Cut to the Heart
Text: Joshua 5:1-12
Introduction
1. Illustration: The Butterball Turkey company set up a hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in her freezer for 23 years. The operator told her it might be safe if the freezer had been kept below 0 degrees the entire time. But the operator warned the woman that, even if it were safe, the flavor had probably deteriorated, and she wouldn’t recommend eating it. The caller replied, “That’s what we thought. We’ll just give it to the church.”
-A sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice unless it costs you something
2. We have been talking throughout this series about taking the land, and taking the land will require sacrifice.
3. Taking the land...
a. Requires Pain
b. Brings Healing
c. Produces Celebration
4. Read Joshua 5:1-12
Proposition: Before we can take the land, we will have to go through the pain and discomfort of spiritual preparation.
Transition: Taking the land...
I. Requires Pain (1-3)
A. Circumcise the Israelites
1. Now, I didn’t get a whole lot of "Amen’s" on that last statement.
a. We don’t like to hear things like that.
b. We want to be told that everything is going to be easy.
c. We want to hear that everything is going to be painless and trouble free
d. That’s why the prosperity gospel is so popular - everybody wants to hear that they are going to be rich.
e. However, living a successful Christian life is going to require discipline, sacrifice, and yes, pain.
2. Joshua chapter 5 doesn’t start out that way. It says "Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites."
a. Sounds like a piece of cake.
b. All of the Amorite kings heard what the Lord did in drying up the Jordan, and as a result, they were afraid (their hearts melted).
c. Seems like the they were just going to walk in and take it. Right?
3. Not so fast! Look what it says in verse 2: "At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again."
a. Still sound easy and pain-free?
b. Why does God tell Joshua to do this? It doesn’t make any sense. If the land was ripe for the taking, why this?
c. From a military point of view this makes no sense at all.
d. However, "theological concern took precedence over military strategy" (Barnes, CBL, 49).
e. They may have been ready physically, but they were not ready spiritually.
4. The grim reality is that spiritual success requires wrestling with God, and this is often painful. Notice what God tells Joshua to use, "flint knives."
a. Flint is a rock found in abundance in biblical lands, and its use is documented in almost all periods of occupations—(New American Commentary)
b. It wasn’t even a nice clean scouple, but a knife made from a rock.
c. Talk about painful!
d. Gen. 32:28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
5. Yet, "Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth."
a. Joshua obeyed God’s command to the letter.
b. God sought a people who obediently carried out what he commanded (Butler, WBC: Joshua, 58).
c. That place would for ever represent their obedience to God as the name itself means "Hill of Foreskins."
B. No Pain, No Gain
1. Illustration: There is an old saying among those who lift weights: no pain, no gain. Initially, working out is painful, but the pain is a sign that muscle is being built.
2. Whoever told you that once you became a Christian all of your troubles were over lied!
3. In order to grow spiritually requires the Holy Spirit stripping off the layers of your flesh that are keeping you from what God has for you, and this is painful.
4. It means:
a. Giving up things you don’t want to give up
b. Doing things you don’t want to do.
c. Surrendering areas of your life you want to hang on to.
5. However, in order to take the land requires the pain of spiritual circumcision, and until it takes place, we are not ready to take the land.
Transition: Taking the land requires pain, but it also...
II. Brings Healing (4-8)
A. Until They Were Healed
1. Now we find out why God commanded Joshua to circumcise the Israelites at this time.
2. When the people left Egypt, they had all been circumcised, but they had to wonder around in the desert for 40 years because "they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey."
a. It was their sin and rebellion that caused them to wonder in the wilderness.
b. It was their sin and rebellion that took them from a chosen people to a nation ostracized by God.
c. This shows that the covenant promises of God are attached to the stipulation of obedience (Woudstra, 101).
d. He is a God of grace, but He is also a God of justice.
3. As a result, "he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised."
a. The fact that Lord raised up their children in their place is a clear sign of the grace of God (Woudstra, 101).
b. The Lord is a God that always looks to redeem, even when people sin against Him.
c. 2 Tim. 2:13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
4. However, the key to this whole section lies in verse 8: "after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed."
a. Yes, they had to be circumcised, and yes, this caused pain.
b. Yet, it was this pain which caused them to be healed.
c. "In a real sense Israel the nation had to let God make her sick before she could be healed" (Butler, 59).
d. Sickness and pain or unfortunate side effects of the fall, but they paved the way for healing and redemption.
B. Pain Fosters Healing
1. Illustration: A common phrase used in the world of healing is, “time heals all wounds.” I have found this to be more false than true. As a pastor, I talk regularly with people who are still carrying hurts from 30 or 40 years ago. The real truth is, time often makes things worse. Wounds that are left untended fester and spread throughout the entire body. (2) Time only extends the pain if the problem is not dealt with.
Kenneth Squires
2. If we want to be healed spiritually, we need to willing to allow God to inflict us.
3. Once we go through the pain of dealing with our sin and rebellion, God can then heal us and raise us up again.
4. Spiritual healing starts with conviction and repentance.
a. There is no easy way out of this. Being confronted by a holy God is never pleasant, but as fallen, sinful people it is essential.
b. Conviction leads to being brought before the throne of grace in repentance.
c. Repentance leads to forgiveness and healing.
Transition: Taking the land requires pain, brings healing, and...
III. Produces Celebration (9-12)
A. Celebrated the Passover
1. We can immediately see the benefits of the Israelites going through the pain on circumcision.
2. In verse 10 it says, "On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover."
a. They had not celebrated the Passover for many years.
b. One reason is that circumcision was a necessary element for celebrating Passover.
c. Ex. 12:48 "An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it.
d. Because of the pain they went through, they were able to celebrate.
3. Another aspect of celebration is seen in the fact that they began to reap the rewards of the Promised Land. Verse 11 says, "The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain."
a. The celebration of the Passover marked a significant turning point in Israel’s life, since immediately following this, they began to live off of the land they were about to possess.—(New American Commentary)
b. The time of wondering was over.
c. The time of eating manna and quail were over.
d. It was now time to enjoy the blessings of God.
4. In fact, "The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan."
a. The manna stopped because it wasn’t necessary anymore.
b. God promised to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, and now they were there.
c. He had miraculously sustained them in the desert through the manna, but now He was going to sustain them by keeping His promise.
B. All Worth It
1. Illustration: After a preacher died and went to heaven, he noticed that a New York cabdriver had been given a higher place than he had. "I don’t understand," he complained to St. Peter. "I devoted my entire life to my congregation." "Our policy is to reward results," explained St. Peter. "Now what happened, Reverend, whenever you gave a sermon?" The minister admitted that some in the congregation fell asleep.
"Exactly, " said St. Peter. "And when people rode in this man’s taxi, they not only stayed awake, they prayed."
2. Heb. 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
3. It is not an easy thing to be disciplined by the Lord, but the rewards are enormous.
4. Those who are disciplined by the Lord reap the harvest of:
a. Life
b. Peace
c. Righteousness
5. They may cause us temporary pain and discomfort, but they bring the celebration of God’s blessings.
Conclusion
1. Taking the land...
a. Requires Pain
b. Brings Healing
c. Produces Celebration
2. In order to take the land, we must first go through the discipline of conviction.
a. What has the Holy Spirit been speaking to you about?
b. What area of your life has He been bringing conviction?
c. What do you need to surrender to Him today?
3. What hurt does He need to heal you from today?
