WEBVTT - Preparing Before Advancing (Joshua 5:2)

0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:13.830
<v Speaker 1>Life Audio Hello, and thank you for listening to your

0:00:13.870 --> 0:00:17.530
<v Speaker 1>daily Bible verse, the podcast that examines one verse each

0:00:17.590 --> 0:00:19.830
<v Speaker 1>day to help us learn more about God and His

0:00:19.870 --> 0:00:23.460
<v Speaker 1>will for us. I'm your host, Shaka Hines, and today

0:00:23.820 --> 0:00:27.720
<v Speaker 1>we're continuing our Joshua series titled, Trusting God One Step

0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:30.760
<v Speaker 1>at a Time. After this short word from our sponsor,

0:00:30.780 --> 0:00:37.190
<v Speaker 1>we'll dive into today's Bible verse in Joshua 5, verse 2.

0:00:46.810 --> 0:00:51.170
<v Speaker 1>Today's Bible verse is Joshua 5, 2. At that time,

0:00:51.390 --> 0:00:55.890
<v Speaker 1>the Lord said to Joshua, make flint knives and circumcise

0:00:55.970 --> 0:01:00.020
<v Speaker 1>the Israelites again. So the scripture begins with at that time.

0:01:00.100 --> 0:01:02.300
<v Speaker 1>So I want to give some background to bring us

0:01:02.380 --> 0:01:06.440
<v Speaker 1>to this moment. Moses died as did all those 20

0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.280
<v Speaker 1>years and older who were counted after the rebellion in

0:01:09.300 --> 0:01:12.839
<v Speaker 1>the wilderness following the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

0:01:13.610 --> 0:01:16.790
<v Speaker 1>So after wandering the desert for 40 years because of

0:01:16.830 --> 0:01:20.670
<v Speaker 1>their disobedience to God, Joshua and Caleb are the only

0:01:20.910 --> 0:01:25.390
<v Speaker 1>ones from that older generation still alive. God places the

0:01:25.490 --> 0:01:29.240
<v Speaker 1>mantle of leadership on Joshua and He wants Joshua to

0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.500
<v Speaker 1>take his people into the land promised to Abraham by

0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:37.600
<v Speaker 1>divine covenant in Genesis 15. So in Joshua 3, God

0:01:37.620 --> 0:01:40.240
<v Speaker 1>lists the nations Joshua and the Israelites are to begin

0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:46.950
<v Speaker 1>conquering west of the Jordan River. The Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites,

0:01:47.150 --> 0:01:51.750
<v Speaker 1>and the Jebusites. God then begins to exalt Joshua before

0:01:51.790 --> 0:01:55.410
<v Speaker 1>the people by drying up the Jordan River so Israel

0:01:55.450 --> 0:01:59.520
<v Speaker 1>could cross on dry land. Does that sound familiar? So

0:01:59.780 --> 0:02:03.600
<v Speaker 1>because of this miraculous arrival of the Israelites on their shore,

0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:08.200
<v Speaker 1>Joshua 5.1 says that the states, that the hearts of

0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:12.680
<v Speaker 1>the Amorite and Canaanite kings west of the Jordan melted

0:02:12.780 --> 0:02:17.180
<v Speaker 1>in fear. They've no longer had any courage. So at

0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:21.190
<v Speaker 1>that time, the Lord said to Joshua, sharpen your weapons,

0:02:21.750 --> 0:02:24.650
<v Speaker 1>see to your defenses and get a good night's sleep

0:02:24.690 --> 0:02:32.910
<v Speaker 1>to prepare for battle. No, God didn't say that. In

0:02:32.930 --> 0:02:36.530
<v Speaker 1>the eyes of a practical military commander, those steps and

0:02:36.590 --> 0:02:40.510
<v Speaker 1>more would seem like a sound strategy to assure victory.

