Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

I was in our “green room” alone.

I mused, “B.B. went to the early service to support her husband.  I hope she doesn’t give me any spoilers during the time before the service starts.  She could get bored since she has probably heard the sermon a few times this week.”

A familiar voice from the center stall, “For a P.K. with experience teaching her Sunday school class, you are really pathetic, Aunt Jemima.”

I replied, “Arabella, you are no help.  You could be out here combing my hair and calming me down.  You and Menzie did that the last time B.B. wasn’t here.  But now with her pregnant, I was hoping B.B. would be my safety valve.”

Arabella asked, “Shouldn’t Jesus be your safety valve?”

I mused, “You are right about that.  I can pray and then go teach the class, but sometimes, I like that human touch.  A hug.”

Arabella emerged and washed her hands, “I can give you a hug, but I think that Mr. Dictionary needs to do more hugging.  You looking for hugs elsewhere is a bad sign.”

I hugged Arabella, now that her hands were washed, “Wisdom from youth.  You say goofy things, Belle, and sometimes they make sense.”

Arabella groaned, “Are you ready to teach the class now?”

She opened the door, and we went to the den, laughing.

Emmett gave us a strange look.  Arabella and I both gave him a shrug.  I guess what happens in the “green room” stays there.

I led us in prayer.

Emmett had all the band members and singers.  They sang and played Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.

I asked, “Emmett, why a children’s song?”

Emmett shrugged, “Why not?  Everyone in the room was smiling and swaying with the music.”

I sighed, “Okay, I give up.  You won that round.”

Samuel asked, “And where are we searching for Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”

I nodded, “We are looking at the book of Joshua.  There is a lot of stuff in Joshua, but does the stuff point to Jesus?  Arabella, do we need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella nodded eagerly, “Why not?  It’s been a month since he woke up in class.”

Easy said, “Belle, I am always awake, forever vigilant, but to pounce on a word that needs a definition, I need to conserve my energy.”

I asked, “Oh, dear husband, is that what you call it?”

Amazingly, Easy took the effort to nod.  “Joshua is said by some people to be the Hebrew name for Jesus, but that is a little sloppy.  Both names come from the same root.  Yeshua or Yehoshua.  Whether we are saying ‘The Lord is salvation’ or something similar, the meaning of each name points toward salvation with the power of God.  The entire book is God’s power in action.  First, Joshua does not instantly come onto the scene.  He fought the Amalekites in Exodus 17:10, ‘So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.’  Then Joshua became Moses’ aide, walking up Mount Sinai with Moses. ‘Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.’ (Exodus 24:13).  And God’s Spirit came upon Joshua when he was dedicated to serve God as the leader of Israel during the conquest of the Promised Land. ‘Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.’ (Deuteronomy 34:9).”

I smiled, “Sweetie, I know how talking that much wears you out, so I will pick up with the beginning of the book of Joshua.  First, when God spoke to Joshua, he listened and obeyed.  This was like Jesus.  We think of what Jesus did not do when we talk about Him not sinning, but what did Jesus do?  Whatever He did, He obeyed the Father.  So, in Joshua’s life, obedience was one of the things in which Joshua did to be a foreshadowing of Jesus to come.  ‘Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.” So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” ’ (Joshua 4:15-17).  That is just one example.”

Sarah, using her tablet to speak, asked, “Aunt Jemima, what about the loss at the Battle of Ai?”

I said, “Very good, Sarah.  We can look at three people in Scriptures: Joshua, David, and Jesus.  Jesus is kind of not being fair in this comparison.  Jesus went out each day to pray.  When confronted with a sick person or a person trying to trick Him, He already knew, and He had already gone to God the Father to ask what to do.  But Joshua and David had a track record of going to God for advice.  But they were human.  Occasionally, they assumed God was with them.  And when that happened, the battle did not go as planned.  God would have told Joshua that there was sin in the camp.  But Joshua took the blame on himself for the loss in battle.  He inquired and found the sinning person and that problem was dealt with.  They were to destroy everything in Jericho, and one person took some things for his own pleasure.  But then, Joshua turned to God so that the tactics used the next time they attacked Ai would be effective.”

Brooke (Joshua 5:2-3) “At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.”

Brooke said, ”Stinker is going off script.  We didn’t get these verses.  This is Joshua again obeying God, but where is this going?”

Goober (Genesis 34:24-25) “All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.  Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male.”

Goober (Ricardo Francisco Gomez) said, “I am sorry, Aunt Jemima, but I’m hurting just reading those words.”

I snickered, “The big star football player for T.R.U.S.T. can’t take a little pain?  But Goober, put the two verses together.  Then add to it that they went to the west bank of the Jordan.  The Israelites were exposed on all sides, not in a walled city at all.  If you were the commander of the Army, would you object to that request?”

Goober smiled, “So, Joshua obeyed even though it put them totally at the mercy of the enemy.  But Joshua would rather do as God commanded than to breathe.”

