Ⅰ
Joshua 3:1—4:24 is a record of the people of Israel crossing the Jordan River:
A
When the people of Israel saw the Ark of the Covenant of their God and the Levitical priests bearing the Ark, they set out from their place and followed it—3:3, 6:
１
The Ark was a type of Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God—Exo. 25:10-22.
２
When the Ark of God went with the children of Israel, the Triune God went with them, taking the lead and thus being the first to step into the water—Josh. 3:8, 11.
３
That the Ark was on the shoulders of the priests indicates that, in type, the priests who bore the Ark became one entity with the Triune God—v. 3:
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They and God were one corporate person—a corporate God-man.
ｂ
God walked in their walking, and they walked in God’s walking.
B
The Jordan River typifies the death and resurrection of Christ—Acts 2:23-24; 3:15:
１
The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord crossed over before the people into the Jordan—Josh. 3:11.
２
The Ark’s entering into and coming out of the Jordan indicates Christ’s death and resurrection—v. 15; 4:11.
C
Israel’s crossing of the river Jordan typifies not the believers’ physical death but the believers’ experience of the death of Christ, in which the old man is terminated and buried—Rom. 6:3-6; Gal. 2:20:
１
According to typology, the Jordan River denotes the death of Christ into which the believers have been baptized—Rom. 6:3-4.
２
The children of Israel passed through the death of Christ to bury their old man and become a new man in Christ—2 Cor. 5:17:
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They were ready to enter into the good land, take the land as their possession, and engage in warfare against the Canaanites; however, in their old man they could not gain the victory.
ｂ
In type, they were buried in the death of Christ, and then they were resurrected in the resurrection of Christ to become a new man in Christ for the fighting of the spiritual warfare—Eph. 6:10-20.
ｃ
We need to realize that our old man, our natural man, is not qualified to fight the spiritual warfare for the gaining of Christ; in Christ we are no longer the old man but a new man—4:22-24.
Morning Nourishment
Josh. 3:6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and cross over before the people…Rom. 6:5-6 For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled…
The Jordan River typifies the death and resurrection of Christ, and the crossing of the Jordan River typifies the believers’ baptism. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 150)
Joshua 3 and 4 are on Israel’s crossing of the river Jordan. The people of Israel were ready to enter into the good land and to take it as their possession. However, in their old man they could not gain the victory. Their old man had to be buried so that they could become a new man. This corresponds to the New Testament economy of God. The children of Israel were buried in the death of Christ and then they were resurrected in the resurrection of Christ. This indicates that even in the Old Testament time the children of Israel were identified with Christ and were one with Him. Because they were one with Christ, passing through Christ’s experiences, His history became their history. In particular, they passed through Christ’s death to bury their old man and to become a new man in Christ for the fighting of the spiritual warfare. (Life-study of Joshua, p. 19)
Today’s Reading
We need to realize that our natural man, our old man, is altogether not qualified to fight the spiritual warfare for the gaining of Christ. God’s intention is to join us to Christ to have an organic union between us and Christ….We have been identified with Christ to experience what He has gone through. In union with Christ, His experiences become ours. He died on the cross, and we died with Him. He was buried, and we were buried with Him. He was resurrected from the dead, and we were resurrected with Him. Now because we are persons in Christ, we are no longer the old man but the new man.The Ark of God with the bearing priests took the lead to go into the waters of the Jordan and stood still in the waters (Josh. 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17a). The Ark was a type of Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God. When the Ark of God went with the children of Israel, the Triune God went with them, taking the lead and thus being the first to step into the water. Yet the Ark was on the shoulders of the bearing priests. This indicates that the priests bearing the Ark became one entity with the Triune God; they were one corporate person. God walked in their walking, and they walked in God’s walking. The spread of the Lord’s recovery today is through Christ’s move together with His bearing priests. We and He walk together as a corporate man. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 19-20)
According to the spiritual principle in the Scriptures, the first mention concerning a matter becomes the spiritual significance of that matter. The first mention of the believers’ baptism takes place in the Jordan [Matt. 3:6]. Hence, according to the meaning in typology, the Jordan River denotes the death of Christ into which the believers have been baptized.
Romans 6:3 says, “Are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Baptism is not a form or a ritual; it signifies our identification with Christ. Christ and His death are one. Christ’s death has separated us from the world and the satanic power of darkness; it has terminated our natural life, our old man, our self, our flesh, and even our entire history. The former is signified by the crossing of the Red Sea and the latter by the crossing of the Jordan River. Through baptism we were buried with Christ into death. We did not die directly; we entered into Christ’s death through baptism. (Truth Lessons—Level Three, vol. 2, p. 151)
Further Reading: Life-study of Joshua, msgs. 4-5