Possessing the Land: Laying Hold of Spiritual Blessings
Joshua 5 – 12
Joshua 5 – 12
Joshua 5 – 12. The next section of Joshua begins with the people in the land of Canaan. They’ve crossed the Jordan, and the next step is to possess the land that God had given them. This phase of the book is typical of the believer laying hold of our spiritual blessings in Christ. The Jordan has been crossed, we are dead and risen with Christ. Our portion is heavenly, where Christ and our life is hid in God. This next section deals with possessing the inheritance. God had told the people that the land was given to them, wherever the soles of their feet would tread. But there are certain exercises that the people had to go through to actually possess the land. These chapters give us a series of lessons, including victories and failures, that pertain to possessing the inheritance.
O U T L I N E
Gilgal
Joshua 5
Joshua 5
Joshua 5. The first place the people come to in Canaan is Gilgal. At Gilgal we have the need of circumcision established. If we are going to take possession of our spiritual inheritance, there must be a cutting off of the flesh. In addition, there was to be the memorial of the Passover kept the remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt and partaking of that. But then there is a new food, while the manna ceased, the old corn of the land would be the people’s food. It was a food that was suited to the new sphere they were in. Finally, Joshua meets the captain of the Jehovah’s host, which gives him a right perspective on the coming conflict.
Terrified Enemies (5:1)
CHAPTER 5
1 And it came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard that Jehovah had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until they had passed over, that their heart melted, and there was no spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
v.1 Terrified Enemies. The God of Israel had showed Himself strong at the drying of the Jordan, and the news of this filled the enemies of Israel with terror. We find that the hilly region west of Jordan was inhabited by the Amorites and the coastal areas along the Mediterranean we inhabited by the Canaanites. Note that it is at the time of Israel’s greatest potential, when the hearts of the Canaanites melted, that the Lord saw it was necessary to sharpen their knives. It was illogical to circumcise after crossing the Jordan, because it would make them thoroughly vulnerable. While the enemies hearts were melting for fear, the warriors of Israel would be completely helpless (Gen. 34:25). In type, the lesson is that victory over the world is only possible though passing judgment on the flesh.
Circumcision (5:2-9)
2 At that time Jehovah said to Joshua, Make thee stone-knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3 And Joshua made him stone-knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of Araloth [‘Hill Of The Foreskins’]. 4 And this is the cause why Joshua circumcised them: all the people that had come out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5 For all the people that came out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt, them had they not circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel had walked forty years in the wilderness, till the whole nation of men of war had perished who had come out of Egypt, who had not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah; to whom Jehovah had sworn that he would not show them the land which Jehovah had sworn unto their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And their sons whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way. 8 And it came to pass when the whole nation had finished being circumcised, that they abode in their place in the camp, till they were whole. 9 And Jehovah said to Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. And the name of the place was called Gilgal to this day.
vv.2-9 Circumcision: the Reproach of Egypt Rolled Away. There was a need to circumcise the people because the younger generation had not been circumcised. They couldn’t begin their warfare without this critical step. Circumcision is the practical application of the truth of the Jordan to ourselves. The sharp knife is applied to that which belongs to the flesh. Just as David had to take off Saul’s armor before he could fight the giant, so we must put off the flesh before we can enter into conflict in the heavenly places. This has been done once-for-all in the death of Christ, but then there is the practical application. If we are indulging the flesh we cannot enjoying communion with the risen Christ. In the Jordan we see everything we were in Adam (flesh included) go down under the waters of death, and in God’s sight, to remain there forever. Circumcision is the practical recognition of that fact. It is seen in scripture as both:
- A one-time thing (the initial act at Gilgal) – to initially lay hold of our death and resurrection with Christ, and see the total futility of all that is connected with the flesh; “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: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12).
- An ongoing thing (constantly returning to Gilgal) – to continually put the flesh in the place of death; “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5).
Gilgal is where circumcision was carried out, and where “the reproach of Egypt” was rolled away. That which connects us to the world (Egypt) is the flesh; therefore, it needs to be cut off before we can possess the heavenlies. Note that the use of the word “us” in v.6 suggests that Joshua is the author of the book, or at least of the majority of it.
