The True Joshua
Lesson 10, 4th Quarter, November 29-December 05, 2025
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Sabbath Afternoon November 29
Memory Text:
“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” KJV — 1Corinthians 10:11
“No stain rested upon the holy character of Joshua. He was a wise leader. His life was wholly devoted to God. Before he died he assembled the Hebrew host, and, following the example of Moses, he recapitulated their travels in the wilderness and also the merciful dealings of God with them. He then eloquently addressed them. He related to them that the king of Moab warred against them and called Balaam to curse them; but God “would not hearken unto Balaam, therefore he blessed you still.” He then said to them, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. SR 181.3
“‘And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed.’ SR 182.1
“The people renewed their covenant with Joshua. They said unto him, “The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey.” Joshua wrote the words of their covenant in the book containing the laws and statutes given to Moses. Joshua was loved and respected by all Israel, and his death was much lamented by them.” SR 182.2
Sunday November 30
Biblical Typology
Study the following Scriptures that refer to types and try to define what biblical typology is: Rom. 5:14, 1 Cor. 10:1–13, Heb. 8:5, and Heb. 9:23.
Jeremiah 30:7 – “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.”
The people that have come to this antitypical time of trouble are returning to the homeland, are comforted. Apparently it is bad enough to frighten all, but God’s encouraging counsel is, “Fear not.”
Plainly, the burden of this chapter is concerning the antitypical returning to the homeland. Though terrible the trouble may seem, yet the outcome of it is to be the same as in the type. Right now we may not appreciate this study as we ought to, but the time is soon coming in which we will dig as fast and as hard for it as we would to get out from under an avalanche. Those who have but little faith in the Word of God though, the study will not do them much good. Now is the time to start cultivating the faith we need to have then.
Jacob, our type, well knew that God had directed his return from Padanaram to the homeland, yet he trembled when he heard that Esau, with four hundred men were on the way to meet him. Besides, he was led to wrestle with the angel all night long. He prevailed only because he would not let the Angel go until He blest him. The final result was that on the morrow, Esau, rather than destroying the whole company, very kindly greeted Jacob with a kiss, and cordially invited him to return home! So when it all worked itself out, Jacob plainly saw that there was no need at all to have ever feared. How encouraging that “all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:11. That which happened to Jacob is sure to happen to us, and how comforting to know all this ahead of time. Now, if never before we should see that where there is a type there is also an antitype, and that where there is no type, there is no Truth.
Monday December 1
Type and Antitype
“…Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.
“And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My Servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever.
“Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezek. 37:21-28.
In confirmation of the truth that God’s people are again to become a kingdom, Ezekiel prophesies of---A New Division of the Land.
The prophet presents a division of the land entirely different from that of Joshua’s time (Josh. 17): It is to be in strips from the east to the west. Dan is to have the first portion in the north, and Gad, the last portion in the south. Between the borders of these two are to be the portions of the rest of the tribes. The sanctuary is to be in the midst of the land, and adjacent to it is to be a city. (See Ezekiel 48).
The fact that such a division of the promised land has never been made, shows that it is yet future. Also the fact that the sanctuary is to be there, whereas it is not to be in the earth made new (Rev. 21:22), positively proves that this unique set-up is pre-millennial. Moreover, the twofold fact that the name of the city is “The Lord is There,” and that its location, according to the division of the land, necessarily must be different from that of old Jerusalem, shows that Jerusalem proper is not that city.
Tuesday December 2
Joshua, the Type
In the light of biblical typology, what is the significance of the multiple parallelism between the lives of Moses and Joshua? See Exod. 3:1, 2; Josh. 1:1–3; Num. 13:1, 2; Josh. 2:1; Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15.
But let it be remembered that the Exodus Movement, the type, was in two sections, the first section being led by Moses, and the second by Joshua, and that it was the last, the purified, section (that which grew up after the forty years' wilderness wandering, and after all but two who were over twenty years of age when they left Egypt, had died) that possessed the land.
And just as the purified Israel of Joshua's day, the generation which survived the forty-year wilderness wanderings, inherited first the final leadership of the typical Exodus Movement, and then the land of promise, so the purified Israel today (the 144,000), the ones who survive the forty-year period of wandering from 1890-1930, and who escape the slaughter of Ezekiel 9, are to be promoted to the final leadership of the antitypical Exodus Movement, then to inherit "the promised land," and to be citizens in the everlasting Kingdom.
Thus, we see that it was not until after the murmurers were eliminated, in the ensample, that Joshua took over, and led the Exodus Movement in the land of Canaan.
The immediate result of these murmurings complainings, and doubtings today has been to blind the eyes of many in the Advent Movement, causing them to turn back from following Christ their Leader, and steadily to retreat "toward Egypt."--Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217. Consequently, in another tragic parallel, just as Moses wrote the sad experience of the type so the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination wrote the even sadder experience of the antitype, declaring as far back as 1888: "Many had lost sight of Jesus;" and "Doubt and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening our churches everywhere."--Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 217.
Study Deuteronomy 18:15–19, Deuteronomy 34:10–12, John 1:21, Acts 3:22–26, and Acts 7:37. Who fulfills the prophecy of Moses about a prophet like himself? How does Joshua fit into the picture?
