A New Leader, New Land, New Era of Faith

Joshua 5 sets God’s people at the edge of a new day: a new leader, a new land, and a new era. Moses has died, and God has buried him in a secluded place, and Joshua now stands as the man God has empowered to lead Israel into the land flowing with milk and honey. The land is full of abundance and blessing, yet the land is also full of enemies. The difference is not Israel’s size or strategy, but that God is with his people.

The chapter first shows melted hearts. The kings of the Amorites and Canaanites hear what God has done at the Jordan, and all the fight drains out of them. Their hearts melt, and there is no longer any spirit in them. God has already gone before Israel before Israel lifts a sword.

The chapter then shows obedient surgeries. God commands Joshua to circumcise the sons of Israel with flint knives, even though the men will be vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. Human reasoning could have said, “Not now,” because the enemies are close. But God’s covenant mark must be restored, and obedience must come before conquest. At Gilgal, God says he has rolled away the reproach of Egypt, and that place becomes a sign that the old slavery and shame no longer define his people.

The chapter also reinstates the Passover. The Passover had begun the night before Israel left Egypt, looking forward to deliverance. Now, in the land, Israel keeps it looking backward, remembering what God has done. The blood on the doorposts had marked safety from judgment, and the remembrance of that mercy is brought back before the battles begin.

The chapter then brings the promised food. The day after Passover, Israel eats the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that very day, the manna stops. The bread from heaven had sustained them in the wilderness, even when some loathed it, but God had promised milk and honey, and now the promise is tasted.

The chapter reaches its highest point with the unknown person. Joshua sees a man with a drawn sword and asks, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” The man refuses Joshua’s categories and says, “No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord.” Joshua falls down and worships, and the commander receives that worship. This is no mere angel, but Christ in a pre-incarnate appearance, the true commander in chief. The future belongs not to human control, but to the Lord who says, “Take your sandal off,” because the ground is holy.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Circular living wastes holy years Disobedience made a short trip into forty years of walking without getting anywhere. The wilderness became a picture of “a lot of walking, a lot of miles, but not getting anywhere.” Stubborn sin does not merely delay comfort, it trains the soul to mistake motion for progress. [42:07]
• 2. Covenant obedience may feel vulnerable Circumcision came at the very moment Israel seemed most exposed to its enemies. God required the covenant sign before conquest, even though human wisdom would have waited for safer conditions. Faith often obeys at the point where obedience looks like weakness, because safety rests in God’s presence, not in human readiness. [50:33]
• 3. Gilgal means reproach rolled away Gilgal becomes the place where God says the reproach of Egypt has been rolled away. Israel’s slavery, shame, and wilderness failure do not get the final word over a people marked again by covenant obedience. God does not merely move his people geographically, he removes the old name that bondage had written upon them. [52:22]
• 4. Manna stops when promise arrives Manna was bread from heaven, a mercy in the wilderness, and a picture of Christ the true bread. Yet God did not intend Israel to eat manna forever, because the land flowing with milk and honey was real. The ending of one provision was not abandonment, but arrival. [58:40]
• 5. Christ alone commands the army Joshua’s question, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” receives a greater answer than either option. The commander of the Lord’s army does not fit into human sides, because he comes as Lord over all sides. The church must never tolerate any lord and master except Jesus, the commander in chief.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:22] - Joshua 5 Scripture Reading
• [37:53] - A New Leader, Land, And Era
• [41:14] - Forty Years Of Circular Living
• [43:47] - Melted Hearts In Canaan
• [45:44] - Obedient Surgeries At Gilgal
• [52:22] - The Reproach Of Egypt Rolled Away
• [54:54] - The Passover Reinstated
• [58:10] - The Promised Food Arrives
• [61:01] - The Unknown Person With A Sword
• [64:45] - Christ The Commander Of The Lord’s Army
• [66:38] - Walking By Faith Into The Future
• [71:29] - Spurgeon On The True Captain

Bible Reading

Joshua 5
“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 that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.' So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.' And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?' And he said, 'No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, 'What does my lord say to his servant?' And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so.” [00:32:22]

Exodus 3:5
“Then he said, 'Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.'” [01:05:31]

John 6:35
“Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'” [00:59:34]

2 Corinthians 5:7
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” [01:07:10]

Observation questions

1. In Joshua 5, what happens to the hearts of the Canaanite kings when they hear what the Lord has done at the Jordan, and what exact words describe their condition? [00:43:47]
2. What three things are restored or newly experienced by Israel in this chapter before Jericho is ever mentioned as a battle—circumcision, Passover, and food from the land—and in what order do they appear?
3. After the people eat the produce of Canaan, what stops immediately, and what foods are specifically named as part of their first meal in the land? [00:58:10]
4. When Joshua meets the man with the drawn sword, how does the man answer Joshua’s question, and what does Joshua do next? [01:01:01]

Interpretation questions

1. Israel’s enemies already had melted hearts, yet God still commanded circumcision while the men would be vulnerable. What does that suggest about the place of obedience in relation to victory? [00:50:33]
2. The Lord says at Gilgal, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” What might that reproach include, and why would God connect its removal with covenant obedience? [00:52:22]
3. Passover first looked forward to deliverance from Egypt, but in Joshua 5 it looks backward in remembrance. Why is remembering God’s mercy important right before entering conflict? [00:54:54]
4. The commander of the Lord’s army answers Joshua’s “Are you for us?” with “No.” What does that reveal about the danger of trying to fit the Lord into human sides and categories? [01:04:45]

Application questions

1. Circular living wastes holy years. Where in life does it feel like there has been a lot of movement but little real progress? Is there any pattern of disobedience, delay, or stubbornness that may be keeping that cycle going? [00:42:07]
2. Covenant obedience may feel vulnerable. Is there an area right now where obeying God seems risky, inconvenient, or badly timed? What would it look like to obey anyway and trust God with the exposure? [00:50:33]
3. Gilgal means that reproach has been rolled away. What shame, old identity, or memory from the past still tries to define a believer after God has spoken a better word? How can that burden be brought honestly into the light? [00:52:22]
4. God told his people to remember redemption before battle. What practices help a Christian remember God’s mercy instead of rushing into the next challenge forgetful and self-reliant? [00:54:54]
5. Manna stops when promise arrives. Has there been a season where God ended one kind of provision, comfort, or routine? Did that feel at first like loss, even though it may have been a step into something new from his hand? [00:58:40]
6. Jesus is the bread of life. In what ways does the heart still complain about God’s provision, even while being sustained by him? What would it look like to receive Christ with fresh gratitude instead of weariness? [00:59:34]
7. Christ alone commands the army. Where is the temptation to ask Jesus to bless personal plans, preferences, or sides instead of first bowing before him as Lord? What would “taking off the sandals” look like in a practical way this week? [01:04:45]