5 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 heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
The melting of the heart is a fear that causes a person to lose all courage. It's as if their heart, housing all their fortitude, had melted away. Because of this 'melted heart' there was no spirit in these people. This 'spirit' is the will or desire to accomplish something; great or small, regardless of the odds. This is fascinating when you consider that the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert because they were afraid of the Canaanites.
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time." 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord-to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk and honey." 7 Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.
God established circumcision in Genesis 17 with Abraham. This was to be done with the male children of Israel when they were 8 days old. This was a sign of the covenant between Israel and God. God had been faithful to his covenant promise; the Israelites stood in the land flowing with milk and honey. God chose this time and place to renew and remember this covenant promise.
Imagine being a man of war among the Jews, a young man full fight and vigor, courageous with weapon in hand, standing in enemy territory. The enemy was all around, they had invaded their land. It was clear that they were to conquer this enemy and take the land. But wait, Joshua said, we're not going to war just yet, God has asked us to do something else first. They probably felt prepared militarily but they were not spiritually prepared.
Having all been circumcised, they were incapacitated in militarized zone. A valiant enemy could have easily wiped them out. As they were in pain and healed over the subsequent days, they probably couldn't help but to look constantly at the horizon hoping the enemy didn't come. What a clear message God sent to these young men; the battles wouldn't be won by their might or brawn. God was their guide and their guard; they were in the army of the Lord. Every battle swung on the will of the Lord.
As a servant of Jesus Christ are we not in a similar army? We face battles daily. Are not our victories or defeats by the will of the Lord? As we face the enemy we ought to be reminded of our promise, that in Christ, He will never leave us or forsake us. As Christians, we are walking in the promise of Jesus Christ. Everything that happens is filtered through the will of the Lord (Romans 8:28).
8 So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. 9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal(rolled away) to this day.
While in Egypt it was illegal for the Israelites to be circumcised. So, this circumcision is a new start, a new freedom, a new heart, new attitude in a new land. It's been said that it took the Lord 40 days to get Israel out of Egypt but 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel. This day marked the rolling away of reproach.
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. 11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. 12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
This was the 40th anniversary of Passover. They ate the Passover in the presence of their enemies (Psalm 23). The manna ceased. I wonder if this caused fear among the people. They had known the supernatural provision of Manna all their life. Instead they ate the food of the land.
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?"
14 So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come."
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"
15 Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.
I love this passage. This man Joshua sees is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. Of course Joshua doesn't know this was the Lord. All Joshua sees is a man with a sword in a land full of enemies. "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" Joshua asked. I love that Jesus responded, "No!" I wonder if Joshua thought 'no what?' that wasn't an answer to the question. But in reality it was. Jesus is I AM. He is self sustaining. He is His own side, He doesn't have to choose a side. The better question was to those nearby, which side were they on, Jesus' side or that of the adversary?
Jesus is the Commander of the army of the Yahweh and he had come. Joshua suddenly realizes that he is talking to the Lord and falls on his face and worships Jesus. Joshua was probably very relieved to find out this was a representative of God. Humbled before the Lord he asks what the Lord had to say to him.
Jesus identifies Himself as the God of the burning bush, the I AM, when he tells Joshua to take off his sandal because where he was standing was holy. One removed their sandals as a show of reverence and servitude to a higher authority. This plain dirt on which Joshua stood had become holy; it was made that way by the presence of the Lord.
See Zechariah 14:3
©2015 Doug Ford
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