The Passover Kept and the Old Corn of the Land (5:10-12)
10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and held the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at even, in the plains of Jericho. 11 And they ate of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened loaves, and roasted corn on that same day. 12 And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they had eaten of the old corn of the land; and there was no more manna for the children of Israel; and they ate of the produce of the land of Canaan that year.
vv.10-12 Three Spiritual Foods. Here we have the types of three spiritual foods of the Christian mentioned together. As those who have been redeemed from Egypt, we feed on the Passover Lamb. As those who are in the wilderness, we feed on the Manna. As those who are in the land of Canaan, we feed on the Old Corn of the land.
- The Passover Lamb is Christ made an offering for sin. This food was first theirs under the shelter of the blood in Egypt, but it was theirs to eat perpetually (it was kept in the wilderness, and now again in the land). Notice that they kept it on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, according to the commandment of God. It would have been a tremendous encouragement to Israel, on the eve of another challenge, to remember God’s first great deliverance of His people.
- The Manna is a type of Christ on earth in His humiliation. Although they were to stop eating the manna, some was put into the ark and is referred to in the New Testament as the hidden manna. All our time on earth we’re in the wilderness, so we always need the manna. That is the remembrance of Him in in his humiliation on earth “Christ once humbled here.”, and it is precious to our souls.
- The Old Corn of the land of Canaan is a type of Christ risen. It is the food of resurrection, the fruit of the seed that had been sown in the land, and that had died and sprung up again. A risen, ascended, and glorified Christ is the true object for the heart of the Christian (Eph. 1:19-23, Heb. 2:8, 1 Cor. 15:27, and Col.1:18).
The Old Corn of the land is the proper food of Canaan, and it is what will give us energy for the conflict. We need to have a view of Christ in glory, as head of the New Creation. We have circumscision and the old corn of the land brought together in this chapter, and the antitypes brought together in Philippians 3:3; “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” This is how circumcision is applied to the believer in the New Testament.
The Captain of Jehovah’s Host (5:13-15)
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 before him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him, and said to him: Art thou for us, or for our enemies? 14 And he said, No; for as captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come. Then Joshua fell upon his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of Jehovah’s army said to Joshua, Loose thy sandal from off thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
vv.13-15 The Captain of Jehovah’s Host. The first thing Joshua sees after Gilgal is a man (the Angel of Jehovah) with a drawn sword. We should be prepared that there will be warfare in Canaan. Fighting will characterize possession of the land. This “captain” is none other than Jehovah Himself, the Son of God in pre-incarnate form! It is He who appeared to Moses, Abram, and Jacob. Joshua does not recognize the Angel as such, but sees at first only a man, and demands to know whose side this “soldier” was on. The response is beautiful: “No; for as captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come”. It’s not who is on our side, but the One whose side we are on! He has all power in heaven and earth at His disposal! Further, there is a reverence for the Lord that must be present. “Loose thy sandal from off thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” As the redeemed people of the Lord, we are there to fight His battles. We do not stand alone, but with Him as the “captain of our salvation” (Heb. 2:10). Also, the ground that we stand on, the foundation of our inheritance, is holy ground. It is based on none other than the person and work of Christ. We need to draw off our shoe in a spiritual sense; .
The battlefield. God has raised up Christ and seated Him in glory. Because we have died and been raised with Christ, we are made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That is how we get to be in the place where the conflict is. We know that the truth we display is a lesson for the angels; they are looking on and learning “by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10). But Satan and his fallen angels are watching too; and they will oppose our progress.
The battlefield. God has raised up Christ and seated Him in glory. Because we have died and been raised with Christ, we are made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That is how we get to be in the place where the conflict is. We know that the truth we display is a lesson for the angels; they are looking on and learning “by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10). But Satan and his fallen angels are watching too; and they will oppose our progress.
Three soul conflicts. There are three soul conflicts that are given to us in the New Testament. In Ephesians the warfare is not the flesh (like in Galatians), but spiritual wickedness in high places. There is conflict in Canaan because it is the place of Christian privilege.
| Reference | Combatants |
Solution to the conflict | Applies to: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rom. 7:7-25 | The old nature & the new nature | Believe the Gospel and be sealed | A quickened soul that is not sealed |
| Gal. 5:16-25 | The flesh & the Spirit | Give the Spirit its proper place | A Christian that is in a bad state |
| Eph. 6:10-20 | A Christian & the Devil | Put on the whole armor of God | A Christian that is in a good state |