Josh. 5:1-101And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. 2At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4And 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. 5Now 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. 6For 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 show them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 7And 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. 8And 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. 9And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. 10And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. (Joshua 5:1‑10)
GREAT fear fell upon all the kings west of the Jordan when they heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of that impetuous stream until His people had passed over. And this was what God would have. He wanted all the ‘people of the earth to know that the hand of the Lord was mighty, and that He was the “Lord of all the earth.” The heart of these kings could be stout enough, and they could even lift themselves against God, but when God manifested His power, their heart melted and so there was no more spirit in them. And so it ever is with man; he may deny God, or he may rise up in rebellion against Him, but when God begins to work, man is quickly felled to earth.
The children of Israel were now in the land, but they had yet to go forward and take possession, for their foes were still before them. They must, however, first have to do with God; then they can meet their enemies. Joshua was commanded to circumcise the children of Israel the second time, for the men of war had died in the wilderness, and those born in the wilderness had not been circumcised, and they must pass under the knife.
Let us gather ‘up a little lesson here. God’s people of to-day have the powers of darkness with which to combat, and if they would successfully contend with these mighty foes, all that hinders must be removed. The true circumcision are those who worship God in the spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus, and who have no confidence in the flesh. As “servants of righteousness” such mortify, or put to death, their members which are on the earth. And they should make no provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts. May God enable you, dear young Christian reader, to keep the flesh in the place of ‘death.
The next thing in order for the children of Israel was keeping the passover. That solemn night, in which the angel of death passed by their blood sprinkled houses, leaving them untouched and unhurt; must never be forgotten by them. Wilderness wanderings would not allow of the observance of this feast; but now that they were in the land, and about to go on to victory, they must be reminded of the deliverance that had been wrought for them. Realizing thus that God’s hand is mighty to save, they could go forward in confidence of heart, counting upon God.
Again, let those who love the Lord learn a lesson. A mightier deliverance has been wrought for such, a place of fuller blessing has been secured, than that which awaited the host under Joshua’s command. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” And it is the blessed privilege, as well as responsibility of all who know Christ, to feast upon Him, and to call to remembrance what He has accomplished for them. “Do this in remembrance of Me,” is what Jesus says to His own. Are there not many of my young readers, who have not been sanctified by this Word? Why should it be to you a matter of indifference whether ,or not you should be remembering the Lord Jesus in His death, when it. cost Him His life’s blood to free you from the power of sin and Satan? Is it nothing to you when He says, “Do this in remembrance of Me”? Where is your obedience to that blessed One? If you have no desire to remember Him, may you not well question whether or not you are His?
We will look in another paper at further steps in Israel’s progress, if the Lord will.
Messages of God’s Love 10/29/1905