“Moses was a type of Christ. He himself had declared to Israel, “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.” Deuteronomy 18:15. God saw fit to discipline Moses in the school of affliction and poverty before he could be prepared to lead the hosts of Israel to the earthly Canaan. The Israel of God, journeying to the heavenly Canaan, have a Captain who needed no human teaching to prepare Him for His mission as a divine leader; yet He was made perfect through sufferings; and “in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Hebrews 2:10, 18. Our Redeemer manifested no human weakness or imperfection; yet He died to obtain for us an entrance into the Promised Land. PP 480.1
“And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” Hebrews 3:5, 6. PP 480.2
Wednesday December 3
The true Joshua, the Antitype
Read Hebrews 3:7–4:11. How does the New Testament confirm that Joshua, the new Moses, is himself a type of Jesus Christ?
“…Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.
“And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My Servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever.
“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezek. 37:21-28.
In confirmation of the truth that God’s people are again to become a kingdom, Ezekiel prophesies of---A New Division of the Land.
The prophet presents a division of the land entirely different from that of Joshua’s time (Josh. 17): It is to be in strips from the east to the west. Dan is to have the first portion in the north, and Gad, the last portion in the south. Between the borders of these two are to be the portions of the rest of the tribes. The sanctuary is to be in the midst of the land, and adjacent to it is to be a city. (See Ezekiel 48).
Joshua’s time (Josh. 17): It is to be in strips from the east to the west. Dan is to have the first portion in the north, and Gad, the last portion in the south. Between the borders of these two are to be the portions of the rest of the tribes. The sanctuary is to be in the midst of the land, and adjacent to it is to be a city. (See Ezekiel 48).
The fact that such a division of the promised land has never been made, shows that it is yet future. Also the fact that the sanctuary is to be there, whereas it is not to be in the earth made new (Rev. 21:22), positively proves that this unique set-up is pre-millennial. Moreover, the twofold fact that the name of the city is “The Lord is There,” and that its location, according to the division of the land, necessarily must be different from that of old Jerusalem, shows that Jerusalem proper is not that city.
Thursday December 4
Joshua and Us
Joshua, as a type, points beyond the ministry of Jesus Christ to a fulfillment in the life of the church, Christ’s body. In what sense do the wars Israel fought under Joshua foreshadow the spiritual struggles of the church? How are they different? See 1 Tim. 1:18, 2 Tim. 4:7, Eph. 6:10–12, 2 Cor. 10:3–5, and Acts 20:32.
“Trust in God and obedience to His will are as essential to the Christian in the spiritual warfare as to Gideon and Joshua in their battles with the Canaanites. By the repeated manifestations of His power in behalf of Israel, God would lead them to have faith in Him—with confidence to seek His help in every emergency. He is just as willing to work with the efforts of His people now and to accomplish great things through weak instrumentalities. All heaven awaits our demand upon its wisdom and strength. God is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20.” PP 554.1
What do these texts say about the ultimate fulfillment of the Joshua typology? 1Pet. 1:4, Col. 3:24, Rev. 20:9, Rev. 21:3.
Isaiah 63:18, 19 – “The people of Thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down Thy sanctuary. We are thine: Thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by Thy name.”
True, our ancestors were in the land and enjoyed the sanctuary service for a number of years, yet considering that they were to possess it forever, then the statement, “The people of Thy holiness have possessed it but a little while,” is altogether true. Arabs and unconverted Jews who now possess the land are not Christians; they are not called by Christ’s name, and never have been.
Isaiah 63:17 – “O Lord, why hast Thou made us to err from Thy ways, and hardened our heart from Thy fear? Return for Thy servants’ sake, the tribes of Thine inheritance.”
Here is one who recognizes that the people of God are in error – not following God’s ways and that they do not fear Him. The messenger’s plea is, therefore, for God to return to them, not to forsake them forever.
The prayer of chapter sixty-three continues throughout chapter sixty-four, and gives a good example as to what our prayers should be about at this very time. Let us read it through.
Isa. 64 – “Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence! When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy presence.
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember Thee in Thy ways: behold, Thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee: for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
“But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand. Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech Thee, we are all Thy people. Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt Thou refrain Thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt Thou hold Thy peace, and afflict us very sore?”
Friday December 5
Further Thought
“Thousands would accept the truth if they could do so without denying self, but this class would never build up the cause of God. These would never march out valiantly against the enemy,—the world, the love of self, and the lusts of the flesh,—trusting their divine Leader to give them the victory. The church needs faithful Calebs and Joshuas, who are ready to accept eternal life on God’s simple condition of obedience. Our churches are suffering for laborers. The world is our field. Missionaries are wanted in cities and villages that are more certainly bound by idolatry than are the pagans of the East, who have never seen the light of truth. The true missionary spirit has deserted the churches that make so exalted a profession; their hearts are no longer aglow with love for souls and a desire to lead them into the fold of Christ. We want earnest workers. Are there none to respond to the cry that goes up from every quarter: “Come over ...and help us”?” 4T 155.4