Joshua 5:1-15

Come in, and receive God’s promises!

Joshua

Brian Rowlands

Maps to help you to study this book are on the Internet at www.easyenglish.info.

Chapter 5

*Circumcision and *Passover – Joshua 5:1-12

v1 All the *Amorite kings west of the Jordan, and all the *Canaanite kings heard what the *Lord had done. They heard that he had dried up the Jordan. And the *Lord had kept it dry until all the *Israelites had crossed to the other side. Then the kings became very afraid, and they felt too weak to fight against the *Israelites.

Verse 1 The *Israelites were now in the *promised land. The people in *Canaan were afraid. They were afraid because God was doing things for the *Israelites. They were afraid about what God would do to them. This was a good time for the *Israelites to attack. But God had other plans! The *Israelites were not yet ready. They had further things to do.

v2 The *Lord spoke to Joshua at that time. ‘Make knives out of stone and *circumcise the men’, he said. v3 So Joshua made the knives and *circumcised the men at Gibeath Haaraloth.

v4 Here is the reason. All the men who came out of Egypt were dead. All the men who were old enough to fight died in the desert. v5 The *Israelites had *circumcised all the men who came out of Egypt. But they had not *circumcised those who were born during their journey from Egypt.

v6 The *Israelites had walked about in the desert for 40 years. But all the men had died who were old enough to fight at the beginning of their journey. This happened because they had not obeyed the *Lord. The *Lord had made a promise. He had promised to give the land to the *Israelites. (And the land was good, with plentiful milk and honey.) But the *Lord said that these men would certainly not see it. v7 So, Joshua *circumcised the sons of the men who had died.

v8 He *circumcised all of them. Then they stayed there until they were well again. v9 The *Lord said to Joshua, ‘You are no longer slaves to the people in Egypt. So, today I am removing your shame.’

So, they called the place Gilgal, and it still has that name. (Gilgal means ‘remove’.)

Verse 2 In Genesis 17:9-14, God told Abraham to *circumcise his son Isaac. Afterwards, every *Israelite had to *circumcise their sons when they were 8 days old. This was to show that they were God’s own people.

Verses 4-6 The *Israelites did not *circumcise their sons when they were wandering in the desert.

There are several possible reasons why they did not do it.

• They could not do it in the desert. They did not have suitable tools.

• They did not want to do it in the desert. It would take a long time to recover.

• They knew that they themselves would not enter the *promised land. So there was no reason to do it.

• They knew that God’s promises were not for them. They had not obeyed God. They were no longer God’s people.

Verse 7 Joshua *circumcised those who entered the *promised land. This was to show a new relationship with God.

Romans 2:28-29 tells us that *circumcision does not make a person a *Jew. His heart has to be right as well.

In Colossians 2:11-12 Paul wrote that we should die to *sin. This is a form of *spiritual *circumcision. Paul suggests that *baptism is a type of *circumcision. Our *baptism means that we bury our *sin. We leave behind our *sinful character.

v10 When the *Israelites were at Gilgal, near Jericho, they kept the *Passover *feast. It was the evening of the 14th day of the month. v11 The next day they ate food grown in *Canaan for the first time. They ate dry seed and flat bread. v12 The *manna stopped on the day when they ate this meal. So, they did not have any more *manna. After that time they only ate food that grew in *Canaan.

Verse 10 The *Passover reminded the *Israelites that God rescued them from *slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:26; Exodus 12:27). The *Passover reminded the *Israelites that they had come out of Egypt. God told them to remember this every year. They would have a special *feast. This is called ‘keeping’ the *Passover.

The *Israelites kept the first *feast of the *Passover when they were at Sinai mountain (see Numbers 9:1-5). They probably did not keep the *Passover in the desert.

• Moses told the *Israelites to keep the *feast of *Passover when they entered the *promised land (Exodus 12:24-27).

• God was angry with the *Israelites who left Egypt. So, God told them that they would never enter the *promised land (Numbers 14:26-30). Instead, 40 years later, Joshua led their children into the *promised land.

God intended that the *Israelites should go straight from Egypt to the *promised land. They did not believe that God could do this! They wandered in the desert for 40 years. God fed them in the desert with *manna. They should have been eating milk and honey. They had to eat something that was not as nice. They missed the goodness of God for 40 years.

