Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

The True Joshua, the Antitype The story of Joshua must be seen through the prism of typology. The wars conducted by Joshua are historical events, constituting an essential segment of Israel’s history. The goal of these wars is to settle the Israelites in the Promised Land, where they can enjoy their allotted inheritance in peace and establish a new society based on the principles of God’s law. Lat...

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 . As we discovered in the first week, Joshua is presented as a new Moses who, in the life of the second generation, repeats the most significant steps of the Exodus from...

Type and Antitype Interpreters of the Bible cannot arbitrarily decide on what constitutes a biblical type, or how that particular type is fulfilled in the New Testament and beyond. The Bible itself provides some controls and principles as to the application of biblical typology. Similarly, the New Testament unfolds the antitypical fulfillment of a type in three distinct phases: (1) in the life of...

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 . These biblical passages use the term “type” (Greek  typos ) or “antitype” (Greek  antitypos ) to refer to the way the New Testament writer defined the relationship between an Old Testament text or event, and its meaning in hi...

Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study:   1 Cor. 10:1-13; Matt. 2:15; Josh. 1:1-3; Acts 3:22-26; Heb. 3:7—4:11; 2 Cor. 10:3-5 Memory Text:  “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” ( 1 Corinthians 10:11 , ESV). In the book of Joshua, there is a sense that the life of its main character points beyon...

Discussion Questions: Further Thought:   Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 672-678 in  The Great Controversy . “We shall be saved eternally when we enter in through the gates into the city. Then we may rejoice that we are saved, eternally saved. But until then we need to heed the injunction of the apostle, and to ‘fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any o...

The Land Restored Read  Jeremiah 24:6 ;  Jeremiah 31:16 ;  Ezekiel 11:17 ;  Ezekiel 28:25 ; and  Ezekiel 37:14 ,  25 . What was the promise of God concerning the return of Israel to the Promised Land and how was it fulfilled? During the Babylonian exile, the Israelites experienced not only the sad reality of being rootless but also the promise that their relationship with God, though made concrete...

The Jubilee The land was so central to the existence of Israel as God’s people that it could not be apportioned as a whole. It had to be divided by tribes, clans, and families ( Num. 34:13-18 ) in order to prevent it from becoming the possession of a few leading elites. Read  Leviticus 25:1-5 ,  8-13 . What was the purpose of the Sabbatical year and of the Year of Jubilee? By contrast with Egypt,...

The Challenge of the Land Read  Joshua 13:1-7 . Even though the land of Canaan was a gift from God, what were some of the challenges that came with possessing it? Given the fact that for centuries the Israelites had been living as slaves, their military skills were inadequate to conquer the land. Not even their slave masters, the Egyptians, with their skilled and well-equipped armies, were able to...

The Land as a Gift Read  Exodus 3:8 ;  Leviticus 20:22 ;  Leviticus 25:23 ;  Numbers 13:27 ;  Deuteronomy 4:1 ,  25 ,  26 ;  Deuteronomy 6:3 ; and  Psalm 24:1 . What was the special relationship between God, Israel, and the Promised Land? At a very basic level, land offers physical identity to a nation. By locating the nation, it also determines the occupation and lifestyle of the nation. Slaves w...

Eden and Canaan Read  Genesis 2:15  and  Genesis 3:17-24 . What were the consequences of the Fall, as far as the living space of the first human couple was concerned? At Creation, God placed Adam and Eve in a perfect environment that embodied abundance and beauty. The first human couple met their Creator in the setting of a lovely living space that could provide for all their physical needs. In ad...

Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study:   Gen. 3:17-24; Deut. 6:3; Josh. 13:1-7; Heb. 12:28; Lev. 25:1-5, 8-13; Ezek. 37:14, 25 Memory Text:  “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double” ( Zechariah 9:12 , ESV). Joshua 13-21  contains long lists of geographical boundary markers that delineate portions of land allocated to the tribes of I...

Further Thought:  “Caleb’s faith now was just what it was when his testimony had contradicted the evil report of the spies. He had believed God’s promise that He would put His people in possession of Canaan, and in this he had followed the Lord fully. He had endured with his people the long wandering in the wilderness, thus sharing the disappointments and burdens of the guilty; yet he made no comp...

