording of verse 5: it was not "all the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die," but "all the firstborn in the land of Egypt," and that necessarily included Israel's equally with Egypt's. Yet in verse 7 the Lord said, He would "put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel" so that the latter should be wholly exempt from judgment. That is what infidels would term "a flat contradiction," but the Christian knows there is none in the Word of Truth. What, then, is the explanation?
Each of those Divine declarations was literally accomplished: all the firstborn in the land of Egypt died, nevertheless the firstborn of Israel were delivered from the angel of death. But how could that be? Surely both could not take place! Yet they did, and therein we have a blessed illustration of the contents of the Gospel. It was the question of sin which was here raised and dealt with by God, consequently both parties were equally involved in His righteous judgment. The Israelites were not only sinners by nature, but practice; not only sins of infirmity, but high-handed sins of idolatry (Lev. 17:7; Josh. 24:14). Divine holiness can never ignore sin no matter where it be found: when the angels sinned God "spared them not" (2 Pet. 2:4). Justice must be satisfied; sin must pay its wages. A reprieve is out of the question. Then must guilty Israel perish? It would seem so. Human wisdom could devise no way of escape. But Divine wisdom did, and without compromising righteousness. How? By means of a substitute: sentence of death was executed on an innocent victim, because guilt had been legally transferred unto it. A lamb was provided for Israel, and it died in their stead.
Observe next, the nature of this transaction: "it is the Lord's Passover (Ex. 12:11). Those words bring before us a fundamental aspect of Truth which is much neglected in evangelical preaching. Gospellers have much to say upon what Christ's death accomplished for those who believe on Him, but far less upon what it effected God-wards. Yet that is clearly brought out in the first direct mention of the "lamb" in Scripture: "God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (Gen. 22:8). It was not simply that God would provide a lamb," but that He would provide Himself one! The antitypical Lamb was appointed and supplied to glorify God, to vindicate His throne, magnify His law, satisfy His justice and holiness. The life and death of Christ brought infinite glory to God though not a sinner had been saved thereby. The two leading aspects of Christ's atonement-God-ward and us-ward-were shadowed again in the ritual for the day of atonement: "Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat" (Lev. 16:7, 8)-Israel's substitute, which bore away their sins into a place uninhabited. Christ must first be "the Lord's Passover," accepted by Him, before He could be "our Passover" (1 Cor. 5:7)-received by us.
Consider now the substance of God's gracious provision for Israel, namely, "the lamb." Though we cannot dwell upon details, we will furnish a broad outline for the benefit of young preachers. How well fitted was a lamb to be an emblem of the Savior is at once apparent: so gentle and innocent, so mild and harmless, neither hurting others, nor seeming to have the capacity to resent an injury; useful in life (its fleece), valuable for food when killed. (1) The Passover lamb was taken "out from the sheep" (Ex. 12:5). "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren." (Deut. 18:18). Christ, according to His humanity, was made of the seed of David." "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same" (Heb. 2:14). (2) It was taken from the flock (not on the first, but) "the tenth day of the month" (v. 3). The Son of God did not become incarnate as soon as sin entered the world, but when "the fullness of time was come" (Gal. 4:4), after forty centuries of human history had passed: after man had been fully tested (10 is the number of his responsibility) and his probation (which 40 signifies) was completed-10 x 10 x 40.
(3) "Your lamb shall be without blemish" (Ex. 12:5, and cf. Leviticus 22:21, 22). Nothing but a perfect sacrifice could satisfy an infinitely perfect God. One who had any sin in him could not make atonement for sinners. But where was such a one to be found? Nowhere among the fallen sons of men. That lamb "without blemish" pointed to the immaculate purity of Christ (Heb. 7:26, 27; 1 Peter 1:19). (4) "A male of the first year" (v. 5): it was not to be too young or too old, but was to die in the fullness of its strength. So Christ died neither in childhood nor in old age. but in the prime of manhood-He was cut off "in the midst of His days" (Ps. 101:24). (5) "And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the month" (v. 6). For four days the lamb, separated unto sacrifice, was kept tethered, apart from all others, during which time it could be fully inspected to perceive its flawlessness. Anti-typically that may be taken two ways: on the principle of "a day for a year" (Num. 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6)-before His public ministry began (which lasted between three and four years) the Father bore testimony to the perfection of the Lamb (Matthew 3:17); taking it literally, during His last four days Christ was under the closest scrutiny of men, and even His judge confessed "I find no fault in Him."
