Joshua 5:1-15 - Consecration Before Conquest

It is good to be with you here tonight. If you happen to be a guest, my name is Brad, and I get the privilege of hanging out with you. We are going to be in Joshua chapter five, and then we’re going to take a little time and jump into the book of Genesis to catch up on a little bit of context.

Just as an update, we are, as you know, weeks away from occupying our new property, and we are very excited about that. What that means—and there is good and bad in this—is that while we are about to go over there, some of our tech is already going over there. We’re going to be a little bit low-tech over the next several weeks, and lower and lower until finally we move. So, just a heads up on that.

Last week, Mike did a great job walking through the text in chapter four regarding the rock piles the people of God built as a sign of remembrance. If for some reason you didn’t participate in grabbing a rock from the piles we had available, I want to give you an opportunity to at least be praying with us. Once we move, we’re going to have rock pile monuments on each campus just to have a story to tell the kids. We want to be able to say, “Look, we committed to make some renovations and to relocate, and look at what God has done. Look at God’s faithfulness.” If you missed the actual rocks, certainly join us in prayer and be able to tell that story with us.

The Melting Hearts of the Enemy

As we jump into chapter five, Joshua has taken over the mantle of leadership. He has walked the people across the Jordan, and the first act they did was not digging in for fortifications or taking defensive positions. Instead, they built an awkward rock pile that really didn’t help them at all, and they did it right in the eyesight of the enemy. It is very strange. God is essentially stacking the deck against Himself, putting His people in a very vulnerable position. But remember from last week: the battle ultimately belongs to the Lord.

That theme continues here in chapter five. Look at what is going on around them in verse one.

Joshua 5:1 (NASB)

Now it came about when 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 how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.

Now remember, these kings knew very well what happened in Egypt. They knew about the plagues, the Exodus, and the Red Sea crossing. And what did they just see on the horizon? They saw the Jordan part just like the Red Sea. They understand that this is not going to go well for them. Their hearts melted like wax because the word had spread.

Psalms 20:7 (NASB)

Some [boast] in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.

There is a sense that we as believers, much like these people, realize our boasting is not in us; our boasting is in our God. These people are learning that God is going to go before them, and they are learning to trust Him in that.

A Strange Command: The Hill of Foreskins

In verse two, the Lord says to Joshua, “I want you to do something very, very strange.” He tells him to make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time. Now, why on earth would you take your army across the river with no retreat behind you, build a rock pile, and then take your entire fighting force of men and circumcise them? It makes them completely ineffective in battle. It doesn’t seem to make sense until we understand the meaning of circumcision.

To get the context, we need to look at Genesis chapters 12, 15, and 17. In Genesis 12, God gives the Abrahamic Covenant—a threefold promise of land, descendants, and blessing.

Genesis 12:1-3 (NASB)

Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’

God tells Abram that through his family, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Abram had no context for what we know now, but through the progress of revelation, we can look back and ask: Do we know of a guy from the family tree of Abram who was a blessing to the entire world? I think that’s Jesus.

In Genesis 15, this covenant is ratified. Abraham believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness. This is the basis for the book of Romans—that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone. To seal the deal, God has Abraham bring animals, cut them in half, and separate the parts. In those days, people would walk through the pieces as if to say, “May this happen to me if I don’t fulfill my end of the promise.”

But look at what happens. A deep sleep falls on Abram. As he is sleeping, God tells him his descendants will be enslaved for four hundred years in Egypt, but that He will eventually bring them out. Then, a smoking oven and a flaming torch—the presence of God—passes through the pieces alone.

Genesis 15:17-18 (NASB)

It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, [there appeared] a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ’To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

Where was Abram? He was asleep. This is a unilateral covenant. God didn’t say, “If you do this, then I’ll do that.” He swore by Himself. Someone emailed me a few weeks ago asking if God had forsaken Israel because of their disobedience. I said no, because He passed through the parts on His own.

Then in Genesis 17, God gives the sign of the covenant: circumcision. It was a physical sign of a deeper spiritual reality. It told the story of God’s promise. In a pagan land where public bathing was common, an Israelite would look different. It was an opportunity to tell the story of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Consecration Before Conquest

So why does Joshua 5 say to do it “a second time”? Everyone who came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but that entire generation died in the wilderness. Apparently, they hadn’t continued the tradition with their children during those forty years of wandering. This new generation needed to be consecrated before they could take the land.