Changed by Contemplation Contemplating the life example of great heroes of faith is essential for our spiritual growth. At the same time, our ultimate example is Jesus Christ—His life and teachings. How does focusing on the life of Jesus change us? See  Heb. 12:1-2 ;  2 Cor. 3:18 . Marco Iacoboni, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, researched the function of mirror neur...

Humble Hero The long lists of place names, which constituted landmarks on the borders of the territories assigned to the tribes of Israel, are bookended by the report of land allocation to the two heroes, Caleb and Joshua, of the first reconnoiter. Caleb received his inheritance first, while Joshua received his last. Up to this point, Joshua allocated the land to the tribes of Israel; now it is ti...

The Power of Example Read  Joshua 15:16-19 ,  Judges 1:13 , and  Judges 3:7-11 . What does this story tell you about the power of example? How is Caleb’s attitude being reproduced in the younger generation? In this passage, Caleb offers his daughter, Achsah, in marriage to the one who conquers Debir. Othniel captures the city and wins the hand of Achsah. This story is important because, once again...

Give Me This Hill Country Read  Joshua 14:6-14 ,  Numbers 14:24 ,  Numbers 32:12 ,  Deuteronomy 1:36 , and  Luke 6:45 . How would you describe Caleb and Joshua’s attitude? What does it mean to follow the Lord fully? Caleb never forgot the promise the Lord had given him through Moses: that he would enter the land where his feet had trodden ( Num. 14:24 ). Forty years later, he refers to his own rep...

Faithfulness Read  Numbers 13:6 ,  30-32  and  Joshua 14:6 ,  14 . Who was Caleb? What was his place among the people of Israel? The name of Caleb comes from the Hebrew word  keleb , “dog,” which occurs in the Old Testament always in a negative context. However,  keleb  is used in extra-biblical letters and hymns to express a servant’s courage, tenacity, and faithfulness to his or her master. In t...

Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study:   Num. 13:6, 30-32; Josh. 14:6-14; Luke 18:1-5; Josh. 19:49-51; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom: 12:1-2 Memory Text:  “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” ( Hebrews 13:7 , ESV). Every parent knows that their children learn by example, don’t they? How many parents have frett...

Further Thought:   Read Ellen G. White, “The Blessings and the Curses,” pp. 499-503, in  Patriarchs and Prophets . “According to the directions given by Moses, a monument of great stones was erected upon Mount Ebal. Upon these stones, previously prepared by a covering of plaster, the law was inscribed—not only the ten precepts spoken from Sinai and engraved on the tables of stone, but the laws com...

Longing for His Presence Read  Joshua 18:1-2 . What was the activity for which Joshua interrupted the process of allotting the land? After the description of the territories allotted to the two greatest tribes on the west side of the Jordan and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, this passage portrays an assembly of the congregation at Shiloh, where the land is apportioned to the remaining seven smalle...

Written on Stones Read  Joshua 8:32-35 . What is the meaning of the act described in these verses, and what should it say to us today? Mount Ebal is mentioned only in Deuteronomy ( Deut. 11:29 ;  Deut. 27:4 ,  13 ) and in the book of Joshua ( Josh. 8:30 ,  33 ). Along with Gerizim, it was the site where the blessings and curses of the covenant were to be recited. More specifically, according to  D...

Altars of Renewal What  was Joshua’s motivation for building an altar to the Lord? Read  Josh. 8:30-31 ; compare with  Deut. 11:26-30 ,  Deut. 27:2-10 . In the time of the patriarchs, altars marked the path of their pilgrimage and became tangible representations of their claim to the land, which had been promised by God. Now, by erecting an altar, the Israelites bore witness to the fulfillment of...

Passover Why  is it significant that Joshua chose to celebrate Passover despite the pressing and immense task of taking the Promised Land? Read  Josh. 5:10 ;  Exod. 12:6 ;  Lev. 23:5 ;  Num. 28:16 ;  Deut. 16:4 ,  6 . The second important activity that precedes the conquest is the celebration of Passover. This takes place in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, in careful compliance wit...

Covenant First Read  Joshua 5:1-7 . Why did the Lord command Joshua to circumcise the second generation of Israelites at this particular time of the conquest? After the exploration of the country, the encouraging report of the spies, and the miraculous crossing over the Jordan, we would expect an immediate engagement with the enemy. However, there is something more important than the military conq...