Into Canaan!

We "bid farewell" to Moses this week and now look forward to going with Joshua into the land of Canaan.  From the perspective of "types and shadows," I feel like the upcoming chapters represent somewhat of a departure, at least in terms of the Israelite leader being a specific "type of Christ," with some notable exceptions.  However, the story line seems to hold true and I think we can continue to put ourselves in the place of the children of Israel.

One thing that strikes me, is that in this narrative the "type" of the Promised Land is not necessarily a representation of the Celestial Kingdom.  I have not heard of a need to purge wicked inhabitants from the Celestial Kingdom in order for those who attain that glory to dwell there.  But with some thought and some direction, I've come up with some things to consider in terms of types.  I'll share some of those thoughts as well as some of the other insights I've come across so far.

TYPES

One of my initial impressions of a possible type in the story of Israel's entry into Canaan is one of the millennial era, wherein the bulk of the wicked will be destroyed, but there will remain many who have not accepted and will not accept the Savior and his Gospel.  It also seemed to me that this story is more similar to Lehi's dream than to ultimate exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom as Israel had not fully gotten themselves outside of the reach of Egypt--at least in their hearts.

In class we've talked repeatedly about Moses' challenge not only to get Israel out of Egypt, but to remove Egypt from Israel!  Last week, we noted the song revealed to Moses about the grim prospects for Israel's ultimate success in this regard and the imagery of Israel's constant need to be nourished from heaven by the rains and the dews.  We talked about how this was necessary because, as a "tender herb," (Deut. 32:2.) Israel had not yet sunken deep, sustaining roots, despite their long wanderings and struggles in the wilderness, "to humble [them], and to prove [them], to know what was in [their] heart, whether [they] wouldest keep [God's] commandments,  or no." (Deut. 8:2.)

Another possibility is that this is typical of the first advent of the Savior to the earth.  In this sense, Joshua becomes that type of Christ in that his name and the name "Jesus" are the same in meaning and likely in pronunciation at the time of Christ.  His role of exhorter, also becomes typical in this sense of the first coming of the Savior and the subsequent rejection of his pleas to obey and serve Him.  In this sense we can hear in the command to "possess the land," echoes of the command to "[possess our souls in patience, that we might] have eternal life." (D&C 101:38; Luke 21:19).  (This becomes particularly relevant, I think, when we consider the command in the same D&C verse to "seek the face of the Lord," in light of Alma's comments in Alma, Chapter 5, and President David O. McKay's favored story, Hawthorne's "The Great Stone Face.")  Truly, Israel was in the process not just of doing, but of becoming.  The Lord's people who had once deferred to another the privilege of seeing the Lord's face, were now being prepared and led to be in his presence (though they would not at first recognize Him when he came!).

James Ferrell suggests something more.  He points out that there are some confusing aspects to Israel's approach to Canaan, when we look at the story simply as it is described on its face.  For example, there is the seeming contradiction of the commandment not to kill delivered from Sinai and the command to utterly destroy delivered on the banks of the Jordan!

When we consider placing the children of Israel--the new nation of Isrealites--as a single body, a single person and look at the story as if it was a single individual and liken it to ourselves some interesting points emerge (Ferrell, 2009, pp. 136-146).  We have already done this to some extent in examining the types of their rescue and deliverance from Egypt, or the world.  I'll recap those points, briefly:

1. Moses enters into a covenant relationship with the Lord, learns the plan of salvation from the beginning in a covenant-making/temple setting.
2. Moses is sent on a mission to draw out the Lord's people from within Egypt/to call the elect forth from the world.
3. Moses demonstrates the power of the one true God, particularly His unique power to heal, and in so doing demonstrates the powerlessness of the Egyptian gods. 
4. The children of Israel, (in fact, it's interesting to note that God refers to the entire nation of Israel as a single person in Exodus 4:22-23!), are asked to make a sacrifice, the Passover, demonstrating their commitment to the Lord and their own deliverance as it was offered to them.
5. They are led to and through the waters of the Red Sea [baptism].
6. They are then introduced into the wilderness where their ability to endure is tested.  They commit to obey and fail repeatedly, and are repeatedly offered renewed chances through the pleadings and intercessions of Moses (an obvious type of the Savior).
7. After 40 years of purging their reluctant spirits from their midst, they are brought to the brink of the Promised Land.

As noted in item 4, there are some instances where the Lord refers to Israel as a single person:

"And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, ^aIsrael is my ^bson, even my ^cfirstborn:

 "And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy ^ason, even thy firstborn."  (Exodus 4:22-23.) 

Now, again, place yourself in the position of Israel as this individual.  You have been rescued from the world.  You have offered a sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit, entered the waters of baptism and been guided through repeated efforts to live the Law and through errors and failures of different sorts.  

