June 15, 2023

The best leaders also know how to follow.

Joshua 5

Chad Swank
Thursday's Devo

June 15, 2023

Thursday's Devo

June 15, 2023

Thursday's Devo

June 15, 2023

Thursday's Devo

June 15, 2023

Big Idea

God's definition of success is faithfulness.

Key Verse | Joshua 5:6-7

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. So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

Joshua 5

The New Generation Circumcised

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.

2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 1 5:3 Gibeath-haaraloth means the hill of the foreskins 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 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. 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. 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 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 2 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for to roll to this day.

First Passover in Canaan

10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the LORD's Army

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped 3 5:14 Or and paid homage and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Footnotes

[1] 5:3 Gibeath-haaraloth means the hill of the foreskins
[2] 5:9 Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for to roll
[3] 5:14 Or and paid homage

S2:114 Joshua 5

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Dive Deeper | Joshua 5

Life is full of transitions. Often accompanying transitions are a range of emotions around leaving behind the safe and comfortable "known" for the uncertain potential of the "unknown" including fear, anxiety, and excitement. In times of transition, being reminded of truth is essential. In Joshua 5, the Israelites are in a moment of transition. After being led out of Egypt and spending 40 years wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites have crossed into the Promised Land. A new generation. A new place. A new leader. And so, God reminds Israel of four important truths:

  • They are His covenant people.
  • They are a redeemed people.
  • Their God is holy.
  • Their God is with them.

The new leader is Joshua, and he knows to lead well is to follow The Leader. Our first glimpse of Joshua following The Leader (and not the crowd) is in Numbers 13-14 as Israel was first presented with the opportunity to cross into the Promised Land. Now Joshua leads a new generation of Israelites to follow God as they enter the land flowing with milk and honey. Just as Joshua called Israel to follow God, we are called to lead others through our example of following The Leader. Paul says it this way, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV)

I once thought of writing a book about how being a dad gave me a clearer picture of who God is and His relationship with me. If I were writing it, this current chapter—raising two teenagers—would be titled "Caught, Not Taught." The days of my kids listening to my advice based on my life experience often falls on deaf ears. Rather, the lessons learned seem to be through modeling. It is quite humbling to watch my kids struggle with the same issues and behaviors I do. And at the same time, my hope is they will catch the truths that God redeems people and is faithful to His promises.

This month's memory verse

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

– 1 Corinthians 15:58

Discussion Questions

1. In whom or in what do you place your trust during times of transition?

2. How was Paul able to encourage the Corinthians to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)?

3. What are you modeling to the people around you? Are you modeling a life fully devoted to Christ?

4. What leadership and life lessons do you learn from Joshua's encounter with the commander of the army of the LORD in Joshua 5:13-15?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Love the title of your “book” on teenagers. “Caught, not taught” is a very true statement of our experience. Q1. Pre-salvation I would put my trust in my personal Holy Trinity- Me, Myself, and I. The record on that is quite clear. Q2. Among the greatest and most impactful pieces of advice I ever got on evangelism was this, “Tell you own story and be Bold in your weakness.” I have seen those open conversations many, many times. The other part of this that I see in Paul is that he never pointed to Himself but was always pointing to Jesus. Q3. I hope I am modeling a life that God redeemed from the pit, (Psalm 40:1-4). There is no reason for this to have happened other than God planning to use my life as a statement of what He can do through me and others like me. Very frequently, I look back and see how I was and what was important to me. It’s so incredibly sobering. Consistently, a wave of gratitude comes over me. There is no logical reason for what has happened over the last 10+ years. Q4. Two big takeaways- 1. Be rightly oriented. In that, do not be under any delusion that there is any “victory” that is yours. That’s a trap of Satan. He is not “for you” or “for me” in that sense. His answer will always be “neither”. 2. Related to #1, all leaders must have humility in order to be successful. Like Paul, Joshua took no credit. He instantly recognized who the man in front of Him was. (Note: similar figures appear in Numbers 22:23, Number 22:31, 1 Chronicles 21:16. In all of these the angel is the agent of God’s zeal, (ESV SB)).
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Hugh Stephenson

Two elements of this chapter stand out to me- 1- The command to circumcise all the uncircumcised in the 2nd generation. 2- The impossible task of conquering Jericho. The notes indicate it was likely the most fortified place that they could have encountered. From the notes: "This [fifth] chapter records four experiences which God brought to Joshua and the people, each one centered about a token, or symbol ... The Token of Circumcision: Restoration to covenant favor (5:2-9) ... The Token of Blood: Anticipation of deliverance (5:10) ... The Token of Fruit: Appropriation of the blessing (5:11-12) ... The Token of a Sword: Revelation of a holy war (5:13-15)." APPLICATION- God will use tokens, images, or symbols such as these to remind me of who he is and of the essential elements of His character. “The whole sequence—circumcision, Passover, and theophany—emphatically declared that the Israel of conquest was the Israel of exodus. The God who had saved his people out of Egypt would now save them in Canaan." The Circumcision- “But instead of adopting any military plans whatever, the very day after he had invaded the country, without waiting to know what effect the invasion would have, he appoints nearly every male in the congregation to be circumcised! Thus by one act disabling the greater part of his whole army from even standing in their own defence [sic]! What but a principle of the most triumphant faith could have brought them to submit to such an injunction as this?"
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Hugh Stephenson

