It was December of 1980. I found myself freshly graduated from college; a bachelor’s degree tucked under my arm and the world before me. I felt prepared and ready to face the challenges of the world after enduring my four years of college midterms and finals.
The Lord led me to my first job in an interesting way, and I soon found myself moving from my home state of California to Oregon and a city called Medford, to work as a TV reporter for KTVL-TV.
I was confident and ready for any assignment, or so I thought. Let’s just say that my introduction to my new career was anything but easy. I remember my first weekend working as a reporter with a new thing called video tape. For some reason the editing machine wasn’t operating correctly, but how was I to know that? Every time I went to make an edit, the machine would back up 5 seconds before my edit point and mess everything up. I was so late with my story that the anchor had to actually apologize on the air saying "I promise, Tom Fuller actually exists and his story is coming!" I was mortified and that was but the first of many lessons I learned in becoming a "real" reporter.
For us as Christians sometimes we get saved, or spend some time as a believer and feel we are ready to face any challenge. We have salvation tucked under our arm and a Bible to boot and "look out Satan ’cause here I come!" Then we set out to do "great things for God" and end up falling flat on our faces. We can just imagine the angels kind of chuckling and apologizing for our ineptitude.
So what happens? We try to do things in the spirit, while still acting in and relying on the flesh. Joshua faces the same thing as he brings the children of Israel across the Jordan and now faces their first adversary: Jericho. Before God can use them, He has to break them, feed them, and show them who is really in control. We too learn valuable lessons in beginning a life of victory in Christ.
Verse 1
When God moves, the enemy cowers. It wasn’t the Israelis that scared the kings of Canaan, it was God did for them. Our enemy is not afraid of you, he is afraid of what God can do through you. But we need to realize that although the enemy, the flesh, and the world put up a good looking front, inside they cower with fear. It helps to know that when you face them on the battlefield of your life.
Verses 2 - 9
Why had they not circumcised the next generation? Perhaps out of fear or neglect. We also found that in Moses’ case in Exodus 4. On his way back to Egypt to rescue the Israelites from Pharaoh, God was going to kill Moses unless he circumcised his boys. Now here, as Israel moves out to take the Promised Land, God will not let them move forward unless they are circumcised.
Circumcision was a sign, a mark that someone belonged to Yahweh. The New Testament counterpart is baptism.
Colossians 2:11-12 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism , in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Notice what Paul says: it is "putting off the body of the flesh." That is the principal I want to share here from Joshua. The Lord opens the way for them to step out in victory. They take that step across the Jordan saying "yes Lord, I will do what you ask and I want what you have for me." But before they can go on, God must put away the flesh; make them weak so He can be strong.
For us as we seek to live the victorious Christian life - as we hear God’s call, obey His voice and step forward, wanting His victory, and even as we know that our enemies cower when they think of what God can do - we too must become weak that He becomes strong - and that happens as we put away the flesh.
The biggest enemy of the victorious Christian life is the flesh. The flesh, that old nature, will drag us down and drag us away. It drags us down in that sin and the world will hold us back from obeying God and being transformed by Him into a useful vessel.
Galatians 5:16-24 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ESV
So the first principal is two-fold: 1) Crucify the flesh - consider it dead and 2) walk in the Spirit - enjoying sweet fellowship with God all the time.
This isn’t the first time the flesh will try to stop our victory in God. Just wait until chapter 7.
Verses 10 - 13
There is tremendous symbolism in these verses. Passover, of course, represents the death of the Lamb of God for our sins. In the land of victory we must first circumcise the flesh, then we can enjoy the life given by the blood of the Lamb. That is why we can move forward. It is not enough to just avoid doing bad things - we must be given a new life that is indestructible.
John 11:25-26 I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die ESV
So then, the next day, they eat of the new land and the Manna stops. They had been fed in the wilderness by Manna (and quail) for nearly 40 years. Now that they didn’t need it, it stopped. I don’t want to make this walk on all fours, but I think there is somewhat a parallel for the Christian in terms of growth and maturity.
Hebrews 5:11-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk , not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. ESV
For us, Manna might represent milk - when we are young Christians we are spoon fed the simple doctrines of the faith: salvation, baptism, getting rid of the flesh and walking in the Spirit - that sort of thing. But as we mature God desires to use us to fight a pitched battle with the enemy. To do that we need solid food, we need to wrestle with the doctrines of the Word, learn the Bible, and be able to tell good and evil through regular use of our spiritual discernment.
So the second principal for victorious living from this chapter: grow in maturity by eating the meat of God’s Word.
Verses 14 - 15
So finally comes one of my favorite portions of Scripture. Here Joshua approaches the first enemy stronghold: Jericho. He sees a man, a warrior. He apparently doesn’t know that it isn’t really a man at all at this point-but he says "are you fur us, or agin us?" I love the man’s answer: "No." "No, I’m not for you or for your enemy, I am for the LORD!"
Sometimes I think we make the mistake of thinking that if we want to do something, because we are a Christian, that God is automatically on our side-that He’s got to be. It’s not true. God is for that which brings Him glory; that which is true and right. We better get on His side, not demand that He be on ours.
And notice what else the man says: "Now I have come." Joshua may not have known it, but until this point he didn’t stand a chance against Jericho. But God wants him to know the real forces fighting on his side in this battle.
And God wants us to know the forces on our side as we fight the enemies of the flesh and the world and our circumstances and Satan.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ESV
Principal 3 is this: use God’s weapons, not yours
What weapons do we possess? Angels, for one.
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? ESV
Hebrews 13:2 suggests that angels are all around us, in human form. They are here as the Lord’s army, to protect us and help us.
The two other main weapons we have are: The Word, and prayer.
Paul in Ephesians 6 tells us to take the Sword of the Spirit "which is the word of God" "praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication."
When we try to win the battle with our own brains, beauty, and brawn we get beaten every time.
Notice the angel also tells Joshua to remove his sandals for where he stands is holy ground. Does that strike you as odd? Here he is on the edges of Canaanite territory-a land that had among the most debauched and unholy people ever to walk the earth-yet the ground is "holy"? It is if God is there.
And our work, even if it is in the midst of a godless world is also holy because a holy God works through us. I think that’s why Jesus could eat with sinners and not be tainted and its why we can live and work among the unsaved and bring life and holiness to them.
Conclusions
Summing it up very simply: circumcise the flesh, feed on the Lord, walk in the Spirit, and rely on His power to protect you and fight your battles.
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