Pause Before You Move: Joshua 5:1-12

First Southern Baptist Church

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Forward

August 3, 2014

Pause Before You Move

Joshua 5:1-12

How did we ever watch television before the DVR? Most shows I watch I'm going to DVR, because it enables me to fast-forward through those commercials, or if I miss something in a show, if I get distracted, I can just go back. "What did he say? What did she say?" And there's that "pause" button. That's why I think women like it. If your wife comes in to talk to you, guys, you can pause the show and give her your undivided attention. I have found it has helped my selective hearing quite a bit.

What if we were able to fast-forward or go back in life? Wouldn't life be interesting? Or if we had a "pause"? Now we can't pause, we can't go backwards, we can't go forward, and we really can't stop time, but there is an element where we can pause. If you're going to move forward with God, you have to pause. Our study of the book of Joshua is all about moving forward with God.

The Israelites had spent 40 years in the wilderness, wandering because of their disobedience, and with the book of Joshua, God is now moving them out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. One of the things we need to remember as New Testament believers is that all Scripture (and when Paul wrote this, he was talking about the Bible they had of the day, which was the Old Testament) was given to us for our instruction and encouragement, and to enable us to persevere. That's Romans, chapter 15.

Therefore, the book of Joshua is a picture of what it looks like for the Christian to move forward in his or her Christian experience. When we started this study, I gave you a main theme. The main theme of the study is that God calls you, the Christian, to move forward in your Christian experience to possess the abundance and fullness that is only found in Jesus Christ.

To possess this abundant life we have to abide in Christ. The only way you can possess the abundant life and experience the fullness of your salvation is to abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is a daily battle for the believer. Don't be misguided to think there is a level of Christianity where you never struggle and never battle.

The abundant life is not a comfortable life. Sorry. It's not a trouble-free life. The apostle Paul illustrated this very well with the imagery of the armor of God in Ephesians, chapter 6. Really, Ephesians, chapter 6, is the Joshua of the New Testament. In verse 10, of chapter 6, he said, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the Devil."

That tells me right there that the Christian life and abiding in Christ is a battle. Our battle isn't against flesh and blood, or just against flesh and blood. I kind of interpret that differently, because every day I wake up I'm battling with my flesh. I'm going to be honest with you. Sometimes I'm battling with your flesh. I'm just saying.

All of us are battling with somebody else's flesh. "My goodness, you need to be in the Spirit. Please. How about a little fruit there? What about love and joy?" Then you have to battle with it yourself. Just because somebody treats you wrongly doesn't mean you respond in the same manner. You respond in the Spirit of God.

So I say it's not just against flesh and blood, but mainly it's against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over the present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Every day is a battle if you are going to abide in Jesus Christ. Now for us to move forward and to battle and abide in Jesus Christ, there needs to be preparation.

Joshua, chapter 5, gives us this imagery of what we need to do daily, and it really instructs us how to make daily preparation so we can fight this battle. Every Christian needs to be fighting this battle every day, because to fight this battle means you want to walk in the abundance of your salvation. If we would all walk in the abundance of our salvation, I'm here to tell you the world just might believe we belong to Jesus.

So turn to Joshua, chapter 5. Joshua, chapter 5, shows us that before you move forward, you have to pause. The first seven verses show you have to pause consistently, daily, and constantly. It's not a one-time event in the day, although it needs to be. It's an ongoing process in your life. If you want to abide in Christ, there's this constant daily battle of fighting off the old nature and the temptations of this world.

You have to constantly pause to renew your relationship with the Lord. We see that. Let's begin in verse 1. Verse 1 actually is part of the last section we looked at back in chapter 4 last week. It shows us the effect the crossing of the Jordan had on the inhabitants of the land. It says:

"As soon as 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 that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel."

In essence, they were terrified. They were afraid because of all of the powerful miracles God was doing among his people, the Israelites. In verse 1, it gives further confirmation of what God told them he was going to do. He said, "I'm going to give you victory over the inhabitants of the land." God is affirming that.

