And it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of Jehovah, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' attendant, saying,
The book of Joshua opens on a grave. The man who led Israel out of Egypt is gone, and God's first act is to speak to the man who served at his side. That opening line raises two questions. Why could the leader of the exodus not finish the journey? And why does God name his successor by his service rather than his rank?
Moses died before the crossing. One writer traces this to more than Moses' own failure. The role he carried made the crossing impossible for him.
The Christian's FriendTheir inheritance could not come by the law in any way. So Moses, the mediator of the legal system, could not lead the people over the Jordan — and that was true quite apart from his own personal failure. The picture would not allow it. So when Moses asked to cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that fine mountain and Lebanon, the Lord answered, "Enough from you; do not speak to Me of this matter again."
That is why the story of the land begins where it does. God chose that starting point. It teaches something about how anyone comes into blessing.
H Forbes WitherbyOur study of the book of Joshua must begin where God begins His teaching — "after the death of Moses." God's way is not for the law given through Moses to bring a single soul into spiritual blessings. Those blessings belong to Christ where He now is, in heaven.
Joshua is not a replacement for Moses so much as the next stage of one story. Each man pictures a different side of the same Saviour.
H Forbes WitherbyMoses brought Israel out of the land of Egypt. In that he pictures the Lord Jesus bringing His people out of this world, which lies under judgment. Moses the mediator and Aaron the high priest also picture Him leading His people through this wilderness world. Joshua brought Israel into Canaan. He pictures Christ risen from the dead, leading His people in spirit into the land of glory and into conflict with the enemy in the heavenly places.
The commission given to Joshua reaches further than victory. He was to settle the people in what they won.
The Bible TreasuryJoshua continues what Moses began. Both picture the Lord Jesus, each from a different side. Moses leads me up to the death of Christ. Joshua leads me out of it in victory, carrying his spoils with him… Under the terms of this commission, Joshua was not only to lead them into possession. By dividing the inheritance, he was to give them a settled home. This pictured the last act of our Lord, which He spoke of on earth when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you."
The verse names Joshua by his father and by his position under Moses. Older translations read "Moses' minister," which simply means a servant. The title matters, because the verse sets it against the title God gives Moses.
F. W. GrantMoses and Joshua both speak of Christ. Moses speaks of Christ down here in the world, living among people. Joshua speaks of Christ acting by the Holy Spirit in His people — in spirit, not in person. So it is Joshua who leads into the land. Moses is the "servant of the Lord," a picture of God's perfect Servant in Isaiah 52:13. Joshua is "Moses' minister," serving and representing this personal Christ.
Joshua's earlier work at Moses' side already showed the shape of what was coming.
J. G. BellettThese early tasks are samples of the ministry of the man who was soon to subdue the nations of Canaan and divide their land as an inheritance among the people of the Lord… Peter was marked out beforehand to feed the sheep and the lambs of God's flock. Joshua was marked out to lead Israel. Both were put through their training first — and that is good for all of us.
The call that follows sends Joshua across the Jordan. That river carries its own meaning.
William KellyWhen Moses died, God called Joshua to "Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them." For the people redeemed from Egypt, the wilderness was never the Lord's goal. It was only His road… The Jordan pictures our death and resurrection with Christ. The Red Sea pictures Christ's death and resurrection for us. Energy and courage were essential, and so was holding firmly to God's word. It is the same for the Christian: he is set free, and yet he is bound to obey God.
The people themselves were about to change character. What had been a journey was becoming a campaign.
H Forbes WitherbyThey had been like a flock led through the wilderness (Ps. 77:20); they were about to be the Lord's soldiers led to fight His battles. God now looked for a soldier's character in Israel: obedience, energy, endurance.
- Death first. The book begins after a burial. The lawgiver could not bring the people into the promised land — not just because he failed, but because of what he stood for.
- Then grace. What law could not give, God gives. God calls the land what He is giving them, not what they earn.
- A trained servant. The verse names Joshua as Moses' assistant. His years serving at Moses' side had already trained him for the work God now gives him.
- A risen Leader. Moses pictures Christ bringing His people out. Joshua pictures Christ risen, leading them in — and then dividing the inheritance so they can settle in it.
