Joshua 5:1-12

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are at Joshua chapter 5, verses 1 through 12. We're going to be talking about their celebration of the Passover and circumcision, the sacraments of the Old Testament as they've just entered into the Promised Land. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the blessing it is to get to read your word. Lord, it is a great encouragement to us. Lord, we pray that your spirit would work in our hearts. If we are dull, Lord, we pray that you would enliven us. If we're tired, we pray that you would wake us up. If we are hard-hearted, we pray that you would break through. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, here we go, Joshua chapter five. verses 1 through 12.
So it was when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
At that time the Lord said to Joshua, make flint knives for yourselves and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time. So Joshua made flint knives for himself and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of Forskins. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them.
All the people who came out of Egypt, who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed. Because they did not obey the voice of the Lord, to whom the Lord swore that he would not show them the land which Jehovah had sworn to their fathers, that he would give us a land flowing with milk and honey. Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom he raised up in their place, for they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way.
So it was when they had finished circumcising all the people that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Therefore the name of this place is called Gilgal. to this day. Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land, And the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year. Well, we have three questions we need to ask ourselves. A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? So A, what is this passage about?
Well, they've crossed over the Jordan River, God has been faithful, it tells us in the first few verses, verses one through, sorry, that's all verse one, it's a whole paragraph, but verse one, it's the hearts of the kings around, they start melting, they hear what God did and they're like, oh man, this is crazy, we can't believe God did this. But then instead of going straight to war, it's interesting what happens. They put themselves in quite a compromising scenario.
See, when they had come up out of Egypt, no one had been circumcised. God had redeemed them and they went to Mount Sinai. And then this ancient custom that came all the way back from Abraham. Well, as one theologian says, they were a church under discipline and they didn't receive. at the Lord's Supper, and it doesn't seem like they were, or sorry, they didn't receive circumcision, and it didn't seem like they were taking Passover either during that time in the wilderness, because they were people under discipline. God had made promises to them, right, that they were going to enter the promised land. They disobeyed. None of them get to see it, but their children did.
And so now as they've crossed over the Jordan River, this promise really is for that generation. The promise that God had made to Abraham way back in the book of Genesis, that the land would be theirs, now he's bringing it to pass. And this period of 40 years in the wilderness is over.
So now they're remembering two different things here. As they're being circumcised, They're remembering the covenant that God had made, the promises He had made to the first patriarch, Abraham himself. It's really just a fun side note in my personal Bible reading this morning. That's one of the things I was reading just in my Bible reading plans. So this was fresh on my mind.
God had made these promises to Abraham. He was going to make him a great nation and he was going to give him the land and his name would be blessed and he would bless others who bless his name. and this amazing blessing that Abraham has. And these truly are the people of Abraham. And so they remember that the God is their God. They're in the inheritors of this promise. But they also remember that God is not just the God who made the covenant with them, but he is also the God who redeemed them.
He bought them up out of Egypt. He rolled back the reproach of Egypt, both in their circumcision and in their redemption. He brought them out of the house of bondage, out of slavery, out of Egypt. He passed through the Red Sea with them. He preserved them the 40 years through the wilderness.
Their food did not run out. They ate manna from heaven. Their clothes didn't wear out. They didn't go threadbare, even though they didn't have anything to make new clothes with. Now they've crossed over. They know who their covenant God is, they know who their Redeemer is, and they eat the first taste of the fulfillment of the promise. They go into the promised land. and they eat of the fruit of the land. And the next day the manna stops. Instead of God providing with them for miraculous food from heaven, the manna, now they would eat the produce of the ground. Still a miracle. God's promises fulfilled, but seen in ordinary daily life.
So what's this about? This is them remembering who God is, His covenant, His faithfulness, His redemption, and partaking in those outward signs. of God's relationship with them as this covenant relationship God. So, what's the best verse to summarize all this section?
Well, in my Bible, I have verse 9 underlined. This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Therefore, the name of this place is Gilgal to this day. You might also underline verse 10. I could see somebody saying that. Or maybe even verse 12, with the manna ceasing that day. That's fine. There's kind of three different areas of this passage. Or maybe you would say it's verse 1, where all the kings are afraid of them. I think that's a secondary point, but that's fine. We'll last see calling.
What are we called to do? While circumcision in the school of theology that I subscribe to, Reformed theology, we believe from Colossians has been replaced by baptism. And so we can trust that God is still faithful to his promises. God's promise to Abraham has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, not just in the land, but in giving us seed. And that seed, the book of Galatians says, is Jesus Christ. And so we still celebrate every time there's a baptism that God is keeping his promises from generation to generation. He didn't fail with Abraham, his promises didn't fail in Egypt, and his promises didn't fail with the disobedient ones in the wilderness, but he is faithful generation to generation to take away the reproach of his people, and he's done that primarily through Jesus.
We also believe that the Passover has been replaced by the Lord's Supper. He's our Paschal Lamb. He's the one who takes away our sins, both as the one for atonement, but also the one for the blood price, right? He covers us over in his blood, so that way the anger of the Lord doesn't rest upon us. And so we celebrate as well his goodness towards us. Yeah, there's things that we look forward to.
The people in Israel were still looking forward to other things, right? They still had land to conquer. They still had vineyards to plant. They still had things to do, right? But they could trust that God was good. I'm looking forward to when the day of the Lord comes. There's more work to be done. Yeah, of course. But I can remember that God is good.
He's made promises. and that we can trust in Him. And so trust in Christ. Look forward to the fuller fulfillment of the new covenant when Jesus will come again and judge the living and the dead and establish His throne in absolute righteousness here on earth. But in the meantime, we walk by faith. We celebrate. We remember the goodness of the Lord. We taste and we see that He's good. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much that you are faithful to your covenant. Lord, you are so gracious, so kind, and we thank you. Lord, that you redeemed us. Lord, you have baptized us. You have taken away our reproach. You have circumcised our hearts. And so, Father, we pray that you would please renew our joy. Teach us to trust in you even more. In Jesus' name, amen. May the Lord bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ. And I'll see you next time. Bye.