(6) The lamb must be slain: "The whole congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening" (v. 6). That is very striking. It was not Moses and Aaron, or the Levites, who slew it, but the entire people as represented by the heads of every household. Nor was it only the chief priests and elders who were responsible for the slaying of Christ, for when Pilate decided the issue as to whether Barabbas or Christ should be released, he did so on the popular vote of the common people, who all cried "crucify Him" (Mark 15:6-15). In like manner it was the sins of each believer individually (Gal. 2:20) and of the Church corporeally (Eph. 5:25) which necessitated the death of Christ. It is also very remarkable to observe that though many thousands of lambs were slain that night, it was said "Israel shall kill it," not "them"! "There was only one before God's mind-the Lamb of Calvary" (Urquhart). (7) Its blood must be applied: "Thou shall take the blood and sprinkle it on the two side-posts," etc. (v. 7). Mental assent to the Gospel without a personal receiving of Christ avails not to deliver from judgment: there must be an appropriation of Christ, "faith in His blood" (Rom. 3:25). A Savior accepted, not a Savior provided, actually saves.
(8) The sprinkled blood gave security. "When He seeth the blood . . . the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in" (v. 23). And why? Because death had already done its work there! God's eye was not on the house or its inmates, but on the atoning blood. (9) "And the blood shall be to you for a token" (v. 13), i.e., "a token for good (Ps. 86:17). It was to assure their hearts, as the "token" given to Rahab (Josh. 2:12) was a guarantee of her preservation. God would have the hearts of His people in perfect peace, even while hearing the cries of the stricken Egyptians. No harm should befall them, and no fear distress while they rested on His sure promise! It is most important for the believer to distinguish between the foundation of his security and the basis of his peace: that which provided safe refuge from judgment was the slain lamb and its sprinkled blood; that which afforded a sure stay for the heart was the Word of One who cannot lie. (10) "Ye shall eat the flesh in that night" (v. 8). This was God's gracious provision for those within the house. Eating speaks of fellowship. It is Christ as the Food of His people, feeding by faith upon Him for strength and sustenance of soul.
(11) It must be "roast with fire" (v. 8). "Fire" here, as throughout, speaks of the wrath of a sin-hating God. The "roasting" of the lamb was a solemn figure of Christ suffering what was due to His people when He passed under and endured the awful wrath of God as He was "made a curse" (Gal. 3:13). It is that which explains the deeper meaning of His cry "I thirst": it was the effect of agony of soul as He endured the fierce heat of God's wrath. "Not sodden [boiled] at all with water" tells us nothing was allowed to hinder the direct action of "fire" on the Sin-bearer: God "spared not His own Son" (Rom. 8:32). (12) "With bitter herbs" (v. 8) or remorse of conscience. The Christian cannot have "fellowship with His sufferings" without remembering it was his sins which made them needful. (13) "And thus shall ye eat it: with loins girded . . . and staff in your hand" (v. 11). Fellowship with Christ can only be had as we maintain our pilgrim character. (14) "Not a bone of it shall be broken" (v. 46 and see John 19:33-36).
All the leading features of redemption were more or less shadowed forth by the Passover, and therein God would keep those things in the minds and before the eyes of Israel by their annual memorial of the same. But not only did the Passover furnish a vivid portrayal of the Gospel, it was also a means for Israel's good, a gracious provision for their bodily needs. Before another day dawned they were to leave Egypt and start out for the promised land, and by feeding on the lamb strength was supplied for the journey which lay before them. Thus it is with the Christian: he must feed on Christ in order for strength as he passes through this wilderness, for the world supplies no nourishment for the soul. So it was at Gilgal (Josh. 5:10): as the Passover had been the prelude to Israel's deliverance from Egypt and the commencement of their wilderness history, so it was made introductory to their new experience in Canaan: it was a blessed reminder that while they walked according to the Divine precepts, they might count upon God's mighty power. As their feeding on the lamb in Egypt supplied energy for their wilderness journey, equally needful was its strength for the warfare in which they were about to engage.
