JOSHUA 5 GILGAL, “reproach has been rolled away.” There would have been a consciousness of God among the people of Israel as they all camped safely on the west bank of the Jordan River at Gilgal. Not only had the waters of Jordan "returned to their place and overflowed the banks" as before the crossing, but the reproach they had endured from Egypt for forty years was rolled away. For all of those years they were considered to be like a "wandering Jew," but now that was all in the past. They were at Gilgal in the land of promise. Thirty-nine years earlier, fear of the Canaanites turned them away and kept them in the wilderness. Now fear of the people of God was in the hearts of the Amorites and Canaanites, and they had no spirit to defend themselves. God was leading His people to go forward rather than remain in defeat and complacency. Obedience to the Lord was all God had expected of His people. He knew what was in their best interests and they had to trust Him to do what was needed. He produced fear in the enemies of Israel without them going to battle against them. Israel had previously underestimated God's power. Now the inhabitants of the land feared them because they were physically in the land.
To wait for instructions from God is very difficult in the life of a Christian. God can deal with opposition in His own way and change the attitudes, both of those who oppose the things of God, and our own attitude toward God and other people. It is possible for us to take God's grace for granted for a long time, and expect Him to act according to what we think or want. God, in grace, has made us His children, but He wants our devotion to Him to be real. Israel entered the land of promise in uncircumcision by the grace of God alone. We are saved by grace alone, but there does come a time when we have to deliberately separate from the old if we are going to have the kind of relationship with God that He wants.
The world and wilderness living is the place of unbelief. Grace is truly experienced when we are separated unto God and self-will is abandoned. Self-will and unbelief were rejected by God and led to 39 lost years. Now a new generation had been born, and those who were young when they left Egypt, were now older people who would understand what their circumcision many years before actually meant. Now that they were at Gilgal, that reproach had rolled away. A new generation of strong young people who had been trained and disciplined in the wilderness where they had to trust God alone fort their daily food, was now ready to claim the land God promised His people. But before they could go further, they had to wait for instructions from God.
First things had to be done first. Circumcision was the sign of obedience to God and no confidence in the flesh. Death to the flesh is painful but the end of the process is blessing. Blessings and battles in a Christian's life often go together. When we cut off that which our flesh desires, we come closer to God. The closer we are to God the greater is our separation from the world and its evil ways. Believers are dead to the world and are alive to Christ. Trying to mix the two is not only wrong, but it does not work. "We cannot serve two masters." Gilgal became holy ground to the Israelites. This is where they got new instructions from God. They had a few days eating manna in the promised land, even after circumcision took place because there was a painful time of healing when they were vulnerable, and could not go to fields and gather food for themselves. Even though Israel had crossed Jordan, they were not at liberty to act until circumcision had taken place. Self-judgment is needed to live in the freedom in Christ into which we have been brought. Holy self-denial goes way beyond intellectual words that can explain everything but are powerless to change us. A person can say right words and know all he or she says is scriptural, but it does not become a fact until that person moves out in faith and cuts off the worldliness that misleads us.
The understanding of the cross-work of Christ is not real to us until we act on its truth. Israel could not eat the Passover for 39 years because circumcision had to take place first. No uncircumcised person could eat the Passover. The Passover had been eaten at the foot of Mt. Sinai in fear years before. Now they would wait three days until the fourteenth day of the first month and eat the Passover in celebration of the blessings and promises of God. Christ is our Passover so we "keep the feast" not as a shadow or type but the reality of which the Passover foreshadowed. We keep the feast in remembrance of a Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His redemptive work for us. There is nothing in the wilderness of this world that can sustain the people of God. When they entered the land there was grain at hand so they could make the unleavened bread for the Passover and the meal offering. God has provided for us that which we could not provide for ourselves. They kept the feast on the 14th day of the first month; they ate of the "old corn of the land" on the 15th day of the month and the manna stopped on the 16th day of the month. In the past Israel had failed and even" loathed this light bread." Now they were able to go out and work for what they were going to eat. Faith is not a substitute for work, nor is prayer a substitute for action. The freedom of "Gilgal" means that God has brought us into a special place where we live and work in fellowship with Him.
