When I was in officer training school, I was taught that I could use artillery or air strikes to neutralize enemy forces before the actual engagement of a ground offensive. The objective was to damage the enemy’s fighting capabilities, create fear, and demoralize the enemy troops before ground combat began.
After 40 long years, the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land. But they didn’t need to call for artillery or air strikes. For when the Canaanites “heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear” (Joshua 5:1). This was an opportune time for “General Joshua” to launch an all-out offensive on Jericho.
But God commanded him to do something radical and totally irrational, humanly speaking. It was not only incredibly stupid as a military strategy but also extremely dangerous. God ordered Joshua to circumcise every male in the entire nation (Joshua 5:2). Such a surgical procedure would cause a delay of 10 to 14 days as the soldiers recuperated. It incapacitated the entire Jewish army and endangered the whole nation—making it too weak to defend itself if an attack came from the Canaanites.
Yes, God’s command was perplexing. Surely His ways are not our ways. And that’s precisely the issue: What will you do when you find that God’s ways seem unreasonable and incomprehensible?
Joshua obeyed God’s command instead of giving in to his human reasoning. He chose to trust God even more. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
Joshua demonstrated his unwavering confidence in God by his obedience. Let’s do the same.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 25:31-46
More:
Read Joshua 6:1-5 and consider what you would do in this situation if you were Joshua.
Next:
Why was it necessary for the Jews to be circumcised at this point in time? (Read Joshua 5:4-9, also Genesis 17:10-14.) How does obedience reveal our trust in God?
Wayne on September 10, 2013 at 4:54 am
His ways are higher than ours, we have to stay close to him to recognize his voice or a knowing
In your heart !
tgustafs on September 10, 2013 at 5:15 am
Thanks for this KT. For quite a few months now I have been wondering just what God is doing. It’s a silly question, when I think about it. Of course I won’t understand His ways. But I can still trust Him.
ruth o'reilly-smith on September 10, 2013 at 11:58 pm
I love this reminder KT. Although God’s ways seem strange at times, when we look back, we can see how He has always been faithful; He has made a way where there seemed to be no way, carried us when we had no strength and walked us through the tough stuff of life. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and so I continue to trust him whether it makes sense or not.
daisymarygoldr on November 10, 2013 at 12:12 pm
It is important to interpret OT passages in the light of the NT. Remember, “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” When we study the types and prefigures in the Old along with their fulfilled reality in the New, it will help us connect the dots and see the whole pig picture.
For the Israelites, circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with all those who are physically born into Abraham’s family. The external physical act symbolized the internal circumcised heart i.e. a change of heart (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6).
In Joshua 5, the people that left Egypt had all died, for they had disobeyed the Lord. And all those who were born in the wilderness could not eat of the Passover, have victory in the battles against their enemies and possess the Promised Land without being circumcised. Joshua knew this truth and therefore obeyed God’s command.
For all those who are spiritually born into God’s family (Ephesians 2:19), Jesus Christ the captain of our salvation, was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8). And those who belong to Christ have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there (Galatians 5:24).
Paul says: “When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.” (Colossians 2:11-12). And the outward act of baptism is evidenced by an inner transformation (Galatians 6:15).
In popular culture, the deeds of the flesh listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, are no longer considered as sin but “disease”. To such the surgical procedure of crucifixion sounds stupid. The message of the cross is foolish for those who are headed for destruction (1 Corinthians 1:18). But those who are being saved know that without being crucified to the flesh we cannot be a part of Christ our Passover, have victory in our battles against sin and inherit the kingdom of God.