Joshua 5 | Overcoming the Giant of Misplaced Priorities

Intro

We live in a fast-pace society filled with opportunities and demands. This translates to decisions on where to focus our time and energy.

The productivity market is worth billions of dollars: tools, apps, books and seminars on how to be more productive.

Productivity seeks to help people in getting stuff done in a particular block of time (RoT, Return on time).

The reason why the productivity market is so popular is because we as humans realize that we have a limited amount of energy and time on earth.

Personally, I’m thankful for technology and techniques that helps us optimize our efforts in order to get things done with our limited time.

One thing that technology and techniques fail to address is the following question we all must answer: What are the priorities that truly matters in life?

Once again, let me quote William Carey for the third sermon in a row:

“I'm not afraid of failure; I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter.” William Carey

Let us address The Giant of Misplaced Priorities.

How the title of the sermon came about.

Joshua 5:5 “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.”

Why? I think the next verse gives us a clue.

Joshua 5:6 “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; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Personally, I think that the heart of the matter was that they didn’t believe they were going to go into the Promised Land so circumcising their children wasn’t a priority for them.

What is the deal with circumcision and the Passover?

Circumcision

The Mayo Clinic defines circumcision as “the surgical removal of the skin covering the tip of the penis.” (ouch!)

What is the significance of circumcision for the Israelites? Circumcision was at the heart of the covenant God established with Abraham and his descendants

Genesis 17:9–14 “9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.””

Circumcision wasn’t optional, it was a requirement in order to be part of the covenant community (Jesus, Paul, etc)

Passover

Passover was a feast established by God himself.

Exodus 12:21–27 “21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. 25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ”

Joshua celebrates the Passover with the Israelites. It creates two bookmarks God’s history of redemption. The first Passover under the leadership of Moses marked Israel’s exodus from Egypt and now this Passover celebration under the leadership of Joshua marks Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land.

Circumcision and Passover are a big deal!

This is crucial moment for Israel.

[slide MAP] The Setting of Joshua

In chapters 3 & 4 they depart from Shittim and cross over the Jordan. Like the miracle of the Red Sea, God dried up the waters so they could passed over the Jordan River.

Joshua 5:1 “1 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.”

Do you see what is happening here?

The next logical step is to take over Jericho ASAP. Why? Because there is momentum:

The Israelites are deeply encouraged and motivated after seeing the miracle of the Jordan River

The people of Jericho are paralyzed with fear (Joshua 2:9)

However, God speaks and says, “time out! First things first.

Remember God’s instruction to Joshua?

Joshua 1:7–8 “7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Yet God says, “before you all take over Jericho, you all need to get your house in order.”

Joshua 5:2 “2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.””

The text tells us that the whole nation was circumcised. It takes a while to heal. They are incapacitated to fight the enemy were they to attack them.

This is crucial moment for Israel: Trust and obey God or follow their own plan.

"Spiritual growth depends on two things. First, a willingness to live according the The Word of God. Second, a willingness to take whatever consequences emerge as a result." (Sinclair Ferguson)

Main Idea: The Giant of Misplaced Priorities seeks to move us away from pursuing God’s Kingdom and righteous living.

The giants we are looking at throughout this series will be fighting them until the day we die. But with God’s power, we can overcome any giant that gets in our way of experiencing a life of success and transformation.

Charles Stanley put it this way:

Life isn’t something that simply happens to us. Where we are today is largely determined by the priorities we set previously. This means we can also begin the process of re-evaluating them according to biblical guidelines and changing those that are misplaced. (Charles Stanley)

The Giant of Misplaced Priorities:

Values obedience to God’s Word… tomorrow

I’m in a very busy season of my life right now

Now it’s not a good timing (I’ll circumcise my son once I settle in the Promised Land”)

Maybe it was because they constantly on the move in the wilderness. Probably not. They spent almost a year at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:1; Num. 10:11)

Is impatient and fears missing out

“Le’s take Jericho now or will never get the chance again.”

It has no sense of urgency for the things that truly matter: embracing God’s’ values

How to overcome the Giant of Misplaced Priorities:

Priorities flow from vision.

Spiritual vision: honor God with my life and resources and bring glory to his name.

Worldly vision: It’s about my feelings and I.

Persist in following God's path, even if the world fails to applaud your efforts.

Stay the course.

Obedience to God’s commands are not optional but essential.

Ask God to increase your resolve to do his will with diligence.

Ephesians 5:15–16 “15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

We all need a Gilgal Moment: A place where you put the most important thing first: Jesus

Repent and believe the gospel today. Don’t put off salvation until tomorrow.

Renew our fellowship with Jesus and renew our commitment to love and follow him with all of our heart.

Gilgal is an invitation from God to remove sin and shame.

Joshua 5:9 “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.”

The reproach of Egypt was the mocking done by the Egyptians as they saw Israel wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. “God has forgotten you. God is no longer interested in you. God’s promises are not going to be fulfilled.”

Circumcision was an act of grace. God was putting Israel’s “reproach” stage behind them, rolling it away. Gilgal was a place of a new beginning.

Do I need to be circumcised to experience God’s grace? Yes and no.

Circumcision was a physical act pointing to a spiritual reality

Deuteronomy 30:6 “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

Jeremiah 4:4 “4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.””

Jeremiah 31:33 “33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Colossians 2:11 “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,”

Conclusion. The Giant of Misplaced Priorities seeks to move us away from pursuing God’s Kingdom and righteous living. Put Jesus in your life first and everything else will fall into place.

Rocks and priorities illustration