Joshua 5:1-9 – Precision Cutting
(I got some good info from another SermonCentral preacher. Good stuff!)
An ancient story is told about a slave who traveled with his master to Baghdad. As he walked the busy streets he found himself in the market place where he saw Death in human form. Death looked at him with such a piercing look that it frightened the slave, and he interpreted that look to mean that Death was planning soon to take his life.
He quickly rushed back to his master, told him what he had seen in the market place and asked if he might ride his camel to Samara, 15 hours away. Surely, he would be safe there Surely, Death would not know where to find him. The master gave him permission, and quickly the slave was on his way to Samara.
A few hours later the master was in the market place where he also saw Death in human form. He walked up to Death and asked, "Why did you look at my slave with such a threatening look?" Death answered, "That was not a threatening look. That was a look of surprise. I had a date with him tonight in Samara and I was surprised to see him here in Baghdad."
That’s kind of a silly story, but the point is clear: each of us has an appointment with death. It may be soon, it may be a while. It may be in a decade, it may be in a day. Either way, it pays to be ready.
But that’s not the kind of death I want to talk about this afternoon. I want to look at our passage today from Joshua 5, and tie it into something practical for us today. The passage is about circumcision.
Read Joshua 5:1-9.
Now, I want to be tactful here, but still be faithful to what the passage is saying. The setting is this: The Israelites have crossed the Jordan. They are about to get marching orders as to how to conquer the Promised Land. But there is something that needs to be taken care of first. That’s the issue of circumcision.
You see, circumcision for a Jew carries much more importance than it does for the rest of us. Many little boys are circumcised today because of the health factor. Simply put, circumcision cuts down on the spread of germs and diseases. It’s a cleanliness thing.
But for a Jew, the issue is much more pronounced. For a Jew, circumcision is about the agreement between God and His people. We call it a covenant, a contract or a promise between the Creator and the created. It’s a centuries-old agreement that started way back with Abraham. It was a sign that God chose one particular family to pour out His blessings on, and pour out His blessings through. It was a symbol that His people would remain faithful, and so would God.
In time, circumcision began to symbolize the Law. It came to mean that if you were obedient in this issue, then you were fine with all the other ones. In NT times, some people wanted Gentiles to submit to circumcision in order to be saved. It was like, “Jesus plus the Law.” That was stopped because that would mean you needed more than Jesus to save you. And if you need more than Jesus, why did He die, then?
Well, it’s not that way anymore. Like most issues, it died. Like eating meat sacrificed to idols, which was another hot topic or red flag, it ended. Makes you think that the issues we fight over may not matter as time passes.
But for the Jew, this remains central to their beliefs. Circumcision means being set apart from others. It means being part of a family. And it means being clean before the Lord. Which is where I want to camp out on today.
At the town of Gilgal, Joshua reinstated the covenant of circumcision. Apparently, in their 40 years of wandering, the practice was put on hold. But now that they are about to fight for a common prize, now that they are about to get the best God has for them, they need to remember who they are, and whose they are. Circumcision means being clean before the Lord.
Well, the NT gives a new meaning to circumcision. It’s not so much of an issue. Galatians 6:15 says, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.” That’s what’s most important. In fact, what the NT accomplishes is a spiritual circumcision. Philippians 3:3 says, “For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.” And again, Paul says in Colossians 2:11, “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ.”
So you see. The physical surgery isn’t nearly as important as what happens in a heart. Even in the OT. The physical surgery was commanded, but even then God wanted a cleanliness of the heart. Jeremiah 9:25-26 says, "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh…” People cared very much that heir bodies were just right, but cared little that their hearts were not right before a holy God. They counted on an occurrence that happened to them, but cared less about what was continuing to happen in them.
I wonder if that’s much different for us Christians. We who are the circumcision, the trophies of God’s grace, and we too often abound in sin. We dismiss our bad attitudes as part of human nature. We ignore our complaining spirits and just chalk it up to being people. We bicker and gripe and say we’re working on it. We are one sentence away from losing our cool and blowing our tops, and still claim that we are OK. The problem is not the problem. The problem is that we think we don’t have a problem.
