Preparation for God’s War Joshua 5:1-12

The Memorial of the Twelve Stones

Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.

Have you ever heard any of the sayings? “Get while the gettin’s good” “Strike while the iron’s hot” “Opportunity only knocks once” “You only get one ride on the merry- go-round” “What you do now, determines what happens tomorrow”

The Rite of Circumcision God told them to use flint knives Gibeath-haaraloth – the hill of foreskins This was a sign of the covenant [Gen. 17:1-13] Now they are told to do it a second time – what does that mean There are physical benefits from circumcision There are more important Spiritual benefits – Rom. 2:28-29 – Col. 2:9-11 – Deut. 10:16; 30:6 – Jer. 4:4 Therefore all males who were 0-40 were circumcised By circumcising his men as he did, Joshua temporarily disabled half or more of his army But Joshua was practicing radical obedience, here: Immediate, Unquestioning and Complete Their obedience was to be the secret to their success

The Celebration of the Passover “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt” What does that mean? How was it instituted? – Ex. 12:13ff The Passover represented redemption and the promise of salvation by way of the coming Messiah, who was the Lamb of God

The Feast of Unleavened Bread That is why they ate unleavened bread [5:11-12] It begins immediately after the Passover Leaven, which represents sin, is searched for and removed from every Israelite dwelling

Principles to Assimilate What are Joshua and the people doing? – preparing for God’s war! Warfare requires preparation if one wants to be successful Their preparation for this war teaches us how to prepare for spiritual warfare. There are five essentials to this preparation

We must cross the Jordan River It pictures crossing over from the old life to the new life The Israelites crossed the Jordan river by the power of their God This river crossing resulted in the demoralization and paralyzation of the enemy Their faith commitment was one of no return, for the Israelites could not cross back over the Jordan

A Comparison of Life On Each Side of the Jordan A life of enslavement, oppression and suffering A life of complaining, grumbling and unbelief A life of being negative and defeated, rejecting their God A life of rebellion and false religion A life of worldliness and immorality A life of distrust and loss of blessing A life of victory over all enemies that confront them A life of peace and rest, especially spiritually A life of daily care and provision from God A life of abundance and fruitfulness of their land A life of inner fulfilment, satisfaction and purpose A life of joy and rejoicing in all of God’s blessings God’s presence and guidance day by day

We must be circumcised It pictured cutting away the sins of the flesh, and being identified as a follower of God Joshua obeyed God and circumcised the People with flint knives This reminded them of their broken covenant with God The disabling of the men was a test of their faith Circumcision pictures that the people belonged to God and not to the world

We must observe the Passover It pictures the lengths that God will go to rescue His people The blood He was willing to shed for them It reminds us of His power to deliver His people and how He will fight for them We need to recollect His promises and His directives

We must celebrate the feast of unleavened bread The active elimination of sin from our lives, our homes and our nation We must be free from the world system and its chains of sin Which then liberates us to live lives pleasing to our Lord

We must submit to our Commander-in-Chief [5:13-15] Our open submission to Him demonstrates our – faith in, – love of, – experiential knowledge of, – obedience to and – fear of our Master