Scripture focus: Joshua 5:10-12
Disclaimer: Please forgive any typographical, grammatical, and/or content errors in the following notes. They are not meant to be an exact transcription, but rather a helpful guide for those who appreciate the written word along with the spoken word. If you have any questions on what was taught, feel free to reach out on our ‘Contact Us’ page.
The Lord has led His people through the wilderness up to the Jordan River. They were very intentional about preparing themselves—their hearts and minds—and ultimately waiting for the Lord to say, “move.” So, the Lord dried up the ground for the people to cross and you’d think as soon as they hit the other side the Lord would say, “Alright, you’re in the Promised Land, now it’s time to run!” This isn’t at all what the Lord said. He said, “Ok, take a break.”
How many of you work out? Is a pre-wprkout warm-up part of your routine? After you go through this warm-up, do you take a break for a couple of days before you actually work out? The Jordan River was the warm-up and then the Lord says to stop and circumcise the men. We talked about this last time and it flies in the face of all conventional military wisdom to prepare for war. It would make the men weak in recovery without a route for escape because the Jordan was flowing again. After recovery, did the Lord say, Go, attack”? No, he said, celebrate Passover.”
2 Questions to reflect on…
- What has been a Jordan River moment in your life. Where the Lord clearly moved or operated in your life to do a work? It’s important to intentionally look back and think upon these moments in celebration.
- Do you have a Jericho standing before you? What is your Jericho (a difficult circumstance or change)?
The text:
Joshua 5:10-12 – 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.
The Passover
In the book of Exodus we read that the Lord raised up Moses, and after 80 years of preparation in the wilderness, he sends Moses into Egypt to lead his people out of Egypt. The plagues given by the Lord assert Yahweh’s power, dominion, and authority over the gods that Egypt worshipped. Pharoah’s heart was hardened and the final plague of destruction was foretold with a means of deliverance for His people. A spotless lamb was to be sacrificed, eaten, and its blood spread on the doorway. In Exodus 11-12 we read that the Destroyer will pass over each home will the blood. Exodus 12:13 says, “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” It’s repeated in verse 23: “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.”
We understand the significant symbolism of this event. Those of us covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, will have eternal death pass over us. However, the Israelites didn’t understand this symbolism at the time, but they were called to act in obedience. It’s interesting because God knew who each and every one of His people were in Egypt. He didn’t need them to put a marker on their doorways so He could figure out who was who. He knew everyone’s hearts, better than they knew themselves. Regardless of what the Lord knows, He always desires that His people choose to faithfully obey Him and profess submission of their bodies and souls. This principle is relevant at all times in many situations. We can choose to take matters into our own hands, walking in fear or seeking avoidance. Our Passover moment would be to cling to Jesus Christ, the one who covers us, and courageously and humbly follow Jesus into the situation.
This is what the Lord is doing with His people as they approach Jericho. He commands them to remember and celebrate Passover. They haven’t celebrated Passover in their entire wilderness wandering which is a pretty big deal. It speaks to the disobedience of that generation that they would be commanded to continually celebrate and then immediately stop. How many of you know that when you’re in a place that is dry, hot, and uncomfortable and it’s withering away your fortitude and will, it’s very easy to just forget the priority of God in our lives? Life has a way of winnowing away the desire to obey the Lord because of the weightiness of the circumstances around us. The enemy is very good at taking away the will to submit to the Lord’s power and provision in our lives especially when it doesn’t look like how we thought it would.
Remember, everyone who was over 20 at the time of the previous Passover celebration has died. Perhaps the teenagers at that time who are now in their 50s had a recollection of what was done all those years ago. For the most part, this was a bunch of young folks who had a bunch of bad examples; but wandered for 40 years with the daily reminder of provision in the manna. So, God tells to celebrate the Jordan River crossing together in community. There is no such thing as an individual Passover celebration. It’s always done in community as a thanksgiving and remembrance festival. Circumcision is an individual thing, only for males, and was a test of humility and submission as well as a sign of faith and trust in Yahweh. However, it wasn’t so much about looking back as it was a proclamation as what was happening right then – much like baptism is an outward sign of a change that has taken place inwardly. Passover was a collective, communal time of looking back of how the Lord had delivered His whole people together. The Lord kept His word and they celebrate the victory that the Lord has won.