Now, you find yourself at the edge of the promised blessings or, if you prefer, at the trunk of a certain tree.  Now is the test of whether or not the world has been removed from you, or if you were only removed from the world (but carried some of it with you) through the process.  Now is the "make-or-break" moment.  Will you purge yourself fully--will you "give away all [your] sins to know [Him]?  Will you "possess the land" and find rest therein, or allow certain sinful elements to remain to fester and grow and eventually poison and destroy your peace?  Will you allow the pointing fingers and the taunts to avert your gaze?

Will I?

In a similar sense, President Howard W. Hunter compared the walls of Jericho to mental and spiritual walls we may construct:

"It reminds me of another wall that I have had occasion to visit, located in the Holy Land. I refer to the ancient wall of Jericho. I have stood on the ruins of that ancient wall and pondered its meaning. This experience has caused me to wonder if perhaps there is a “type and a shadow” in what happened in ancient Jericho and what is happening in the world around us." 

President Hunter goes on to describe several historic walls and their inadequacy to fully protect what was within--to warn of trusting too much in such things rather than upon the Lord for real safety.  He also compares them to excuses to cover our own reluctance to serve:

"To satisfy the new demands being made upon us in this great missionary work of the last days, perhaps some of us (particularly the older generation whose families are raised) need to take stock to determine whether “walls” that we have built in our own minds need to come down.
"For example, how about the 'comfort wall' that seems to prevent many couples and singles from going on a mission? How about the 'financial wall' of debt that interferes with some members’ ability to go, or the 'grandchildren wall,' or the 'health wall,' or the 'lack of self-confidence wall,' or the 'self-satisfied wall,' or the 'transgression wall,' or the walls of fear, doubt, or complacency? Does anyone really doubt for a minute that with the help of the Lord he or she could bring those walls crashing down?"  (Howard W. Hunter, Walls of the Mind, Ensign, September, 1990.)

SOME OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST

There have been some interesting points made in the material I've read in preparation for this week's lesson.  One of them is about the significance of the stones gathered and placed at the Jordan where the children of Israel crossed.  

Some believe that this was also the site of Elijah and Elisha's crossings, the site of Elijah's translation and perhaps the site of the Savior's baptism.  The requirement for purification prior to passage and the sacred nature of the place, including the heavenly communication, brings to my mind a temple-like perspective.  Certainly, the argument could be made by appealing to Nibley's comments in his book, Temple and Cosmos.  Certainly, the circuitous route to enter the promised land from the eastern side, combined with the circumambulation of Jericho would bear out this consideration. 

Something else occurs to me as well, in reading this particular portion.  It seems clear on its face that after the proving in the wilderness, the purification and preparation and finally, the entrance into the Promised Land implies a "no going back" aspect to the story.  Certainly, the goal has been to remove the desire to go back in terms of removing Egypt from Israel.  And certainly much progress was made by the children of Israel in the wanderings.  However, Moses' revelation of the song alluded to in Chapter 32 of Deuteronomy makes it clear that in the long run, Israel would fail.  And, while they would not necessarily return to bondage in Egypt, they would likely return to the bondage of a culture of sin, corruption and idolatry that was developed in Egypt. 

In this light, it seems that the Promised Land may not exclusively be a type of entering the Celestial Kingdom but rather, perhaps, an allusion to or type of the receipt of the fullness of the Gospel.  With the first nibble of food in the Promised Land, the manna ceased, and with it the daily, physical dependence upon God for survival--the temporal law.  But the need for constant spiritual vigilance continued, and indeed the figurative struggle for purity became more fierce and intense in many respects.

But the story and this perspective brings to my mind a comment made by the Prophet Joseph Smith to a brother, Isaac Behunnin.  Brother Behunnin said, paraphrasing, that he could not understand the hostility of apostates and speculated that if he were ever to leave the Church, he would simply disappear--he would go to some remote place, farm and live in peace and never speak of the Church again.

The Prophet's reply was, "Brother Behunnin, you don't know what you would do. No doubt these men once thought as you do. Before you joined this Church you stood on neutral ground. When the gospel was preached, good and evil were set before you. You could choose either or neither. There were two opposite masters inviting you to serve them. When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant."  (Madsen, 1978, p. 52)

Likewise if we, like the children of Israel, undertake to enter into the various stages of Gospel progression--baptism, the temple, marriage, etc.-- once there, we leave neutral ground forever and there is no going back for us.  The waters, as it were, close in behind us barring us from that previous life.

When I was in Brother Brent L. Top's Doctrines of the Gospel class at BYU, he once made a comment to this effect:  "Once you live at a certain level of obedience to the Gospel, the Holy Ghost sears that onto your soul and you can never live below that standard ever again and be happy.  And, in time, you cannot remain at that standard and remain happy.  You must advance."

This sobering reality requires us both to "be strong and of a good courage," and that "[we choose] this day whom [we] will serve." (Joshua 1:6; 24:15)

References:

Ferrell, J. (2009). The hidden christ. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co.

Madsen, T. (1978). Joseph smith the prophet. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co.