"And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the selfsame day" (Josh. 5:11). Once more we would observe how the Holy Spirit delights to take notice of and place on record the details of the saints' obedience. It had been expressly commanded that the Pascal lamb must be eaten with "unleavened bread" (Ex. 12:8), and strict compliance was here made with that order. They did not say, as long as it is bread, what else matters? but subjected their wills to God's. Throughout the Scriptures "leaven" is emblematical of corruption and evil, and therefore it had been a horrible incongruity and most unsuited to use leavened bread at a feast wherein the immaculate purity of Christ was set forth in the lamb "without blemish." The least tampering with the Divine ordinances alters their significance, mars their beauty, and is an act of presumption on man's part. If they be not kept in the letter of them, they certainly are not in their spirit, for true love seeks to please its object in all things.
"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even ye shall cat unleavened bread, until the first and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel" (Ex. 12:19). Thus, when it is said in Joshua 5:10, that when the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal they "kept the Passover" we are to understand that for a whole week they observed the same. As Matthew Henry pointed out, "They kept the Passover in the plains of Jericho as it were in defiance of the Canaanites that were round about them and enraged against them, and yet could not give them any disturbance. Thus God gave them an early instance of the performance of that promise, that when they went up to keep the feasts, their land should be taken under the special protection of Divine Providence: Exodus 34:24, 'Neither shall any man desire the land.' He now 'prepared a fable before them in the presence of their enemies' (Ps. 23:5)."
"And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the self-same day" (v. 11). A supply of food was already to hand when they entered Canaan: probably in granaries abandoned by its inhabitants as they took refuge in the walled city of Jericho. The Lord is no Egyptian taskmaster, requiring His people to make bricks without supplying them with straw. Now that "the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord" was to be eaten seven days (Lev. 23:6), an abundant quantity of grain was available for them. It is blessed to observe that before they used any of it for their own comfort, it was made into unleavened cakes in their worship of Jehovah. Thus did they act on the basis of that essential precept, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase" (Prov. 3:9). And as the Lord Jesus has taught us, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). He is to be given the pre-eminence by us in all things, and accordingly as we honor Him, so will He honor us.
This supply of corn upon Israel's first entrance into Canaan was an earnest of that promise which God had made through Moses: "It shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not, and houses full of good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not" (Deut. 6:10, 11), the complete fulfillment whereof is recorded in Joshua 24:13. Typically, the "old corn of the land," equally with the manna, spoke of Christ (John 12:24), yet in a very different character. The manna-"a small round thing" (Ex. 16:14), which lay on the ground and was Israel's wilderness food-was an emblem of Christ in His humiliation; but the old corn of Canaan pointed to Christ in His exaltation. The Christian needs to meditate and act faith on Christ not only as he is presented to us in all His moral perfections in the four Gospels, but also upon His official glories as they are set forth in the Epistles, particularly does he need to be occupied with Him as portrayed in Hebrews as our great High Priest and Intercessor.
In the earlier articles of this series we laid considerable emphasis on the fact that the spiritual value and the practical use which we should make of the book of Joshua is, that we should see unfolded therein the principles by which the Christian is to enter into a present possession and enjoyment of his inheritance, and the secrets of successfully fighting the good fight of faith and the spiritual warfare to which he is called. We sought to make plain what are some of those basic principles and essential secrets as they are illustrated and exemplified by the historical incidents recorded in the first four chapters of this book, and before turning from the first two sections of chapter 5: let us stress the truth that two more of them are here intimated as foreshadowed in the circumcising of the Israelites and their keeping of the Passover The Christian must be diligent in mortifying his lusts if he would walk in newness of life, and equally necessary is it that he feed daily on Christ-considered both as the sacrificial Lamb and as the great High Priest-in order to obtain strength to overcome the flesh, the world and the Devil. Practically, the corn of Canaan is a portion of our Inheritance which faith is to now appropriate.
"And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year" (v. 12). "To show that it did not come by chance, or by common providence as snow or hail does, but by the special designation of Divine wisdom and goodness; for as it came just when they needed it, so it continued as long as they had occasion for it, and no longer" (Matthew Henry). The practical lesson which we are to draw therefrom is, that we are not to expect extraordinary supplies when they can be had in an ordinary way: God works no unnecessary miracles. It is blessed to remember that the Lord had not discontinued the manna when the people despised it (Num. 11:6), nor even when He severed His covenant-relation with that evil generation; but had mercifully continued to give it for the sake of their children, who had now grown up and entered Canaan. Here ends the first main Division of the book: Joshua 1:1-9 is the Introduction; Joshua 1:10 to 5:12, concerns the passage of the Jordan; Joshua 5:13 to chapter 12: the conquest of Canaan.
