Preparation for

God’s WarJoshua 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