The Art of War

Joshua | Joshua 5:1-15

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We're grateful you decided to join us. When I was um yesterday at we were hanging out as a family, and I was kind of doing some finishing touches as the kids were playing to my sermon today, and I was so I was sitting kind of with my laptop and thinking through a couple things. And my oldest Adele came up and asked me, she said, Are you gonna, you know how you like sometimes at the beginning you like tell a story? I said, Yeah. She goes, Are you gonna like is it gonna be about me again? And I said, I I'm not quite sure about that one yet, sweetie. And she goes, Okay. And that was the end of that conversation. I do have a story, uh, and it does the story is about a person named Adele, but it's not my Adele. Maybe you've heard of her. This this other one who's less famous and I care about less, who sings, and she's got a really good voice. Uh, but her her name is Adele, and uh there's a story that uh I was thinking of this week, uh, and I wasn't sure if I was gonna use it or not, but I'm going to, especially because Adele asked me if I was gonna talk about Adele. So yes and no. Adele, the singer, stood on stage at the Grammys in 2017 to sing a tribute song to uh an artist named George Michael. Now the room was full of musicians, celebrities, the cameras were live, millions of people were watching at home, the lights went down, and the music started, her back, her band started to play, and everyone knows where the next moment is supposed to happen. All the, you know, they're supposed to play the song, and she's supposed to sing the part that she is supposed to sing until the song is done. No, once the song begins, you just keep singing until it's done. You you you push through, you don't stop a live performance at the Grammys. But that's exactly what Adele did. A little ways into the song, she stopped herself. She apologized, she gathered herself and asked to start again. It was completely unexpected. If you were there in the room, I'm sure you're kind of like, this is odd, this is weird. You're watching at home, you're like, well, this isn't how this is supposed to happen. The whole room had to pause with her then. They couldn't go forward without her. The performance had begun, but suddenly everything stopped before it was able to move forward. And I remember being struck by that. I don't often, I don't always watch award shows, but for whatever reason, I was watching that year and I was just kind of like, oh, that was that was weird. Now it came out, she just felt like it didn't start exactly the way that she wanted to, and so she paused it so she could restart it again. But I I started to think this week that there are times where we feel like the next obvious thing that should happen, most of the time it does. But there are times where it's just like the next step that's supposed to happen just doesn't happen the way that it is meant to. Has it ever happened to you? Have you ever been a part of that? Have you ever witnessed that where it's just like, okay, the song starts, then you're supposed to perform the song, and then when it ends, you move on to the next thing. But there's this thing that she just it didn't work for her, so she just had to stop and pause. This morning we're actually going to enter into a text where something like that kind of happened, where you're just like, okay, we're all geared up, we're all ready, the band is performed, the band is practiced, everything's ready to go, and then the next thing that is the next obvious thing to happen, it just doesn't happen that way. We're in our fourth week of our series in Joshua. We've seen the mantle pass from Moses to Joshua, and now we're dealing with the second generation of the nation of Israel. First generation was delivered from slavery in Egypt, and they made it through the Red Sea as God parted it, so they could walk on dry land. They find themselves at Sinai where they met God. God made a covenant with them, gave them rules, laws to follow, and to be his people, and they set out to dwell in the place that God had prepared for them, the promised land that he promised to Abraham. They make it there, they do some surveillance, and they all but two spies are like, This place is not for us. They're too scared, they can't go in, they lack faith. So God will not allow that generation, that whole generation, to enter into the land that was promised. And so they wandered for 40 years. Then they all died in the wilderness. And they are known as the wilderness generation. This again, this is where the book of Joshua picks up. So again, the mantle is past, they've made it, they're starting their way towards the promised land. And last week we see that they actually make it through. They get to the promised land, they enter into Canaan. God parts the Jordan River for them to cross through. And they are now on the other side. Millions and millions of people crossed on dry ground, and they are now in enemy territory. They're there. And it's time for battle. Right? It's time for them to take what God has gifted them. Right? One of the things that I've found to be true in a lot of scripture, if not all of Scripture, it's definitely true in the beginning here of Joshua. Nothing happens quite as expected. But then again, on the other hand, as we look deeper, things happen exactly the way that they were supposed to happen and are surprisingly consistent. Let's dive in. We're gonna be in Joshua chapter 5. We're gonna cover the whole chapter this morning. Starting in verse 1. We're going to see that we're gonna uh we're gonna have, we're gonna kind of follow along with what the next step they enter into enemy territory, and then what happens next. Verse five, or verse one is is in many ways is a bridge verse from what has happened to what will happen. Verse one. As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. So, verse one, again, it serves as this kind of bridge verse. All the Canaanites had received word, just like Rahab had said, about what had happened in chapters three and four. Israel had crossed now the Jordan and had done so in a miraculous way. God had provided a way where there was no way. And it's eerily similar to exactly what happened all those years before, as the slaves, Israelite slaves, leave Egypt, find themselves