preparation for god’s war joshua 5:1-12. the memorial of the twelve stones
TRANSCRIPT
Preparation for
God’s WarJoshua 5:1-12
The Memorial of the Twelve Stones
Proverbs 21:1
The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand
of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Have you ever heard any of the sayings?
• “Get while the gettin’s good”• “Strike while the iron’s hot”• “Opportunity only knocks once”• “You only get one ride on the merry-
go-round”• “What you do now, determines what
happens tomorrow”
The Rite of Circumcision • God told them to use flint knives• Gibeath-haaraloth – the hill of foreskins• This was a sign of the covenant [Gen. 17:1-13]• Now they are told to do it a second time – what does that mean• There are physical benefits from circumcision • There are more important Spiritual benefits
– Rom. 2:28-29– Col. 2:9-11– Deut. 10:16; 30:6– Jer. 4:4
• Therefore all males who were 0-40 were circumcised• By circumcising his men as he did, Joshua temporarily disabled half or
more of his army• But Joshua was practicing radical obedience, here: Immediate,
Unquestioning and Complete• Their obedience was to be the secret to their success
The Celebration of the Passover
• “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt”
• What does that mean?• How was it instituted? – Ex. 12:13ff• The Passover represented redemption
and the promise of salvation by way of the coming Messiah, who was the Lamb of God
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
• That is why they ate unleavened bread [5:11-12]
• It begins immediately after the Passover
• Leaven, which represents sin, is searched for and removed from every Israelite dwelling
Principles to Assimilate
• What are Joshua and the people doing? – preparing for God’s war!
• Warfare requires preparation if one wants to be successful
• Their preparation for this war teaches us how to prepare for spiritual warfare. There are five essentials to this preparation
We must cross the Jordan River
• It pictures crossing over from the old life to the new life
• The Israelites crossed the Jordan river by the power of their God
• This river crossing resulted in the demoralization and paralyzation of the enemy
• Their faith commitment was one of no return, for the Israelites could not cross back over the Jordan
A Comparison of Life On Each Side of the Jordan
• A life of enslavement, oppression and suffering
• A life of complaining, grumbling and unbelief
• A life of being negative and defeated, rejecting their God
• A life of rebellion and false religion
• A life of worldliness and immorality
• A life of distrust and loss of blessing
• A life of victory over all enemies that confront them
• A life of peace and rest, especially spiritually
• A life of daily care and provision from God
• A life of abundance and fruitfulness of their land
• A life of inner fulfilment, satisfaction and purpose
• A life of joy and rejoicing in all of God’s blessings
• God’s presence and guidance day by day
We must be circumcised
• It pictured cutting away the sins of the flesh, and being identified as a follower of God
• Joshua obeyed God and circumcised the People with flint knives
• This reminded them of their broken covenant with God
• The disabling of the men was a test of their faith
• Circumcision pictures that the people belonged to God and not to the world
We must observe the Passover
• It pictures the lengths that God will go to rescue His people
• The blood He was willing to shed for them
• It reminds us of His power to deliver His people and how He will fight for them
• We need to recollect His promises and His directives
We must celebrate the feast of unleavened bread
• The active elimination of sin from our lives, our homes and our nation
• We must be free from the world system and its chains of sin
• Which then liberates us to live lives pleasing to our Lord
We must submit to our Commander-in-Chief [5:13-15]
• Our open submission to Him demonstrates our– faith in,– love of,– experiential knowledge of,–obedience to and – fear of our Master