The start of a new chapter……

It’s the start of a new chapter for the Israelites. They have a new leader. A new era has dawned. They have crossed over the river Jordan into the land that God had promised to them. They have left that old way of life behind – that way of life that as a nation they have been following for 40 years.

Change is hard. Even if it is welcome, it is hard. Even it we know it is right, it is hard.

There is always that little part deep down in side of us that resists change. That stamps its foot and shouts. It is always good to recognise that and acknowledge it and deal with it. Otherwise it will just stamp its foot harder and shout louder!

God of course knew how hard it would be to bring about change in the Israelites who had time and time again already proved to be stubborn and determined.

So this next few verses is in Joshua 5 are really important I think to show how God accomplished this. He uses external circumstances and geography to symbolise this change that will serve internal reminders for the people.

I was brought up in a tradition that promoted the view that our spiritual lives were all that mattered. Our bodies were not important and were not to be given too much attention (or worshipped which was what would follow….). People’s spiritual needs were far more important than their physical needs. Social action was therefore not as important as spiritual teaching.

I have learnt now to develop a far more holistic view. The whole bundle that makes up me is important. Physical, spiritual, emotional, mental….they are all interlinked. They all matter. I need to care for and about all aspects of what makes me me. God created all of it, after all.

Anyway, here, God uses to physical to make series of spiritual points.

Firstly, God chooses a crucial point for a change of leadership. New era, new man. Moses had become a figurehead for the people. God spoke through him to the people. The people spoke to God through him. Now things were about to change. Joshua has a different relationship with God. he is a different man. He will be a different leader. The people will have to learn to respond to him differently. It’s a new chapter with a new main character.

Secondly, crossing the river Jordan is a physical act with a huge spiritual significance. God chose to make the people enter the Promised Land this way for a reason. It involves stepping out in faith. It is a visual reminder of how they escaped from Egypt. It proves beyond a doubt that God is still the same God. None of these people had crossed the Red Sea all those years ago. This is a new generation. They had heard the stories but never experienced what it was like to step out in faith and walk across a dry sea or river bed.

Now onto this passage. What do they do when they cross the river? Rest? Celebrate? Enjoy their new life?

Not exactly. God calls for every male to be circumcised. Old and young. Every male. Ouch!

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.  Joshua 5:2-3

Gibeath Haaraloth literally means the hill of foreskins. That’s a lot of foreskins. And a lot of knives.

And this is why. All the men of military age who had come out of Egypt had been circumcised. All the men born in the desert and now crossing into this new land had not. The time in the wilderness was a time of doubting and grumbling and testing and consequences and teaching and disciplining and rebelling and struggling……..now the time has come to put all of that behind them and re-establish the closest of bonds with their God. This physical sign that touched every man at his core and altered the essence of his manhood would be a visual lifetime reminder of the restored relationship between God and his people –

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.”  Joshua 5:9

It is time to start afresh. To leave the old behind and carve out a new relationship. You have to feel sorry for them though (on a physical level) – not what they were expecting, I’m guessing –

And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.  Joshua 5:8

Happy days. That camp must have been a wonderful place to be right then. Not.

Now it is time to celebrate. They celebrate with a Passover meal. A traditional way to remember the miraculous escape from Egypt and the protection of their firstborn.

The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:unleavened bread and roasted grain.  Joshua 5:11

That must have been special. As they had travelled through other lands, they had not been permitted to eat the produce of the land. Now they have arrived. Things have changed. This is their land. They can eat its produce.

And so –

The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.  Joshua 5:12

God will no longer provide food in the same way on a daily basis for the Israelites. He is handing over the responsibility of planning and preparing and providing and rationing food where necessary to the people themselves. He is no longer literally providing their ‘daily bread’. It’s time for them to grow up and mature and show that they can provide for themselves and still remember where all good things come from……wonder how that will work out for them………

So what can we learn from all this?

• a change of leadership will always bring about change – and that is more often than not a good thing – embrace change…….
• God still uses physical events and geography and symbols to convey a spiritual significance – look beyond……
• every generation needs to create its own story and not live off the stories of the past – see God at work…..
• God wants to restore and reestablish and forgive and move on – drop the baggage……..
• tradition matters. Special days of remembering are important. Many of our religious festivals have become so secularised that we neglect their spiritual significance (take Pancake Day and Lent that are coming up soon for example!) – tell the stories…….
• our faith journey is a journey. We are moving forward all the time. God changes his provision for the Israelites when he thinks they are ready. Our relationship with God will change and mature over time too – never stop learning…..

Carrying those six points into our day today could help us face whatever today holds for us –

embrace change…..look beyond…..see God at work…….drop the baggage……tell the stories………never stop learning……..

I’m looking forward to it!