The God of New Beginnings

Joshua 5:10-12 ESV

10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

As I began considering which messages I should present to you this year, the Lord impressed on me to choose specific narratives from both the Old and New Testaments, different accounts, and relay them to you.

Typically, I have a topic in mind, and I choose a verse or a passage to preach on that details the topic that I have in mind.

But for the entire year this year, I am going to choose specific narratives, or accounts in the Bible and spend each Sunday of a particular month expositing these accounts.

During the odd numbered months, we will be going through an account from the Old Testament, and during the even numbered months, we will be going through an account from the New Testament. I believe that in this way, we all can obtain an even deeper knowledge of the Bible and thus be brought closer to God.

So, with this month being January, an odd numbered month, we are going to start off this year long journey by beginning in the Old Testament.

And what better way to start off a new year and a new journey than by talking about a new beginning?

And that’s what we’re going to be talking about this month as we talk about the new beginning that the Lord gave to the people of Israel after their long, long journey through the wilderness as He eventually brought them to Canaan, the Land of Promise.

But Canaan wasn’t an empty, uninhabited place, no, there were cities and kingdoms established there, already built up, and they weren’t planning on just walking away, surrendering, and letting the people of Israel come in and have what was theirs.

No, they were going to fight for what was theirs. So, in order for Israel to be able to conquer and occupy Canaan, they were going to need God to fight for them.

With each city and with each kingdom that they conquered, they were going to need God to go before them and fight for them.

And the first stop in this conquest was the city of Jericho. And that’s what I want to talk about this month, the events leading up to the Battle of Jericho and the Battle of Jericho itself.

And today, what I want us to talk about is one of the most meaningful and significant events that surrounds Israel’s long journey through the wilderness as the events surrounding the Battle of Jericho begin to unfold.

This was Israel’s first Passover in the land of Canaan and an event that was significant as to how the people of Israel would depend on God from here on out.

Many things had happened to the people of Israel in the course of their long journey toward Canaan.

The man who had led them out of Egypt and started them on their journey towards Canaan, Moses had died.

Every man in their midst who had lived in Egypt and thus been brought out of the land of slavery had died in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb, so this was a whole new generation of Israeli men who had been born in the desert.

They also had a new leader after Moses had died, the man who this book is named after, Joshua.

And now they are about to go through another great change as they finally enter Canaan. In fact, the change will be so great that it will completely alter the way that they had been living for so long.

God had already commanded Joshua in the first chapter of this book to cross over the Jordan and to come into the land to begin the conquest of Canaan.

And before they crossed over, it was made plain to Joshua that when they did cross over the Jordan, they were going to strike the city of Jericho first.

Knowing that this was what God would have them to do, Joshua sent two spies into Jericho in order to observe the land and report back to Joshua the general attitude that the people of the city had concerning the approaching Israelis, and to also report back the weaknesses of the city.

With the assistance of a prostitute who lived in the city, named Rahab, these spies obtained the needed information and reported it back to Joshua.

Thus, Israel crossed over the Jordan River and for the first time, embarked on the Promised Land west of the Jordan.

At hearing this, the kings of Canaan were paralyzed as their hearts melted in fear of what they knew was going to be the inevitable outcome.

But as I said, it was going to be God Who conquered the Canaanite people for Israel, therefore, religious preparation on the part of the people of God was required. If God was going to fight for His people, His people needed to recognize Him and properly worship Him.

Thus, chapter 5 begins by telling us how God commanded Joshua to circumcise the men and boys of Israel.

You see, in ancient Israel, circumcision was an outward mark that you were among the people of God and that you belonged to God.

And before one can participate in the Passover, he must be circumcised.

And Joshua did indeed circumcise the males of Israel that day, and they remained where they were until they were healed. That place where they rested until they were healed was called; Gilgal, which means “to roll” as God said: “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.”

And it is at this point where we arrive at our reading for today. The first verse of our reading tells us:

*Joshua 5:10 ESV

10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho.

For the Jew, the keeping of the Passover was an observation of how God had mercifully passed over the people of Israel when He enacted judgment and vengeance against Egypt in taking the firstborn son of every Egyptian family and how He graciously led them out of Egypt, the land of slavery.