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man over against him with His sword drawn in His hand: and Joshua went unto Him and said to Him, Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?" (v. 12). Though this verse begins a new section of the book yet it opens with the word "And"-not simply to preserve the continuity of the narrative, but especially to link this incident with what immediately precedes. God has promised to honor those who honor Him, and Joshua had done so in the circumcising of the people and in the strict observance of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread; and now the Lord bestows a signal favor upon His servant. How much we lose by failing to render unto our God that full and implicit obedience which is His due! "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them. he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21) declares the Savior. That is exactly what He was here doing unto obedient Joshua! It is of His spiritual manifestations to the soul we deprive ourselves by disobedience.
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked." Probably he was here engaged in reconnoitering the walled city with a view to determining his best plan of campaign against it, for as Israel's leader that was his obvious duty; nor would the firm expectation that the Lord should show Himself strong on behalf of His people discharge him from the performing of it. Even when we are fully assured that God is for us and will undertake for us, it is required that we act as rational creatures, use all proper means and precautions, and put forth our best efforts. To refuse doing so on the pretext of relying wholly on God to do all for us is not faith but presumption. Though Christ was about to supply a miraculous draught of fishes, yet He bade Peter "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets" (Luke 5:4). True, we must not lean unto our own understanding nor rely on our own strength, vet both the one and the other are to be exercised by us. It was, then, while Joshua was in the path of duty discharging his responsibility, that the Lord met with him! Only while similarly engaged are we warranted in expecting His help.
"And it came to pass, that when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked." The doubling of the verb seems to intimate a twofold significance about Joshua's action-a natural and a spiritual: that after viewing the enemy's citadel, he supplicated the Lord. The usage of the verbs confirms this. The "lifted up" his eyes in a natural way, taking a comprehensive survey of things, occurs in Genesis 13:10, 14; while it is found in a spiritual sense in "unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul" (Ps. 25:1); for "looked" see Genesis 8:13 and Exodus 2:25. "And behold, a Man over against him, with His sword drawn in His hand." This represented a real test to Joshua's valor. God had bidden him "Be strong and of a good courage" (Josh. 1:6), and now he is put to the proof. There is nothing whatever here to intimate that Joshua beheld this Man in a vision, but rather that He appeared before him objectively and tangibly. Even though He had a "drawn sword in His hand," Israel's leader did not panic and flee, but boldly advanced "unto Him." We should harbor no fear while in the path of duty, but count upon the Divine promise "The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."
On the other hand Joshua did not rashly draw his own sword and engage this Man in conflict. Instead, he inquired, "Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?" which challenge intimates Joshua recognized that this Stranger was no Israelite. A moment later he was to discover this Person was more than "a Man." Previously the Lord had spoken unto Joshua (Josh. 1:1; 3:7; 4:1, 15), but had made no visible manifestation of Himself unto His servant until now. Observe well how God suits the revelation of Himself unto His saints according to their circumstances and needs: to Abraham in his tent He appeared as a Traveler (Gen. 18:1, 2, 13), to Moses at the backside of the desert in a bush (Ex. 3:1, 2), to Joshua at the beginning of his campaign as "a Man of war" (cf. Exodus 15:3). In the celebrating of the Passover Christ had been prefigured as the Lamb, slain (v. 11); here in verse 13, with drawn sword in hand, He appeared as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Rev. 5:5). It was one of the pre-incarnate appearings of the Son of God in human form, which brings before us a most blessed yet profoundly-mysterious subject, concerning which the reader will probably welcome a few details.
In respect to Their Godhead, each of the three Divine Persons is equally invisible: the Triune God is seen alone in Christ. The invisibility of the Divine Being to mortal eyes is clearly taught in Old and New Testament alike. "There shall no man see Me, and live" (Ex. 33:20), "no man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18), "dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto: whom no man hath seen nor can see" (1 Tim. 6:16). That raises the question, How are we to understand those passages in the Old Testament where it is said "Jacob called the place Peniel [the face of God]: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Gen. 32:20), "and they saw the God of Israel" (Ex. 24:10). In many passages it was not only that God was seen in vision or symbol, but corporately and actually. As, for example, by Moses: "If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude ["form" or "likeness"] of the Lord shall he behold" (Num. 12:6-8). Those are what infidels term "contradictions."
