JOSHUA: GOD IS SALVATION (PART FIVE)

CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART

"At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.  And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel.”  (Joshua 5:2, 3).

 

Male circumcision may seem like a primitive - even barbarous - act.  To cut away the flesh of a child and discard it when he is eight days old is a violent exercise that results in pain and shedding of blood.  When Moses' wife Zipporah witnessed it, she said to her husband, "A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision." (Exodus 4:26).  Despite this, God chose circumcision as a sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham, and later, with the children of Israel.  "This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.  And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and you.  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you…and the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." (Genesis 17:10-14).

 

All of the Israelites who first came out of Egypt with Moses were circumcised.  After they were sent back into the wilderness for 40 years because of their unbelief and refusal to go in and possess the Promised Land, they all died without even seeing the land.  Their offspring, for some reason, were never circumcised while they were in the wilderness all those years.  It could have been that they were constantly on the move, and therefore did not have the downtime required for the males to heal after circumcision, or it could have been that, in their unbelief and rebellion against God's will, they simply chose not to follow God's command.  Regardless, it didn't get done, and for this reason God commanded Joshua to circumcise all of the males before they faced their first battle in the land of Canaan.

 

Why did God select circumcision of all things as a sign of the covenant that He made between Himself and man?  Remember, that the ordinances and rituals that God introduced to His people in the Old Testament are types and shadows of spiritual truths that He would ultimately fulfill in Christ.  Once the Gentile believers were brought into the fold, circumcision in the flesh was laid aside as a requirement of their faith.  The Apostle Paul wrote an entire letter to the churches in the region of Galatia expounding why circumcision was now unnecessary.  You see, circumcision in the flesh by itself was just another carnal ordinance that typified something much more basic and essential.  That was the circumcision of the heart, and God hinted at it even in the Old Testament.  "And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." (Deuteronomy 30:6).  "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." (Jeremiah 4:4). 

                                                                                                                                                                                      

God selected circumcision because He wanted His people to understand just how violent our attitude toward the flesh must be.  It is the act of cutting away the flesh and casting it from us as completely and utterly useless and repulsive.  "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." (Colossians 2:11).  Paul wrote to the Roman believers and said, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7:18).  Elsewhere, he wrote, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind." (Ephesians 3:22, 23)  Paul considered the true believers in Christ to be the truly circumcised.  It is they who worship God in the Spirit, and have no confidence in what the flesh can accomplish, who are the real children of God. 

 

This putting off of the old life is an essential part of the Christian walk.  Just as the uncircumcised in the Old Testament were cut off from God's covenant and could not even eat of the Passover sacrificial lamb, those today who presume to proclaim Christianity, but have no intention of casting off their old life and nature, will be in danger on the day of judgment.  God is not interested in our fleshly show of religion. He wants us to be transformed into a new man who is fashioned after the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  This can only be accomplished through faith and obedience, not by outward signs of service.  Before we even face the first spiritual battles in our life, we must undergo this change of priorities - this circumcision of the heart.  Then, we can boldly march forward into battle knowing that God will go before us, and He will fight our battles.

 

Once the Israelites were circumcised, Joshua was able to lead them against Jericho, see God work a mighty miracle in their lives, and give them victory over their enemies.  Once our hearts have been circumcised, the stage is also set for us to see mighty miracles of God's faithfulness!

 

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Romans 2:28, 29).

 

THE COMMANDER OF THE ARMY OF THE LORD

"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?"  So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"  Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so."  (Joshua 5:13-15)

 

This encounter with the Lord occurred just before Joshua and the army of Israel were about to face their first real warfare after crossing the Jordan River.  The Lord had encouraged Joshua to be "strong and very courageous," but now He appeared to Joshua in a unique way to give him understanding, and bolster his faith and courage one more time.

 

This meeting is reminiscent of Moses' meeting with the Lord at the burning bush.  The Lord's purpose for each encounter was very different though.  One was about preparing His servant to go into Egypt to deliver His people from Pharaoh's bondage and influence, while the other was about sending His servant into Canaan to defeat the nations who occupied those lands.  One was about leading God's people out, while the other was about leading them in.  One speaks of deliverance from a nation that enslaved God's children and placed them in bondage while the other speaks of establishing Israel as a nation and destroying the enemies who now occupied the land that God said was Israel’s. 

