Before we look at these last three verses of Joshua 5, we
need to review what the Lord is doing to prepare His people Israel to be
victorious in conquering the Jericho’s and fighting the giants in the land of
Canaan. The first thing He required was that the men be circumcised that had
been born in the wilderness over the past forty years. God commanded that they
submit to this painful surgery in order to restore their covenant relationship
(Joshua 5:2-9).
God gave circumcision as the sign of the covenant to
Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:9-14, 23-27). Through this ritual the
Jews became a "marked people" because they belonged to the true and
living God. This meant that they were under obligation to obey Him. The mark of
the covenant reminded them that their bodies belonged to the Lord and were not
to be used for sinful purposes.
If we are to be victorious as believers, we must always
remember that we belong to the Lord! We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture. This means that we should have full assurance or our salvation. The
whole book of 1 John was written for this purpose. We can know that we are
truly His children because of the truth of His Word. “These things I have
written to you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know
that you have eternal life…” (1 John 5:11-13). We also know that we are
saved because of our love for God and one another (1 John 3:16-23). We have
this wonderful assurance of our salvation because we are obedient and we keep
His commandments (1 John 3:24), and His Spirit bear witness to this in our
hearts.
Before Israel was ready for battle, they also needed to be
reminded of God’s goodness and mercy to them! They did this by observing the
Passover! The Passover was a regular reminder of how God in His mercy and
goodness provided a sacrifice of an innocent lamb’s blood to deliver them from
the death angel. Whenever we begin to engage in spiritual warfare as new
believers, the devil attacks us with his lies. He jumps on our shoulders and
whispers in our ears, “If God really loved you and was good, He wouldn’t allow
all these bad things to happen to you.” The devil wants you to question God’s
love and His goodness.
My friend, God proved His love and goodness to us with the
cross of His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). That is why we regularly
observe the LORD’s Supper in our worship services at church! We can so easily
get overwhelmed with problems and become discouraged and need this reminder of
God’s goodness and love for us!
Now in Joshua 5:13-15, we find another very important and
crucial affirmation that will give us confidence in facing the challenges in
our spiritual warfare! The LORD reaffirmed His presence to Joshua! Joshua had
read in the Book of the Law what Moses had said to the Lord after Israel had
made the golden calf: "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not
bring us up from here" (Ex. 33:15). The Lord had promised to be with
Joshua just as He had been with Moses (Josh. 1:5), and now He reaffirmed that
promise in a personal way. Like his predecessor, Joshua refused to move until
he was sure the Lord's presence was with him.
This paragraph records one of the preincarnation
appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in the Old Testament. To Abraham
the pilgrim, the Lord came as a traveler to share in a friendly meal (Gen.
18:1-8). To Jacob the schemer, He came as a wrestler to bring him to the place
of submission (32:24-32). The three Hebrew men met Him as their companion in
the furnace of fire (Dan. 3:25), and Joshua met Him as the Captain of the
Lord's armies.
Our Lord always comes to us when we need Him and in the way
we need Him. Jesus promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. And
when we are assured that His presence is with us, we have nothing to fear or
worry about! His presence in our lives and in our churches is the most
important thing!!!!
God bless!
