I do not have time to discuss this much today, but I wanted to post a link to Touchtone Magazine’s blog “Babies and Bottle Caps.”

I am astonished to hear other Christians saying that they plan to vote for Obama. I want to discuss my thoughts on this further tomorrow, but please read the article linked above. To me, this is a fascinating look at the pervasive issues of worldview that have infiltrated the Church.

What does Obama regard as holy, if anything? I am not in love with McCain, that’s for sure, but I could never justify voting for Obama based on his track record with abortion. How do we think we can trust the ethical and moral decisions of a man who believes that infanticide is acceptable? And though we may deny it, ethics and morality DO matter.

May God have mercy on us.

In our last post, we looked at how God’s timing for the Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan was different than they may have expected. He didn’t just want them to get to the other side – He had lessons for them to learn in the process.

In chapter 5, that lesson immediately is followed up with another one.

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
(Joshua 5:2-9)

Picture the scene. The Israelites have just crossed over the Jordan, which means that not only is the Jordan no longer protecting their enemies from them, the Jordan is no longer protecting them from their enemies! Joshua 5:1 indicates that all the area kings knew that they had crossed.

So, now that they are in enemy territory, God decides that it is the appropriate time for them to fulfill the covenant of circumcision! I am positive that we women cannot fully understand the ramifications of this. But, think back to Genesis 34. We didn’t talk about this specific story, but it is the account of the vengeance of Simeon and Levi against the men of Shechem after their sister Dinah was raped. They tell the men of Shechem that they would love to intermarry with them and do business with them, if only they would be circumcised. The Shechemites agree, and while they are all incapacitated because of their pain, Simeon and Levi go and slaughter the entire town. [It's another lovely story that never made it into your childhood Sunday school curriculum, I'm sure.]

With this backdrop in mind, having the entire army circumcised in enemy territory obviously does not sound like that great of a plan from a human perspective. Why now?

1. They were forced to be completely dependent on God to protect them.
There was no “God helps those who help themselves” here. This was “God helps those who are unable to help themselves and believe in Him.” They had just watched God make water pile up in a heap and had walked across a dry riverbed in the middle of flood season. Now, put that faith in action.

2. The point of circumcision to begin with? A Sign of Faith in the Promises!

Romans 4:11 tells us: And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised…

Abraham was not considered righteous because he was circumcised: Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith in God’s promises. He demonstrated that faith by circumcising himself and his household. At this point in Joshua, the people are getting ready to watch the walls of Jericho fall and claim the land. If they truly believe that God is giving them the land He promised to Abraham, this is a reasonable response: show your faith by obeying. It would be inappropriate to experience the fulfillment of this covenant without the most basic expression of faith!

For our application today, I would like to look at the connection the Bible makes between baptism in the New Testament and circumcision in the Old:

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

Just as Abraham’s faith was outwardly shown in the sign of circumcision, and the rest of Israel also showed their faith by obeying the command to be circumcised, the ordinance of baptism is the outward sign of faith under the New Covenant. Just as the Israelites would have been remiss to claim God’s promises without exhibiting their faith externally and receiving the sign of the covenant, we, as believers, have a responsibility to obey God’s command and be baptised, the outward sign of the New Covenant we have in Christ. How can we seek to claim the good things God has for us as we walk in Him if we refuse to honor Him by publicly professing His lordship over us?

I love that God says after the Israelites were circumcised, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” (Joshua 5:9) In the same way, baptism signifies the death and burial of our old nature, and that we have been raised in newness of life. Baptism is much more than a ritual, just as circumcision was more than a ritual. It is the outward sign of an inward change – the reproach of your old slavery to sin is rolled away, and you have been outwardly proclaimed to be a new creation!

I do want to say that there is debate within Christian circles about infant baptism, since circumcision was done to infant Israelites. If you want to read more about this, I recommend John Piper’s article on the subject. He also does an excellent job of explaining the difference between the Old Covenant with Israel and the New Covenant with the Church, and why the two cannot be interchanged. I highly recommend you read it!

And so, I will end with the well-stated words from Piper:

“I pray that you will be persuaded of these things, and that many who have been holding back will be baptized, not to comply with any church constitution, but by faith and obedience to glorify the great new covenant work of God in your life. Have you been washed by the blood of the Lamb? Are your sins forgiven? Have you died with Christ and risen by faith to walk in newness of life? Does the Spirit of Christ dwell in you? Is the law being written on your heart? Come, then, and signify this in baptism, and glorify God’s great new covenant work in your life.” – John Piper

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was. Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
(Romans 6:4-7, NLT)

…not just to get to the other side!

And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
…And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites…
Joshua 3:5,7-10

This is the beginning of the story of the the Israelites crossing the Jordan river – their official entry into the promised land! The way God does this is fascinating. For most of the year, the Jordan was a glorified creek. However, Joshua 3:15 indicates that they arrived at the Jordan when it was at flood stage. At flood stage this river was, humanly speaking, impassable for a huge army and nation of people! After 40 years of wandering, couldn’t God have timed their arrival a little better?

There were clearly at least a couple of reasons for their “bad timing.” If you were Joe Israelite, looking at this raging, flooding river, you might have thought to yourself, “This is really poor administration, Joshua. Moses would have throught ahead and not brought us here at this time…” By parting the river and allowing them to cross on dry ground (sounds a lot like… the Red Sea! The first great obstacle in Moses’ time of leadership!), God was planning to show that Joshua had been divinely appointed for this task.

“This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. (3:7)

Remember back to the plagues on Egypt (review “The King of kings and Lord of lords“) – those plagues were not arbitrary judgements on Egypt. They were theological statements – there is only one God!

