Israel In The Promised Land

If you would turn with me in your Bibles to Joshua, for those of you who might be visiting with us, we are doing a series through Joshua, and we've come to Joshua chapter 4, that will be the passage that we're considering today. Joshua chapter 4, reading through chapter 5. Let's pay careful attention now to God's own word. Joshua 4. When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests stood, and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. So Joshua called together the twelve men. he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, what do these stones mean? Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua, and they carried them over with them to their camp where they put them down. Joshua also set up 12 stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who had carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood. And they are there to this day. Now the priests who carried the Ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, The ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. The men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed in front of the Israelites as Moses had directed them. About 40,000 armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war. That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life just as they had revered Moses. Then the Lord said to Joshua, command the priests carrying the Ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan. So Joshua commanded the priests come up out of the Jordan and the priests came up out of the river carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before. On the tenth day of the first month, the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, what do these stones mean? Tell them Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. Now when the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites, until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again. So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeah Haraloth. Now this is why he did so. All those who came out of Egypt, all the men of military age, died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness 40 years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place. And these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, They remained where they were in camp until they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread, and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land. There was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but yet that year they ate of the produce of Canaan. So far the reading of God's holy word. May he bless it to us. Well, one sense we're picking up at the story where we left off last time. We had considered Joshua 3. We considered the crossing of the Israelites. And now we're focused in on what exactly happened at this crossing. Maybe you noticed that when we read through chapter 3 and we got to verse 12 when Joshua was told, Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And then for the rest of chapter 3, we're not told anything about these men that he's chosen. But now as we pick up the story in chapter 4, we see what God has set these men apart to do. They've been set apart, one for each tribe, to carry a stone up out of the Jordan. And as we see later in the story, the purpose of carrying out these stones, the purpose of bringing them with them is so that they can set up a memorial to the Lord, where they will eventually camp. So they take these stones from the middle of the Jordan, where the priests were standing with the Ark of the Covenant to be set up as a memorial. But maybe you noticed when I got to verse 9, I read something that maybe you didn't find exactly the same way in your NIV. When I read, Joshua also set up 12 stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan. And if your Bible's like mine, you have a footnote, where what I read, I read what's in the footnote. I hope you all have the same footnote in your Bible, so we're all on the same page. But it makes it a little confusing if we read it the way it has written, because we have Joshua setting up the 12 stones and we have no distinction between the 12 stones that were carried up by the men and the 12 stones that Joshua sets up. But it seems clear that there are two memorials being set up. One Joshua sets up in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the priests are standing carrying the Ark of the Covenant. And the stones that the men carry up out of the Jordan they take with them until they make camp. And when they make camp, they set this up as a memorial to what the Lord has done in the Jordan. So we might ask the question, why two memorials? Especially considering that this one memorial that's set in the middle of the Jordan River, we're told as the priests enter out of the river, it returns to its flood stage. So surely this first memorial is submerged and no one sees it anymore. What's going on here? Why the two memorials? Why the one in the river that's now covered by water? Why did they bring the stones with them until they make camp? And there Joshua sets up a memorial. And there's more questions, because there's a catechism that goes along with these memorials. You notice that twice the Israelites are instructed what to do when their children ask. What do these stones mean? It's a kind of a catechism. Sort of like, what's your only comfort in life and in death? It's a question, and they're given an answer. What's that answer? That the flow of the Jordan was cut off. Look at verse 6. When they're asked, what do these stones mean? Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. That's the question. That's the answer they're to give to that question. Now maybe you've had the opportunity to speak to a child who's asking you questions. And oftentimes they'll ask you one question and you'll give them an answer and their next question is, why? And sometimes that continues until you can find some way to shut them up. Maybe give them some candy or something or, you know, as an adult try to confuse them. But it's interesting because in this passage, the Lord anticipates that why. So we get a second question that gives a little more detail. The answer to the first question is, what do these stones mean? They're to symbolize that the Lord cut off the Jordan. The Jordan was cut off before the presence of the Ark of the Lord. And the child asks, why? We're given a more detailed explanation. Look at verse 21. There again, it's the same question. In the future, when your descendants ask their fathers, what do these stones mean? tell them Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground, for the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. That's in essence the same answer as was given to the first question. But more is added here. Verse 24 says, He did