So how many of you saw the first subtitle to Chapter
5 and said to yourself “Well THIS part doesn’t apply to me…” I did too. That
was my first and honest reaction upon turning the page in my Bible. My subtitle
for Chapter 5 says “The Second Generation Circumcised”. Now how does something
like that apply to us Gentile Christians today?
Well, first let’s read a little of the passage and
then we’ll get into that. “So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who
were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who
were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from
before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their hearts
melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of
Israel.” (v. 1)
Have you noticed that whenever the Lord moves, it is
never kept quiet? Whenever God performs a miracle in the lives of His people,
everyone hears about it. That kind of news spreads. Why? Because our God is not
a quiet God. He is not a God who likes to be put on the shelf in the closet.
No, God desires to be the attention of all who look upon Him! And when He acts,
He makes Himself noticed. When He speaks, He makes Himself heard. He is
Almighty God and He desires the whole stage to Himself.
As His children, we have a duty and should have an
urge to proclaim His works and His words to those around us so that they may
give Him that attention and glory as well. When He makes a move in your life,
people are going to know about it and they might ask you about it. Be prepared
to give the Lord glory and focus your attention on Him.
Now what happens next will be hard for us to
understand an application to us, but let us try. All of the kingdoms in that
area have noticed Israel and are afraid of them. Then the Lord approaches
Joshua. Verses 2-7 explain to us that the Lord wanted Joshua to circumcise all
of the Israelite men. Why? Because this was a new generation. The Jews who had
been led out of Egypt by Moses were already circumcised, but their descendants
were not because they had not taken the time to do so during the forty years
they dwelt in the wilderness. This second generation of Israelites had to do
this thing before the Lord led them in their conquest against Canaan. Why?
The purpose of circumcision was not to cause pain
for no reason. No, God demanded His people be circumcised because the Jews were
His people, set apart for His purpose. As a nation, He had chosen them and in
order that a difference may be distinguished between the Jews and the non-Jews
(Gentiles), the Lord commanded that they be circumcised.
Now, we as Gentile, American Christians are not
required by God to be physically circumcised. However, what I would propose to
you all is that God demands us to be circumcised spiritually. What do I mean by
this?
Before we may begin our grand conquest for the Lord
and step onto the spiritual battlefield in our armor, we must set ourselves
apart for the Lord. I believe this should be an experience that takes something
out of us. Whether it causes pain, or just drains us, I believe before God will
really work in us, we should take a step of loyalty and mark ourselves as His
servants. The Jews did this in a physical manner.
And notice verse 8. “So it was, when they had
finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the
camp till they were healed”.
After going through this process, the Jews had to
take the time to heal. It was a painful thing for them to be marked, yet the
Lord demanded it. It is my belief that all Christians must be spiritually
circumcised as a child of God. We must be set apart from the world around us.
Now how do we do this? What do I mean “spiritually
mark” ourselves? I mean, we must undertake a task or complete a process of some
sort that is in honor of our Master and is yet damaging to us. Because when you
take a serious look at it, God was asking the Israelite men to damage and
cripple themselves for a time just after all of Israel’s enemies had been made
aware of them. Militarily speaking, this is a foolish move. In panic, the
Canaanites could decide to attack Israel immediately before they themselves
were invaded. If they did so, Israel’s army was in no condition to defend
themselves. God was asking them to put themselves in pain for His sake at a
very dangerous time. Do not forget, Israel was now in Canaan. There was no
Jordan River separating them…Israel was in the middle of enemy territory and
this is when the Lord chooses to command Joshua to circumcise the people. Why
would God do this?
As Paul best said in 2 Corinthians 12, “And He said
to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” (v. 9-10)
The Lord wanted to make it clear to Israel from the
very beginning that they were His and He was God. He was to be their strength.
At a time when strength was most necessary, He cripples them so that they MUST
trust in the only strength they have left: His. Do you see the Lord’s message
in this? All too many times when we get involved in a ministry or see an
opportunity to glorify Him, we jump to the mindset of “God, give ME strength to
do this”. But from what I see of Scripture, God doesn’t add to our own
strength. Rather, He offers us His.
