Joshua 5:2-8 – Building a Memorial
2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
7 And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
· Verse 1 tells us that the heathen nations in Canaan saw the powerful manner in which the Lord brought His children through the Jordan and that they were totally demoralized by these events
· It would seem that they were absolutely resigned to their fate
· It would appear that this would be the perfect time for Joshua to lead the people forward into the attack but folks—God’s timing is not ours
· Instead of commanding His people to go forward into the battle, God commands them to remain at Gilgal and to do several things that, on the surface, appear very strange
· It even appears that the things they are required to do puts them at risk before their enemies
· While the ways of the Lord may appear strange to you and me, let me remind you that the ways of the Lord are not ours
· Isaiah 55:8-9--“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, Declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
· You see, God never gets in a hurry (we will see that a little later)
· He has the liberty to take His time and do things on His schedule
· While the things that happen in this chapter appear strange against the backdrop of impending battle, the truth of the matter is God is simply preparing His army to fight
· God’s battles are spiritual battles
· If we expect to fight in these battles and do well, then we must make the right king of spiritual preparations
· II Corinthians 10:3-5
· That is what the Lord is doing right here in the life of His people----it is also what He wants to do in your life and mine this morning
· God knew that they would never be ready to fight and win the battle until the proper spiritual preparations had been made
· Let me ask you a question-----Are you ready to conquer your Canaan?
· Only if you are willing to make the right spiritual preparations can you conquer your Canaan
1. Building a memorial
i. Stones for future generations to remember today’s miracles
I. THEY REPRESENT THE WONDERS OF GOD
II. THEY REPRESENT THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE
III. THEY REPRESENT THE WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND
ii. Stones were pulled from the bed of the parted Jordan River
I. I Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
iii. Gilgal -- rolled away reproach of slavery
I. He called us in Love
II. He saved us by grace
III. He forgave our trespasses
IV. He kept us when we fell
V. He conquered our enemies
VI. He gave us victory when there seemed to be not hope
iv. Tell the miracles to the next generation
I. Christianity is never more than one generation away from extinction. If we are not careful America could well be the exhibit for this truth. Just think for a moment how far our country has drifted away from its foundation in just one generation.
a. Proverbs 22:28 "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."
b. America as a nation has sought to remove the landmarks of Christianity.
i. 1962 - Prayer in schools was declared illegal
ii. 1963 - Bible reading in Schools was declared illegal
iii. 1980 ? declared illegal to post the Ten Commandments in the schools
iv. Removal of any Christian vestige to our holidays.
v. Hebrews 12:1 "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."
II. Let’s go back in time 800 yrs before Christ.
a. Father and Son traveling in Israel
b. Son sees a pile of stones near the Jordan River
c. He looks up to his father and says, "What do these stones mean?"
d. The Father and son stop find a place to sit down and the father tells story of Israel’s crossing the Jordan
v. Make your life matter for eternity – build a memorial with your lively stone
2. Renewing Covenant
i. Circumcised everyone born in the wilderness
I. Circumcision was to be the outward reminder of an inward work of faith
II. Anything that is displeasing to the Lord needs to be removed from your life
III. It needs to be cut off and put away from you forever
IV. Now, before these men can claim their Canaan, they must be circumcised
V. They must renew the covenant with the Lord if they wanted His blessings on them and if they wanted to be guaranteed the victory
VI. Just as Israel was required to remove from their bodies a piece of flesh as a sign that they were a part of the covenant, so too, we must remove from our lives anything that stands between us and total surrender to the Lord
ii. Spiritual Circumcision should come after crossing the Jordan
I. Circumcision done by sharp knife – the Word of God is quick & powerful & sharper than any two-edged sword
II. Colossians 2:11 & 12--expound on v. 12----Colossians 3:1-3 & 5 --We use the word of God for our Spiritual circumcision-----Hebrew 4:12
iii. Had abandoned the covenant in their wanderings
iv. Before we can move to the future, we must take care of the past
3. Manna Ceased -- Going from Milk to Meat
i. They had been fed supernaturally, but now God was going to give them their inheritance
ii. Not called to part the moustache & put the bottle in
iii. Joshua experienced a "Christophany" -- appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament
I. The Lord is commander of the Lord’s army------Joshua bowed down and worshiped Him and was ready to do whatever He asked
II. This gets Joshua ready to do all that needs to be done----because he has been in the presence of the Lord
III. Folks understand something-----Obedience to God in the present demonstrates our desire to follow Him in the future
IV. Notice basically He told Joshua that HE did not come to take sides, but to take over---He told Joshua that He was in Charge
V. Joshua’s response was to fall down and worship Him --------this is an indication that Joshua is submitting to the will of the Lord and that he knows Who is in Control
VI. You see—before you can have the victory—you must be vanquished----before you can conquer, you must first be conquered
VII. We must do what Joshua did------that is —we must lay down our swords at the feet of the Captain of the Lord’s host
VIII. Joshua is experiencing the reality of those promises in Chapter 1
IX. God is telling Joshua that he does not have to fight the battles alone--------He is even telling Joshua that the battles are not his responsibility
X. The Lord is the Captain of the Army of God and He is present to direct the battle and to give the victory
XI. The victory is ours if only we will trust and be obedient
XII. The key to seeing these promises fulfilled in your life is to do what Joshua did------Get on your face before the Lord, seek the Lord’s will for the battle and let Him lead you to victory
iv. "Loose your shoe from your foot, for the place you stand is holy."
v. Preparation for days of miracles
4. Kept the Passover
i. They kept the passover for the first time since they left Egypt
ii. 40 Years of wandering they forgot the basic identity -- You have been delivered by the blood of the lamb
iii. To get where you’re going, you must remember from where you’ve come
I. Fundamental to vision is knowing what God has brought you from!
iv. The Old Testament passover is the ceremony from which communion comes
I. For the Christian, communion -- where we remember the sacrifice of our Lord -- is our Passover
