Context No. 3236 of 4322 · Joshua

Joshua 5:1-8: in context

1When 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 how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, their heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them, because of the children of Israel. 2At that time, the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.” 3Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt, who were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5For 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. 6For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness until all the nation, even the men of war who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn’t listen to the LORD’s voice. The LORD swore to them that he wouldn’t let them see the land which the LORD swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7Their children, whom he raised up in their place, were circumcised by Joshua, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way. 8When they were done circumcising the whole nation, they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed.

When the kings of Canaan hear how the LORD dried up the Jordan before Israel, their hearts melt with fear. And at that very moment, God gives Joshua a surprising command: make flint knives and circumcise the new generation, the men born in the wilderness who had never been circumcised. So they are circumcised, and wait in the camp until they are healed.

Before Israel fights a single battle in the land, God has them do something that leaves them vulnerable: circumcise the whole fighting-age generation and wait, wounded and unable to fight, right in enemy territory. It seems militarily reckless. But God's priority was not first their readiness for war but their covenant identity. Before they could take the land, they had to be marked again as his people. Renewal of covenant came before conquest. And there is trust in it: they obey and lie vulnerable, trusting God to protect them while they cannot defend themselves.

Do I put covenant faithfulness to God before strategic advantage, trusting him to guard me even when obedience leaves me vulnerable?

Sources

Joshua 5:2: "Make flint knives, and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."
Joshua 5:9: "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you."
Matthew 6:33: "But seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well."