2. Take God’s *blessing

The first *victory - Jericho – Joshua 5:13-6

v13 While Joshua was near Jericho, a man appeared to him. The man was standing in front of Joshua and had a sword in his hand. Joshua approached him. ‘Are you an *Israelite soldier? Or are you an enemy?’ he asked. v14 ‘I am neither’, he answered. ‘I am here as the captain of the *Lord’s army.’ Joshua fell on the ground to *worship. Joshua said, ‘I am your servant. *Lord, what can I do for you?’ v15 The captain of the *Lord’s army said, ‘Take your shoes off. You are standing on *holy ground.’ And Joshua took his shoes off.

Verse 13 Many people think that the man with a sword in his hand was Jesus. People think that there are several mentions of Jesus in the *Old Testament. Here are three.

• Genesis 32:24-31 God (Jesus) fought with Jacob.

• Judges 6:11-16 God (Jesus) visited Gideon.

• Daniel 3:19-30 The King of Babylon punished three *Jews. He put them into a very hot fire. The king saw God (Jesus) with the three men. Then, God rescued the three men. The fire could not hurt them.

Most of these events happened when people needed help. God helps us when we need him most.

Other people do not think that these passages are about Jesus. Instead, they think that God sent an angel to help his people. An angel is a *messenger that God sends from heaven. There are many angels. They are God’s servants in heaven.

Verse 14 God controlled the army of the *Israelites. Joshua accepted this.

Verse 15 God also told Moses to take his shoes off at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6). The place was *holy because God was there.

circumcise, circumcision ~ to cut off the skin from the end of the sex part of a man or boy.
Passover ~ an important holy day for the Jews. They eat a special meal on this day every year. This helps them to remember that God freed them from slavery in Egypt. This happened at the time of Moses.

holy ~ description of God, God’s character; set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it. People can be holy if they belong to God. And, they should refuse to do evil things.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.

slave, slavery ~ a slave is someone who belongs to someone else. A slave must work hard for his master and obey him.
Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
Amorite ~ one of a group of people who had lived in Canaan.

Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
Canaanites ~ the people who used to live in Canaan, the promised land.

Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
Lord ~ a name for God in the Bible. The original language of the Old Testament is called Hebrew. In the Hebrew language, there are two words that we translate as ‘Lord’. The Hebrew word ‘ADONAI’ means that God rules. God is our master. The Hebrew word ‘YHWH’ means that God never changes. God is always God.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.

Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.

'promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.
Canaan ~ another name for the promised land.

promised land ~ the land that God promised to give to Abraham and his family.

'circumcise, circumcision ~ to cut off the skin from the end of the sex part of a man or boy.'circumcise, circumcision ~ to cut off the skin from the end of the sex part of a man or boy.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.

Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.
sin ~ when we do not obey the rule of God; when we do not do what God wants us to do.
spiritual ~ something that belongs to the spirit rather than to physical things. Or, a holy thing.

spirit ~ part of a living person that we cannot see. Our spirit can speak to God and God can speak to our spirit. There are good spirits, like God’s Holy Spirit and his servants, called ‘angels’. And there are bad spirits like the devil and his servants.
holy ~ description of God, God’s character; set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it. People can be holy if they belong to God. And, they should refuse to do evil things.

'baptism, baptise ~ to put a person into water, or to put water on a person. At baptism, we show that Christ has made us clean. At baptism, we show to everyone that we belong to Christ.

clean ~ when people do good things and think good thoughts.
sinful ~ evil and wrong; when people do things against God or other people; when we do not obey the commands of God; when we do not do what God wants us to do.
feast ~ a large meal to remember an event or a person; a ceremony.
manna ~ food that God sent from the sky to the Israelites. He sent it while they were in the desert. It is a word in the Hebrew language. It means ‘What is it?’ This is because the Jews did not know what God had sent them.

Israelites ~ people from Israel. They are also called Hebrews and Jews.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of the Israelites.
Israel ~ all the people born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; the people that God chose; or, the land that the Israelites lived in.

'slave, slavery ~ a slave is someone who belongs to someone else. A slave must work hard for his master and obey him.
victory ~ success in war or in a struggle.
worship ~ to love and to praise God more than anyone else. But some people worship false gods, instead of the real God.
holy ~ description of God, God’s character; set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it. People can be holy if they belong to God. And, they should refuse to do evil things.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
messenger ~ a person that has something to tell other people; a person who brings messages.