at the banks of the Red Sea, and God miraculously parts them. The words that Rahab used here are the words again, their hearts melted. In Joshua chapter 2, Rahab says that the people's hearts melted when they heard what God had done. In Joshua 5, 1, the king's hearts melt after the Jordan crossing. Later in chapter 7, after Israel's sin and the defeat at Ai, Israel's own hearts melt. The Canaanites' hearts melted because God is against them in judgment, and they know. Again, there's also a contrast that the author is setting up here. Rahab heard of the mighty works of God and believed, and the nations, the kings, heard of the mighty works of God and they trembled, but it did not change their disposition towards him. It did not come with belief, it did not come with faith, it did not come from repentance. It didn't change their position at all. Canaanites are trebling, and what does God do next? What does Joshua do next? They're in enemy territory. Everybody's scared of them. Everybody's fearful. Everybody is trembling. The next right step in many ways is like, okay, take advantage of this. Everything you'd read, everything you'd think is go take advantage of the situation. You're already over there. Everybody's terrified of you. Just go take it. Verse 2. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time. So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the son of Israel at Gibbeth Hereloth. What? That's the next that's the next move? You're going to incapacitate all of your guys? You're in enemy territory. You're there. They're scared of you. And then I don't want to get too graphic. There's no better time to strike, and what are they going to do? This is not a great military strategy. Right? It's just not. In fact, you could say it's a bad one. But the Lord commissioned Joshua to circumcise every male, and that is exactly what he did. So you think about it. A million or so men. I don't know if it was like a single file line, I don't know exactly how it worked, but it's happening. Can you imagine? All just standing in line. I don't I don't know. Now he says a second time. I want to examine what he means by a second time, because you're thinking, like, wait a second, they were all ready and then they did it again. Can that happen? I think the the author knows that this is kind of confusing, so he helps us see what he means by this in starting in verse 4. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them. All the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land, and that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us a land flowing with milk and honey. So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. Okay. So essentially what we have here is everybody that was all the freed slaves from Egypt were all circumcised. But all of their kids that were not already in Egypt, that were born in the wilderness, none of them were circumcised. They have crossed over, they are in enemy territory, they're about to take the land that God had given them, that God had promised to Abraham, and they stop and they pause to do a mass circumcision because none of the folks that were that were born in the wilderness had been circumcised yet. So in other words, they were not circumcised twice, as in two times it was a circumcision of an entire generation who had not been circumcised, but all of their parents, all of their fathers were circumcised, but they all died. They're all gone now. In many ways, it was a restart. Verse 8. When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the Lord said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. So Joshua Joshua circumcised the whole nation, and then they they stood Pat until they were healed. Now I did a little bit of armchair research on how long a recruit a recovery process would be for a circumcision of a grown man. According to my armchair research, it could take several days to multiple weeks. It is a very long time to be in enemy territory, and everybody's scared of them, and then they incapacitate themselves. It could take weeks. And they aren't healing up to sit at a desk and code or sell vacuums door to door. They're healing up to fight in a battle. They're heading to march for war. Now, admittedly, verse 9 in some ways can be difficult to fully understand. Let me read it again. And the Lord said to Joshua, today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. So the Hebrew word Gilgal means circle or to roll, roll away. And so this place where they camped, where they all were circumcised, on the other side of the Jordan, in the promised land, where the memorial stones were placed, and the mass circumcision took place, is now named for the truth that God rolled away the reproach of Egypt. What does that mean? There's debate. I think the strongest interpretation came from Richard Hess. He believes that this is referring to what was talked about in verses 4 through 6, the Egyptian wilderness generation who was barred from the land. So he says, this describes a generation who came out of Egypt and died in the desert. The reproach of Egypt was the disobedience of the previous generation, which brought about the period of wandering and death in the desert. So, in other words, the judgment that is that it was given to the previous generation to wander and die in the wilderness has now been rolled away from this generation. Because they were obeying the word of the Lord in being circumcised. Okay, before we move on to the next portion of this text, I think it would be helpful to talk through what circumcision is again and why it's important briefly. As a reminder, circumcision was the sign covenant God gave to Abraham. It marked Israel, it marked him, but it marked Israel as the people of promise, not because they earned God's favor, but because God had graciously set his covenant love upon them. So it pointed to God's promise. It also marked out the visible covenant community. Israel did not circumcise themselves in order to make God gracious to them. Rather, circumcision was given because God had already graciously chosen Abraham and promised to bless his offspring. This new generation is standing in the land not because they earned it, deserved it, or even conquered it, conquered their way into it. They are standing there because God keeps his covenant. And now, after years of wilderness