Josh 5:1 Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west

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Lessons From Joshua 5 Joshua 5 describes a
generation of Gods people coming of age and
preparing to do their duty.
Josh 51 - Now it came about when all the kings
of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the
west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who
were by the sea, heard how the Lord had dried up
the waters of the Jordan before the sons of
Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts
melted, and there was no spirit in them any
longer, because of the sons of Israel.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 Joshua 5 describes a
generation of Gods people coming of age and
preparing to do their duty.
Josh 52-9 - At that time the Lord said to
Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and
circumcise again the sons of Israel the second
time." So Joshua made himself flint knives and
circumcised the sons of Israel at
Gibeath-haaraloth. 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,
died in the wilderness along the way, after they
came out of Egypt. For all the people who came
out were circum-cised, but all the people who
were born in the wilderness along the way as they
came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 Joshua 5 describes a
generation of Gods people coming of age and
preparing to do their duty.
Josh 52-9 - For the sons of Israel
walked forty years in the wilderness,
until all the na- tion, that is, the men
of war who came out of Egypt, perished
because they did not listen to the voice
of the Lord, to whom the Lord had sworn
that He would not let them see the land
which the Lord had sworn to their fath-
ers to give us, a land flowing with milk and
honey. And their children whom He had
raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised
for they were uncircumcised, because they had
not circumcised them along the way. Now it came
about when they had finished circumcising all the
nation, that they remained in their places in the
camp until they were healed. Then the Lord said
to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach
of Egypt from you." So the name of that place is
called Gilgal to this day.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 Joshua 5 describes a
generation of Gods people coming of age and
preparing to do their duty.
Josh 510-12 - While the sons of Israel camped at
Gilgal, they observed the Passover on the evening
of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert
plains of Jericho. And on the day after the
Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the
produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched
grain. And the manna ceased on the day after
they had eaten some of the produce of the land,
so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna,
but they ate some of the yield of the land of
Canaan during that year.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 Joshua 5 describes a
generation of Gods people coming of age and
preparing to do their duty.
Josh 513-15 - Now it came about when Joshua was
by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and
looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite
him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua
went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or
for our adversar-ies?" And he said, "No, rather
I indeed come now as captain of the host of the
Lord." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth,
and bow-ed down, and said to him, "What has my
lord to say to his servant? And the captain of
the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Remove your
sandals from your feet, for the place where you
are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
We can should make a difference in the world.
A. The kings were afraid of Israel upon hearing
how God dried up the Jordan. Does anyone fear us
today? Do believers play such a prominent role
in society that unbelievers are afraid of our
influence?
B. Not talking physical intimidation... allowing
God to work through us to make a difference in
the world.
1. When we fail to follow God we can expect
family problems, substance abuse, sensuality,
other social ills.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
We can should make a difference in the world.
2. We must increase our holiness. When
unbelievers look at us, they should see something
different from the general pattern of the world.
How we talk, how we love, how we behave should
testify that we live by the power of God.
Unbelievers should be afraid not of us, but of
our Lord and of the judgment that will come to
them if they remain disobedient.
3. We should play such a prominent role in
society that people think we have turned the
world upside down (Acts 176). It can start with
us as we seek to make a difference in the world.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
Men usually are responsible for problems
Vv. 2-9 describe the Israelites uncircum-cision
after 40 years in the desert. How did they get to
this point? Ill risk saying that men usually are
responsible for the problems we face.
They wandered 40 years because the men were
afraid to follow God into battle vs. the
Canaanites complained about Gods provision
(Num. 14).
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
Men usually are responsible for problems
child kidnappings/murders bc men feed on
filth
unwanted pregnancies bc men wont control
themselves.
corporate scandals because men are greedy
broken families bc men dont love and lead
like Jesus
Many men are wimps bc their fathers were
wimps too lazy, selfish, wicked to do their
duty.
When we do our job well, God blesses. If our
fathers have not followed the truth, we can set
our own course. Men must stand up to fulfill
our obligations to God and to others.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
Following Gods ways can be painful.
Circumcision talking about it is hard
enough, much less having to circum- cise a few
hundred thousand men! Vv. 2-9 reminds us
that following Gods ways can be painful.
Some believers do suffer physically be- cause
of their faith tortured, killed etc. We may
occasionally be mocked or face social stigma
but seldom are forced to suffer physically.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
Following Gods ways can be painful.
A deeper struggle pain come from the internal
war against sin. Even in the OT, God wanted
circumcision of the heart, not just that of
the body (Jer. 44). That is what we all face
today, male and female (Col. 211-12)
-plucking out eyes, cutting off hands,
-peeling away layers of pride and guilt
-painful decisions we must make to be
followers of Christ.
The first step is the hardest. Once we submit
to God, our path becomes easier. But we must
do whatever God says, even when painful.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
God wants to give us something better.
After the circumcising, they observed the
Passover. The next day they ate the pro-
duce of the land. The day after that, the manna
stopped.
When God takes away something we love or
depend on, He often replaces it with something
better or enables us to get on without it.
--They could have stayed in Egypt eat- ing
vegetables as Pharaohs slaves.
--They could have stayed in the desert
eating manna and quail.
--But God wanted to give them a land
flowing with milk and honey where they could be
free and enjoy food produced by their own hand.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
God wants to give us something better.
As Christians we move into a new phase of
life must accept the challenges of serving
God. He is ready to provide for our needs as we
live by His instruction. He wants to give us
something much better than weve ever had.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
We should be on Gods side.
Josh. 5 closes with the scene of Joshua meeting
the man with a drawn sword. Joshua understandably
asks whose side he is on. The man tersely replies
"No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the
host of the Lord."
We all want God on our side! In nearly every
dispute, from international war to church
disputes, both sides think God is on their side.
-God is on my side because I dont go to
public schoolgo to public school not a
liberalat F.Ca preacher!
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
We should be on Gods side.
The question is not, Is God on my side? It
is, Am I on Gods side? He is willing to
support and guide us is not on our side in the
sense that he approves of all we do and opposes
everyone who disa- grees with us.
We shouldnt expect God to be on our side
just because we say the right things and go
through the right motions...the Pharisees
thought that even though their hearts were far
from him.
To be on Gods side means we follow His lead
listen to His teaching. If we do that, we will
end up saying and doing the right things.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
Dont let giants obscure your vision.
That generation went on to accomp- lish great
things in Gods name destroyed/drove out
most of the Canaanites...established a new
nation based on Gods instructions...served
the Lord well.
Then, sadly, a generation arose which knew
not the Lord. Those who came out of the
desert and conquered the land failed to pass on
to their children the faith commitment to God.
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Lessons From Joshua 5 a generation of Gods
people coming of age, preparing to do their duty.
Conclusion
We can be both encouraged warned from Josh. 5.
We see the danger of falling from a spiritual
high into a pit through negli- gence and
indifference
We are a generation of Gods people coming of
age and preparing to do our duty. May we be
found faithful and may we consider the
wonderful things God can do through us as we
seek Him..
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