 

In Egypt, the Israelites were under bondage and were slaves to Pharaoh, but when they entered Canaan, they were already a free people - they had been set free from that system that placed them in bondage.  Now, it was God's plan for them to enter the land that He had promised to Abraham centuries before and to inhabit it.  In order to do so, they had to defeat those nations that lived there.  Those tribes had committed atrocious acts of sexual debauchery and human sacrifice among other things, and God was ready to pronounce judgment on them.  Concerning those nations, Eric Lyons, M. Min., writes in his article, God’s Just Destruction of the Canaanites in Apologetics Press,

 

"The Canaanite nations were punished because of their extreme wickedness. God did not cast out the Canaanites for being a particular race or ethnic group. God did not send the Israelites into the land of Canaan to destroy a number of righteous nations. On the contrary, the Canaanite nations were horribly depraved. They practiced “abominable customs” (Leviticus 18:30) and did “detestable things” (Deuteronomy 18:9, NASB). They practiced idolatry, witchcraft, soothsaying, and sorcery. They attempted to cast spells upon people and call up the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-11).

 

"Their cultic practice was barbarous and thoroughly licentious (Unger, 1954, p. 175). Their “deities…had no moral character whatever,” which “must have brought out the worst traits in their devotees and entailed many of the most demoralizing practices of the time,” including sensuous nudity, orgiastic nature-worship, snake worship, and even child sacrifice (Unger, p. 175; cf. Albright, 1940, p. 214). As Moses wrote, the inhabitants of Canaan would “burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:30). The Canaanite nations were anything but “innocent.” In truth, “these Canaanite cults were utterly immoral, decadent, and corrupt, dangerously contaminating and thoroughly justifying the divine command to destroy their devotees” (Unger, 1988). They were so nefarious that God said they defiled the land and the land could stomach them no longer—“the land vomited out its inhabitants” (Leviticus 18:25)." 

 

In the two encounters - God's meeting with Moses in the desert, and His meeting with Joshua on the plains of Jericho - the Lord reveals two very important aspects of His nature.  It was necessary for His servants to understand these aspects before they were about to confront their enemies in Egypt and in Canaan.  Likewise, there are essential lessons in these two encounters which we should learn and understand today.  We Christians face enemies that must be overcome in this life.  They are the devil, the world, and the flesh, and the Lord has a very specific strategy for defeating each one.  These strategies are clearly spelled out in the New Testament, but they are also revealed in types and shadows through the stories we find in the Old Testament.   

 

When the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush, it was to prepare him to go back into Egypt and lead his people out.  First, Moses would have to confront Pharaoh.  Pharaoh represents the devil who the Bible calls the god of this world.  He ruled over all of Egypt and "pulled all the strings" of power.  Egypt was his kingdom, and he ruled it with an iron fist.  He declared himself a god, and not a mere mortal.  In the same way Satan works behind the scenes to control and influence this worldly system that we see around us.  It is governed by a completely different set of values and morals than those that govern the kingdom of God.  The things that this world calls wise are foolish to God, and the things that this world deems mighty are weak in God's eyes.  "...God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence." (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).  "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not."  (2 Corinthians 4:3,4)  Satan's desire is to blind us to the dangers and snares of this world system and thereby distract us from spiritual truth as contained in the Word of God.  Ultimately we need to wake up (like the Jews did in Egypt) to the fact that we have been placed under bondage to sin and to Satan's desires. 

 

Satan's hold over us is shattered by the Savior, Jesus Christ, Who was sent by God to deliver His people from bondage.  When God spoke the words, "Let My people go!" neither Pharaoh, nor Satan, nor sin could any longer keep their grasp on God's children.  God's word will always prevail!  The condemnation of sin was broken when Jesus, the Lamb of God, shed His innocent blood to atone for the sins of the world.  The plague of death that came on the Egyptians who would not believe passed over God's people, and they were unharmed.

 

We are delivered from this worldly system by the shedding of the blood of Christ, and through water baptism.  The sacrifice of the Passover lamb and the crossing of the Red Sea, are Old Testament pictures of this deliverance.  As Christians, we must understand that this world seeks only to enslave us to sin and place us under bondage.  For this reason we must be set free from its influence over us.  The strategy that God has chosen to accomplish this is to place us in the likeness of Christ's death.  "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3).  "Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2).  "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 32:15).  Death, however, is never the final chapter.  Just as we are buried with Christ through baptism, we are then just as surely raised with Him and made partakers of His resurrection.  It is the life of Jesus Christ, God’s beloved Son, that now quickens our mortal bodies and enables us to walk in freedom and in victory.

