The Hebrew name translated in the scripture as “Joshua” or a close variant of the same, occurs about 215 times in the Old Testament Scriptures, over 200 of these occurrences are in reference to the same person, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses: And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. Exodus 33:9-11
In the book of Numbers and in the book which carries his name, the same man is called the assistant of Moses: So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, "Moses my lord, forbid them!'' Numbers 11:28 and: After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, Joshua 1:1
You’ll notice that verse 33:11 of Exodus actually tells us that Joshua was in the tabernacle with Moses when Moses met with God “face to face” and that when Moses left the tabernacle, Joshua stayed behind.
This makes Joshua a most unusual person in the scriptures, but his prominence grows through the books of the Law, until Moses names Joshua as his replacement to lead the tribes of Israel across the Jordan river and into the land of Canaan: Now the Lord said to Moses: "Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. "And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. "For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.'' (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.) Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, "who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.'' And the Lord said to Moses: "Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; Numbers 27:12-18
We see in this last passage that Moses was forbidden to cross over the river Jordan with the tribes of Israel, because he struck the rock a second time at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin to obtain water for the tribes of Israel, instead of speaking to the rock as God had instructed him to do. The scripture tells us that Moses’ rebellion was that he failed to hallow God (to treat Him as holy).
If you are unfamiliar with “types” in the Bible, you probably wouldn’t understand these passages. God used objects and people as physical types to represent spiritual truths of things to come in the future and specifically things to do with His kingdom and with His own image and likeness in the person of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The New Testament scriptures give us a few examples of God’s use of types, but leave many unmentioned with the assumption that the Spirit of God is able to show them to the children of God and will, as it is His good pleasure to so. For example, in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul contrasts how sin entered into all men through the actions of Adam, but grace is extended to all men through Christ, and explains that Adam is a “type” in this respect to Christ: Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:14
When examining “types,” especially those that were persons spoken of in the scriptures, we need to remember that no person would ever be a perfect “type” for our Savior, because all men have sinned from Adam to us, with the one exception of our Lord, but this fact in itself is one of the most incredible aspects of human “types:” God chose to use sinful men to reveal things about the person of His perfect sinless Son.
The sacrificial lamb of the Passover is also a type of Christ in that it was to be chosen as a pure offering without blemish or spot, and it’s blood was for a sign of God’s people to save them from destruction: `Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. `So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Exodus 12:13-14
In the book of Numbers and in the book which carries his name, the same man is called the assistant of Moses: So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, "Moses my lord, forbid them!'' Numbers 11:28 and: After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, Joshua 1:1
You’ll notice that verse 33:11 of Exodus actually tells us that Joshua was in the tabernacle with Moses when Moses met with God “face to face” and that when Moses left the tabernacle, Joshua stayed behind.
This makes Joshua a most unusual person in the scriptures, but his prominence grows through the books of the Law, until Moses names Joshua as his replacement to lead the tribes of Israel across the Jordan river and into the land of Canaan: Now the Lord said to Moses: "Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. "And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. "For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.'' (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.) Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, "who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.'' And the Lord said to Moses: "Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; Numbers 27:12-18
We see in this last passage that Moses was forbidden to cross over the river Jordan with the tribes of Israel, because he struck the rock a second time at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin to obtain water for the tribes of Israel, instead of speaking to the rock as God had instructed him to do. The scripture tells us that Moses’ rebellion was that he failed to hallow God (to treat Him as holy).
If you are unfamiliar with “types” in the Bible, you probably wouldn’t understand these passages. God used objects and people as physical types to represent spiritual truths of things to come in the future and specifically things to do with His kingdom and with His own image and likeness in the person of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The New Testament scriptures give us a few examples of God’s use of types, but leave many unmentioned with the assumption that the Spirit of God is able to show them to the children of God and will, as it is His good pleasure to so. For example, in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul contrasts how sin entered into all men through the actions of Adam, but grace is extended to all men through Christ, and explains that Adam is a “type” in this respect to Christ: Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:14
When examining “types,” especially those that were persons spoken of in the scriptures, we need to remember that no person would ever be a perfect “type” for our Savior, because all men have sinned from Adam to us, with the one exception of our Lord, but this fact in itself is one of the most incredible aspects of human “types:” God chose to use sinful men to reveal things about the person of His perfect sinless Son.
The sacrificial lamb of the Passover is also a type of Christ in that it was to be chosen as a pure offering without blemish or spot, and it’s blood was for a sign of God’s people to save them from destruction: `Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. `So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Exodus 12:13-14
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