A. INTRODUCTION
1. The first seven chapters of this wonderful book allow us to see the fulfillment of God's covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from two perspectives:
a. as a m __ __ __ __ __ __ __ campaign
b. as a s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ experience
2. To limit our understanding of how Joshua led the armies of Israel in their conquest of Canaan to the historical record of strategy, battles and troop movements is to disregard the miraculous undergirding of the seven year campaign by the divine intervention of Jehovah on behalf of His chosen people. We caught a glimpse of the spiritual nature of the invasion in our study of the
fourth chapter of Joshua, when God commanded that the a __ __ of the c __ __ __ __ __ __ __ go before the 40,000 eastern tribesmen who led the rest of the nation across the Jordan River.
3. God's drying up of the Jordan was certainly miraculous, but it wasn't necessary militarily, since the river was completely fordable at several accessible points. Two important objectives were accomplished through God's mighty intervention here.
a. Surely the hearts of the Israelites were e __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
b. Their enemies were t __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!
(1) This is made clear in Joshua 5:1:
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 hearts melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
(2) As we read this verse the words which Rahab spoke to the spies ring in our ears.
Joshua 2:9-11 [ TLB ]
"I know perfectly well that your God is going to give my country to you," she told them. "We are all afraid of you; everyone is terrified if the word 'Israel' is even mentioned. For we have heard how the Lord made a path through the Red Sea for you when you left Egypt! And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, and how you ruined the land and completely destroyed the people. No wonder we are afraid of you! No one has any fight left in him after hearing things like that, for your God is the supreme God of heaven, not just an ordinary God.
B. So we have seen a new leader selected personally by God. We have witnessed his stirring inaugural speech to the troops, and we have heard their enthusiastic and united promise to follow him into battle. Now we read the account of God's mighty hand implementing and directing a completely successful invasion. The enemy is cowering inside the city-fortress of Jericho, paralyzed with fear of Israel's army. Things couldn't be working out any better! The key city in the conquest of the Promised Land is ripe for the taking! The long-awaited, agonozingly-delayed Promise of God is about to be fulfilled -- so close now that the soldiers can fairly taste it! They await the next command from their leader; surely the battle will commence at any second!
Joshua, God's man for the people, opens his mouth to speak. Each soldier leans forward, his emotions raw with anticipation. HERE COMES THE WORD OF THE LORD! GOD SAYS.....
"W __ __ __."
Joshua 5:2-12 [ NIV ]
At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt -- all the military men of age -- died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since 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. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 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 the produce of Canaan.
THREE important events -- each one at its core intensely spiritual -- occured within the nation of Israel during the time period discussed in this passage of Scripture:
1. The end of the m __ __ __ __ (v.11-12)
a. It had been the source of their physical sustenance since the day they left Sinai.
ref: Exodus 16:1-34
b. The word "manna" means literally "______________________________"
ref: Numbers 11:7-8
c. The people grew tired of it, and complained loudly and often.
ref: Numbers 11:6
Numbers 21:5-9
2. The c __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of the entire male population of Israel (!)
a. Given as the s __ __ __ of the c __ __ __ __ __ __ __ God had made with the nation -- "God's promises placed on the bodies of Jewish men." (Schaeffer)
Genesis 17:9-14 [ NKJV ]
And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
b. Apparently, this sacrament had not been observed in the wilderness, although the Scripture account does not say why.
Was it d __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ on the part of Israel? Or had God f __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ the observance of it, since the nation was under judgment during their forty years of wandering in the desert?
c. But why now? Why not either before the crossing of the Jordan, or after the conquest of Jericho and the rest of Canaan?
(1) "From a human viewpoint Joshua was jeopardizing everything. Why was circumcision so important? In Stephen's speech in the book of Acts we get an answer. Stephen said about Abraham that God "gave him the covenant of circumcision" ( Acts 7:8 ). Circumcision was not just an abstract religious rite but was rooted in what Stephen properly called the covenant of circumcision, which originated with Abraham. The reason Joshua's act was so crucial is that before the Israelites began their battles, every man was to have upon his body the mark of the Abrahamic covenant." ( Francis A. Schaeffer: Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History )
(2) It was a necessssary element in Joshua's assumption of leadership. There is biblical precedent for the necessity of divine confrontation prior to the undertaking of a great mission.
ref: Genesis 32:24
Exodus 4:18-26
"At Gilgal, because the males were uncircumcised, the Israelites were not ready to fight the battle of the Lord. They must first bear the mark of the covenant. As soon as the people were circumcised, they were ready to proceed." ( Schaeffer: Ibid )
(3) It was another reminder of the s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ nature of this campaign.