Joshua 5:3-9 (NASB)

So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt. For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, [that is], the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD, to whom the LORD had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way. Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.’ So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

Joshua circumcises the nation at a place called the “Hill of the Foreskins.” Again, think about the vulnerability. They are in eyesight of Jericho, and the entire fighting force is out of commission while they heal. We know from the story of Dinah in Genesis 34 that men are completely unable to fight for at least three days after this procedure.

If you’re in Jericho, you’re watching this happen and thinking, “It’s a trap! Don’t go out there!” You’re trusting in your double-walled city, the most fortified place in the land. Meanwhile, the Israelites are just waiting.

Joshua 5:10 (NASB)

While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho.

They aren’t rushing into battle. They are celebrating the Passover. They are singing, dancing, and breaking bread. This is the idea of consecration before conquest. It’s not about the battle; it’s about being faithful to a faithful God.

At this point, the manna—the miraculous bread from heaven they’d eaten for forty years—finally ceases.

Joshua 5:11-12 (NASB)

On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched [grain]. The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.

It’s like when your kids finally move out and you get them off the balance sheet. God says, “The produce of the land is over there. If you want to eat, it’s time to go get it.”

The Captain of the Lord’s Host

Now, Joshua is a seasoned leader, but he has no battle plan. He has never laid siege to a fortified city. He has no catapults or battering rams. He just has arrows and spears against massive walls. He disappears from the crowd for a moment to look at Jericho, and he encounters one of the most intriguing figures in the Bible.

Joshua 5:13 (NASB)

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing 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?’

Joshua, being the pitbull he is, asks, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” It’s a fair question. But the man’s answer is striking.

Joshua 5:14-15 (NASB)

He said, ‘No; rather I indeed come now [as] captain of the host of the LORD.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?’ The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.

He says, “No.” He doesn’t take a side. He says, “I am the Captain of the Lord’s host.” Joshua immediately falls on his face. He realizes this is something other than a man. The Captain tells him to take off his sandals because the ground is holy, just like God told Moses at the burning bush.

Who is this? Theologians call this a theophany—a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. We tend to think Jesus only showed up in a manger, but He is pre-existent. And this expands our view of Him. We often imagine the “bathrobe Jesus” from bad Christian movies, the one who just wants to give hugs. But here, we see the Warrior Jesus with a sword drawn.

We see Him again like this in Revelation 19, riding a white horse with a sword coming from His mouth to strike down the nations. He is the only one in the army who is armed because the battle belongs to Him.

Living Out Consecration

There are a few things we can take away from this. First, the theme of Consecration before Conquest. Joshua wasn’t teaching them swordplay; he was teaching them how to present themselves to God. Our greatest battle is the battle of abiding. It’s not about the Jerichos you face; it’s about whether you are consecrated before the Lord.

Second, God still stacks the deck against Himself. He uses our weakness to show His strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)

And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

My biggest concern for you is not your weakness; it’s your strength. It’s the areas where you are talented and articulate and think you can do it in the flesh. God wants the person who says, “I am a hot mess. I need You.” That is the person who boasts in the Gospel.

Finally, God still fights the battles.

Romans 12:19-21 (NASB)

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath [of God], for it is written, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’ says the Lord. ‘BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

If the Lord fights my battles, I don’t have to be sensitive when people throw shade at me. I don’t have to build my ego. I don’t have to floor it through a yellow light just to save ninety seconds. I can be still and know that He is God.

I can’t help but feel we are living this passage right now at this campus as we prepare to move. Consecration before conquest. We aren’t going over there to knock down physical walls, but maybe we need to ask: What does it look like to consecrate ourselves now? Let’s get our relationship with Jesus dialed in so that when we move, He is already going before us.

Let’s pray.

God, I’m grateful for passages like this that, though tucked in the Old Testament, have such insight for us today. Lord, we want to learn to open up to You, to allow You to go before us, and to consecrate ourselves. We live in a world focused on self, so we ask that we would decrease and You would increase. I pray that this gives us something to think about and pray about this week. We are grateful for the privilege to be Your people, gathered under the authority of Your Word. Thank You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.