I nodded, “This is another way that Joshua and Jesus were similar.  They did the unexpected.  Verse 1 of that chapter talks about how the Canaanites were afraid of them, but at that time, did Joshua’s Army know that?  But they were not taking a risk as much as they were obeying God.  But the word has reached the Canaanites.  Rahab says this.  ‘and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.’ (Joshua 2:9).  She goes on to tell the spies how she has learned of all the things the Israelites have done.  And since she is in the genealogy of Jesus, could it be that one of the spies who was hidden and then rescued her family was her eventual husband, Salmon, father of Boaz?”

Georges (Joshua 2:15-20) “So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.” Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

Georges said, “So, the spies set up a signal that showed that Rahab was on their side.”

I smiled, “And what was the color of the cord?”

Georges shrugged, “Scarlet.”

I giggled a little.  “A scarlet cord hanging out a window might look like a trickle of fresh blood.  This is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death on the cross.  Rahab and her family, all inside the house, were saved from utter and complete destruction using a sign similar to the blood of Jesus on the cross, and that blood was shed so that we might be saved.”

Easy said, “One for our side.”

I gasped, “Wow!  You have talked a lot, Sweetie.  I don’t want you to pull a muscle.  Just rest unless I need you.”  And I patted his arm for good measure.

Jochebed (Joshua 5:13-15, Louis Segond) “Comme Josué était près de Jéricho, il leva les yeux, et regarda. Voici, un homme se tenait debout devant lui, son épée nue dans la main. Il alla vers lui, et lui dit: Es-tu des nôtres ou de nos ennemis? Il répondit: Non, mais je suis le chef de l’armée de l’Éternel, j’arrive maintenant. Josué tomba le visage contre terre, se prosterna, et lui dit: Qu’est-ce que mon seigneur dit à son serviteur?  Et le chef de l’armée de l’Éternel dit à Josué: Ote tes souliers de tes pieds, car le lieu sur lequel tu te tiens est saint. Et Josué fit ainsi.”

Clay smiled, “And now for the English.”

Clay (Joshua 5:13-15) “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

Jochebed said, “This sounds like a Christophany.  The Commander of God’s Army in human form, even having His sword drawn.  Joshua calls Him ‘Lord’ and bows down.  There is no protest that He is just an angel.  And then this Commander commands Joshua to take off his sandals for he is on holy ground, just as God said to Moses at the burning bush.”

I smiled, “Yes, very good.  In most of my research, this is all that was mentioned as a clear Christophany and a clear single event that pointed directly to Jesus.  But the overall theme of Joshua is conquering the people in Canaan and saving the land for the Israelites.  And Jesus saved us.  There are no quotes of Joshua that I know of in the New Testament.  There are no Messianic prophecies.”

Baldy (Baldwyn Baxter, Brooke’s brother) asked, “But the general says that He is not for or against Joshua.  Didn’t God make the walls come down?”

I nodded, “God is ensuring that Joshua is successful as long as Joshua exercises his faith.  Jesus talks about the faith of a mustard seed.  This means that it does not require a mountain of faith to do a little task.  On the contrary, a little faith can do great things.  Joshua did not doubt what the Lord promised and mighty things happened.  But in this case, the Israelites were conquering other human beings, made in God’s image, but they had a curse placed on them and God keeps His promises.  Canaan had to be destroyed, and Israel must take the land.  God is in favor of all these wars being over, evil being destroyed, and all of us who believe worshipping God in Heaven.  Was He for the Israelites? Yes, from the standpoint of ensuring God’s promises and defeating people who would not repent and who did evil things.  Note that Rahab and her family were saved because of the faith of Rahab.  What we read earlier was part of her confession of faith.  The words are not necessary.  There are no magical words.  We just acknowledge that God is God and we are not God.  We can see from the fact that Rahab complied with their instructions that she had surrendered her will and accepted God’s plan.  So, the angel armies knocked the walls down, but it was Joshua’s army that then entered the city and killed everyone.  So, the commander of God’s Army was for God, and whatever help He gave to the earthly army was so that God the Father could have His sovereign will done on earth.  See the difference there?”

Baldy smiled and nodded.  I think Baldy wanted to learn.  It may be only due to his infatuation with Mitzi, but it was a start.

Wilma asked, “What about miracles?”

I smiled, “Are you talking about the sun standing still?  Well, Joshua asked God and it was done.  ‘On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.’ (Joshua 10:12-13).  God did the miracle, but I like how you added to the parallels in the book of Joshua and Jesus.  People around them both experienced miracles.”

Menzie asked, “So this is it?”

I nodded.  “The Old Testament points toward Jesus, but that does not mean there are tons of things in each book.”

Grannie Fannie (Galatians 6:18) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”

Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.  “Are you ready to drive us?”

Brooke went to the play area and picked up Stormie.  She said, “Stormie, you were such a big girl today.  You played with the bigger kids.  Did you have fun?”  Stormie laughed.

Credits

I start with a study guide by Marilyn Hickey called Seeing Jesus.  But she does not discuss Christophanies.  And I also did a search for prophecies and got a slightly different list.

While not using the word “Christophany” Marilyn Hickey’s book goes into detail regarding the Commander of God’s Army.

Here is Cedarmont Kids singing Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.