Community and Remembrance
God is very intentional about giving means of community-building to His people. One of the means of this community-building is the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is the baby of Passover and Jesus used the Passover meal to first implement the Lord’s Supper. So often we make the Lord’s Supper an individual thing—it wasn’t designed to be that way. It was designed to be done in community and it’s a very powerful way of bringing unity and cohesion to the body and meant to help spur on and encourage each other. When there are those in our midst who are walking through a wilderness season we can celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness and remind one another of the power to make it over the Jordans. This flies in the face of the pride-inducing individuality and independence of the world around us. The values of God’s kingdom and the kingdom of men are at odds and we stand together against the crush of cultural conformity because we cannot stand alone. Praise God He gives us the Spirit and we are never alone. There’s a reason people go out in twos and threes and the New Testament is written in the plural. Hebrews 3:13 says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Ephesians 4:1-3 says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Community and belonging matter. I hope that every one of you has experienced true community and I hope that the primary place that you have experienced that is in the body of Christ. The tragedy is that some of the most hurtful experiences that we have endured have come from the body of Christ. This is straight from the enemy and we need to strive by God’s grace through the unity of the Spirit to find belonging and community even if we’ve been hurt in the past. It matters to keep striving for this unity in the church family. There’s a big difference between being an extroverted people-person and being a community-minded individual. We’re not all made to be extroverts and energized by being around people. Praise God that we’re different! But we are made to be part of God’s community. If you’re someone that is not a community-minded person, please recognize that this is not God’s design for your heart. It will leave you empty, hollow, and constantly wanting true love from a family and a God who is the only one able to fill up your cup. If your past hurts are preventing you from moving forward or if your general disposition is one that doesn’t want to be around people I have to submit those hurts and attitudes to the Lord and ask him to take that away. The Lord can eradicate wrong attitudes over time so we have a desire to embrace God’s people. We are called to pursue unity when we are in comm-unity.
Change and Looking Forward
There’s some scary stuff that goes on and we might not think it’s scary, but put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites. The Lord has provided you with everything your stomach needs for 40 years. You haven’t had to prepare a meal because you picked up the manna and you ate it. Now, there’s a massive change. After celebrating as a community, the rug is ripped out from under them and they need to apart to change. People don’t like change because it’s uncomfortable and there’s a lack of control. God likes to remind us that He’s in control by presenting us with change. God is immutable – He doesn’t change! His character and Word do not change; but the circumstances around us change all the time because He wants us to change, grow, and mature. Isaiah 43:18-21 says, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”
That last verse is why the Lord changes circumstances so much. The more we settle in our circumstance the more our hearts are apt to remove the focus of our praise to our own hearts. Therefore, the Lord know our weakness and loves us too much to leave us to ourselves. He redirects us back to him through change. God knew that the Israelites would go through this exact complacency in the wilderness and he even warned Moses that His people would forget, but He was true to His word in sending them forward. In John 15:2 Jesus puts the process of change this way, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” We like our branches and fruit, but God prunes us and allows us to experience change so we can produce more fruit.
Israel had grown to rely upon the Lord in the wilderness, but now they had to learn how to do that while also adding the strength of their hands to the labor. Not only did they have to toil and labor, but they had to trust that the Lord is going to give them the ingredients. As you mature in your faith, there are greater tests of faith, larger pruning. Greater maturity produces greater tests, not greater ease. Why? So that you may continue to praise the Lord in your maturity. These people had come further than their parents and grandparents had ever gone and now they learn they need to get to work. We can imagine they were scared, or angry, or upset. This didn’t stop the Lord from initiating the change. We can imagine the Israelites saying, “Lord, we can see the walls of Jericho, they’re right in front of us. And now we’re going to have to fight this huge city on an empty stomach!” Sometimes we think we have one simple problem and then we have five big problems. This is how the Lord produces reliance and more fruit.
On of the marks of a spiritually mature individual is to embrace change. So evaluation here is pretty easy. How do you handle change? Change is inevitable. Please don’t hear you need to be happy about a bad thing. Sometimes life is hard and stinks and is unpleasant and we don’t need to be happy about sinful circumstances we may find ourselves in because of sin, but I do NEED to trust. It’s okay to grieve and lament a season that has past – this is good and healthy. Those seasons of lament should end in a renewed strength and determination because he’s preparing us for a Jericho (or a Grand Canyon). But, praise God we are not allowed to be stuck in our luxury, but moved forward toward greater fruit.
Have you identified your Jordan River moment in the past? Have you identified your Jericho in front of you? Share that with your group as you celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.. Celebrate the past victory and praise His name. Pray and share the Jericho in front of you and praise His name.