Joshua 5:9-15
Jos 5:9
And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled
away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is
called Gilgal unto this day.
Once all the men were circumcised they were now in full
covenant relationship with the LORD.
Being in full covenant, God had rolled away the reproach of Egypt which
was the uncircumcision of the males.
It was the pagan societies that did not circumcise their males and while
they remained uncircumcised, they were out of covenant fellowship with God so
they could not enter the Promised Land in full covenant.
One of the meanings of the name “Gilgal” is “roll.”
God rolling the reproach of Egypt away was removing it which is what the
word “rolling” means in Hebrew.
When Christ went to the cross, he “removed” the sins of the true believer, not
just covered it as the animal sacrifices did under the Mosaic law.
As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed
our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
Jos 5:10
And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept
the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of
Jericho.
Then they remained at Gilgal and kept the Passover on the
fourteenth day of the month Nisan.
While they wandered in the wilderness they did not keep the Passover but here
once again Joshua is instituting it. Have
ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O
house of Israel? (Amos 5:25) Keeping the Passover in the plains of Jericho
was showing a defiant spirit against the false religions which pervaded the land
of Canaan. It is like
Christians celebrating the Lord’s Supper in church in the midst of an
unbelieving country.
Jos 5:11
And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the
morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the
selfsame day.
Having crossed over the Jordan at the time of harvest,
there would have been an abundance of grain for the taking.
When Israel crossed over, those in the rural areas had gone into the city
of Jericho for protection thus leaving their farms unguarded.
The old corn or grain might have been what they had with them when they
crossed but it is more likely that it was the grain of the land they were in
that had been previously harvested and stored in barns.
They made unleavened cakes and ate parched corn which was corn or grain
that was roasted or heated. This
would have been on the fifteenth of Nisan, the day after the Passover.
Jos 5:12
And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten
of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more;
but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Once they had eaten the old corn of the land, it signaled
the end of the era of Manna and this happened on the sixteenth day of Nisan.
Manna was food for the wilderness wandering and no longer would they be
wandering but now will eat of the harvest of the land of Canaan.
They were able to almost immediately start eating the food in Canaan
since they had arrived at harvest time and they took immediate action by eating
the food harvested from the land.
They would start getting used to the abundance.
Jos 5:13
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he
lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him
with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him,
Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
Then Joshua had spotted a man by Jericho but this was no
ordinary man as a man with a sword would not stand out in a such a large crowd
unless he had special characteristics.
Then Joshua shows his boldness by approaching the man and asking him if
he is friend or foe. Joshua was a
brave man and was ready to either show this man hospitality if he was a friend
or if a foe, ready to fight him.
Jos 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of
the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did
worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
The man stated he was neither but he was the captain of
the host of the LORD. The host here
are the people of Israel and this is a Christophany which is a pre-Bethlehem
appearance of Christ. The reason we
know this is because Joshua fell on
his face and worshipped him. An
angel of the LORD would not accept worship.
8 And I John saw these
things, and heard them. And
when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel
which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See
thou do it not: for I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the
sayings of this book: worship God. (Revelation 22:8-9)
Then after Joshua realizes who is standing in front of him, he then asks
what he wanted of him?
Jos 5:15
And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua,
Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is
holy. And Joshua did so.
Then just as Moses took off his shoes in Midian when God
appeared to him at the burning bush, here Joshua is commanded to remove his
shoes because he is also standing on holy ground.
Joshua obeyed instantly.
Then once the LORD left Joshua, the land was not considered holy anymore because
the one who had consecrated it made it holy.
There is a great lie going around today that the modern nation of Israel
is called the “holy land.” That is
just verbal manipulation to get you to think somehow that that nation is
superior to all the others. There
is nothing holy about modern Israel.
Even when Jesus was on earth it was never referred to as the “holy land.”
There are only two instances in Scripture where the ground was made holy
and they were the appearance of God to Moses and Joshua.
After they left in their divine essence, Moses and Joshua were allowed to
put their shoes on again without any problem.
Zechariah 2:12
And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the
holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.