The Five Kings Joshua Conquered: A Type of Christ

16 But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.

17 And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.

18 And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them:….

22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.

23 And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon….

26 And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

27 And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day. (Joshua 10:16-18, 22-23, 26-27)

In Joshua 10 is told of the five kings that combined to fight against Joshua and Israel. The kings’ forces were discomfited and the kings fled and hid in a cave, and the Israelites were commanded to put stones over the mouth of the cave to keep them in there until the battle was over.  Once the battle was done, Joshua had the kings brought out, and he staged a foot-on-the-neck demonstration to show the Lord would help Israel conquer the land of Canaan. Then he had the five kings killed, hung in the trees until sundown, then thrown back in the cave and great stones laid in the cave mouth.

It seemed to me that what happened to the five kings was a sort of twisted type of Christ, though slightly out of order and in two parts.

First part:  Kings. Kept in a cave (like a tomb), with great stones to prevent them from getting out. With men set by to keep them there. And then they are brought out alive.

Second part: Kings hung on trees until sundown, then put in the cave with great stones over the cave’s mouth.

As you can see, the parts are out of order, so it isn’t a perfect type, but it is still recognizable how it anticipates the crucifixion, the entombment, and resurrection of Christ. And too, Joshua as the high priest orders all of this to happen, taking the part of the Jewish and Roman authorities who condemned Christ.