this so that all peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God. See, this catechism really has two questions. What was done and why was it done? And the people are told what was done was that Jordan was cut off before the presence of the Lord. Why was it done? So that the nations might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and that you might fear him all the days of your life. And it certainly has its intended consequence to the people living on the west of the Jordan because we're told in the beginning of chapter 5 when the kings heard west of the Jordan all the Canaanite kings along the coast how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face them. It had its intended consequence. The people dwelling in the land were terrified because they'd seen that the mighty hand of the Lord had been revealed that he had allowed the Israelites to cross over on dry land. That this was a sign. And the monument that remains points to that. The monument that's among the people. Maybe we don't think of it because we know there's a broad history of Israel awaiting us in this promised land. But it must have been a comfort for them to know that this memorial would be set up and when future generations walked by it, they would ask this question. See, that's a promise for the first time that they've actually taken possession of this land. There's a lasting memorial to be set up. And future generations will see this memorial and will ask this question. They're finally being established. A monument is being set up. They're no longer wanderers. They've entered in. That's the first point of our sermon. The memorial they set up is a reminder of their entrance into the promised land. Now they can set up a memorial. Now they can expect that their children and their children's children will walk by this memorial and ask this question because the Lord is bringing them into the land to give them this inheritance. And it's interesting that this one monument is set up, we're told, on the tenth day of the first month at Gilgal. Now what's the significance of that? Is it just to give us some sort of loose time frame of when this is happening? No, that has a very particular connotation in Israelite history. The tenth day of the first month is the Passover. It's when the Passover begins. And as we'll see, they celebrate the Passover later. These two events are tied together. And if we look at this memorial, it's not just a reminder of their entrance into the promised land. It's also a look back at their exit from slavery, their exit from Egypt. That's the second point of our sermon. There's three memorials here. The first is a memorial of their entrance into the Promised Land. The second is a memorial of their exit from slavery. This happens on the tenth day of the first month. If we look back to Israel's history, we look back to the occasion of Passover. Remember what Moses was told when he was told to go to Pharaoh and petition him for the release of his people. And Moses is told to go to Pharaoh and to say to him, Israel is my son. Let my son go to worship me. And Pharaoh is told, if you will not let my son go, I will have your son. It's an important reminder because when we think of that final horrible plague inflicted on Egypt, we'd be tempted to say, well, how can a loving God take a firstborn child that hasn't done anything? But it's a reminder of God's justice. Pharaoh was given a fair warning. He was given plague after plague to be made known that the Lord was serious about what he was saying. That the Lord demanded obedience from Pharaoh, and Pharaoh continued to harden his heart. He said, I will not let your son go. So finally, the night of the Passover is coming. And the Israelites are instructed, if you don't want to be destroyed along with Egypt, you need to observe the Passover. And on the tenth day of the first month, you're to choose a lamb. It's to be a year old without a blemish or defect. And you're to bring it into your house. You're to take care of it. And after taking care of it on the 14th day, you're to slaughter it. And you're to take the blood and you're to put the blood on the doorposts of your house. And then you're to cook this lamb. You're to roast it over the fire. And you're to eat it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. And you can't leave any of it until the morning. You have to eat it all and if there's any left over, you have to burn what's left. And interestingly enough, that's not all. you're to eat this Passover with your cloak tucked into your belt and your staff in your hand and your sandals on your feet. And you're to eat it quickly. Because what happens when Pharaoh will not release the Israelites, the destroyer comes to Egypt and he passes through. And all the Egyptians who are not protected by the blood lose their firstborn. but in Israel not a dog is heard to bark, for the Lord recognizes the blood and the destroyer passes the house by. And this feast is a reminder to the people. And that very night, they're to eat this feast ready to go because even that very night, Pharaoh says to Moses and Aaron, take the people and get out of here. They're to eat this meal over the kitchen sink, so to speak, like you do when you're in a hurry in the morning. You try to eat a quick breakfast, you're just eating over the sink to get out the door. That's how they're eating at the Passover, anticipating that Pharaoh will finally let them go. And it's interesting because not only is there this memorial, this feast, but there's a catechism that goes with it as well. In Exodus 12, 26, the people are told what to say if their children ask them the question. Exodus 12, 26 says, And when your children ask you, what does this ceremony mean to you? And tell them it is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians. Again, we have the question, what does this mean? Anticipating that children in the promised land will ask, what does this feast mean? Especially here, you would expect them to ask. It's not just a pile of stones. They'd have to take in this lamb. Maybe the kids start to feel like it's a family pet right up until the 14th day when dad takes it out back. And we can kind of chuckle because we can imagine how that might go for a family. But you can imagine a child saying, why? Why would you do this? And to explain to the child, this is the Passover sacrifice. This is a memorial of when the Lord passed through. And passed us over and brought destruction to Egypt. And again, it's interesting because the why question is anticipated as well. It's not just the what. What are we doing here? But it's why. And the answer to that question is Exodus 13, 8 and 9. It doesn't particularly have a question, but it assumes a question's been asked. And this is how they're to answer. On that day, tell your son