Joshua Chapter 5

The Israelites, under the direction of the prophet Joshua, crossed the Jordan River and camped near the land of Jericho. The Lord had brought them into this land, in such a way, as to make the other nations nervous. This had been promised prior to their crossing the river. The nations would know and fear the people of the living God. This chapter begins:

1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

Fear came upon the people of the land of Canaan. They knew that the people of Israel were a powerful people because of the miracles that God had done for them.

2 At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the Lord sware that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
7 And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
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.

The Israelite males were circumcised, just as their fathers had been who made the first covenants at Sinai. This was necessary because all those who had been circumcised the first time, had since passed away. The Lord had not required circumcision as they had wandered for forty years. The place they camped, was called Gilgal by the Lord.

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.
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.

As they camped, they kept the Passover and ate the old grains that came from the land. I think this was new for them, because as a nomadic people, they had been fed by the Lord for forty years, and had not regularly eaten the crops as other people would have done.

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.

At that point, the blessing of manna stopped and they began to eat the fruit of the land. I imagine that would have been quite a change for all the people, since all of them were raised from childhood or infancy with daily manna from the Lord.

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?
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?
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.

The captain of the host of the Lord came to Joshua. Joshua worshiped him and then asked what the directions of the Lord were for him. Joshua, much like Moses, was told to remove the shoes he wore, because he was then on holy ground.

This was a time of great changes for the Israelite people. They were finally becoming prepared to take the land and settle there. I am sure this was a time of great excitement and anticipation. These people had never known this kind of life that they were now facing. I am sure that the need for courage and faith in the Lord, was of great importance. They showed their faith, by performing the ordinance of circumcision and renewing the covenants with the Lord. They were becoming more sanctified by the Lord, and allowing Him to lead them. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have each week to renew my own covenants with the Lord, by partaking of the Sacrament. Through this renewal, I know that I can be more sanctified as well. With this weekly renewal and sanctification, I am better prepared to face my own adversaries and the every-day trials of life.