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Joshua
Chapter
5
{Jericho}
1~~And
it came to pass,
when
all the kings of the Amorites,
which
were on the west side of Jordan,
and
all the kings of the Canaanites
{Phoenicians etc.},
who
were by the sea,
heard
that the Jehovah/God
had
dried up the waters of Jordan
from
before the children of Israel,
until
we were passed over,
that
their heart/'right lobe' melted
{idiom for 'fainting mentally' - means you go through the motions
but you are already whipped},
neither
was there spirit {ruwach}
{means they had no will to resist}
in
them any more,
because
of the children of Israel.
{Note: Jericho was a fortress city built on a hill and was considered one of the most impregnable fortifications in the world. It has a sheer high hill with high walls.}
{Verses
2-9: Circumcism}
2~~At
that time
Jehovah/God
said unto Joshua,
"Make
you all sharp knives,
and
circumcise anew
the
children of Israel
the
second time
{Verses 4-5 tell us that the last generation had been circumcised -
but not this generation. And, before partaking of the Passover, a
man must have been circumcised to partake, so this generation, to
this point, had not partaken in the Passover (see Exodus 12:48).
Here this is a picture of 'cleansing' so the same of Rebound (I John
1:9), followed by taking the Passover and then the fall of Jericho
with God doing what they could not have done themselves.}.
{Note: For the Jews, circumcism is a picture of faith in God's promise - as Abraham did. Circumcism is a sign of imputed righteousness - see Romans 4:11. Circumcism is the same to the one born in the Jewish Age as baptism is to the one born in the Church Age.}
3~~And
Joshua made him sharp knives,
and
circumcised the children of Israel
at
the hill of the foreskins
{the
new name of the hill}.
4-5~~And
this is the reason why Joshua did circumcise:
All
the people that came out of Egypt,
who
were males,
even
all the men of war,
died
in the wilderness by the way,
after
they came out of Egypt. 5~~
Now
all the people
who
came out were circumcised
but
all the people
who
were born in the wilderness
by
the way as they came forth out of Egypt,
these
they had not circumcised.
{Note: The 40 years in the desert was a picture of carnality. RBT says this may be another act of disobedience by the Exodus generation. These children were not circumcised on the 8th day as the Mosaic Law demanded. Now moving into the Promised Land is a picture of confession of sins (rebound) and a restoration to fellowship with God.}
6~~For
the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,
till
all the people who were men of war,
who
came out of Egypt,
were
consumed {Numbers 14:29-34 - the parents all died first},
because
they obeyed not the voice of the Jehovah/God
unto
whom the Jehovah/God swore
that
He would not show them the land,
which
Jehovah/God swore unto their fathers
that
He would give us . . .
a
land that flows with milk and honey
{idiom for a prosperous land}.
7~~And
their children,
whom
he raised up in their stead,
those
Joshua circumcised
for
they were uncircumcised,
because
they had not circumcised them
by
the way.
8~~And
it came to pass,
when
they had done circumcising all the people,
that
they abode in their places in the camp,
till
they were recovered/whole.
{Note: Only Joshua and Caleb could have fought at this time. Maybe for 3 or 4 days.}
9~~And
the Jehovah/God said unto Joshua,
"This
day have I rolled away
the
reproach from Egypt
{from the viewpoint of Egypt - wanting to return as their parents
expressed}
from
off you.
Therefore,
the name of the place is called Gilgal
{name means circle - and the circumcism is a circular surgery so is
appropriate here}
unto
this day.
{The
Passover for the Children of the Exodus Generation}
10~~And
the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal,
and
kept the Passover
on
the fourteenth day of the month {April}
{Passover is kept in the evening - so this is 3rd Passover: 1st
Egypt (Exodus 12) and the 2nd Mt Sinai (Numbers 9:5) - the
Passover is a memorial that anticipates the cross just as the
Eucharist is a memorial that is retrospective with regard to the
cross}
at
even in the plains of Jericho.
{Verses
11-12: God's New Provision for Time for the Jews}
11-12~~And
they did eat of the old corn of the land
on
the morrow after the Passover,
unleavened
cakes,
and
parched corn in the selfsame day. 12~~
And
the manna ceased on the morrow
after
they had eaten of the old corn of the land.
Neither
had the children of Israel manna any more;
but
they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
{Note: God provides for the believer wherever the believer is.}
{Verses
13-15: Meet the Real Commander of the Operation Jericho}
13~~And
it came to pass,
when
Joshua was by Jericho,
that
he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold,
there
stood a man facing him
with
his sword drawn in his hand.
And
Joshua went unto him, and said unto him,
"Are
you for us, or for our adversaries
{idiom: our military says 'advance and be recognized'}?"
{Note: From Chapter 6 (see verses 2 and 8 particularly), we find this man is probably Jehovah Himself. So it is the only manifest member of the Godhead, who we call Jesus in the Greek and is Joshua in the Hebrew (both mean 'God saves' or 'Savior'.}
14~~And
he said,
"No.
But as 'commander and chief' {sar}
of
the army/host of the Jehovah/God
I
am now come."
And
Joshua fell on his face to the earth,
and
did worship,
and
said unto Him,
"What
does Jehovah/God say unto his servant?
15~~And
the 'commander and chief' {sar}
of
the Jehovah/God's army/host said unto Joshua,
"Loose
your shoe from off your foot;
for
the place whereon you stand is holy."
{same as Exodus 3:5 - what God said to Moses}
And
Joshua did so.
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