Fear, Separation, the Cross and serving Chris day by day
Text Joshua 5:1-12 Time 21 06 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)
The art of War by Sun Tzu is an ancient Chinese text explaining how to go about warfare. I have a copy in the house somewhere. I'm sure you can learn from such a book but you can learn far more from the Bible and especially the Book of Joshua, written a thousand years earlier, which one writer suggests could be called The art of War. Joshua's approach as you might guess differs from that of SunTzu.
We come this week to Joshua 5 and the beginning of a new section. Chapters 5-9 are about conquering the land. Like the sections that follow in Chapters 10 and 11, the section begins with kings hearing something (5:1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast (all these pagan peoples then - something like on both sides of Offa's dyke/North and south of Hadrian's Wall) heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites ... 10:1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai ... 11:1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, ...).
I want us to look this time just at the first 12 verses of Chapter 5. In these verses the theme continues to be preparation. The people have now entered the Promised Land and they are about to enter into their first battle - against Jericho. But they are not ready yet. Two or three things need to happen first - not things Sun Tzu would have recommended. I want us to consider those things this evening and, as we do, so I want us to think about the Christian life.
I have said to you that the conquest of Canaan is a picture of the Christian life. Just as they were led into the Promised Land by Joshua their leader and fought there to subdue the Canaanites, so we are to follow our leader Jesus into the joys and challenges of living as Christian people, warring against the world, the flesh and the devil, with his wisdom and strength.
Here we are told first how the hearts of the Canaanites were melting in fear. knowing the Israelites were on their way. Then there is the circumcision of all the men at Gilgal and the first Passover in the Promised Land after which the giving of manna came to an end. So we say
1. Fear the Lord and remember that every enemy you face trembles to see God at work in you
We are told in verse 1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
The focus first of all then is not on the people of God but on their enemies, on the Amorites or Canaanites. They heard, of course, about how the people got across the Jordan and the news made their hearts melt and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. They knew they were about to be invaded and they had hoped at first to be able to resist. But if these people have God with them and he does miracles like that then what hope is there for them?
Now something similar can be said with regard to the Christian life. Firstly. to become a Christian a melting of the heart is necessary. We all need to see that God is greater than all of us put together. He does as he pleases. That should make us repent and trust in him and fear him.
But then also realise that despite a bold front our enemies also realise that there is no hope for them. Remember that line in William Cowper's hymn
Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees
That is true.
About ten years ago atheists organised an advertising campaign on the sides of buses. They had a slogan put there saying ‘There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’ It's an interesting statement as it shows that many agnostics and even some professed atheists have their doubts about God's existence and when they think he does exist it makes them worried and stops them enjoying life. They are melting with fear in truth.
We know too what a melting fear there is in our own hearts at times when we think we are saying goodbye to things that we once held dear. We hear someone going on about a football team or about music or some other matter and we think "I used to be as enthusiastic as that" but now it is all melting away.
So fear the Lord and remember that every enemy you face trembles to see God at work in your life.
2. Be determined to remain set apart to God by faith, whatever it costs
While the Canaanites were full of fear, there was calm on the Israelite side. The second thing we read here is about how the LORD commanded Joshua to Make flint knives (not iron so these were ancient times) and circumcise the Israelites again. "Circumcise again" sounds strange but it comes out of the fact that Israel is one and a whole generation had grown up who were not circumcised. Whether this was due to neglect or because they were not encouraged to circumcise we do not know. It put them in an odd position, however, - the people of God and yet not the people of God.
Joshua obeyed the LORD and had them circumcised. Verse 3 says this was at Gibeath Haaraloth (hill of foreskins). The explanation is in verses 4-7 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt - all the men of military age - died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way.
There are two generations then.
Generation 1 - All the people that came out had been circumcised, ... but they ... had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD
Generation 2 - ... but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. However, God raised up their sons in their place.
It also says here that the LORD had sworn to them (the first generation) that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey (the next generation). Nothing can stop God's plans.
This reminds us how one can have what is outwardly required - circumcision, baptism, church going but not be converted and on the other hand lack certain things and yet still be truly converted. Of course, what happens here is that the second generation now gets circumcised.