0:02:41.070 --> 0:02:45.190
<v Speaker 1>But instead, Yahweh, this God's personal name given to Moses,

0:02:45.250 --> 0:02:54.280
<v Speaker 1>he says, Hebrew circumcision involves the cutting off of the

0:02:54.340 --> 0:02:59.130
<v Speaker 1>foreskin on a man's penis. Ouch. Not only does God

0:02:59.590 --> 0:03:02.410
<v Speaker 1>not instruct the Israelites to prepare to advance in a

0:03:02.450 --> 0:03:07.030
<v Speaker 1>way that aligns with modern or even ancient military tactics,

0:03:07.710 --> 0:03:11.670
<v Speaker 1>but he tells them to spend time making flint knives

0:03:12.050 --> 0:03:16.780
<v Speaker 1>and incapacitating all the eligible males, including the military men,

0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:20.320
<v Speaker 1>for however long it takes to heal. And they don't

0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:23.080
<v Speaker 1>even have the Jordan River between them and their enemies

0:03:23.139 --> 0:03:29.810
<v Speaker 1>for safety. God's preparation before advancing often looks nothing like

0:03:29.850 --> 0:03:33.730
<v Speaker 1>the ways we might prepare. In Genesis, God made a

0:03:33.790 --> 0:03:36.950
<v Speaker 1>covenant promise to Abraham. He would be the father of

0:03:36.990 --> 0:03:40.510
<v Speaker 1>many nations. Kings would come from him, and his descendants

0:03:40.550 --> 0:03:44.000
<v Speaker 1>would inherit the land God promised to give them. The

0:03:44.070 --> 0:03:48.240
<v Speaker 1>sign for Abraham was the adoption of circumcision— a practice

0:03:48.260 --> 0:03:50.540
<v Speaker 1>that was followed by other people groups that were in

0:03:50.580 --> 0:03:54.980
<v Speaker 1>the area. For Abraham and his descendants, God instructed him

0:03:55.020 --> 0:03:57.930
<v Speaker 1>to perform the rite of circumcision on the eighth day

0:03:58.110 --> 0:04:02.310
<v Speaker 1>after a male child was born. And anyone who failed

0:04:02.350 --> 0:04:06.010
<v Speaker 1>to be circumcised was cut off from God's people. And

0:04:06.310 --> 0:04:10.220
<v Speaker 1>this cutting of the foreskin, it can be seen as

0:04:10.250 --> 0:04:13.860
<v Speaker 1>deeply symbolic of a cutting off of the flesh of

0:04:14.380 --> 0:04:17.840
<v Speaker 1>The reliance on the flesh, like this sense of humanity's

0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:22.420
<v Speaker 1>sinful propensity to live according to their own desires and

0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:27.460
<v Speaker 1>this yielding to God's purposes and desires. So now we

0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.310
<v Speaker 1>come back to the Israelites on the western shore of

0:04:30.350 --> 0:04:34.659
<v Speaker 1>the Jordan River. In verses 4 through 7 of Joshua 5,

0:04:34.650 --> 0:04:38.310
<v Speaker 1>the text tells us that the Israelites who were born

0:04:38.529 --> 0:04:43.170
<v Speaker 1>after the Exodus had not been circumcised. as prescribed by

0:04:43.230 --> 0:04:47.710
<v Speaker 1>God in Genesis. Remember, to be uncircumcised is to be

0:04:47.770 --> 0:04:52.050
<v Speaker 1>cut off from God's people. So God commands Joshua to

0:04:52.110 --> 0:04:57.210
<v Speaker 1>make flint knives and to circumcise the Israelites and return them,

0:04:57.650 --> 0:05:02.770
<v Speaker 1>as theologian Merrill Unger says, to their former condition as

0:05:02.830 --> 0:05:07.179
<v Speaker 1>a circumcised nation, you know, in covenant relationship with God.

