Joshua 5

Twice during my years of ministry, I’ve been chosen to succeed distinguished and godly leaders and carry on their work. I can assure you that it wasn’t easy to follow well-known Christians who sacrificially poured years of their lives into successful ministries. I can identify with Joshua when he stepped into Moses’ sandals and discovered how big they were!

When I succeeded D.B. Eastep as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Covington, Kentucky, I remember how his widow and his son encouraged me and assured me of their support. I recall one of the deacons, George Evans, coming to the church office to tell me he would do anything to help me, “including washing your car and polishing your shoes.” I never asked George to do either of those things, but his words expressed the encouraging attitude of all the church staff and leaders. I felt like a raw recruit taking the place of a seasoned veteran, and I needed all the help I could get!

Nearly a quarter of a century later when I succeeded Theodore Epp at Back to the Bible, I had a similar experience. The board and headquarters staff, the leaders in the overseas offices, the radio listeners, as well as many Christian leaders from all over the world, assured me of their prayer support and availability to help. When you feel like a midget taking the place of a giant, you appreciate all the encouragement God sends your way.

What a new leader needs is not advice but encouragement. “To encourage” literally means “to put heart into.” General Andrew Jackson said “one man with courage makes a majority,” and he was right. As God’s people today face the challenges that God gives us, we would do well to learn from the threefold encouragement found in this chapter.

The nation of Israel arrived safely on the other side of the Jordan River. Their crossing was a great miracle, and it sent a great message to the people of the land (5:1). The Canaanites were already afraid (2:9–11), and now their fears totally demoralized them.

You would have expected Joshua to mobilize the army immediately and attack Jericho. After all, the people of Israel were united in following the Lord, and the people of the land were paralyzed by fear. From the human point of view, it was the perfect time for Joshua to act.

But God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55:8–9), and Joshua was getting his orders from the Lord, not from the military experts. The nation crossed the river on the tenth day of the first month (Josh. 4:19). The events described in Joshua 5 took at least ten days, and then the people marched around Jericho for six more days. God waited over two weeks before giving His people their first victory in the land.

God’s people must be prepared before they can be trusted with victory. The triumphant conquest of the land was to be the victory of God, not the victory of Israel or of Joshua. It was neither the expertise of the Jewish army nor the emotions of the enemy that would give Israel the victory, but the presence and blessing of the Lord. There were three steps of preparation necessary before God would give His people victory over the nations in the land of Canaan.

After triumphantly crossing the Jordan River, the nation had to pause at Gilgal while the men submitted to painful surgery. Why did God command this ritual at this time?

To restore their covenant relationship (vv. 2–7). Israel is a covenant nation, a privilege God has given to no other nation on earth (Rom. 9:4–5). God gave His covenant to Abraham when He called him out of Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 12:1–3), and He sealed that covenant with a sacrifice (Gen. 15). God gave circumcision as the sign of the covenant to Abraham and his descendants (17:9–14, 23–27; note especially v. 11). Other nations in that day practiced circumcision, but the ritual didn’t carry with it the spiritual meaning that it did for the Jews.

Through this ritual the Jews became a “marked people” because they belonged to the true and living God. This meant that they were under obligation to obey Him. The mark of the covenant reminded them that their bodies belonged to the Lord and were not to be used for sinful purposes. Israel was surrounded by nations that worshipped idols and included in their worship rituals that were sensual and degrading. The mark of the covenant reminded the Jews that they were a special people, a separated people, a holy nation (Ex. 19:5–6), and that they were to maintain purity in their marriages, their society, and their worship of God.

The Jews had not practiced circumcision during their years of wandering in the wilderness. Thirty-eight years before, at Kadesh Barnea, they had refused to believe God and enter the land (Deut. 2:14; Num. 13–14). God disciplined the people by making them wander in the wilderness until the entire older generation had died off, except Caleb and Joshua. During that time, God had suspended His covenant relationship with Israel and didn’t require the mark of the covenant on their male children. He performed wonders for them and met their every need even though they were temporarily not His covenant people.

The new generation was now in their inheritance, however, and it was important that they renew their covenant relationships with the Lord. If during their wilderness journey Israel was tempted to sin (see Num. 25), how much more they would be tempted now that they were living in the land! They would be surrounded by pagan people with immoral religious practices, and they would be tempted to compromise with their enemies. Later, this is exactly what future generations did, because they forgot the true meaning of circumcision.

