Jesus is described as “the builder of a house”. Through His death and resurrection, He has built a living temple, of which all believers, including Moses, are a part. Jesus’ work is greater than Moses’s work, even as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
Similarly the Law, which was temporary and was given to a small portion of humanity (the Israelites), came with glory as it revealed God’s character and will for people. But the gospel, the new and living way, the lasting way, is far superior as it makes every believer in the whole world right with God, makes them heirs of all the promises of God, removes all of God’s wrath from them, makes them holy and perfect and gives them eternal life.
As we are comparing the work of Moses and the work of Joshua in Joshua 12, notice this comparison in the New Testament also:
2 Corinthians 3:9-11 (NCV) If the law that judged people guilty of sin had glory, surely the new way that makes people right with God has much greater glory. 10 That old law had glory, but it really loses its glory when it is compared to the much greater glory of this new way. 11 If that law which disappeared came with glory, then this new way which continues forever has much greater glory.
In other words, the Law condemns us to death because we cannot keep it perfectly; but that is glorious because it points us to our Savior, Jesus, who kept it in our place and died to save us from our sin. And so the good news about Jesus is far more glorious than the Law.
The terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do; My Savior’s obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from view.--A Debtor To Mercy Alone, August Toplady
Question 3. When you think about the death of Jesus for you, and His resurrection from the dead, what glory do you see in it? What does it do for your own heart to consider it?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Kelly writes, "There are so many things Jesus death for me and resurrection from the dead does in my heart. Today I see the Glory of His Love. I see a MAN who for the first time in my life is for me. I matter. And I matter enough to die for. That’s still hard at times for me to grasp. I lived my whole life working, earning, begging and buying love. What a tiring, draining and disappointing way to live just to come up empty. But I died with Christ to that empty way of living . And rose with Him into His love. All the Love my heart can stand to bear. Its not Love I had to earn or buy, beg and manipulate out of Him. it is freely given to me and lavished on me. And It’s love that He initiated first. 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
Carol writes, "I see a lot of glory in it. Today’s lesson about a parallel between Joshua and Jesus is mind expanding. It is bringing clarity to me where before there was none. My heart is expanding as I see it all come together. I want to learn more. More that I learn the more I see I need to learn. The more I see that Jesus’ sacrifice for me was bigger than I knew. What He went through is bigger than I ever imagined."
Karen writes, "My heart bursts with gratitude and joy as I meditate on the death and resurrection of Jesus, that He took on all of my sin and darkness and has given me eternal life and a new life on earth. It is hard to comprehend the height, width, length and depth of His love for us!!"
Amanda writes, "It is so hard to comprehend that He gave His life for me, but wonderful to be so loved. Knowing that He did this for me is such a blessing. There is great comfort and peace in knowing that the Savior we serve conquered death, hell, and the grave. He now intercedes for me. What we cannot do, He can! The first definition for the word Glory I found is, high renown or honor won by notable achievements. Wow! My heart is blessed. Christ achieved the MOST notable achievement!"
As we move on to the next chapter, let’s remember how widespread Joshua’s victories were, how he conquered the whole land, how he brought the whole nation into the Promised Land and gave the entire nation of Israel victory and rest.
And most importantly, let’s remember Jesus, our true Joshua, who died on the cross and rose from the dead, and who by giving up His life defeated all our enemies and secured our eternity in the promised land, the true Canaan of Heaven!
“Moses gave to one part of Israel a very rich and fruitful country, but it was on the outside of Jordan. Joshua gave to all Israel the holy land, within Jordan. So the law has given to a few of God’s spiritual Israel worldly blessings…but our Lord Jesus, the true Joshua, provided for all the children of promise spiritual blessings, and the heavenly Canaan.”--Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
Karen writes, "I love this study as I learn more about the OT pointing to Jesus and understanding more deeply the character of God. I am strengthened and encouraged as I meditate on all of this!!"
Carol writes, "Oh yes. Hugely. As I said above I see the whole sacrifice in a bigger light. I see how the whole OT is a foreshadow of the NT. I want to learn more and my faith is getting stronger. My desire to turn from the flesh is stronger. I have stopped watching shows that I use to watch because they are of the flesh. That shows my faith is growing as I am convicted over what I allow myself to watch."
Amanda writes, "Yes. My heart was blessed and my faith increased. I particularly enjoyed see the comparison if Moses and the law verses Joshua and Jesus. It has been a blessing to see the Gospel where I never thought to see it!"
Kelly writes, "I really loved seeing the contrast between Joshua and Jesus and how Jesus in every way is far greater. That has strengthened my faith in a very practical way today. It has encouraged me to settle for nothing less than Jesus.
Our human heart can be like an idol factory. There are so many good things in this world that God has created for our enjoyment. But they were also created to point us to God. To reveal His glory that we make come to Him. and receive Him.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
But we often stop short of Him and settle for the lesser when there is so much more greater to be had with Jesus. I don’t want to keep doing that. I want to keep remembering that any beauty I marvel at is only a reflection of the beauty of Christ. Any power I’m in awe of is only borrowed power from Christ. And any pleasure I delight in is only a taste of the Eternal pleasures of Jesus, Psalm 16:11"