Signs from God - Joshua 5

Introduction

Good morning church. Great week of VBS. I think we had about 17 children participate and we hope that God moves in this moment.

Have

A Sign of the Power of God

Joshua 5:1 CSB

When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.

The Kings feared the loss of land instead of embracing what could be gained. This is a reflection of own fear of loss; our own need to hold on to things; especially when it comes to spiritual condition. These Kings want to hold onto what the believe to be their possession. We to want to hold on to our old way of life. Our own selfishness, our own pride, our anger, our fear. We want to continue in our life of that is contrary to God.

I want to read you something today from a book called “God’s Measure” by J T Forbes. It may take me a bit so please give me some liberty...

Read pages 195-197 (1st paragraph)

When do you think was written? Published in 1898… Let that sink in for a moment.

1898; and it speaks of the condition of mankind that will only be healed inside the heart of each individual. I love this quote from that excerpt.

“There is no healing of men in batches. Each patient is a study. And as a healed man is the triumph of the physician, so are healed men the triumph of the Gospel.” J. T. Forbes

The passage of Scripture we are studying today was written almost 3000 years ago. These men feared and lost heart at the site of Israel coming into their land, of God’s people coming into their land; my friends they are in dire need to shift their hearts toward God.

The shift in our hearts must be toward the Savior; toward the cross. Then we can move with hearts that think and see and live and love as Christ did. My friends we should as Christian be defined by the message and motive of Christ…to love all people…to point all people toward the cross where Jesus paid to free all men; of all colors, of all creeds from the devastation of sin. God never promised you that you would not have to fight for His renewal. The sanctification that occurs at the moment of salvation happens so quickly, but takes a lifetime. My friend we must fight against our bias, we must fight against our pride, we must fight agains our love of self…deny yourself and take up the cross. Take up the cross that loves unconditionally. Take up your cross and live; live in the glory of God’s sanctification.

The Kings are scared…Joshua and his men know it; remember the report; now is the perfect time to claim what God promises, but God tells Joshua to go and get a knife; where we see a...

A Sign of Faith

Joshua 5:2–9 CSB

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite men again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelite men at Gibeath-haaraloth. This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males—all the men of war—had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out were circumcised, none of the people born in the wilderness along the way were circumcised after they had come out of Egypt. For the Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the nation’s men of war who came out of Egypt had died off because they did not obey the Lord. So the Lord vowed never to let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. He raised up their sons in their place; it was these Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way. After the entire nation had been circumcised, they stayed where they were in the camp until they recovered. The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is still called Gilgal today.

In Genesis 15 God establishes His covenant with Abram. This was a covenant made between God and Abraham that his children would possess a land that God will give them. In Genesis 17 that covenant will be marked in the flesh by circumcision. Now I do not know but if I’m Abraham I’m saying; God this is getting really personal, but when we talk about this renewal of the covenant we need to understand the origin of covenant.

A covenant is a bond established in blood. Transaction; Mortgage, buy a car, it is a contract…

Ancient Israel-

Ceremony.

Slaughter animals, divide the animals (Left and Right).

Then we would walk through the animals together.

We are in covenant with each other; if I break my end of the deal may what happened to animals happen to me.

If you break your end of the deal; may what happen to the animals happen to me.

God covenants with us.

But look at what happens here.

Genesis 15:12 CSB

12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

Abram was sleeping, but look what God does.

Genesis 15:17–18 CSB

17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:

You see Abram is a sleep and God walks through the covenant. What this means for us is that we cannot, we are asleep; we are unable to keep our end of the deal. God alone is able to keep His promise and One day He will bear the punishment for our inability to keep our end of the deal. So it must renewed everyday and in today’s text this is a renewal.

For Joshua and his men; this is God renewing the covenant and yes the circumcision does make it personal. Think about this; it may not be that smart to injure the men who are probably going to have to fight for the land right before they go into battle. The past generation was separated from God due to their lack of faith, but God is telling them is to renew their faith and reliance upon Him. Look what God does here...

Joshua 5:9 CSB

The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is still called Gilgal today.

In this act of circumcision; this act of purifying the flesh; God is taking away the disgrace of Egypt. In the payment of flesh and of blood God removes the disgrace that was placed upon them in and by Egypt. With this act…with this cutting away of the flesh; God renewed this covenant to give to His people the Promised Land. A people united in Him. God is renewing the covenant and his men are taking a leap of faith; a leap in trusting God yet one more time to see them through what is to come.

Our renewal happens in our repentance. Your walk with God is intimate and personal and sometimes the only way to heal a wound is to cut it and let it bleed. When you come to Christ you need to open up the things that are not real pretty. Our walk with God opens up wounds that in some of us we do not want to deal with. When confronted with the Word of God our inequity is revealed. We are forced to deal with things we do not want to; we do not want to deal with our lust, our pride, our anger, our fears, our venerability, our doubt, our foolishness.