And THAT is the message behind this. So how might
you spiritually circumcise yourself? Find the thing that you are strong in and
weaken yourself in the presence of God. If you are skilled at something, give
it up for a time. If you are not good at something, tackle it fiercely though
it is difficult and not appealing. I don’t think the idea of circumcising is
appealing to any of the guys that will be reading this post. I doubt it was
appealing to the men in Joshua’s time. Yet God calls us out of our comfort
zones and out of our bubble of happiness to truly serve Him. How do you feel
God calling you to mark yourselves as one of His? Remember, it must weaken us
in some way so that we have to trust in His strength and not our own. If you
still have strength on your own in that certain area, do it again and again
until the Lord is the only one in power of that area. That is how it is meant
to be.
Once we are healed, however, the Lord has work ready
for us. Israel had dozens of pagan nations to destroy. What strongholds in your
life is God leading you towards and preparing you to destroy? Christians are
meant to be a people of power and confidence. We are spiritual soldiers. God
will call you to wage war on certain things as they enter your life. In order
for us to successfully overcome these things, we must be clearly marked as
different from unbelievers. Because of this mark, we must be able to trust Him
and not ourselves to handle the things of life. Now that does not mean we cower
in a corner and let God do all the engaging. We must have an active part of our
own lives. But we must trust the Lord and His strength and His wisdom above our
own.
Moving along! Verses 13-15 say “And it came to pass,
when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a
Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him
and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’ So He said, ‘No, but
as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his
face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His
servant?’ Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take your
sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did
so.” (v. 13-15)
Following Joshua’s obedience to the Lord, God
decides to pay him a visit. He recognizes that Joshua is an experienced soldier
and Joshua must have realized the danger in crippling his soldiers after
entering dangerous territory, but as much as Joshua trusted his experience, he
trusted the Lord more. Do you and I trust Him above our own experiences and
above our own logic and wisdom?
So the Lord appears before Joshua in what is called
a Christophany (Jesus Christ appearing in the Old Testament). How do we know
that it was the Lord Himself? Well 1) My Bible capitalizes the references to
Him as you see in the passage above. And 2) Joshua worships Him. If He were
just a messenger or an angel, He would not have allowed Joshua to worship Him.
More than once in Genesis, we see angels appearing to people and refusing to
allow the people to worship them. Worship is reserved for God alone and Joshua
worshipped this Man freely. It was Christ.
Now catch this: Upon Joshua seeing the Man standing
there, he asks Him a multiple choice question. “Are you my friend or my enemy?”
How does Christ answer? He says “No.” Joshua asked if it was A or B and God
answered with C.
The Lord does not operate on our level. What we
perceive is not what He knows. He is above us in understanding, knowledge,
wisdom, and power. In fact, the only thing I can think of us doing better than
God is sinning.
So the Lord steps up to Joshua and says “stop
thinking on such a small scope. I am God and am beyond such a question.” At
that, Joshua figured out that the Lord was before Him and worshipped and asked
for the Lord’s plan. He did not say “thanks for coming, God. Here is my
plan…what do You think?”
No, he says “You are God and I am not. I am Your
servant and will carry out Your will and not my own. What is Your plan, Lord?”
This is the correct attitude and too often we neglect to assume such a mindset
in our prayers and conversations with Almighty God.
When the Lord saw that Joshua’s heart was right, He
told Him the plan. When God deems you and I ready for more information, He will
give it. Too many of us want the result without the journey. The treasure
without the pain and time of seeking it. But God says “no, you will follow the
path I have chosen for you until you are ready to know more.” None of us step
into our Christian lives knowing exactly the how’s, where’s, and why’s of God’s
purpose for us. Such things come in time and when we learn to have a correct
and submitted heart before the Lord. When we are truly the servants and are
willing to listen to His will, He will share. Until then, we must continue to
prepare for the Lord’s plan.
