Sermon for 3/27/22 "Are We Prepared To Enter the Promised Land?" 14 Minutes

Joshua 5:9-12

This morning I'll be reading Joshua chapter 5 verses 9 through 12. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Joshua 5:9-12 The Israelites have crossed over the Jordan and are getting ready to enter the promised land after their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Joshua 5:9–12 (HCSB) 9 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is called Gilgal to this day. 10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept 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. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday we looked at Psalm 63:1-8 and we seen how David was always “Thirsting for God” and how that was an attitude that we needed as well.

And we should be “Thirsting for God” all of the time,,, not just during times of trouble,,, because it’s during the good times of our life when we can strengthen our relationship with God and that helps us to see God,,, or find God,,, during the hard times in our life.

God is with us,,, no matter what we are going through,,, but when we have made the effort to build that relationship with God each and every day like we should,,, then it’s so much easier to recognize that God “is” with us,,, during the times when we struggle to find Him like we want.

This morning we will look at these verses in Joshua and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 9 says: 9 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is called Gilgal to this day.

If you read the previous verses,,, you will see that after the Israelites have crossed over the Jordan,,, the Amorite Kings to the west,,, and all the Canaanite kings near the sea,,, heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over,,, they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.

Then,,, God told Joshua to circumcise the Israelite men again.

If you remember,,, all of the men of fighting age,,, those counted in the census,,, were not allowed to enter into the promised land,,, and they were allowed to die in the wilderness as the Israelites wandered there for 40 years.

The generation that grew to adulthood during this time weren’t circumcised since they hadn’t taken the time to do so since leaving Egypt.

Doing this was a risky venture as far as men are concerned since this would have left them vulnerable to attack.

But we know from the previous verses that the kings were afraid of God because of the miracles that He kept doing while delivering the Israelites,,, so that was why they were safe to do this at this time.

And,,, Joshua showed his faith in God,,, by being obedient to God’s command.

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The wordplay on Gilgal,,, which means “circle” as a noun and “roll” as a verb,,, refers to rolling away the disgrace of Egypt.

And the disgrace of Egypt was the rebellion of the previous generation of Israel that caused them to die in the desert.

Because this current generation had followed the covenant and had been circumcised,,, they could now enter the promised land and leave behind forever,,, the disgrace of their parents.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 10 says: 10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.

As I just read,,, Israel,,, camped at Gilgal,,, now kept the Passover.

And we know that without circumcision,,, they would have been unqualified to participate in this important event (Exodus 12:43–44, 48).

Interestingly,,, the nation arrived across the Jordan just in time to celebrate the Passover on the 14th day of the month (Ex. 12:2, 6).

So again we see that God’s timing is always on time!

Also,,, this was only the third Passover the nation had observed.

The first was observed in Egypt the night before their deliverance from bondage and oppression (Ex. 12:1–28).

The second was observed at Mount Sinai just before the people broke camp and moved toward Canaan (Num. 9:1–5).

Apparently,,, the Passover was not observed during the wilderness wanderings,,, but now at Gilgal in Canaan,,, the feast was again observed.

The recent Jordan crossing was so similar to the crossing of the Red Sea that vivid memories were brought back to those who had been in Egypt,,, (remember that people under 20 at the time of the census were not excluded by God from entering the promised land).

So no doubt many an Israelite remembered how his father killed a lamb and sprinkled its blood on the doorpost and lintel.

Those now in Canaan could still hear the awful death cries of the Egyptians’ firstborn.

Then there was the excitement of the midnight departure,,, the terror of the Egyptian pursuit,,, and the thrill of walking between walls of water to escape Egypt.

Now they were reliving it again.

As the lambs were slain they were assured that as the Red Sea crossing was followed by the destruction of the Egyptians,,, so the crossing of the Jordan would be followed by the defeat of the Canaanites.

So remembering the past was an excellent preparation for the tests of the future.

Just as remembering times in the past when God has helped us is excellent preparation to help us during our own trials or problems.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 11 says: 11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.

My Bible Knowledge Commentary says that since they gave evidence of wanting to be fully obedient to the Law of God,,, it is probable that they first brought the wave-offering of a sheaf of grain,,, as it was written in Leviticus 23:10–14.

Then the people ate freely of the harvest,,, including unleavened cakes and parched corn.

God had promised to bring Israel into a land of abundance,,, “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil, and honey” (Deuteronomy 8:8).

Now at last they had tasted the fruit of the land and realized it was a foretaste of blessings to come.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 12 says: 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 next day the manna stopped.

For 40 long years it had continued (cf. Exodus 16:4–5),,, but now it ceased as suddenly as it had begun,,, demonstrating that its provision was not a matter of chance but of special providence.

It is noteworthy that God did not discontinue the manna when Israel despised it (Numbers 11:6),,, or even when the unbelieving generation were turned away and wandered in the trackless wilderness.

At least for the sake of their children God continued to give it,,, till they grew and entered the land of promise.

Then God stopped performing this miracle since natural food was available.

----------------------------------------------------------- We can see from these verses that the Israelites are prepared to enter the promised land at last.

Their days of wandering the wilderness have finally come to an end,,, and they can finally begin their long awaited conquest into the land flowing with milk and honey.

It’s interesting to note that they began their entrance by being obedient to the words of God,,, and doing everything that God wanted them to do.

When it comes our turn to enter our own promised land we need to remember these verses and be prepared with our own obedience to God.

And it should come as no surprise that obedience to God is so much easier to accomplish if we have maintained that relationship with God throughout each and every day of our walk with God.

When we have listened to the Holy Spirit as we should going through each day,,, we instinctively know what course of action to take,,, and where we need to turn,,, because we will be guided and shown each thing that we need to know.

The Israelites had Joshua during this time to help them know God’s plan,,, we have the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit showing us what we need to do.

The key is being sure that we are listening the way that we should,,, so that we hear exactly what we need to do.

----------------------------------------------------------- So as we begin our new weekly walk with God,,, stay in touch with God and remember these verses and the way that the Israelites prepared themselves so that they could enter the promised land that they had been promised.

Remember these verses so that you understand that obedience to God was a requirement to entering the promised land then,,, and it is still a requirement today.

So be sure that you are able to hear the voice of God each and every day,,, and we can accomplish that when we listen to the Holy Spirit,,, just as the Israelites did to Joshua so they knew what God was telling them to do.

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