Joshua 4:20-5:7
After this Joshua took the twelve stones which the men had taken out of the bottom of Jordan, and pitched them in Gilgal. We have noticed before that Joshua is a type of Christ, and so we see in this that He has a center for His people. In the system of Jewish worship, which God gave, there was that which appealed to the flesh in man, but Gilgal is the place, as we shall see later, where the flesh is put in the place of judgment. Thus, when we have learned that we are dead and risen with Christ, the flesh no longer has a place. It is most important to see this, especially in connection with worship, for in the place where the Spirit of God gathers to Christ there must not be that which appeals to the flesh since true worship is only by the Spirit. This is clearly stated in Philippians 3:3, and explains to us what took place here at Gilgal, the place of circumcision. It says, “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Although this is little understood by many dear Christians, it is an important truth, for only that worship which is produced by the Holy Spirit is acceptable to God. (John 4:23, 24.)
It is wonderful to notice here that God, in all His greatness, while giving us such deep and precious truths, delights to think of the children of His people and the questions they might ask. Children like to find out things, and so the Lord told His people that they were to be prepared to explain to their children what these stones meant. Are we, dear Christian parents, prepared to explain these things to our children and i.e tell them why our homes and our meeting rooms are different from those that are so common around us? Have we brought the “stone from Jordan” into our homes and explained to our children all about it? Can we tell them why we meet as we do, giving them the Scriptural authority for it? May we be diligent in these things, both for the Lord’s glory as well as for the blessing of our children. How often the truths that have been so precious to us are not valued by our children, and, alas, too often it can be traced to neglect on our part, as parents. May we seek to walk, as well as talk, in the truth we have learned.
When the people of Canaan saw what the Lord had done for His people, and how He dried up the waters of Jordan fur them, they feared greatly. Whatever boasts the world may make, there is a fear underneath it all, because every man’s conscience tells him he is a sinner and that he has to meet God, and this makes him afraid. How wonderful to know that now we are saved, God is for us, and His perfect love casts out all fear.
When they encamped at Gilgal, the Lord told Joshua that the men of Israel must all be circumcised. This had never taken place in the wilderness, but if they were to possess Canaan, the reproach of Egypt must be rolled away (verse 9). Circumcision figures death to the flesh. In Egypt there was that which appealed to the flesh, and in the wilderness the flesh was tested, but the flesh must be put in the place of death, if we are to enjoy our heavenly portion which Canaan typifies. Another has said, “Every mark of the world is a reproach to him who is heavenly.”
ML 02/01/1953