1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.
8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
All the kings of the Amorites and the Canaanites were terrified once they heard that God had dried up the Jordan to allow the Israelites to cross over. They clearly knew they had no chance against an army that had the creator of heaven and earth on their side (see Rom 8:31).
Now you’d expect the army to ready for battle but God tells Joshua to circumcise all the men of Israel. This was not the second time they had to be circumcised but the first. It was the second time God had to command all Israel to be circumcised. All the men of Israel were circumcised before they left Egypt but because of their disobedience in the wilderness, God punished an entire generation. All those born during the wilderness wanderings had not been circumcised as they should have. The covenant of circumcision was given to Abraham and was a contract guaranteeing him that his offspring would continue forever and that his offspring would inherit the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession (Gen 17:7-8). Circumcision was the sign of that contract because it symbolised a complete separation from the sins of the flesh and a dedication to living holy lives. Before God would fight their battles in Canaan, they needed the sign of the covenant in their flesh. In the New Testament, Paul talks about a Christian being circumcised spiritually in Christ (Col 2:11)—the heart being circumcised from the sinfulness of the flesh.
The Israelites had crossed over the Jordan just in time to celebrate the Passover. Now that all the males had been circumcised, they were qualified to participate in this important event. Passover had only been celebrated once in the wilderness since the final plague of Egypt. This was only the third time they had celebrated Passover. The crossing of the Jordan would have brought back memories to those who crossed the Red Sea (those who were under 20 years old at the time of the Exodus had not been condemned to die in the wilderness and many of them would have been present). They would have had memories of their families killing a lamb and painting the blood on the doorposts of their homes in Egypt. The next day, the manna which had sustained them for so long stopped and they ate food from the promised land of Canaan. Despite their disobedience, God had continued to feed Israel with manna, miraculous food, every day for forty years. Now as they entered the promised land, they were able to eat the natural food available to them.
Joshua went to scout out Jericho, a fortified city that Israel had no real hope of sieging. When he looked up he saw a soldier with His sword drawn. Joshua asked if he was a friend or foe. His response caused Joshua to fall down in worship as he realised he was standing in the presence of God. It seems clear that Joshua was speaking with The Angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ as He appeared during Old Testament times. Joshua was not going to be the one in charge leading Israel into battle but Jesus, Commander of the LORD’s army would fight with and for Israel. The battle was the Lord’s. The presence of the Lord was sacred and so Joshua was given a command similar to Moses, to remove his sandals because the ground was holy.
When we face significant events we are often tempted to spend much time on physical preparation. But God is most concerned with our spiritual preparation. God wanted Israel sanctified and holy and then He would fight for them. If Israel had not done the spiritual preparation, they would have moved forward without God and would surely have lost. If we spend time preparing for things spiritually we are more likely to be led by God and have success in our endeavours. In what areas are you doing a lot of your own planning and not enough praying?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
The Golden Calf: Exodus 32
We have to ensure that we spiritually prepare ourselves not only for important events in our lives and in the Christian calendar but in our everyday lives we need to ask God to cleanse us and make us ready for that day and whatever it may bring.
It speaks about God’s character being forever forgiving and generous to his people for providing food for them for 40 years for so many people.
It speaks about God’s character being forever forgiving and generous to his people and providing food for them for 40 years.