This situation in Joshua is actually very similar. You see, the Canaanites worshiped a god named Baal – Baal was “the god of the storm.” As the Canaanites were shaking in their boots within the walls of Jericho (and Rahab has already told us they were doing just that – see Joshua 3:9-11) and looking out their windows at the vast sea of Israelites on the other side of the river, they must have taken quite a bit of comfort in the fact that they had arrived just in time for Baal to protect them! Clearly, their god of the storm was flooding the Jordan and was protecting them from the Israelites and their God. …or, perhaps not.

So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. (Joshua 3:14-17)

So, picture this mentally. The priests stood in the middle of the river bed holding the ark of the covenant – the representation of God’s unique covenant with Israel and the actual physical place where His glory dwelt among them. The Jordan has completely stopped and piled in a heap! They’re not standing in mud, they’re on dry ground! And the entire nation of Israel walks across into the land promised to them by Yahweh, their one True God.

This was a huge lesson both to Israel and to the Canaanites. By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites… (3:10) There is one True God, He is supreme, and He will keep His promises!

God doesn’t always take us on the easiest path to our destination. We wonder about His timing… couldn’t He have gotten us here a bit sooner and avoided the raging rivers? This story of God’s plan for Israel is meaningful to me. We must remember that God’s agenda is not just to “get us to the other side,” so to speak. It’s all about Him! His purpose is not just to keep us safe, happy, comfortable, and prosperous. His purpose is to reveal Himself to us and through us. Yes, He could have had the Israelites avoid this situation all together. But, would they have had to rely on Him? Would they have seen Him reveal Himself and show His glory to them and to their enemies? Would they have known, without a doubt, that God was with them and would be faithful to His promises?

Next time you’re standing on the edge of a raging river in life, ask God to show Himself in a big way – He will probably surprise you.

Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
Psalm 29:1-3

*Picture from http://www.biblepicturegallery.com

Today is a momentous post: we are finished with the Pentateuch and forging ahead into Joshua! But wait, not so fast! Before you close your mental book on our previous discussions, let’s take a look at the stated purpose of Joshua:

“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west.
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”
(Joshua 1:1-6)

See any connection here to our previous studies? What aspect of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3 – LAND, NATION, and LEADER) will this book fulfill?

Clearly, the LAND promise. And indeed, the book of Joshua is completely dedicated to God’s fulfillment of His promise! This is not just a group of people looking for a place to live. It’s not just a story of a good man who follows God. The entire book is a powerful statement that God can and will fulfill His part of this covenant relationship. [This is another case of how we get sidetracked as we read Scripture - we read chapter one and get hung up on God's promise to never leave or forsake Joshua, apply it straight to us, and completely skip the step of studying what's going on here! Before we apply, we must think! Ok, I will step down from my soapbox now.]

In the next verses, God gives Joshua specific instruction on how to succeed on this mission of claiming the land He promised them:

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:7-9)

First of all, what is this “Book of the law” He’s referring to? Deuteronomy! Again, we see the importance of this book!

This idea of not letting it “depart from you mouth” or “leave your lips” is so interesting. This carries the idea of speaking it softly to yourself constantly in order to memorize it. Imagine Joshua going through his day, speaking very softly to himself all day long-

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts…”

Why was he supposed to do this?

“…meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Joshua was to commit this book not just to memory, but to heart. He was to know God’s Word fully and obey it completely. How could he not be strong and courageous if He constantly remembered God’s character, His promises, His faithfulness? What would be a better guard against the subtlety of sin than constantly bathing his mind and heart in truth? By the way, God very specifically instructs the future kings of Israel to do this, as well – Deuteronomy 17:18-20. Clearly, this isn’t followed, and the results of this failure are disastrous.

I am impressed and convicted at the thought of what this means. I am all for a daily “quiet time” with God – a frequent topic of discussion in Christian circles referring to daily Scripture reading and prayer. I wish I could say I do this every day without fail! It is a daily battle to carve out time to spend with the Lord.

That being said, I think that we have an overly simplified view of walking with the Lord. Did I read my verse/ paragraph/ chapter today? Check! Did I pray today? Check! Wow – I am such a good Christian! Put your star sticker on that mental sticker chart and feel good about your spirituality. I am not saying this to be harsh – I find myself in this way of thinking far too often, although never in those overt terms! This is a subtle error in our thinking that can lead to an arrogant, yet superficial or fake, perspective.

I once heard Ravi Zacharias talk about people who, over the years, have expressed their spiritual despondency to him. The Bible says that when we are in Christ, we are a new creation – the old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17)! However, they were still struggling with sin, still “old” in their thinking and way of life. What is the problem? Ravi talked about the difference between reading, or even memorizing Scripture, and meditating on it.

Meditation here is not some trance-like state or feeling of calm. Biblical meditation is very different from the meditation associated with Eastern religions and philosophies. It is not an emptying of your mind, it’s a filling of your mind. Turning the Scripture over and over and over and over in your mind until it becomes the way you think. This is what Joshua and the kings were commanded to do in order to keep them from falling away – read it, memorize it, meditate on it every single day. To think Biblically – consistent with the way God thinks, and thus act in accordance with His nature. (obviously, we’re still sinful and can’t do this 100% of the time!)

It is my challenge to both you and me today to consider our relationship to God. Do I know things about Him, or do I know HIM? Do I know things about His Word, or do I KNOW His Word? When confronted with daily problems or situations, is Scripture what comes immediately to mind? Do I really think Biblically about everything?

Pick a passage or chapter to memorize (I think memorizing “chunks” of Scripture rather than a verse here or there is much more profitable) and start working on it.  Repeat it to yourself throughout your day. Meditate on it – think about what it means. Turn each word over carefully in your mind. Consider carefully the implications of that Truth. Do this carefully and consistently, and you will begin to renew your mind, think Biblically, and act in accordance with His nature.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2-3)

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
(Psalm 119:9-16)