Now all of the inhabitants of the land… It's not just Jericho. Back in chapter 2, when the spies returned after talking to Rahab, they said, "Hey, I want you to know Jericho is terrified of us. They're scared." Now we're learning not just Jericho, but all of the inhabitants of the land, everybody was terrified of Israel.

Now humanly speaking, you cross the Jordan. You have two million people. Now you understand that everybody in the land is terrified. What do you do? Humanly speaking, what would we do? We would attack, right? "Let's strike while the iron is hot." That's what we would do. But that's not what God does. In fact, God is going to push the "pause" button. We see that in verse 2. Look at verse 2.

"At that time the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.'" Here's a very important truth that verse 2 teaches us when it comes to moving forward with God: God is more concerned with your character than he is your conquest. That's what verse 2 is revealing. It says, "At that time the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.'"

Why do this? Well, to really understand what's happening, we need to go back to chapter 1, verses 7-8. This is where the Lord is commissioning Joshua. It says, "Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you." "Make sure you obey the law. Do everything in the law. If you'll do everything in the law, then you'll be successful. Then you'll be prosperous."

He says in verse 8, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night…" It should be a priority in your life. "…so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

Their ability to have success would be determined by their ability to obey the law of God. In that law, there was the need for the sons of Israel to be circumcised. Here's what's happening: God is dealing with sin in Israel. Why? Because God is more concerned with your character than he is your conquest or your comfort. Now watch what happens, because in verse 4 and following we have the reason. Here's why there needs to be circumcision.

"And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised.

For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished [they had to die], because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey."

This really takes us back all the way to Genesis, chapter 17. There, when the Lord reiterated his covenant he made with Abraham in chapter 15, he gave him a sign this time, and the sign was the sign of circumcision. Circumcision was, first of all, an outward sign that they belonged to the Lord, that they were in a covenant relationship with God.

We learn from the Old Testament also it was to be a sign of an inward reality, that a person who has trusted in God should have a circumcised heart. It should be a symbol, a sign, of a significant life change in an individual's life because they have placed their faith in the God of Israel. The people who died in the wilderness, who came out of Egypt, were circumcised, but they died.

Now here's why. We see the digression, I could say, of their disobedience in verse 6. It says, "For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished…" This generation had to die, and they had to die in the wilderness, because God would not allow them to enjoy the abundance of the Promised Land. Here's why: they did not obey the voice of the Lord. They did not listen to God. They did not obey God.

Because they disobeyed God, it resulted in them staying and dying in the wilderness and not experiencing the abundance of the land that was flowing with milk and honey. This takes us back to Numbers, chapter 14. God sent out 12 spies to look at the land. They came back, and they talked about all the abundance of the land, but there were 10 of them who said, "You know what? We shouldn't go. Those inhabitants of the land are strong. They're powerful, and there are a few giants there as well."

The majority report ruled, and the people of God said, "No, we're not going." So God said, "Okay, because of your disobedience, you won't experience the abundance of the Promised Land. This generation will die off. They will wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and when they're dead, then we'll move."

I want you to see their rebellion. If they really loved the Lord and were trusting in God, they would have done exactly what the law said, and they would have had their children circumcised, even though they were in the wilderness. "Let's circumcise our children, because we want to obey the law of God." They were disobedient, and it carried over. Now their children are in the Promised Land, and now it's time for God to deal with the sin, and that's exactly what's happening here.

Notice verse 3. It says, "So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth." That means the hill of foreskins. What a name, huh? In my sanctified imagination I think, "Yeah, Joshua was quick to get that flint knife because he was already circumcised." It's so much easier and less painful to deal with other people's sin sometimes.

Here's what's happening. God is saying, "Okay, it's time to deal with the sin in your life, and it's time to renew your relationship with the Lord." That's the same for us today. Nothing has changed. God wants us to pause, just like he had them pause. He didn't say, "Keep on going." He said, "No, we're going to stop here, and we're going to deal with the sin. You're going to renew your relationship with me. You're going to renew your covenant with me."