ref: Deuteronomy 10:16
Deuteronomy 30:6
Romans 2:17-28
(4) It was necessary for gaining entrance to the P __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
Exodus 12:43-48 [ KJV ]
And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no foreigner eat of it: But every man's servanat that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
3. Celebration of the P __ __ __ __ __ __ __
a. Again we are reminded of the spiritual nature of the conquest of Canaan. In Joshua 5:10 we read that the events recorded occurred on the fourteenth day of the month. In Joshua 4:19 we learned that the crossing of the Jordan had occurred on the tenth day of the first month in the Hebrew calendar ( "Abib" or "Nisan" ). And we can read in Exodus 12:6 that God commanded that Passover be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month! God's people were being explicitly obedient to God's word, even when it was not convenient to do so.
b. At this magnanimous moment in their national history, the people of Israel were delayed by God for the purpose of celebrating an ordinance which looks two ways:
(1) b __ __ __ to their liberation from Egypt, and
(2) a __ __ __ __ to the coming of M __ __ __ __ __ __ -- the first coming of Christ, as S __ __ __ __ __ __.
C. Lessons for Us
1. The Discipline of d __ __ __ __ / s __ __ __ __ __ __ __
2. The Continuity of God's Covenant of G __ __ __ __
a. re: Circumcision - Baptism
Colossians 2:11-12 [ NKJV ]
In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
ref: Genesis 17:11
Romans 4:1-17
b. re: Passover - Communion
1 Corinthians 5:7b-8
For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
ref: Matthew 26:17-30
John 19:36
3. The necessity of o __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ as the believer's response to the Promises of God
a. "Much of the Christian life and its success depends upon obedience. That is a key word. We always forfeit our right to blessing when we disobey God. God will not fill a church with joy, or a home with satisfaction, or a life with meaning, when His people disobey Him and ignore the teaching of the Scriptures." Paul E. Toms: This Land is Your Land )
b. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 [ NIV ]
And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to do observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
c. Micah 6:8 [ NIV ]
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
d. John 13:34-35 [ KJV ]
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
e. Romans 5:5b [ KJV ]
....the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us.
4. The "Mark of the Christian:"
a. the indwelling presence of the H __ __ __ S __ __ __ __ __
b. the manifestation of His presence in o __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ and cognitive l __ __ __
Church of the Saviour
15 October 1995
D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E___________________________________________
1. During their forty years of wandering in the desert God provided Israel with special
food from heaven called "manna." Read Exodus 16:1-22, Numbers 11:1-8, and
Numbers 21:5-9.
a. What do these passages tell us about God's provision for His people?
b. What do they tell us about our own attitudes toward God's provision (at least in
some cases)?
c. What can we learn about God's judgment and His mercy from these passages?
d. Now read the familiar passage of Luke 12:22-34. How might the lessons of the
"manna" passages assist us in our understanding of Jesus' teaching here?
e. Read v.31. How does one "seek the kingdom of God ?" ____________________
f. If the kingdom of God has nothing to do the basics of life, just what does it consist
of? ( see Romans 14:17 )
2. Read the strange passage of Exodus 4:18-26. What is that all about? Is there any
connection with this morning's text passage of Joshua 5:1-12?
3. Read Romans 2:17-18, then compare it with Deuteronomy 10:12-13 and Micah 6:8.
a. List the "righteous" characteristics presented as evidence by Paul in Romans 2.
b. Now list the "righteous" characteristics presented in the other two passages.
c. Now read Isaiah 1:11-17. What can we learn by comparing our two "lists" in the
light of what God is teaching in this passage?
4. In his commentary Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History, Francis Schaeffer states that God teaches us an important lesson in drawing broad parallels between Moses and Joshua.
"'Years pass,' God seems to say, "but throughout history there is a continuity in my dealings with my people. This continuity is rooted in myself -- my character, my promises, my covenant."
In trying to understand God's moving in the affairs of mankind down through the centuries of historical, cultural and technologlical change, theologians have developed "systems" which explain the history of God and man. Two of the most widely-held systematic theologies are "Dispensationalism" and "Covenant Theology." Try to find reference materials on both these systems and read through them. The most accessible Dispensationalist resource is, of course, the Schofield Bible, particularly C.I. Schofield's notes on:
Genesis 1:28 ( "I __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __" )
Genesis 3:7 ( M __ __ __ __ Responsibility" )
Genesis 8:15 ( "Human G __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __" )
Genesis 12:1 ( "P __ __ __ __ __ __" )
Exodus 19:1 ( "L __ __" )
Acts 2:1 ( "C __ __ __ __ __" )
Revelation 20:4 ( "K __ __ __ __ __ __" )
Works on Covenant Theology are more difficult to find, but do try to read up on this doctrinal system. After you have given this some thought, reflect on how you believe God's immutability is best understood in the light of man's scholarship, God's word, and the historical / spiritual record. This should become part of your own personal Christian apologetic, another key element in the owning and sharing of your faith in Christ.