- A soldier's road. Crossing the Jordan turns a led flock into an army. The same call that promises the land also demands courage and obedience to God's word.
Moses my servant is dead; and now, rise up, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, into the land which I give unto them, to the children of Israel.
Israel stands at the edge of the promised land with a fresh grave behind them and a river in front. God's first recorded word to the new leader does not begin with comfort about the loss, but with a command to move.
The book opens where a reader might expect an ending. One writer reads this death notice through the difference between law and grace.
H Forbes WitherbyThe law commands man to do what, in his helpless state, he never can do. The grace of God gives man, when helpless, a new life in Christ Jesus. The law commands man to reach up to blessing; grace brings blessing to man where he is. These words, "Moses My servant is dead," show that spiritual blessings are all of grace. We must keep their force before our hearts. Without it we will not arise and follow our Leader, Jesus, the Lord risen from the dead, and so lay hold of Canaan blessings.
Moses himself never crossed the river. Commentators differ on how much weight to put on his role as lawgiver. Several read the refusal as more than personal discipline:
The Christian's FriendTheir inheritance could not be of the law in any way. So Moses, the mediator of the legal system, could not lead the people over Jordan. That was true quite apart from his own personal failure. In the picture, it was impossible. … Joshua pictured Christ, and just because of that he also shows that God's battles cannot be fought, and the inheritance cannot be possessed, except in the power of resurrection. All the blessings of God's people are on the other side of death.
Others read it differently. For one writer the handover pictures "Christ personally with us" giving place to "Christ in Spirit," and he adds, "nor does Moses represent the law here" (F. W. Grant).
The name of the man now addressed carries the message. His first name, Oshea, meant salvation. His new name was "Jehoshua or Joshua (the Lord is salvation)" (H Forbes Witherby). One writer marks out what he pictures — and what he does not:
William KellyHere we do not have the death of the body and the spirit leaving it. Still less is it the resurrection state. That is not the point at all in the Book of Joshua. It is Christ now in Spirit leading the people into the land. That is, the power of the Spirit of God, answering to Christ's glory, enables Christians now to take hold of their place in heaven where He is, and to know it. In short, Joshua represents Christ not as coming in person later on, but as acting in spirit now, and so giving us to receive and to realize our heavenly blessedness.
The river is often read as death and Canaan as heaven after we die. One writer answers that by setting the Jordan beside the earlier crossing of the Red Sea:
William KellyOn the one hand, the crossing of the Red Sea is our being dead with Christ and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is a question of righteousness. In this way we are justified from sin, and truly set free from Satan's power. We no longer dread the judgment of God. On the other hand, the crossing of the Jordan brings us into heavenly places even now, according to the full measure of Christ's title.
God calls the land His gift. Yet Israel still had to walk every field and conquer it:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe land promised to the descendants of Abraham is God's gift: "the land that I am giving to them." … They had to take hold of what God had given. As they took hold of it, they would own and enjoy the land. If they made it their own by putting their feet on the land, whether mountain or valley, it became theirs in reality. This required energy. … We must take possession in the energy of faith, as Israel had to plant their feet on the territory and conquer it.
The command names more than Joshua. It reaches every one of the people with him:
William KellySome believers do stop short of their proper blessing. But God's mind is that all His people should enter in.
Everything hangs on one verb. The land was already theirs by promise; only one thing was missing.
H Forbes WitherbyOne thing only was needed for them to enjoy their portion — they must "Arise" and possess. Arise, believer, and enter into the blessings God has blessed us with in Christ. All things are yours; arise, enter in.
- Dead — the book starts with a death notice. Blessing beyond the Jordan never comes by law. It comes by grace.
- Risen — Joshua's name means "the Lord is salvation." He pictures Christ acting now by the Spirit, not Christ returning later.
- Given — God calls the land His gift before Israel fights one battle. The right to it rests on His promise.
- Taken — they still had to walk the ground. What their feet trod became theirs in reality, and that took energy of faith.
- Together — the call names Joshua "and all this people." Some believers stop short of their portion. God's mind is that every one enters in.