God does the same and expects the same of us. He wants us to daily pause long enough to allow the Lord to speak to us about sin or sins in our lives, and then, if we're smart, we'll agree with him. That's what confessing means. "I agree, God. You're right. That is sin. I agree, God. I'm a sinner." Guess what? When we agree, God is pleased.

Now I think there are a few lessons here about sanctification, about moving forward. That's what moving forward is. It's really another term for sanctification. You thought, "Well, I know what moving forward means. What does sanctification mean?" Well, it's a theological term that means you are growing more and more like Jesus. You're moving in an upward direction. You're becoming more like the person you are in Jesus Christ. That's what sanctification is.

I think there's a lovely truth here. As I thought about this, I thought, "Okay, God is dealing with sin in their lives," but then I went back to chapter 3. Right before they crossed over the Jordan… Do you remember he told them, "Okay, I want everybody to keep their eyes on the ark of the covenant"? Then Joshua said in verse 5, "I want you to consecrate yourselves."

What does that mean? It means, "I want you to purify yourselves. I want you to deal with sin in your life, because we're going to follow God, and we're going to walk across on dry ground, and guess what? That dry ground is holy ground." Now here's my thought. Okay, God, why didn't you deal with the sons being uncircumcised before they crossed over? When Joshua said, "Consecrate yourselves," and he meant, "Purify yourselves," why wasn't the flint knife brought out then?

Here's what I think, and this is true. God rarely deals with sin instantly in our lives. If he does, we're up in heaven. Boom! We just died. Seriously. God rarely deals with sin in our lives instantly. Just like you see here, it is a gradual and progressive process. We call this progressive sanctification. Thank God he doesn't show all of our sins all at once. We would be so overwhelmed.

That ought to also remind us we're all in this together. We're all on this journey. You're going, "My goodness, I can't believe they act that way." Well, just think how they acted two months ago. They may be a long way ahead of the game. The point being God gradually and progressively deals with sin in our lives in such a way that brings him the most glory.

Here's another truth: just because you consecrated yourself earlier in the day, the day before, to cross over the Jordan, doesn't mean you don't need to consecrate yourself after you got over the Jordan. You can't live on yesterday's consecration. Some of you are living on last week's consecration. You're not living on it. Trust me. You think you are; you're not. You're dead and you're dying.

We as a church, as individuals, need to take this seriously. It is not enough to read your Bible once a week and it's only because you're coming to church on Sunday. You need to pause every day, pause consistently, not just in the morning. When I get up, I'm pausing throughout the day, because I am dealing and battling with sin throughout the day, inwardly and outwardly. You need to pause consistently and renew your relationship with the Lord.

That's what they're doing. Even though they consecrated themselves on the other side, it was time to consecrate themselves again. You need to do that for your own good, for the good of the church, for the good of the glory of God. Here's what happens. When you pause consistently and constantly to renew your relationship with the Lord through a renewed commitment to the Lord, it will result in a renewed life. We're going to see that. We see the renewal that takes place in verses 8-12.

Let me just say this. Just because you are renewed and just because you are on higher ground and just because you are on holy ground, that doesn't mean you have arrived to pain-free living. If you don't believe me, ask the Israelites. Look at verse 8: "When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed." In other words, they were in pain.

Now here's the wisdom of God: "Instead of moving forward while they are afraid, I'll have you stop and deal with the sin of being uncircumcised, knowing that once you are circumcised there are going to be a few days you don't want to walk around. Having them terrified is exactly where you want the people, the inhabitants. They're afraid of you, and little do they know, you can't walk." That's how God works.

I want you to see something here. Dealing with sin is painful. They were dealing with sin, and it was painful. When you deal with sin, it is painful. It can be painful physically. It can be painful emotionally. It can be painful relationally. It can be painful spiritually. When you deal with sin in your life, it is painful. That's why many Christians don't want to pause, because they're afraid of what God might say. They would rather live with the pain of living in sin and living out of fellowship than dealing with the pain that comes when you deal with sin in your life.