0:05:07.790 --> 0:05:11.500
<v Speaker 1>According to Joshua 5, 9, the Israelites needed to remove

0:05:11.570 --> 0:05:15.360
<v Speaker 1>the shame and disgrace of Egypt by obeying God and

0:05:15.380 --> 0:05:19.860
<v Speaker 1>being circumcised. So therefore, the first act of preparation for

0:05:19.900 --> 0:05:23.180
<v Speaker 1>the advancement of God's purpose with his people to give

0:05:23.220 --> 0:05:27.039
<v Speaker 1>them the promised land began with his people removing the

0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:32.290
<v Speaker 1>reproach of Egypt by enduring the bloody rite of circumcision. Now,

0:05:33.220 --> 0:05:35.920
<v Speaker 1>What may not make sense to us in our modern

0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:40.820
<v Speaker 1>understanding of preparing for what came next made perfect sense

0:05:40.900 --> 0:05:46.030
<v Speaker 1>to God. Before advancing, God's people prepared themselves by cutting

0:05:46.130 --> 0:05:50.030
<v Speaker 1>off the flesh and obeying God. Under the new covenant,

0:05:50.630 --> 0:05:53.789
<v Speaker 1>Jesus has shed his blood for us, and circumcision of

0:05:53.830 --> 0:05:57.180
<v Speaker 1>the flesh is no longer required to enter into a

0:05:57.220 --> 0:06:02.140
<v Speaker 1>covenantal relationship with God, but it is still true that

0:06:02.790 --> 0:06:05.690
<v Speaker 1>Our idea of preparing for what comes next in life

0:06:06.029 --> 0:06:10.620
<v Speaker 1>often looks completely different from how God needs to prepare us,

0:06:11.020 --> 0:06:16.460
<v Speaker 1>because God wants whatever comes next to advance our relationship

0:06:16.500 --> 0:06:20.979
<v Speaker 1>with Him. Please hear that. God wants whatever comes next

0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:27.260
<v Speaker 1>to advance our relationship with Him. How might understanding this

0:06:27.460 --> 0:06:32.640
<v Speaker 1>idea change how you face hardship or sacrifice or even

0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:37.440
<v Speaker 1>the things God's calling you to that just don't make sense. Also,

0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.290
<v Speaker 1>could you ask yourself, is there anything God might be

0:06:40.460 --> 0:06:44.890
<v Speaker 1>asking you to cut off or reassess in preparation for

0:06:44.930 --> 0:06:48.130
<v Speaker 1>the next thing he has planned for you? It could

0:06:48.170 --> 0:06:52.110
<v Speaker 1>be a detrimental relationship or a bad habit or even

0:06:52.130 --> 0:06:56.500
<v Speaker 1>a packed schedule. God prepared the people by having them

0:06:56.620 --> 0:07:00.640
<v Speaker 1>in a very literal sense cut off the offense. And

0:07:00.700 --> 0:07:03.650
<v Speaker 1>as Joshua continues, We'll have the chance to see how

0:07:03.730 --> 0:07:08.650
<v Speaker 1>God often used the Israelites' obedience to his plans, plans

0:07:08.690 --> 0:07:14.380
<v Speaker 1>that they didn't always understand, to advance the Israelites to

0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:19.180
<v Speaker 1>incredible victories. And if we're willing to obey him, even

0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:22.620
<v Speaker 1>when we don't understand, he can do the same thing

0:07:22.820 --> 0:07:27.800
<v Speaker 1>in our lives. Let's pray. God, thank you so much

0:07:27.860 --> 0:07:31.830
<v Speaker 1>that you're the one in control. And we may not

0:07:32.090 --> 0:07:36.370
<v Speaker 1>always understand your plans. I can say that I, a

0:07:36.430 --> 0:07:41.050
<v Speaker 1>lot of times, don't understand your plans. But God, we

0:07:41.090 --> 0:07:45.510
<v Speaker 1>can understand that you're working for our good. Everything you

0:07:45.630 --> 0:07:50.630
<v Speaker 1>do on our behalf is to advance our relationship with you.

0:07:51.710 --> 0:07:55.310
<v Speaker 1>So Father, I pray that our obedience would be as

0:07:55.450 --> 0:07:59.520
<v Speaker 1>radical as that of the Israelites on the shore of

0:07:59.580 --> 0:08:04.820
<v Speaker 1>the Jordan. that we would listen to you because you

0:08:04.940 --> 0:08:09.830
<v Speaker 1>have great victory in store for your people. We love you,

0:08:09.890 --> 0:08:14.330
<v Speaker 1>Lord God, and we pray these things in Jesus's name. Amen.