wandering, he is bringing Abraham's children into the land that he swore to give them. But it does leave us with, okay, okay, I guess all that makes sense. God in his sovereignty can do whatever he wants, but why did it have to happen like right now? Why did all that have to happen right now? Let's jump back to what we were told in Joshua chapter 4, verse 19. The people came up out of the Jordan, so this is when they're crossing, it's just the previous chapter, on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. So they they make it to the Jordan River, and then they pass through miraculously as God parted it for them to walk on dry dry ground. They find themselves on the other side of the Jordan River in the Promised Land, and it's on the tenth day of the first month. Joshua timestamps that for us. Then the truth is, on this same day, we're to understand, through inference, is when God tells Joshua to do what he's asking them to do by circumcising all the men. Verse 10. On the 14th day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. Okay. So now we know why. Passover, they cross over, and three days later is the Passover. On the tenth day of the month is when they would gather the livestock to be slaughtered, but it wasn't until the 14th day of the month when the Passover was actually celebrated. But the tenth day started the process. So three days after they crossed the Jordan and camped at Gilgal, it was the exact same time the Passover. So if you imagine this, a whole nation of men had just been circumcised, and now three days later they have to celebrate the Passover. Now again, the first Passover was the night God judged Egypt with the final plague, but spared Israel's household with the blood, Israel to Israel's households when the blood of a spotless lamb was placed on their doorsteps. It became the defining meal of Israel's redemption, reminding them that they were delivered from slavery by God's mercy through the blood of a substitute. And they were told to celebrate this every year. It's pretty incredible that Joshua was there for the very first one that ever happened. And now he is present for the very first Passover celebration that happens in the Promised Land. If you think about it, it's pretty amazing. There's the final plague, the crossing of the Red Sea, the crossing of the Jordan, and the first Passover in the Promised Land. It must be an amazing thing for Joshua to be able to participate in. But again, why? Exodus 12, 48 says this No uncircumcised person shall eat of it. In order for them to celebrate the Passover the way that they are supposed to celebrate the Passover, they do so as a circumcised nation, as one that is marked and set apart by God. And this whole generation was not circumcised. Now the previous generation was, so it stands to reason that they would have celebrated the Passover as the wilderness generation, but they're all dead now. So in order to have a celebration, to remember the Passover, to remember what God had done for them, they have to mark themselves first in obedience. Circumcision was the prerequisite for the participation in the covenant meal. The last major act that took place in Egypt was the first Passover, and the first act that cross crossing into the promised land was the same Passover. Before they could move forward, they have to look back. Verse 11. And the day after the Passover, on the very day that they ate of the produce of the uh on that very day they ate of the produce of Of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. There was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. All throughout the wilderness God had provided for them. Mana from heaven. So they were able to eat as they wandered through the wilderness. They were nomads, they were wanderers, they had no home, so God provided for them. But now they are in the land that was promised to Abraham. And they celebrate the Passover of being redeemed by God, and they're in the promised land, and they see food to eat, and they eat it. And that same day is when manna stops coming from heaven. And it's not because God stopped providing for them, he's just going to provide for them differently now. And in many ways, it's written like the land itself. As soon as they cross over, they circumcise, celebrate Passover, and then they start eating from the land. The land is welcoming them home. Man is ceased. They are no longer wanderers. God's provision isn't taken away. He's just providing for them differently now with the richness and fullness of the promised land. Sometimes God's care looks like miraculous bread from heaven. And sometimes it looks like grain from the ground, but both are grace. Okay, now for our last section here before we land this plane this morning. This section in some ways serves as a little bit of a cliffhanger where it's like, okay, now what? And it's a very good bridge from what has happened to what will happen next week. Verse 13. This was read earlier for our scripture reading. When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And he said, No. But I am the commander of the army of the Lord, now I have come. Okay. We don't know exactly how long it took between verses 12 and 13. We do know there's probably still some guys recovering, potentially. And it stands to reason that Joshua now is surveying the land. He's surveying Jericho. He's trying to figure out, okay, what's my next move? Surveying the city, thinking about the walls, the gates, the soldiers, all of his next move, okay. But God interrupts Joshua's probable military focus with a theological encounter. Before Joshua sees Jericho fall, he must see who is truly in command. There's a man with a sword drawn standing there. Now, obviously, this man isn't just there for no reason. If the sword is drawn, that means that he's ready for battle. Judgment is coming. And Joshua asks a question that, quite frankly, if I were Joshua, and maybe if you were Joshua, is kind of the question that you would ask. Okay, this guy looks serious. Are you with me or are you with them? And he said, no. But I'm the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come. Now, are you for us or against us? No. It's kind of funny. My little Margot, who's two, gonna be three here in September, when I ask her if she wants mac and cheese or chicken nuggets for dinner, often her answer is no.