It's like going to the doctor. I'll give you a little confession, and y'all can make this a matter of prayer. I have a little spot on my skin right here. I need to go to the dermatologist. I have a few spots right here because I don't have hair like some of you. Yes, I envy you old guys with hair. Not that I'm not old, but my goodness, some of you have some nice hair. Part of me says, "Well, if I don't go, he can't tell me it's cancer, and then I won't have to go through surgery, so I won't go." But if I don't go and it's cancer, what happens? Not a good thing.

Many Christians do the same thing. "If I don't go and pause and let God speak to me…" They think, "Well, it's better off just living in the sin." Let me tell you, it's never better off to live in sin. It's painful dealing with sin. Anyone who struggles with sin knows it's painful. It's painful dealing with bitterness, isn't it? I know. I deal with bitterness. It's painful dealing with resentment that comes from somebody who has hurt you. It's painful dealing with unforgiveness.

That's why we need to pray the Lord's Prayer. "God, forgive me, as I forgive those who have trespassed against me." It's painful dealing with sin. It's painful dealing with things that control your life, such as addictions, gluttony, sexual sins. It's painful. There's nothing easy about putting to death the deeds of the body. When it says to mortify your flesh, to kill your flesh, I'm here to tell you that whole process of killing sin in your life is painful. Right? It is for me.

But here's the good news. When you renew your relationship with God through a renewed commitment and you renew your life and begin to deal with the pain of the sin that's in your life, here's what happens. It says they started to heal. You will find healing, and with healing comes forgiveness.

Verse 9: "And the LORD said to Joshua, 'Today…'" "Now that you've dealt with the sin, now that you've renewed your relationship with me, now that you've gone through the pain of sin, here's what has happened. "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt…" There's great debate on what that means. I think it has the idea of the people of Egypt and even the comedians of Egypt mocking Israel.

Remember, one of Moses' prayers was like, "God, do you really want to destroy them so Egypt can mock you? 'Oh look, their God led them out to the wilderness just to kill them.'" So maybe after 40 years they heard they're still out in the wilderness, and maybe they're mocking them. Why are they mocking them? Because of their disobedience. So he says, "Now the reproach of Egypt, now the disobedience that kept you in the wilderness…all of that is gone, and you are forgiven."

That's what happens when we pause long enough to allow God to deal with sin in our lives and we deal with the pain in our lives. It brings forgiveness. When we agree with God about our sins, here's what he says he will do: "If you confess, if you agree, God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness." There is forgiveness in a renewed life. There's restoration in a renewed life. There's fellowship in a renewed life. With that comes focus.

Look at verse 10: "While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal…" Gilgal means to roll away. They rolled the reproach. Gilgal is where the 12 stones were back in chapter 4. "…they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho." According to verse 19 of chapter 4, four days had passed. Within those four days, they were circumcised, and on the fourth day they were able to get up and at least partake of the Passover.

The circumcision had to take place before the Passover, because no one who was uncircumcised could partake of the Passover meal. So God had them deal with the sin, and now they're partaking of the Passover. If you remember, where was the Passover instituted? In Egypt. When they were delivered out of Egypt, they observed the Passover. Now they've gone out of the wilderness. They're in Canaan. They're in the Promised Land.

Now God says, "I want you to observe the Passover. It was the Passover that brought you out, and it's the Passover that's bringing you in." So it had a double purpose. It would always remind them about the blood that delivered them from Egypt, but now it will also remind them about the power that brought them through the Jordan on dry ground.

When they partook of the Passover, they were identifying themselves with God. "We belong to God. We've been delivered by God. We belong to the God of Israel, and we belong to all of his covenant promises." What they're doing now is refocusing themselves on the great I Am. You see, when you renew your life, you have a renewed focus, because it causes you to get your priorities straight.

That's what they're doing. When they partook of the Passover Lamb, it was time to get their priorities straight. For us, when we renew our relationship with God constantly and consistently, we are renewing our focus and priorities. What we're doing is saying, "Look, we're going to focus on Jesus," because Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Just as they found identity in the Passover, guess what? If you're a born-again believer, you find your identity in Jesus Christ.