But as has been said, God didn’t just lead them out into nothing, no, He led them out that they may inhabit the Promised Land.

And now, 40 years later, here they are in the Promised Land, celebrating this wonderful event in the land that God had promised to give to them.

This was definitely a new beginning for Israel, and definitely a very emotional experience as they personally experienced how God had kept His word to them.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was new for them as the next verse of our reading tells us:

*Joshua 5:11 ESV

11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.

As Israel traveled in the wilderness, it was so barren that it wasn’t even possible for any kind of vegetation to grow there. As a result, they complained against Moses, saying that they were going to starve to death in the wilderness, and that he brought them out of Egypt only so that they would die in the wilderness.

In response to this, God rained bread from Heaven, bread called manna. And it was this manna that sustained Israel until they reached the Promised Land.

But look what this verse says here, they’re finally in the Promised Land, and because they’re finally in the Promised Land, they no longer have to deal with a landscape that doesn’t bear vegetation, no, it says that now they were finally able to eat from the produce that grew in the land. The wilderness could not provide them with food to sustain them, but the Promised Land could, and here they finally get to experience that.

Once again, this was undoubtedly an emotional experience for the people of Israel as they saw God keeping His promises, fulfilling His word, and giving them the new beginning that they had longed for.

And because God had given them a new beginning, that meant that the way things were going to be from then on out was never going to be the same ever again.

Look at the last verse of our reading:

*Joshua 5:12 ESV

12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

The purpose of the manna had ceased. The reason God had given them manna was because the wilderness could not produce vegetation to sustain them. But now they are in the Promised Land, they are no longer in the wilderness, they are able to enjoy the produce from the land, and because of this, the manna that God had given to them was no longer necessary.

It turns out that God was right when He told Israel that the Land of Promise was a land flowing with milk and honey!

Once again, what an emotional experience this must have been for Israel as they realized that God kept His word and fulfilled His promise.

God delivered, God gave Israel a new beginning, and because of this, things were never ever going to be the same for Israel ever again!

Now, you may ask, what does any of what I’ve said have to do with us here today?

Well, it has much to do with us today because just as God delivered His people out of trouble and led them to a new beginning, so does He continue to do so with those of us who are His people today.

I know personally that I have found myself in some bad situations in my life, and I’m not just talking about before I became a saved man. No, I continue to find myself in hard situations. Sometimes I’m in them because of poor choices on my part, sometimes I’m in them because of nothing that I personally done at all, yet I continue to find myself in hard situations. And God allows these hard situations to come my way.

But what is wonderful is when God, in His own time and in His own way delivers me from my hard situations in life.

This is what God done for the people of Israel when He delivered them from Egypt, the land of slavery. And when He delivered them, what did they do? They celebrated! They celebrated with the God instituted and ordained Feast of Passover, as they glorified and worshipped God for delivering them.

In the same way, when God, not if God, but when God delivers us from the hard situations in our lives, we should celebrate and praise and worship our God for choosing to bring us through our hard times.

But you know, very often when God delivers us from hard situations, we then sometimes go through a time where we are kind of in limbo.

You know, it’s that time when God brings us out of our hard situation, but He hasn’t put us where we need to be yet. And those can certainly be hard and trying times.

Well, the time of limbo for Israel was the 40-year period in the wilderness. They had left Egypt, the land of slavery, and they were going to the Promised Land, but in the meantime, they had to deal with living in the wilderness, a barren wasteland of nothingness.

And when God finally led them to the Promised Land, they celebrated as they were finally able to eat the fruit of the land that they had longed for.

And when we are delivered from the hard situations in our lives and God gets us through that state of limbo and we finally see the purpose of it all. When we finally see what God delivered us to and we recognize our new purpose, we need to celebrate and worship and praise our God for getting us there.

And what was best of all for the people of Israel was the fact that they knew that from then on out, things were going to be different.

From that day, the manna ceased and they ate of the fruit of the land. And because of this, they celebrated as they knew that from then on out, God was going to be doing a new thing.

And when we see the new beginning, when we see what God has delivered us to, we too should celebrate and worship and praise our God for doing a new thing and giving us a new beginning.

Beloved, let us praise the God of new beginnings!

Amen?