As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.”
3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt.
5 Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised.
6 For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
9 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. – Joshua 5:1-9
Preparing for Victory
Arriving and seeing Gods power displayed, my thoughts would of been that God has promised, now was the time for Joshua to mobilise the army and attack Jericho.
The people were united and unified in following the Lord, the kings and kingdoms were melted with fear, now is the time for victory.
But God ways and throughs are higher and it wasn’t the right time to claim the victory. The background of this passage is that in which the nation crossed into the land on the tenth day of the first month (Josh 4:19). The event described in our passage took at least 10 days and then the people marched around Jericho for six days.
God waited over two weeks before giving His people their first victory in the land. There is something to say that Gods timing is perfect in the battle plan of victory.
“God’s people must be prepared before they can be trusted with victory”. God wanted the conquest of the land to be solely the victory of Him, not the victory in mans flesh.
God had a three step preparation plan that was the defining moment to then give his people victory.
1.Renewing of the Lords covenant 5:1-9
– restoring the covenant of the abrahamic promise.
– Restore their covenant relationship
– The symbol of “marked people” that belonged to the living God
– Test their faith. V’s 8 this faith walk would disable every male in the nation and opening up venerability of attack. This was the making of faith that solely relied on Gods defence.
– To remove their reproach v’s 9
2. Rembering the Lords goodness 5:10-12
“Forgetting those things which are behind” Philippians 3:13
Never forget the redeeming power of God through the Passover – set free by the blood of the lamb.
3. Reaffirming the Lord’s presence
In leadership there is an element of loneliness that can be disturbing and depressing as you realise how much your decisions affect the lives around you. God promised to be with Joshua, to be the captain directing his compass in the victory of the map.
We see in this chapter a real significant in what God calls his people to do before victory is won.
1. Humble worship
2. Holy walk
3. Heavenly warfare
Bowing the knee, summiting to a holy walk, then outward battle the energy in the power of the Lord. Joshua met the Lord and he knew the deep truth that “the battle was the Lord’s.” That he had already overcome the enemy, his role was to prepare before the Lord.
Reflecting in you life and leadership
Q. What renewal of the Lords covenant do you need to do today?
Q. How can your remember the Lords goodness?
Q. What is God reaffirming in the presence of himself in your life and leadership?
Q. What victory do you know God has that you just need to kneel and submit the holy walk?
When we look into Gods rich truth of victory we see the power of the cross and resurrection. God has conquered the victory, you just have to be prepared in this season to walk in the light of this, helping other to find hope in a hurting world.
Application questions to journal with:
What do i make of all of this?
What do i feel God is saying to me?
What do i need to take from this?
What changes do i need to make?
How can i share this with my leadership team verbally and practically
Resources from:
“Be strong”, Warren.W.Wiersbe commentary