This physical operation on the body was meant to be a symbol of a spiritual operation on the heart. “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer” (Deut. 10: nkjv). No amount of external surgery can change the inner person. It’s when we repent and turn to God for help that He can change our hearts and make us love and obey Him more. (See Rom. 2:25–29.)

But over the years, the Jews came to trust in the external mark of the covenant and not in the God of the covenant who wanted to make them a holy people. They thought that as long as they were God’s covenant people, they could live just as they pleased! Moses warned them about this sin (Deut. 30:6), and so did the prophets (Jer. 4:4). When John the Baptist called them to repent, the Jewish spiritual leaders said, “We have Abraham as our father” (Matt. 3: nkjv). They were not unlike some people today who feel sure they’re saved and are going to heaven because they’re baptized, confirmed, and participate regularly in Communion. As good as these religious rites can be, they must never become substitutes for faith in Jesus Christ. (See Rom. 2:25–29.)

To test their faith (5:8). Israel was camped in enemy territory, just a few miles from Jericho. Now they were going to temporarily disable every male in the nation, including every soldier in the army! What a golden opportunity for the enemy to attack and wipe them out. (See Gen. 34.) It took faith for Joshua and the people to obey the Lord, but their obedience to the law was the secret of their success (Josh. 1:7–8). In their weakness they were made strong, and through faith and patience they inherited the promises (Heb. 6:12).

Shortly after Israel departed from Egypt, God tested them at Meribah, and they failed the test (Ex. 17:1–7; Ps. 81:7). Shortly after Israel entered the Promised Land, God tested them by commanding the men to be circumcised, and they passed the test. The people had faith to obey God, and this act gave evidence that they would obey His orders as they marched through the land.

After we’ve experienced an exciting victory of faith, God often permits us to be tested. Abraham arrived in the land of promise and was confronted with a famine (Gen. 12). Elijah triumphed over Baal and was threatened with death (1 Kings 18–19). After His baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (Matt. 3:13—4:11). Since great victories can lead to great pride, God allows us to be tested in order to remind us to depend on Him. The Scottish preacher Andrew Bonar (1810–92) used to say, “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.”

To remove their reproach (v. 9). The word Gilgal is similar to the Hebrew word galal which means “to roll.” But what was “the reproach of Egypt”? Some suggest that this means their reproach for being slaves in Egypt, but it wasn’t Israel’s fault that the new pharaoh turned against them (Ex. 1:8ff.). The Jews were in Egypt because God had sent them there (Gen. 46:1–4), not because they were disobedient.

It’s also been suggested that “the reproach of Egypt” refers to the nation’s shame because they had worshipped idols in Egypt (Ezek. 20:7–8; 23:3) and even during their wilderness wanderings (Amos 5:25–26; Acts 7:42–43). But that older generation was now dead, and the younger Israelites certainly shouldn’t be blamed for the sins of their fathers. Furthermore, it’s difficult for me to see the relationship between crossing the river, circumcision, and the Jews’ idolatry in Egypt.

I think that “the reproach of Egypt” refers to the ridicule of the enemy when Israel failed to trust God at Kadesh Barnea and enter the Promised Land. When Aaron made the golden calf at Mount Sinai and the people broke God’s law, God threatened to destroy them and make a new nation from Moses. But Moses argued that God would lose glory if He did that, because the Egyptians would only say that God delivered them in order to kill them (Ex. 32:1–12). At Kadesh Barnea Moses used the same appeal when God said He would destroy Israel (Num. 14:11–14). Moses didn’t want the Egyptians to spread the word that the God of Israel couldn’t finish what He had started.

Israel’s sin at Kadesh Barnea was a reproach to them, but now that was all in the past. The nation was actually in the Promised Land! They had captured the territory east of the Jordan, and their people were already occupying it (Num. 32). They had crossed the Jordan River and were ready for conquest. No matter what the Egyptians and the other nations had said about Israel because of their sin at Kadesh Barnea, that reproach was now completely gone. Each man bore on his body the mark that reminded him that he belonged to God, he was a son of the covenant, and the land was his to conquer and possess.

To qualify them to eat the Passover (Ex. 12:43–44, 48). No male could participate in the annual Feast of the Passover unless he had been circumcised and was a true son of the covenant. I’ll have more to say later about this great Passover celebration.

