Joshua 10:16 But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.
Joshua 10:22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
Joshua 10:24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. :25 And Joshua said unto them,Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. :26 And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
As I read this chapter the events surrounding this battle bore a striking resemblance to those events that surrounded the crucifixion of Our Savior. The stones falling in vs.11, the interuption of the cosmic order in vs.12, the tomb that's mentioned in our verses above and finally the trees mentioned in vs.26 representing the cross.
Now this morning we are going to consider how Joshua is a type or foreshadowing of Jesus. First of all His name when Translated from Hebrew to Greek translates Jesus. Now consider how the children of Israel under Moses(picture of the Law) never could enter into the promise land but it took Joshua passing through the death waters of Jordan to lead them to victory. There are to many similarities to list today but its clear the resemblances we see in Joshua and Jesus. Now with that similitude in mind lets move to our verses.
We have enemies in this life as human beings and especially as committed Christians. Those enemies aren't necessarily people that cause you problems our persecute you but they are the manifestation of the real enemy. The Bible is clear: Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.These enemies are deceptive, manipulative and cowardly. Much like the Kings that were fighting against Israel in our verses, they let the people do their fighting while they went and hid in a cave. Notice the contrast, their kings let the people fight for them while they hid, but Israels leader was fighting for his people in the heat of the battle and secured the victory. Friend this what our Savior did for us, we dont have a wimpy effeminate Leader. He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He fought for His people, He secured the victory for His people and there was nothing cowardice about Him. He set his face toward Jerusalem like a flint. He never took of the gall to lessen the pain and torture of Calvary but he took the blunt of OUR sin and OUR shame. He went before his people, dragged out the cowardice enemy and made a show of them openly and now we have the victory. He hung there on Calvary with the guilt and shame and separation of the sins of the whole world. Notice Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; :14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,nailing it to his cross; :15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Thank God my Savior took in His own body my sins and nailed them to the tree and spoiled the enemy.Hallelujah!!!!
Lastly lets look at the instruction given by Joshua, because the same applies to us as well.
And Joshua said unto them,Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
Friend why should I worry? Why should I fear the fight? The victory was won on Calvary. Jesus said it is finished and our enemy is as good as defeated. We're not fighting for the victory but rather we are fighting from the victory. Psalms 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.God has made his enemies his footstool, He has crushed the head of the serpent! Friends, when fear swells, when doubts arise, when strength is gone look to the finished work of Calvary.
Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage. Our savior has won the victory!!
Onward Christian Soldiers!!