unknown 26:12

Right?

SPEAKER_00 26:12

Like you've in some ways, it's like, okay, I'm I'm familiar with this kind of conversation where I ask an either or can my daughter, maybe daughter's plural, just say no. Now, this doesn't mean that he's neutral. It doesn't mean I'm not gonna pick a side. I'm neither for you or against them, or vice versa. No, no, no. Let's keep reading. So he says, No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come. And he's picking up here in the second half of verse 14. And Joshua fell on his faith face to the earth and worshipped him, and said, What does my Lord say to his servant? And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy, and Joshua did so. Okay. Joshua, immediately beyond hearing who this person is, falls on his face and keyword worships him. Then asks a much better question. What do you want to say to me? How can I serve you? And he calls this figure my Lord. And the response to, what do you want to say to me? What can your servant what do you want to say to your servant? I'm gonna remind you of an encounter that Moses had with the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3. Well, when the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses, and he said, Here I am. And then he said, Do not come near. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. Let me read you again, verse 15. And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. Exactly the same language, exactly the same words. The burning bush is an encounter that Moses had with God. And he uses the same exact words here. What is the author saying to us? This is no normal man. This is no normal commander. This isn't even a normal angel. This isn't even an archangel. No, no, no. This is a pre-incarnate encounter with the second person of the Trinity. This is God the Son having an encounter with Joshua before the nation engages Jericho in battle. So again, Joshua is most likely surveying the area in hopes that something will aid in his planning of taking the city. And the Lord shows up as the commander of the Lord's army with a drawn sword, and Joshua asks the wrong question. Then he asks the right question, and the commander says, I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua Media falls on his face. What does my Lord say to me? What is my servant? I'm a servant to you. This is a major shift. Joshua goes from evaluating a stranger, are you with us or them? to submitting himself as a servant. In other words, God is on his own side, the right side, the righteous side, the gracious side, the holy side. And so the question isn't for Joshua to ask, whose side are you on? The question is actually the opposite to Joshua. Are you on the Lord's side or your own side? Are you going to try to accomplish this task on your own, or are you going to do things my way? Will you submit to me, or are you trying to hoof this on your own? The Israelites are across the Jordan. They're in Canaan. The reputation is continued fear from the Canaanites king. But rather than push forward, God calls them to pause. At Gilgalgal, God calls them to be circumcised, marking his new genera this new generation as the people who belong to the Lord and stand under his promise. This happens right before the Passover, which celebrates God's redemption of Israel in the first place. Manna is now ceased, and they are welcome into the land by eating its food for the first time, which leads us into the final movement of the story: Joshua's encounter with God. Joshua is standing face to face with the second person of the Trinity that says, No, no, no. I am the commander of the Lord's army, and now I have come. Now I have come. As we turn the corner this morning, I want to make a couple observations, and then we'll have a few applications for us. The first thing is that Joshua 5 in many ways is a new Exodus chapter. The waters have just parted, the people pass through on dry land, they keep the Passover, the reproach of Egypt is removed, the wilderness provision ends, the land promise begins. Joshua meets the Lord in a way that echoes Moses at the burning bush. Take off your sandals, this is holy ground. So, in many ways, the same beats that we see in the Pentateuch are beating here in Joshua 5. The circumcision of the nation, then the Passover, an encounter with God, who is really in charge. Everywhere that the previous generation failed, God is giving this correct gener this current generation the opportunity to obey rather than fail. Obviously, Joshua is not Moses, but God is showing continuity. The same Lord who brought them out is going to bring them in. That's one. Another is I wanted to spend a minute here talking about the relationship between circumcision and Passover and what that looks like for baptism and communion. It's worth noticing the order of Joshua chapter 5. Before Israel celebrates Passover in the land, the covenant sign of circumcision is renewed. They cannot celebrate Passover without being circumcised. The order is not accidental, I don't believe. Circumcision marked Israel as belonging to the covenant people, and Passover was the covenant meal that remembered their redemption. So before they come to the meal of redemption, they first received the sign of covenant belonging. This is one reason as a church we believe baptism should come before the Lord's Supper, come before communion. Now we're not saying that baptism saves a person, just like circumcision did not save Israel. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. But baptism is the new covenant sign by which believers publicly identify with Christ and his people. So the Lord's Supper, so communion, is not an isolated private moment. It is the family meal of the baptized church. Where those who have publicly identified with Christ remember and proclaim his saving death together. Now the truth is there are a lot more observations that could be made. For the sake of time this morning, I wanted to just kind of boil down what we have to a simple phrase and then give us some applications as we move forward. Joshua 5 shows us that God prepares his people for what is next by reminding them that they belong to him, have been redeemed by him, and are led by him. God prepares his people for what is next by reminding them that they belong to him, have been redeemed by him, and are led by him. And the truth is, with all those things being true, it doesn't matter what is next, does it? When you belong to Christ, you are redeemed by Christ, and he will guide you. He will care for you, he will give you new mercies every morning. Life is not promised to be easier necessarily, but it is better. The more you rely on Christ, the more freedom you experience, the more of his grace you'll experience. So, three application points here. So remember who you are. You belong to the Lord. Circumcision at Gilgal reminds Israel that before they are warriors, settlers, or conquerors, they are covenant people of God. Their identity is not primarily former slaves or wilderness wanderers or outmatched soldiers. They belong to the Lord by covenant promise. We do not move forward in obedience to earn our identity. We move forward because Christ has already claimed us all his own on the cross and through his resurrection. And we but when we believe, we are his. The first thing that God does before Jericho is not give Israel a battle plan, but renew their covenant identity. Before they need to know what to do, they need to remember who they are. The same is true for us. Christian obedience does not begin with proving ourselves to God, but with remembering that in Christ we belong to him. Second thing quickly, remember what God has done. He brings his people all the way home. Passover reminds Israel that the Lord brought them out of Egypt by blood and mercy, and now they are celebrating the Passover in the land. And so that means that God did not merely bring them out, he also brought them in. Jesus does not merely save us from slavery to sin and death, he brings us into sonship, inheritance, and promised rest. He is the greater Joshua who brings us, who brings his people home. He is the true Passover lamb whose blood secures the redemption of his people. God did not rescue Israel from Egypt so we could die, so they could die as wanderers. He brought them out in order to bring them in. This is what Jesus does for us in the gospel. He's not merely saved us from sin's slavery, he brings us into the freedom, rest, and inheritance of the children of God. And lastly, submit to the one who leads, because Christ is not just present, he is commander. Chapter ends with Joshua meeting the commander of the Lord's army. First, Joshua must learn that he is not ultimately in charge. I believe this encounter is a pretty clearly an encounter with a pre-incarnate Christ, and if that is the case, it is another proof that Christ is not absent from the story of redemption. Before Bethlehem, the eternal son is present with his people, leading, commanding, and bringing God's promise to fulfillment. Joshua asks, Are you for us or for our enemies? But the Lord reframes the whole question. He's not come to join Joshua's side. He has come to command Joshua's surrender. And that is still the call of Christ. Jesus is not merely someone we invite to bless our plans. He is the risen king before whom we bow. The captain of our salvation. The one who leads his people into the promises of God. Joshua 5 shows us that God does not redeem his people halfway. He brought them out of Israel, brought them out of Egypt by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus Christ is the true Passover Lamb and the greater Joshua. And by his blood, Jesus delivers us from the slavery of sin and judgment that we deserve. By his resurrection, he rolls away our reproach and brings us into the inheritance of God's children. And as the commander of the Lord's army, he does not simply join our plans to impress, to bless our ambitions. He calls us to bow before him where he leads. And this is not bad news. But if Christ is commander, then we are being led by the one who knows the end from the beginning, who has conquered sin and death, and who loves us enough to give himself for us. Surrender to him is not losing what is best, is being freed from the tyranny of self-rule and brought under the care of the King, who's always good, always wise, and always faithful. God prepares his people, for those of us that are in Christ, for what is next, for whatever that may be in your life. By reminding you that you belong to him. By reminding you that you've been redeemed by him.