Today we'll be looking at the remainder of Joshua 5. Several major things take place in the rest of this short chapter.
You'll recall from yesterday's study that while the people were still in the first place they camped after crossing the Jordan River, the Lord told Joshua to circumcise all the males who had been born during the wilderness years. Though they're on the west side of the Jordan now (and officially in "enemy" territory), and though they have a battle ahead of them, the Lord didn't tell them to rush in and begin fighting for the promised land. A spiritual matter had to be taken care of first, and this spiritual matter involved the carrying out of the covenant sign the Lord gave to Abraham and all his male descendants. After the men have recovered from their procedure, we are told: "Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.' So the place has been called Gilgal to this day." (Joshua 5:9)
The word "Gilgal" sounds like the Hebrew word for "roll". What does the Lord mean when He says the reproach of Egypt---of slavery---has been rolled away from the people? I love the way the late Matthew Henry, British author of a six-volume commentary on the Bible, interprets verse 9. "Their circumcision rolled away the reproach of Egypt; they were hereby owned to be the free-born children of God, having the seal of the covenant in their flesh, and so the reproach of their bondage in Egypt was removed."
We don't know for certain whether the Egyptians branded or tattooed their slaves; many ancient cultures (and some not-so-ancient cultures) did such things to prove their "ownership" of fellow human beings. But whether or not any of the Israelites were marked in the flesh as slaves while they were in Egypt, they certainly must have felt marked: emotionally, mentally, and perhaps spiritually as well. The generation going into the promised land is not the same generation that was under slavery, but the slavery was so recent that they still feel tainted by it. They know Egypt still regards them as escaped slaves. They know many of the cultures in the land of Canaan think of them as the former slaves of the Egyptians. The Lord doesn't want them to think of themselves as the slaves of anyone; He wants them to think of themselves as His covenant people. They need to think of themselves as His covenant people in order to do everything they'll have to do to take hold of the promised land. If they go in feeling like nobodies---like former slaves, like people who were hated, like people who were discriminated against---they will lack the confidence and self-esteem that belongs to the children of God.
It matters what we think of ourselves. You and I were once slaves to sin but that's not who we are anymore. We have been set free! We must think of ourselves as "the free-born children of God", as Matthew Henry phrased it. The Lord doesn't want us to go through the rest of our lives beating ourselves up over what's in our past. He isn't focused on our past. If the One we sinned against isn't holding our sins against us, what right and authority do we have to hold our sins against ourselves? Are we greater than God? If He has forgiven and redeemed us, are we not utterly and forever forgiven and redeemed? There is no greater authority than Almighty God and if He has set us free from our past then we must not dwell on it. We will not achieve great things for our Lord if we remain mired in regrets over the past.
Before the Israelites move forward to take the city of Jericho, it's the time of year to observe Passover. "On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 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." (Joshua 5:10-12) The manna stopped because it was no longer needed. The Lord provides what we need when we need it. Just as the manna came from the Lord, the produce of the land now comes from the Lord. He uses various means to give us what we need but all of it comes from Him. He is the Creator of all things and everything we have is because of Him.
Now the battle looms ahead and Joshua begins to approach the city of Jericho. The Lord has arranged a very special meeting because, as we said above, He gives us what we need when we need it. Joshua is taking on the heavy mantle of commander of Israel's army and he needs to know there is a greater Commander than him who is in charge of all things. "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 said, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?' 'Neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.'" (Joshua 5:13-14a)
Who is this man? Most mainstream Christian Bible scholars believe Joshua is experiencing what is called a "Christophany": one of several appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament. Some would argue that this man is the archangel Michael, whom we find leading the armies of God in Revelation 12:7, but an argument against drawing this conclusion is that the man will allow Joshua to fall on his knees to worship him later in our text. In the Scriptures we find the angels pointing man's worship to God, not to themselves. In the book of Revelation we find the Apostle John being told not to fall down before them in reverence. John is so overwhelmed by all that he sees and hears in Revelation that his response is to fall on his knees before angels but he is told, "Don't do that!...Worship God!" (Revelation 22:9) Another argument against this man being Michael is that he is not the only one in the Scriptures whom we find leading the armies of the Lord. In Revelation we find Jesus Himself leading the armies of the Lord in the final battle of the ages. The Lord Jesus is the One who defeats Satan and the fallen angels. The Lord Jesus is the One who puts an end to all rebellion against God.
"Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, 'What message does my Lord have for His servant?' 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." (Joshua 5:14b-15) Here we have further proof that this is the Lord speaking with Joshua. The presence of an angel does not make the ground holy but the presence of the Lord does. I believe we would all agree that the One who spoke to Moses from the midst of the burning bush, telling him to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground, was the Lord. The One speaking to Joshua, telling him to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground, is also the Lord. Joshua has a monumental task ahead of him and he needs one more reassurance before he goes into battle that the One who spoke from the burning bush and commissioned Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt is going to help Joshua take the Israelites into the promised land. The same God who went with Moses to Egypt is going into Canaan with Joshua. The same God who performed miracles in Egypt will perform miracles in Canaan. The same God who defeated a mighty nation like Egypt will defeat the nations of Canaan.
The same God who did great things for the men and women on the pages of the Bible is the same God who will do great things for you and for me. He has not changed. The people in the Bible were ordinary human beings like us but they experienced extraordinary things because they placed their faith in God. They believed He could do what He said He could do. The same power that was at work on their behalf is at work on behalf of all of us today who believe in the Lord God of Israel. He has not lost one ounce of His power. He still makes a way even when it looks like there is no way. He still provides our needs. He still gives victories when to human eyes the situation looks hopeless. He still performs miracles.
No comments:
Post a Comment