We need to cut out our pride and walk with humility. We need to cut out our anger and walk with peace. We need to cut out our fear and walk having confidence in a God that loves you. We need to let God know where we are venerable and where we need help. We need to make a choice in if we trust God or we do not, but the wounds of sin are deep and the only payment is of blood and of flesh. Thankfully both have been fully paid in Jesus Christ; church we need to let Jesus roll away the reproach of sin and let Jesus take control. Our renewal happens in our repentance. Then the see a...

A Sign of Provision

Joshua 5:10–12 CSB

10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. 12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

The Israelites moved the camp to just right outside of Jericho and they observed the Passover meal; which like circumcision had stopped, but passover could not take place without the circumcision.(Exodus 12:48) Reminder the Passover commemorates God’s deliverance from Egypt. But I want to focus on the next day. The text tells us that they ate from the land and then the manna ceased. You see God had been providing them food, but this is new provision. God is providing food for them from the land they were promised. It is different than before; they were once sojourners in the land, but now they were settling in.

We too were once wandering aimlessly. Our seperation from God in our life is this huge canyon that we cannot cross. God always provides for us when we walk with Him. That provision may look different in different seasons of life, but God provision does not fail, when we are obedient to him.

Lastly we see a sign from the commander.

A Sign from the Commander

Joshua 5:13–15 CSB

13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.

Now it is very possible that Joshua was looking over the city knowing he was going to have to fight, but as he is there he looks and he see a man standing in front of him. The exchange is interesting:

“Are your for us or for our enemies?”

“Neither.” I come as the commander of the LORD’s army.

Joshua immediately understands who is before him and He bows at the feet of who I believe is Jesus; and Joshua says, “What do you want to say to your servant?”

Jesus just says; “Remove your sandals, you are on Holy ground.” Joshua obeys.

My friend obedience is found at the feet of Jesus. This is where it starts for us. It starts for us in the recognition of Jesus as the commander of the army. In the military you obey the commander, there is no question, there is no doubting the commands of the commander, you just follow the orders of the commander. Remove your sandal.. the place you stand is Holy. Moses stood on Holy ground. Wait a minute how can Holy ground be in 2 places at once?

Holy ground is the pressense of God. Jesus provides a unique opportunity; it provides you with having the pressense of God living in you.

Application

These last couple chapter are very interesting and before the campaign really begins I want you to understand what I believe is the main lesson that God is teaching us through this section of the book of Joshua.

First:

There is no victory without death to self.

This is has been displayed in the crossing of the Jordan. When the nation of Israel went down into the Jordan they died to their old way of life. They died to the old person who lived in sin and iniquity. The covering of water that walled up was God’s protection upon their life; with God they do not make it across; without God we do not make through this life. He is our shelter, our support, our strength, our rock. Isreal had to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves; my friends wash off that old life and begin a new one in the hands of God. 2nd...

There is no victory without obedience.

God told them to grab stones, pile them up in the river and pile them up in the camp as memorials to what happened here this day. When they came across they displayed obedience, but what I think is interesting is the next day they did not go and just attack the City of Jericho. Joshua kept consulting with God and day after day there were new commands.

Joshua take a flint knife and disable your army for several days, Joshua tell your people to prepare the Passover and eat of it. Joshua; I come as the commander of the Lord’s army. Humble yourself in my pressense.

That day when they crossed the Jordan River they came up knew creations, this is the hope and identity we find in Jesus Christ. Joshua is moving step for step with what God wants for Him. This is my pray for you. I pray you walk hand in hand with God.

There is no victory without death of sin and death of self.

What is happening here is that a nation is dying to all things that are displeasing too God and in the process they are dying to themselves. You see there is a full surrender to the will of God in these peoples life and I really cannot help but see how Joshua is just fully submitting to God too. You know he would be fully obedient to God if he just rushed and in took the land God provided, but Joshua paused to check with God about what to do next. Joshua and the people he led…the church…are taking steps everyday to be fully relient upon God; they are dying to their old life to then live in the comfort of God.

That does not mean that battle do not lie ahead; they do, but victory only comes when we die to self and we kill sin present in our life.

“There is no healing of men in batches. Each patient is a study. And as a healed man is the triumph of the physician, so are healed men the triumph of the Gospel.” J. T. Forbes

Each of us has to make a choice on how we are going to move. If we do not trust in Jesus for the life; then we are left on the far banks of the Jordan river; without a hope of getting across. Our trust today is not in God coming down to hold back the rushing water in our life; our God already came and did that. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the mountain of sin in your life. He did it for you…it is a gift. Take it today. Take hold of it today.

Prayer- Invitation in prayer…ask for response..invite up to claim it.