Why Joshua Performed the Ritual - Joshua 5:4

In the book of Joshua, we learned, “at that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make you sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins”, and in chapter five and verse four of the book of Joshua, we learn, “why Joshua did circumcise” where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise:” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and this is the cause” which means “and the following exists as the reason” “why Joshua did circumcise” or “for which Joshua whose name means ‘God is salvation’ cut away the foreskin from the children of Israel”. Joshua or the writer began to give the reason that “Joshua” cut away the foreskin of the “children of Israel”. 

 

The verse goes on to say, “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.” Joshua continued with the words, “all the people” or “each, every and the whole of the human beings” “that came out of Egypt” which means “who exited and went forth from Egypt whose name means ‘land of the Copts’ and is a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows”, “that were males” or “who existed as male human beings”, “even all the men of war” which means “also and indeed each, every and the whole of the male human beings pertaining to fighting and battle”, “died in the wilderness by the way” or “were killed, became breathless or were put to death within the uninhabited desert land along the journey, course and distance”, “after they came out of Egypt” which means “following the time they, the people of Israel, exited and departed from Egypt whose name means ‘land of the Copts’ and is a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows”. Joshua or the writer referred to how the men who departed from “Egypt” all perished along the journey while the people of Israel were wandering in the uninhabited desert land. (Only Joshua and Caleb survived and entered the promise land.) (See Numbers 14:38)

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn the reason that “Joshua” was to “circumcise” the children of Israel. The men of Israel who departed from “Egypt” and wandered in the “wilderness” were “circumcised”, however, all of them with the exception of “Joshua and Caleb” passed away, and they did not “circumcise” their “children” while in the desert place. God established this statute, and all males were to be “circumcised”. (See Genesis 17:10-14) “Joshua” was to bring the people of Israel who entered the promise land back in alignment with God’s will, and we shall see how he fulfills that commission in our next verse. God wants everyone to be in a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and rose from the grave after three days. When we surrender to Him, He will forgive our sins, cleanse us from all unrighteousness, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to align with His Divine purposes and will.

Next time we learn how, “all the people that came out were circumcised”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".