Much like the Jews, we have been circumcised, cleansed, and set apart, but we do not live like it. Something has happened, but are the effects still happening? It was Paul who said that we died to our sins – Romans 6:2. He then turned right around and said we cannot let sin reign – v12. So, our relationship with sin has changed. We are dead to it. That’s what is true about us. But practically, we need to live like it. That’s why Paul said in Romans 8:13 that we will live “if by the Spirit [we] put to death the misdeeds of the body.” You are not only, but you also need to live like it. You are not a slave to sin, so don’t act like you are.
Well, how? How do we put to death the misdeeds of the body? First, I would like to make 3 statements about sin for Christians:
1. Don’t confuse forgiveness with permission. Sin is still sin – it’s just been forgiven. Just because you don’t have to bear the penalty doesn’t mean God doesn’t pay attention and doesn’t care what you do.
2. Don’t confuse freedom with anarchy. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.” We are free – but it doesn’t mean freedom from something as much as it is freedom to something else.
3. Don’t confuse helplessness with excuses. That is, just because we need Jesus’ help doesn’t mean that we can just sit back and do nothing. Putting to death the deeds of the sinful nature is something we were told to do, not just sit around and wait for God to do. He’s already forgiven us. He’s already given us the power. And He’s promised us His presence. But it’s still something we do.
Well, how? Thinking of the analogy of execution, killing them, here are some thought about treating our sins to capital punishment. First, you have to pronounce them guilty. This is important. Denying that something is sin only increases its power over us and decreases our joy and usefulness to God. Call it what it is. That bad attitude, that bitterness, that griping, those thoughts… if the Bible calls it sin, so should you.
So now that you’ve declared the sins as guilty, you need to take care of them. You have to starve them. They’ll fight, they’ll be nasty, they’ll scream and holler. But you need to starve the sources. Whatever tempts you, stay away from it. Whatever leads you to argue with someone in your head, get away from it. Sin needs to be fed to be dangerous. The battle for sin is first won or lost in the mind before it’s ever acted out. Learn to control your thoughts.
Now, you have to practice corporal punishment. That is, be prepared to suffer. Some cave in at withdrawal. Some can’t picture their lives victorious, so it never happens. Sometimes living without sin hurts. Of course, living with it hurts more. Be willing to suffer. Hebrews 12: 4 says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” It’s a battle, but the victory is promised to us.
Next, to treat sin like a prisoner on death row, neglect your sins. Don’t dwell on them. Don’t treat them like they deserve some special place in your life. You’ve already starved them, now just pay no attention to them. Don’t remind yourself of their supposed power. Understand they are forgiven and in the past. Understand that you are forgiven. They don’t need to be in your life or in your thoughts. Let them wither away by neglect.
And lastly, replace them. It’s not enough just to be so concentrated on your sins that you forget Who forgave them. Some people are so bogged down by the thoughts of their sins. I think of Martin Luther before he was converted. He was so overwhelmed with guilt, that he continually went to his bishop for confession. The issues were things like, having too comfortable a chair or getting too good a night’s sleep. Well, the bishop grew so tired of his whinings that he said, “Look, Luther, I don’t want to hear your sins anymore until you do something worth confessing.”
Clearly, God has better things for you than to dwell on things that need forgiving, and things that don’t. Focus on Him. Set your mind on things above. Fix your eyes on Jesus, not always on yourself. Spend time with Him. Yes, ask Him about what needs to change in your life, most certainly. But replace thoughts of your sin or guilt with thoughts of the Lord.
Declare them guilty! Starve them! Make them suffer! Neglect them! Replace them. This is how to live as Christians with circumcised hearts. Yes, every person has an appointment with death. Well, so do your sins. Deal them. Put them to death. Then you will live.
