Joshua 5: Don't Forget Holiness

Theological Proposition/Focus: The holy God of the universe has standards that he expects his people to keep.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: God expects his people to to identify with him, to celebrate the works he had done and to wholly revere him.

Body

God expects His people to be identified with Him (2-8).

2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. 4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness 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 he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 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. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.

Here we have an interesting situation. Upon crossing into enemy territory, God reminded people that there was an important standard they had failed to satisfy.

The Standard: Circumcision was expected.

Back up with me for a minute to the time of Abraham.

Read Gen. 17:9-14 we see that circumcision was symbolic of God's covenant with Israel.

In fact," though other ancient Near Eastern groups performed circumcision, this ritual action became the most significant marker of Jewish identity."

Now that we have an idea about the command to be circumcised we can better understand the situation that the people were in,

The Situation: Circumcision had not been completed.

In verse 5 we see that all the people who came out of Egypt had been circumcised. However, it seems that those born during the wilderness wanderings had not been circumcised.

The problem is that circumcision had important significance.

The Significance: Circumcision represented the covenant.

Circumcision was done inftants after 8-days demonstrating that God's people need his cleansing grace from birth.

This placed the people in a significant conundrum, they were supposed to have been circumcised but had not been circumcised. The solution was simple.

The Solution: Circumcision was conducted.

Notice something significant here.

God expects His people to celebrate His works (9-12).

9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal f to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 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.

God expects His people to revere Him (13-15).

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. .