 

It was Joshua's mission to go in and destroy one by one those nations that were living in Canaan at the time that Israel came out of the wilderness.  They were well established and entrenched, but because of their idolatrous ways, they represented a snare to the Israelites that could later lure them into evil practices, and therefore they needed to be overcome.  This is a picture of the battle that we have with our flesh and with the devil.  Our old nature and habits are also well entrenched and, if left alone, can lead us back into a carnal lifestyle and make shipwreck of our faith.  For this reason, God reveals His nature to us and asks us to denounce the hidden things of dishonesty, lust, selfishness, and hate.  One by one, as we see these things in our nature that are unlike Christ, we are given the opportunity to turn from them and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us into the children of God.  Joshua's campaign against the fortresses, cities, and giants of Canaan is representative of the battles that we must face as we seek to overcome the flesh and the enemy of our soul.  It took a number of years for Israel to carve out their Promised Land, but as they obeyed God's leading, one by one their enemies fell before them.  It takes some time for Christians to grow into maturity also.  As Christ's nature and character are revealed to us, we have the opportunity to accept and apply His grace, and become a little more Christ-like.

 

God appeared to Moses and Joshua in two dramatically different ways.  To Moses, it was in a burning bush.  To Joshua, it was as the Commander of the hosts of heaven.  The lesson to Moses (and us) was that God is a consuming fire.  He is like the sun - the closer you get to it, the hotter and more dangerous it becomes.  This is why the Old Testament saints were scared of seeing God face to face.  They didn't want to die!  He was too holy, and they too unholy.  But in the bush, God revealed that it was possible to be burned up and yet replenished at the same time.  Moses’ astonishment at the sight was that it was on fire and yet not consumed.  This is God's way.  He wishes to consume our sin, our carnality, our old nature, and yet, replenish us with the resurrection life of Christ.  We are consumed, and yet not destroyed.  “For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29). 

 

The lesson that God wanted Joshua (and us) to see was different.  He wanted Joshua to know Him as the Commander of the army of the LORD.  When Joshua challenged the Man that he found on the plains of Jericho, and asked, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" the Lord answered, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come."  It is interesting that the Lord would not commit to either side, but only identified Himself as Commander of the army of the Lord.  As Christians, we must learn to align our purposes with God's rather than think that God will take our side regardless of what course of action we decide to take.  It is WE who must take God's side, not HE Who must take ours!  God will lead us into battle, and we will prevail if we follow His lead.  Many Christians get discouraged when God doesn't follow their agenda, or doesn't seem like He is with them.  Nowhere has God promised to bless every lame idea and selfish plan that we decide to embark upon!  He has a will, and we must decide if we are willing to align with that will or not.  If we act like spoiled children and demand our way, we will reap a great deal of heartache and misfortune in this life.  As our Commander, the Lord is going to lead us into victory over these battles with self.  Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8:34).

 

The presence of this Warrior on the plains of Jericho before the battle establishes the fact – for both Joshua and us – that the battle is not ours, but God’s.  Just as Joshua was about to face the armies of Jericho in warfare, the hosts of heaven were about to engage the principalities and powers in the spiritual realm where the real victory would be decided.  We must never allow ourselves to become ignorant of the spiritual warfare that is going on in the heavens.  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12).

 

One thing that God spoke on both occasions, first to Moses at the burning bush, and later to Joshua on the plains of Jericho, was, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy."  Before we can hear what God has to speak to us, we must humble ourselves before Him, and acknowledge His holiness.  In Middle Eastern and oriental cultures, it is a sign of honor and respect to remove one's shoes when entering someone else's home.  Our shoes touch the world as we walk about in it, collecting dirt and dust as we do so.  Removing the shoes removes that which has become soiled and tainted by the world.  Once removed, we can then come untainted before the presence of the Lord.  One other thing about removing the shoes is that it makes our progress slower because our feet are now sensitive to the terrain that we are walking on.  We must carefully feel our way along lest we damage our foot.  During the summer, our grandkids must cross a gravel driveway on their way from our house to the swimming pool.  In their bare feet, they will run across the lawn; but when they reach the driveway, they feel their way very slowly because of the sharp edges on the gravel.  This always reminds me of this principle.  Spiritually speaking, we must learn to remove our shoes and become sensitive before God as we move through this world.  The Christian who arrogantly trudges forward has not yet learned to remove his shoes before his Maker.