To picture some important spiritual truths. Old Testament events are often illustrations of New Testament doctrines (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11). Israel’s Exodus from Egypt pictures the sinner’s deliverance from the slavery of sin through faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 1:4). Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River is a picture of believers dying to self and entering by faith into their inheritance. This truth is explained in Hebrews 1–6, especially chapters 3 and 4. God doesn’t want us to wander in the wilderness of unbelief. He wants us to claim our inheritance by faith, conquer our enemies, and enjoy the spiritual “rest” that He has for those who walk by faith.

Because the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), all believers are identified with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension (Rom. 6:1–10; Eph. 2:1–10). This truth is pictured in Israel’s crossing of the river. We’re saved from the penalty of sin because of substitution: Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). But we’re saved from the power of sin because of identification: We died with Christ (Gal. 2:20). We must believe what God says is true and reckon ourselves to be dead to sin and alive in Christ (Rom. 6:11–23). We have crossed the river!

Many New Testament scholars believe the apostolic church practiced baptism by immersion. The candidate was submerged into the water and then raised up, picturing the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Israel pictured this truth in their crossing of the Red Sea (separated from the old life) and their crossing of the Jordan River (entering into the new inheritance).

We have also been identified with Christ in His circumcision. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:11–12 nkjv).

The Christian’s circumcision is in contrast to that of the Jews. They had external physical surgery, while believers have internal “spiritual surgery” on their hearts. The Jews’ surgery involved only a part of the body; while for the believer, the whole “body of the sins of the flesh” (Col. 2:11) was removed. When you accept this fact and reckon on it, you have victory over sins of the flesh that would enslave you. Faith “in the working of God” (Col. 2: nkjv) can give you overcoming power.

In the early church there were false teachers who said the Gentile Christians had to be circumcised and obey the law of Moses, or they couldn’t be saved (Acts 15). They were adding human works to God’s grace (Eph. 2:8–10; Gal. 5:1). Paul called these false teachers “dogs” (that’s what some Jews called the Gentiles) and called circumcision “the concision” (“mutilation”), and he affirmed that Christian believers were the “true circumcision” (Phil. 3:1–3). God’s children have experienced in Christ an inward “spiritual surgery” that has given them a new heart and new desires (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; see Ezek. 11:19; 36:26).

Just as the Jewish men at Gilgal had to submit to God’s will, so believers today must yield to the Spirit and allow Him to make true in their personal experience what God says is true in His Word. We must practice “dead reckoning” (Rom. 6:11ff.).

“Forgetting those things which are behind” (Phil. 3:13) is wise counsel for most areas of life, but there are some things we must never forget. In his farewell address to the nation, Moses repeatedly commanded the Jews to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt and that the Lord had delivered them and made them His own people (Deut. 6:15; 15:15; 16:12; 24:18, 22). This great truth was embodied in their annual Passover feast. They were never to forget that they were a redeemed people, set free by the blood of the lamb.

Forty years before, Israel had celebrated the Passover on the night of their deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 11–14). They also celebrated Passover at Mount Sinai, before leaving for Kadesh Barnea (Num. 9:1–14), but there is no evidence that they commemorated the Passover at any time during their years of wilderness wandering. The fact that the new generation wasn’t circumcised prevented them from participating, and God had temporarily suspended His covenant with His people because of their rebellion at Kadesh Barnea. That one act of unbelief had cost Israel dearly.

The death of Jesus Christ is typified in the slaying of the Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), and His resurrection is typified in the “wave offering” that was presented on the day after the Sabbath that followed Passover (Lev. 23:10–14; 1 Cor. 15:23). The day after the Sabbath would be the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, the day of Christ’s resurrection (Matt. 28:1). Again, we see the picture of death and resurrection, which is our only means of life and victory (Rom. 6:4).

The Passover was followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread when for a week the Jews avoided leaven (yeast) and ate unleavened bread (Ex. 12:15, 18–20). When Israel entered Canaan, it was time for the barley harvest; thus grain was available. No doubt the inhabitants of the area had left grain behind when they fled to Jericho for safety; thus that grain was also available. The Lord prepared a table for His people in the presence of their enemies, and Israel didn’t have to be afraid (Ps. 23:5).