The Commander of the Army of God- https://www.gotquestions.org/commander-army-Lord.html The Army of God was the term often used for the instrument of God’s judgement or justice. “As Joshua contemplated attacking Jericho, the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and assured him of victory.” “The command to remove his sandals (v. 15) would have convinced Joshua that this was the same Person—the LORD God Himself—who had appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:5). Where God was, there was holiness, and where holiness was, there was a need for cleanness.” "As Moses went to investigate the bush (Exod 3:3), so Joshua goes to investigate the mysterious figure confronting him (5:13b)."[145] "The strange confrontation of 5:13-15 resembles that between Jacob and the man of God at Peniel (Gn. 32:22-32) and that between Moses and the burning bush (Ex. 3:1—4:17). In each case, the human protagonist encounters a divine messenger before facing a life-and- death conflict ..." “The fall of Jericho, and the subsequent defeat of the Canaanite tribes, was a result of God's celestial hosts, His angelic army, not the Israelites. It was God's unseen warriors who brought down the walls of Jericho, not the shouts of the Israelites. God used the Israelites in these battles, but the victory was supernatural, not natural.” "The conquest of Canaan is too often treated as an enterprise of the Israelites, carried out with great cruelties, for which they claimed divine sanction. The Old Testament presents the matter in an entirely different light. The war is a Divine enterprise, in which human instruments are employed, but so as to be entirely subordinate to the Divine will."[149] Oswald’s 3/17 devo gives me good application; https://utmost.org/the-servant’s-primary-goal/ “We make it our aim....” We must make…”a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out; not making our first priority to win souls, or to establish churches, or to have revivals, but seeking only “to be well pleasing to Him.” It is not a lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal.” Any goal we have that diverts us even to the slightest degree from the central goal of being “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15) may result in our rejection from further service for Him. When you discern where the goal leads, you will understand why it is so necessary to keep “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). In attempting to restate and reframe- In Eden we were at one with God and had unity in Him. Jesus reminds me, (John 14:20). I am to have 100% of my primary focus on keeping my intimacy with Jesus. Reading His Word, Surrendering to His Spirit and communing with His people is a key foundational element of this process.
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Michael Sisson

Re: Jos 5:2-9 Why this generation had not already been circumcised is not explained beyond mentioning the previous generation’s disobedience. In this passage we do see the continuation of the Passover themes from the previous chapter. Not only is Joshua obeying G-d’s command in Jos 5:2, he’s leading Israel (both Jews and the gentile of the “mixed multitude”) in fulfilling the commandment that all who would eat of the Passover (on Nisan 14, four days after crossing the Jordan; Jos 5:10) must be circumcised (Ex 12:48b). Re: Jos 5:11-12 After celebrating Passover, Israel partakes of the produce of the Promised Land for the first time. This would seem to coincide with Early First Fruits and, thus, metaphorically hint at the Resurrection. Re: Jos 5:13-15 Joshua seems to encounter a Christophany (a preincarnate appearance of Christ)… the Captain of the L-RD’s Host.
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Chad. I love Joshua's leadership. First thing he commands the people to do after crossing over into the Promised Land had to be an incredibly unpopular policy--circumcising hundreds of thousands of boys and men. (Which would also have impacted the girls and women because 100% of the males would have been incapacitated for DAYS!) Yet we see no hesitancy, we see no apology, and wonder of wonders, we also see no pushback or disobedience from the Israelites! THIS group of people also experienced a miraculous crossing, as their parents had, but they did not repeat the stubborn unbelief and rebellion of their parents. At least to the degree of the ones who died in the desert. We also don't see any evidence that Joshua needed to be circumcised as an adult. Maybe he was one of the very few whose father had obeyed Yahweh's command, and that's why he was a man of faith from his youth.
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Amy Lowther

1. God and Jesus. 2. Paul told them to imitate him. 3. With consideration to God’s values, I am modeling for others that you can care for others, care for yourself, and be cared for without losing value. Yes I am modeling a life fully devoted to Christ. 4. Joshua showed communication is valuable. Joshua also showed the Lord can give us strength when we think we have none.
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Michael Scaman

You wonder why their parent's never circumcise this generation. I wonder why? I think maybe Joshua taking his shoes off was maybe an extension of God giving everywhere his sandal tread to him. That included putting his foot on the necks of defeated kings. But when it comes to holy ground and the pressense of God.... sandals come off... God was still God over Joshua. Taking your shoes off does make you feel more humble in from of a holy God. In Leviticus God said 5 times "Be holy for I am holy" Tat was not said i n Genesis or Exodus prior.