Reflections on Joshua 5

Joshua 05 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea lost their courage and their will to fight, when they heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan River to let Israel go across.
   
2. While Israel was camped at Gilgal, the LORD said, "Joshua, make some flint knives and circumcise the rest of the Israelite men and boys."
   
3. Joshua made the knives, then circumcised those men and boys at Haaraloth Hill.
   
4. This had to be done, because none of Israel's baby boys had been circumcised during the forty years that Israel had wandered through the desert after leaving Egypt. And why had they wandered for forty years? It was because right after they left Egypt, the men in the army had disobeyed the LORD. And the LORD had said, "None of you men will ever live to see the land that I promised Israel. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and someday your children will live there, but not before you die here in the desert."
   
5. (SEE 5:4)
   
6. (SEE 5:4)
   
7. (SEE 5:4)
   
8. Everyone who had been circumcised needed time to heal, and they stayed in camp.
   
9. The LORD told Joshua, "It was a disgrace for my people to be slaves in Egypt, but now I have taken away that disgrace." So the Israelites named the place Gilgal, and it still has that name.
   
10. Israel continued to camp at Gilgal in the desert near Jericho, and on the fourteenth day of the same month, they celebrated Passover.
    
11. The next day, God stopped sending the Israelites manna to eat each morning, and they started eating food grown in the land of Canaan. They ate roasted grain and thin bread made of the barley they had gathered from nearby fields.
    
12. (SEE 5:11)
    
13. One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man standing some distance in front of him. The man was holding a sword, so Joshua walked up to him and asked, "Are you on our side or on our enemies' side?"
    
14. "Neither," he answered. "I am here because I am the commander of the LORD's army." Joshua fell to his knees and bowed down to the ground. "I am your servant," he said. "Tell me what to do."
    
15. "Take off your sandals," the commander answered. "This is a holy place." So Joshua took off his sandals.
    

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    Israel was no doubt mentally ready for battle following their miraculous crossing of the Jordan. Because of that miraculous crossing the Canaanites had "lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites." (5:1) It would seem the time was right to take advantage of the moment and strike swiftly. But Israel was not yet ready for battle. This was not a mere conquest of land but a spiritual encounter. Not only was God's covenant with Abraham about to be fulfilled, giving Israel the land of Canaan, but the long delayed judgment of the inhabitants of Canaan was also about to be accomplished, and Israel was to be God's instrument of judgment. Therefore, God would be fighting Israel's battles for them both to allow them to have possession of the land and to judge the Canaanites. It was crucial, then, that Israel be prepared spiritually for this crusade. Consecration must precede conquest. And this was God's next instructions to Joshua.
    
    First, the Israelite men were to be circumcised, once again carrying the mark of their covenant with God. The fact that they were not circumcised was an indication of their spiritual indifference at this point. All of the men were circumcised when they left Egypt but the practice had not been continued during their 40 year stint in the wilderness. It was important that they consecrate themselves to the Lord in this way. Once they had been circumcised, the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you." (5:9) It is thought by many commentators that this referred to taunts by the Egyptians about Israel being rejected by God and left to wander in the wilderness. But that disgrace was removed because they had renewed their covenant with God through circumcision and preparing to take possession of the land God had promised to them.
    
    Next, the Israelites observed Passover. This was only their third time to do so. The first was just prior to their escape from Egypt and the second was when they prepared to leave Mount Sinai following their receipt of the laws handed down to them through Moses. Their failure to observe the Passover since then was another indication of their spiritual indifference. Once they observed Passover on this occasion, they ate of the produce of the land for the first time and the manna ceased coming. Their wandering was officially over and they were now spiritually prepared to take possession of the land.
    
    Only one more thing was needed, and that was God's battle plan for Jericho. Jericho was the most fortified city in Canaan and would be their most daunting to overtake. How were they to break through the walls of Jericho with an arsenal of slings, arrows, and spears? Following Passover, Joshua evidently went alone to look over Jericho and consider how they were to approach the city. As he neared the city he "saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand." (5:13) Joshua enquired as to whether he was "friend or foe" and the man identified himself as "commander of the LORD's army." Joshua immediately bowed down in worship and asked "What does my Lord want to say to His servant?" (5:14) The first thing the man said to him was to "Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." (5:15) Joshua was not only in the presence of an angel but in the presence of God. Now he would receive his battle plan for Jericho.