God had made a covenant with Abraham. In that covenant of which circumcision was the sign, the old life was symbolically cut off and a new life with God begins. God had promised Abraham that His people would come into the land in the 4th generation [Gen.15:13] because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. Now, 4 generations later, the iniquity was full. The people of the land were immoral; were trafficking in evil spirits; and spiritual evil was rampant in the land.
Gilgal was the place where reproach was rolled away and it became the gathering center for Israel for many years. Even Saul was anointed king there, hundreds of years later. Gilgal was "the place of remembrance." There were twelve stones set up there as a memorial of the nation coming into the place of promise. The central theme of the Bible is the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is very important for us to remember. We remember, as did they would have, that they had been in the wilderness and now a new life begins through our death, burial and resurrection in Christ. We are dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God. We have been raised to walk in newness of life. God's best is provided for us when we are dead to the world and alive to Christ.
Gilgal was also "the place of resurrection:" the reproach that followed us for years has been rolled away when the Lord takes control of one's life. When He controls my life and I leave my willful ways and trust Him, life as a believer really becomes what it should be. Faith reckons me dead to the world and walking in newness of life. Israel was on new ground in the place of promise. A new life began. As "the place of renunciation," the nation was called to a halt as the need of circumcision was addressed. It is not only a national sign, but each individual had to show this evidence of essential surrender. It is viewed as a whole as far as the nation was concerned, but each male had to submit to the terms of the covenant. Gilgal is where they faced, and we face, the terms of our victory – renouncing everything contrary to God’s will. What has taken place positionally is now true in practical experience.
Gilgal was "the place of restoration." The Passover had only been observed twice. When the nation was going to be delivered in Egypt and in fear when they were at Mt. Sinai. When circumcision had taken place they were now able to keep the feast in fellowship with God. Now they could get grain for the offerings. Now the new generation was in a condition to be participants of the Passover. They had abandoned this feast of worship, remembrance and fellowship. They had to be circumcised to partake of this feast [Ex.12:48]. They had surrendered their right and privilege by disobedience and unbelief. We can't do the work of God unless we feed on the word of God. We can't get the word of God unless we labor to get it. We cannot speak for God outwardly from our lips, unless we are enjoying Him inwardly in our hearts. The word of God has to "dwell in us richly" before its truth can go out to others. For that to happen, there has to be death to self. They celebrated the Passover on the 14th day of the first month about two miles from Jericho. The day after they ate the Passover, the manna ceased and they ate the food from the land of Canaan.
Gilgal was also "the place of realization:" the journey was over. The manna was wilderness food for a wilderness journey. The "old corn of the land" was ripe and ready for their use as the harvesters probably ran for their lives to the walled cities. Now we have all the resources of promise in our risen Christ. It is up to us to make all the provisions of God our own. We need to realize what we are is more important than the work on which we expend so much of our effort. That realization will keep us going forward in faith in God and with gratitude and, hopefully, humility.
Gilgal was "the place of revelation" where Joshua was made to understand the unseen Captain of the host of the Lord was on the job. There was a greater and mightier host, working on behalf of Israel than the army of mere men. It was the "Host of the Lord" under the most mighty "Captain" of all who had come to lead them into the promised land. Our Lord Jesus Christ and the "Host of the Lord" are unseen by us but are working constantly on our behalf against the powers of darkness and Satan. Israel was going under His leadership though He was unseen. Joshua was a leader under higher authority. We are not our own. We are not free to do as we wish. We are under the authority of our Risen Head and that makes the land of promise a fruitful and safe place. We worship before Him, as did Joshua. That is how we know the "Captain" was our Lord. He is for us and He is constantly working for us. It is "holy ground" when we enter the land of Beulah where our Lord bids us follow Him and yield to His leadership.