The New Testament makes it known that another Person of the same essence as the Father has had for His office the making known of God unto His people: "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18), "he that hath seen Me," said Christ, "hath seen the Father" (John 14:9), "Who is the Image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15 and cf. Hebrews 1:3). The intimate communion between the two Persons appears in Exodus 23:20, 21: "Behold I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in thy way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey Him, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in Him." Observe how such language is used there by one Person about another Person as precludes our identifying Him as a single Person; yet both are certainly Divine. Thus, we must not exclude Jehovah the Father wholly from these communications to the Old Testament saints and attribute all the messages unto the Son immediately. We are to admit the presence of the first Person per se (by Himself), as well as the second: two Persons with Divine attributes, employing the name of Jehovah in common, the one the Sender, the other the Sent-the latter communicating directly with men.
In each instance the theophanic manifestation was made by God the Son, sometimes in the form of an angel, at others in the form of man. It is the same person, whether called "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," "the God of Israel" or "the Angel of the covenant." Those mysterious appearances were so many intimations that the Son even then personated the character of the Mediator, under which He would yet reveal Himself openly. It was God the Son who thus appeared to Hagar (Gen. 16:7), Abraham (Gen. 18:1), Jacob (Gen. 32:24-30), Israel (Judg. 2:1), Gideon (Judg. 6:12-18), Manoah (Judg. 13:21). In Malachi 3:1, "the Messenger" or "Angel of the covenant" is called "The Lord of His temple." Those theophanies not only disclosed a personal distinction in the Godhead, but show the pre-existence and Deity of our Redeemer. That the Jehovah who manifested Himself again and again unto Israel in the wilderness was none other than the Mediator, is unequivocally established by 1 Corinthians 10: "for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ. . . . Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents" (vv. 4, 9). See also Hebrews 11:26.
The appearing of the Son of God to men in human form-sometimes in vision (Ezek. 1:26; Daniel 10:5, 6), sometimes in prophecy (Ps. 89:17; Daniel 7:13), sometimes tangibly (Gen. 32:24; Joshua 5:13)-were so many anticipations of the Word becoming flesh, and were in order to acquaint the Church with the Person of her Head by providing a blessed intercourse between them. They were endearing manifestations of Christ to His saints (and to none other!) of His love, that "His delights [even then] were with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:31). It is most blessed to observe how many and varied ways the Lord Jesus took to display His personal love unto His people by vision and open revelation, by type and tangible similitude, in the early ages of the world, until the time that He became incarnate and tabernacled among men. They were all designed to prepare the minds of His people for His becoming the Son of man and furnishing the supreme proof of His love for them in New Testament times. He graciously adopted such methods to indicate how much He longed for the fullness of time when He should put away their sins and bring in an everlasting righteousness for them.
"And He said, Nay, but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto Him, What saith my Lord unto His servant?" (v. 14). Joshua now discovered it was far more than "a Man" who stood before him, and therefore did he prostrate himself before Him and humbly sought His will. Had this Visitor been only an angel, he had rebuked Joshua for worshipping him (Rev. 19:10; 22:8, 9); but this Person accepted it, thereby evincing His Deity! This faithful servant of His now had a special visit from his Lord to inaugurate the great enterprise on which he was about to engage, namely, the putting of the inhabitants of Canaan to the sword. It was the sign and token that complete victory should be Israel's, a guarantee that success should be granted their warfare. This "Man over against him, with drawn sword in His hand" had come as no idle Spectator of the conflict, but to command and direct every movement of their battles. "As Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come": at the head of the angelic hierarchy stands the Angel of the Lord, "the Captain of our salvation" (Heb. 2:10).
"And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so" (v. 13). Here was further proof that the One speaking to Joshua was infinitely above the highest celestial creature, for the arch-angel's presence had not rendered the very ground whereon he stood sacred. It was in fact none other than the august Person before whom the seraphim veil their faces and cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts" (Isa. 6:3 and cf., John 12:41). It will be noted that the token of reverence required from Joshua was identical with that demanded of Moses by "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5, 6). That order for the removing of his shoes not only linked together the two incidents, but supplied a further assurance of God's promise to His servant "as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Josh. 1:5). What an encouragement for faith was that! Who could stand before the Captain of the Lord's host? What was there for Israel to fear under such a Leader! Note how the Spirit again registers Joshua's obedience to the command to remove his shoes: "And Joshua did so." Nothing is too small for God's notice. Our every act is recorded by Him-how solemn! how blessed!