An Essay Comparing Joshua and Jesus

At first glance Joshua seems to just be a story of the Israelites and the settling of the Promised Land, however, there may also be a prophetic vision of God’s plan for Salvation of His people. The book of Joshua shows the difference between living a life, like Moses, under the Law of the Old Testament and under the freedom, which came from Jesus Christ, as Joshua did. One could certainly make a strong case that Joshua 1-6 can be looked at as a metaphor of Jesus Christ and man’s salvation through Him. The evidence ranges from Joshua’s name to the meaning of the Jordan River. The implications would mean that God was discretely showing the Israelites His plan for future salvation well over a thousand years before Christ.Joshua chapters 1-6 are a very exciting time for the ancient Israelites. They had escaped from their tyrannical Egyptian rulers under the leadership of Moses, finished wandering in the desert for 40 years, and were just beginning to start to inherit the land God promised them. However, as they near the boundary of the Promised Land, the Jordan River, Moses is not allowed to enter, and dies on Mount Nebo overlooking the land “flowing with milk and honey”. The newly anointed Joshua son of Nun will be the one to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

For one to begin to see the importance of the comparison between Joshua and Jesus Christ, you must first look earlier in the book of Exodus when the Israelites were still living under an Egyptian rule. Their lives were filled with hard labor and bondage under their leaders. They were even forced to make bricks for the Pharaoh’s buildings without any straw for them and still meet the same quotas they had before (Exodus 5:6-14). They were a people without hope or direction in life seemingly doomed to an enslaved death. However, God did not forget His people and sent Moses as his messenger to bring them out of Egypt and free them from their hard yokes. When this was accomplished the