Circumcision is the sign of the covenant and from Abraham on all true Jewish males were circumcised. It is a painful operation and takes a few days to heal but it is given such importance here that it had to be carried out, even though they were about to invade Canaan. Verse 8 says And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
When we come to the New Testament there is no longer any need to be physically circumcised, although spiritual circumcision is still a part of being a Christian.
In Romans 2:28, 29 Paul says A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God.
In Colossians 2:11-14 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Not just a small piece of flesh but Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, it is baptism that replaces circumcision in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
Circumcision reminds us of the importance then of seeing the whole of your flesh cut off, of being separated to God by faith in Jesus Christ as Abraham was circumcised so these men who succeed him in the covenant are also circumcised. We who are under the new covenant are circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands and buried with Christ in baptism. We dare not forget that. We are separated to God and we need to live separated lives, lives dedicated to him.
Are we a circumcised generation then? A people set apart to God? Are we given up to him? That is how it should be.
9 Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. Israel had been known as slaves down in Egypt but that was now all about to change. They were now truly the people of God. This is the blessing of every Christian, whatever others may say.
3. Centre yourself on Christ the Lamb and his death on the cross and live the Christian life
The third and final thing we learn here is to do with the keeping of the first Passover in the Promised Land and the end of the manna that fell from heaven.
1. Centre yourself on Christ the Lamb and his death on the cross
The next thing we read is (10) that God says to Joshua then On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.
God so timed it that they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land just in time for the anniversary of the Passover. You recall that the first Passover, the beginning of redemption, occurred when God's angel passed over Egypt and out to death the firstborn sons of all the Egyptians. The Israelites were safe, however, as long as they slew a lamb in the prescribed way and put the blood on their doorposts. This was the last of the ten plagues and happened when Israel left Egypt and started on the Exodus. When the angel saw the blood he would pass over. It is this deliverance that they now celebrated forty years after the event at the end of redemption.
The Passover points us forward to what was going to happen when Jesus the true Passover Lamb would come and would be sacrificed on the cross so that by his blood we would be redeemed from bondage or slavery. We must never forget what Jesus has done to save us and to set us free.
2. Live the Christian life
There is then a footnote saying (11, 12) The day after the 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. Note three times it says that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. ... they ate this food from the land; ... that year they ate the produce of Canaan. The manna came down from heaven itself and it was a great privilege to live on manna but that period came to an end and once in the Promised Land, the people had to learn to live in a much more ordinary way but in fulfilment of God's promise.
Perhaps that reminds us of the difference between conversion and the every day Christian life. To become a Christian you need to feed on Christ the true bread that came down from heaven, Once you get that it is an easy and delightful thing to do, although it is easy to take for granted God's love. Once you become a Christian there is a certain ordinariness about the Christian life that can weary us if we are not careful. The ordinary Christian life is not just justification by faith, it is a life of sanctification, of saying no to ungodliness and walking with the Lord in faith.
I have told you the story before of how, when I was a student in Aber, I didn't have an alarm clock for some reason so I prayed that the Lord would wake me up nice and early so I could read my Bible and pray before breakfast. I was living by the sea and for the first and only time God sent a seagull to come and tap on my window at exactly the right time to wake me and I had a wonderful time of devotion before going down to breakfast. By the next morning I still hadn't worked out a way of waking myself up nice and early and God didn't send a seagull and so I slept through and had to rush down to breakfast without first reading and praying. I concluded that God had no wish to send a seagull to wake me every morning but wanted me to make my own efforts. Yes, he could do it the other way as he had shown and as when he sent manna to the Israelites every day but, no, the ordinary Christian life is to be lived by using ordinary means - alarm clocks, Bibles, early nights, organisation, etc.
Spurgeon says in one place We talk of Providences when we have hairbreadth escapes - but are they not quite as much Providences when we are preserved from danger? I have told you before what the old Puritan said to his son who had ridden several miles to meet him. "Father," said the son, "I have had a remarkable Providence! My horse stumbled badly three times, yet did not throw me." "Ah, my Son," said the father, "I have had a still more remarkable Providence than that, for my horse did not stumble once." Manna from heaven, food in the Promised Land, it is ll God's kind providence.