On the day after Passover, the manna ceased, and thus ended a forty-year miracle (Ex. 16). If the Passover reminded the Jews of their redemption from Egypt, the manna reminded them of their desire to go back to Egypt! “Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full” (Ex. 16:3). God fed His people the bread of heaven, the food of the angels (Ps. 78:23–25), and yet they still lusted for the food of Egypt (Num. 11:4–9). God easily took His people out of Egypt, but it was difficult for Him to take Egypt out of His people.

Too many professed Christians contradict their profession by exhibiting an appetite for what belongs to their past life. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1–2 nkjv). Using the imagery from Joshua, this means, “You’ve crossed the river and are now in your inheritance. Don’t look back and desire the things of Egypt or the wilderness. Let God feed you and satisfy you with the harvest in the inheritance.”

The harvest is another image of death and resurrection. The seed is buried in the ground and dies, but from that death comes forth beauty and fruitfulness. Jesus applied to Himself both the image of the manna (John 6:26–59) and the harvest (12:20–28), for He is the nourishment upon which we must feed.

Joshua had read in the book of the law what Moses had said to the Lord after Israel had made the golden calf: “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (Ex. 33: nkjv). The Lord had promised to be with Joshua just as He had been with Moses (Josh. 1:5), and now He reaffirmed that promise in a personal way. Like his predecessor, Joshua refused to move until he was sure the Lord’s presence was with him.

This paragraph records one of the pre-incarnation appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in the Old Testament. To Abraham the pilgrim, the Lord came as a traveler to share in a friendly meal (Gen. 18:1–8). To Jacob the schemer, He came as a wrestler to bring him to the place of submission (32:24–32). The three Hebrew men met Him as their companion in the furnace of fire (Dan. 3:25), and Joshua met Him as the Captain of the Lord’s armies. Our Lord always comes to us when we need Him and in the way we need Him.

It must have been a great encouragement to Joshua to realize that he was not alone. There is a loneliness to leadership that can be disturbing and even depressing as you realize how much your decisions affect the lives of others. “To be President of the United States is to be lonely,” said Harry Truman, “very lonely at times of great decisions.” Joshua must have been feeling some of that loneliness.

God had promised to be with Joshua (Josh. 1:5, 9), and the people had prayed that the Lord would be with him (vv. 16–17). The enemy knew that God was with Israel (2:8ff.), and Joshua had encouraged his people with this promise (3:9ff.). Joshua was now experiencing the reality of that promise! The Lord met him as Captain of the Lord’s armies, whether in heaven or on earth. “The Lord of hosts [armies] is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Ps. 46:7, 11). Joshua would recall the song Israel had sung at the Red Sea: “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name” (Ex. 15:3).

I appreciate the courage of Joshua as he confronted this stranger, for he wanted to know whose side he was on. With Joshua, there was no compromise: You were either for the Lord and His people or against them (Matt. 12:30; Luke 11:23). When Joshua discovered the visitor was the Lord, he fell at His feet in worship and waited for His orders.

In Christian ministry great public victories are won in private as leaders submit to the Lord and receive their directions from Him. It’s doubtful that anybody in the camp of Israel knew about their leader’s meeting with the Lord, but that meeting made the difference between success and failure on the battlefield. The Chinese Bible teacher Watchman Nee wrote, “Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord.”

Joshua was reminded that he was second in command. Every father and mother, pastor, and Christian leader is second in command to the Lord Jesus Christ, and when we forget this fact, we start to move toward defeat and failure. The Lord came to Joshua that day, not just to help but to lead. “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15: nkjv). Joshua was an experienced soldier, whom Moses had trained for leadership. Yet that was no guarantee of success. He needed the presence of the Lord God.

The Lord’s first order to Joshua revealed to him that he was standing on holy ground. This reminds us of God’s words to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5). Joshua was standing in “heathen territory,” yet because God was with him, he was standing on holy ground. If we are obeying the will of God, no matter where He leads us, we are on holy ground, and we had better behave accordingly. There’s no such thing as “secular” and “sacred,” “common” and “consecrated,” when you are in the Lord’s service. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10: nkjv).

The sequence here is significant: first humble worship, then holy walk, then heavenly warfare. This parallels the “spiritual postures” found in the epistle to the Ephesians. Joshua first bowed the knee (Eph. 3:14); then he submitted to a holy walk (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15), and then he went out to battle the enemy in the power of the Lord (6:10ff.). Like Joshua, we have already been given our inheritance (described in Eph. 1–2) and we