We refocus ourselves on Jesus, we keep our eyes on Jesus, and when you are dealing with sin in your life and experiencing healing and forgiveness, it's then turned into focus, which results in fullness. That's what happens in verses 11-12. Now verses 11-12 reveal a change in Israel. I know we don't like that word, but I'm here to tell you if you are abiding in Christ, I don't know how you can be scared of change, because it's all about change.

I want you to see this. Here's what happened. What changed that day? "And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain." They finally got to partake of the land, the land of milk and honey, the land of wonderful fruit. Notice what happened the very next day. Verse 12: "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."

I don't think they were Baptists, because nobody is complaining about the manna being gone. See, the Baptists are the ones who died in the wilderness. I'm convinced of that. Because they're the ones who complained. They complained about the manna. They complained about no water. They complained about everything. The Baptists died in the wilderness, and now what happened? I don't know. We didn't make it over. Nobody is complaining now. I don't know who this is. This is the abundant life is what it is.

They're not complaining, because they realize, "Who wants to eat the manna of the wilderness when we can now eat the fruit of the land?" Everything changed for Israel that day. When you abide in Christ and you experience the abundant life, it changes you. It doesn't change you and stop. If it stopped, you're not abiding in Christ. When you abide in Christ, it changes you from the inside out.

I'm learning that if I'm abiding in Christ, I'm growing less impatient with my wife and less impatient with my children. If I'm abiding in Christ, I'm growing patient with people. The fullness brings change. There will be many people who will not experience the fullness because they don't want to change, and they're satisfied with the manna of the wilderness.

Now the manna of the wilderness was good. It was good for a time. God doesn't want you to stay on the manna. He wants you to experience the abundant life. It only happens when you pause daily, constantly, and consistently and renew your relationship with the Lord. When you renew your commitment to the Lord constantly, it will result in a renewed life.

Part of me says I wish it was just a one-time thing and then it was over. It's a battle. It's a fight. It's a war. Some of you have lost your fight. Some of you have lost your battle, and you stopped desiring the presence of God in your life. You settled for the manna of the wilderness. Here's a good sign that you are abiding in Christ and experiencing abundant life: you will grow hungrier for God. You will want to spend more time in his presence and want to be in his presence when you go throughout the day.

People who pause, who really pause, who allow God to speak to them, are people who are hungry. Do some of you know what I'm talking about? You're hungry for the presence of God. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. I think it's important that we pause this morning, that we pause long enough to allow the Spirit of God, the Word of God, to speak to us this morning.

Is there something in your life…? It can be an attitude. It can be a behavior. Is there something where the Holy Spirit needs to get the flint knife out and cut it away? Let me warn you it's painful. But when there's pain, when you deal with that sin, I guarantee you the Holy Spirit will give you healing. You will have forgiveness and fellowship with God. You will refocus your eyes and prioritize your life on Jesus. That's how you experience the fullness.

So allow the Spirit of God this morning to search you. Maybe you have sinned in your anger. Maybe there's an idol in your heart. Anything that controls your life can be an idol. It can be a substance. Maybe you're in bondage to alcohol. It controls your life. Maybe you're in bondage to drugs. You're addicted to drugs. Maybe you're in bondage to food. Food has become your god.

It can be a relationship other than your relationship with Jesus that's controlling your life. It can be material things that are controlling your life. It could be fear that's controlling your life. It can be anger that's controlling your life. Those are idols. Allow the Spirit of God to cut those things away this morning.

It could very well be that you need to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You have been wrestling with God week after week. You've heard the gospel preached, how Jesus died for your sins, how you need to repent, and how you need to place your faith in Jesus, and you've been resisting. Even now, you are resisting. Don't resist the grace of God. Give your life to Jesus this morning.

Father, allow your Spirit, allow your Word, to penetrate our hearts, to move, to work, to respond.

Let's take some time to worship God in song and response. Let's stand. Let's sing. Let's respond.