Printer Friendly VersionOur study of Joshua has been significant. This old story has
spoken to us about our task of following the Lord. Now with chapter 5, we
begin a new part of the story.
Up this point in the story, Israel was consumed with crossing over into the
Promised Land. Now that it was done, it was time to possess land. Israel had
come to a most significant moment. A national history that began with Abraham
some 800 years before was now entering a new stage.
The people crossed over the Jordan as the floodwaters were held
back by the Lord. And the memorial stones were placed as a reminder of God’s
goodness. Now these Israelite nomads were encamped at Gilgal, preparing to
attack Jericho. We’ll hear that story very soon, and we would expect
it to follow immediately.
Now is the time to strike. The people of Canaan were recoiling
in fear (v. 1). But amazingly, God had another priority. Isn’t that
just typical? How often is God’s agenda different than ours? We want
conquest; He wants transformation. We want results now, but He has eternity
on His side.
So, God asked them to stop (for some days) and go through the
process of re-establishing the covenant sign of circumcision. Now God and
Israel had long ago sealed the covenant with this sign. I suppose it would
be fair to say, “A lot of good that did!”
They had the marks of covenant—they bore in their bodies
a visible reminder that they belonged to God. But the people still lived as
though they did not belong to God. We know the story of their disobedience
and we are reminded here that a whole generation died in the desert because
of their disobedience.
It’s amazing how quickly a whole family system can be
set on the wrong path by the selfish and sinful choices of one generation.
There’s a lesson there. We think we live so independently, but our choices
truly impact generations to come.
It’s also true that one generation can set future generations
on the right path. You are not doomed to the past. So now, the generation
that was born and raised up in the desert came to be circumcised and receive
once again the sign of covenant in their bodies.
Beyond that, God gave them another sign. The manna (on which
they relied for food all these years) stopped coming. God instead provided
for them from the produce of the new land. That’s what He promised so
long ago.
God’s provision was no longer extraordinary and miraculous.
Now His provision was normal. But it was still His provision! We are grateful
for the special provisions of God. Why aren’t we as grateful for the
“normal” provisions of God?
So, this new generation of God’s people, having successfully
crossed over into the new land, had received some marvelous sacraments of
God’s grace. We might be tempted to say, “No big deal. It didn’t
seem to help the first generation much, so why should expect it to help these
folks?”
Well the truth is the same thing is true of this generation
that was true of the first—the signs of God’s presence, the marks
of discipleship in themselves were not enough. They were still required to
live in obedience to God.
The group that wandered in the desert had everything they needed
to be successful. They had God's promise, they had powerful signs of presence,
they had His daily provision and sustaining grace. What they did not have
was a spirit of obedience. They did not have a determination to live their
lives aligned with God’s will instead of their own.
Now it was 40 years later, they were on the other side of the
river, great possibility lay ahead, but the core issue was not different.
Obedience to the Lord was still the very heart of being His people.
God marked them again with the sign, but He knew it was not enough. He stopped
the manna and gave the fruit of the land, but He knew it was not enough. Obedience
was still required.
And in this simple story that almost seems out of place in the
narrative, I think there is an air of warning even to us. You can have all
the marks of a child of God but lack the response of a child of God. You can
receive the sacraments but have no faith. Paul was right in 1 Corinthians:
You can experience the exodus, eat the manna, drink water from the rock, and
still remain in unbelief.
They had it all, Paul said; nevertheless God was not pleased
with most of them—their bodies were scattered over the desert. You may
hold membership among God’s flock but have not relationship with the
Sshepherd. You may live in the King’s country but reject His sovereignty.
This is an issue for every new generation of those who follow
the way of Christ. Many of us in this room tonight have been given a wonderful
heritage of faith. We’ve been raised in the church and in Christian
homes. We’ve been taught the gospel and have received the sacraments.
We’re “in”—we are part of it.
But the story of these people reminds us the marks of a true
child are not those external things. The mark of a true child is obedience
to the will and way of God.
Here’s my simple question for you tonight: “You
may have all the external marks of a Christian, but do you have the true mark
of obedience? Do you have a real, vital, personal relationship with the living
Christ?
Children, you can’t “borrow” the faith of
your parents. It has to become your own. Teens, you can fake it now, but it
will not last if it is not real. Adults, is your discipleship more a matter
of habit or genuine faith?
How “real” is it with you? Do the “marks” of your faith get lived out in an authentic life of radical obedience to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