I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. Again, we not only have the what the Lord passed over, but why. Why do we do this? What does it mean? It's a celebration of the fact that the law of the Lord is to be on our lips. That the Lord's mighty hand is what brought us out of Egypt. And it's interesting, with these two memorials, these two catechism questions, if you will, both have similar answers. They're meant to convey the mighty acts of the Lord. That His hand is powerful to save. And they're also done so that people might always revere his name. That his law might be on their lips. But the Israelites are given one more requirement for when the Passover is to be celebrated. Deuteronomy 16, 5-6 says, You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you, except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening when the sun goes down on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. Here again, two memorials. The original Passover feast and the continuing Passover feast that's to be a reminder. And here as they enter the land, there's two memorials. One that's quickly covered by water and forgotten. The other that's to be set up to be a sign forever. A sign of their exit from slavery and their entrance into the Promised Land. To be a reminder that the Lord's hand has been powerful to save them. And that they are to revere His name. Interestingly, this reflects what Joshua was told in chapter 1. Be strong and courageous, for the hand of the Lord is strong. He goes with you. What else is he to do? He's to obey all the laws of the Lord. These memorials commemorate what Joshua was told. They serve as bookends to remind them not only of their exit, but of their entrance. So why, if these are so important, if these play off one another, if they connect to one another, then why do we have circumcision in the middle here? If these two are the important memorial events, then what role does circumcision play? Why is it in this passage? Why do we have this long description? Well, because we have three memorials. One of their entrance into land, one of their exit from Egypt, and finally the enduring covenant. The enduring covenant promise that was made to Abraham. Circumcision stands at the center. It's the eternal covenant promise that was given. In Genesis 17, verses 10 through 14, this is what God said to Abraham. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you. The covenant you are to keep. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. Including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant. So this covenant of circumcision was to be a sign to Abraham's descendants of an eternal promise that was made to Abraham, that there would always be Abraham's seed on the earth. They would always be there. That God would make an eternal covenant with him. And that circumcision would be the sign to remind all his descendants that they were part of him. But we're told there's a problem. The covenant of circumcision has been neglected. And that's a dangerous thing to do. In Exodus 4, we find out that Moses hasn't circumcised his children. And he's on the way to deliver the message to Pharaoh that the Lord has given him. And the Lord meets him on the way, and it says the Lord was about to kill him. And his wife quickly circumcises their sons, and the wrath of the Lord is turned away. It's a reminder that it's a dangerous thing to neglect this circumcision that God requires. He takes it seriously. It's a covenant sign. And we're explaining what's happened here. Why do they need to be circumcised? Well, the first generation that came out of Egypt were circumcised. But they died in the desert, interestingly, all the fighting men. And they died because the Lord swore they would never enter His rest. And we're told that while they were wandering in the desert, another generation was born. So that the promise might continue. But that generation was not circumcised. They did not receive the covenant sign. So now as they're in the promised land, they have to receive this sign. And it's an interesting reminder, because the Bible often in talking about circumcision returns to this issue of whether you're just circumcised in the body or whether you're circumcised in the heart. Are you a member by faith, or are you a member just by who you are and where you are? We see an interesting contrast here in that the circumcised, the ones who had received the covenant sign died in the desert disobedient to the Lord they did not obey His voice and this new generation that's been raised up they enter into land they do everything that the Lord has commanded them yet they're not circumcised they haven't received the sign and it's a reminder that the Bible gives us over and over again that the emphasis is on who is God to you not just who you are where you are but who is God to you Moses says it's not enough just to be circumcised in the flesh you need to be circumcised in the heart the prophets will say the people of God need to have the circumcision of the heart the circumcision of ears and when judgment comes we're told I will treat the circumcised as if they are the uncircumcised I will treat Israel as I treat Egypt and they'll be cut off from my covenant. It's important to remember that the covenant of promise looks to the heart. And it doesn't matter who you are or where you are. It doesn't matter if you're a member of Escondido United Reformed Church. It doesn't matter if you're a Dutch member of Escondido United Reformed Church. Or even better, a Frise member of the United Reformed Church. Something I can only dream of. It doesn't matter who you are. That doesn't make you right with God. That doesn't make you a part of the covenant. Being part of God involves being a part of Him by faith. Not just receiving the outward sign, but having that confirmed in what you believe and how you behave. And that's what this group in Israel has. They have the faith. They recognize the work of the Lord. They recognize His mighty deeds. They respect His laws and revere His name. Therefore, they celebrate the Passover, remembering their exit. They remember these memorial stones, remembering their entrance. And they become partakers in the covenant sign of circumcision. And God says, today I've rolled the reproach of Egypt off of you. That's why they call the place Gilgal. It sort of means a rolling off. This place will be a constant reminder that where these stones stand, here not only did God bring them across the Jordan, but here he also rolled off the reproach of Egypt and brought them back into full covenant community with him. And of course we see this fulfillment ultimately in Christ. we've seen his kingdom enter in. We've seen his promised land come in the form of his son. And now his church stands as a memorial to that kingdom, a memorial to his mighty hand and outstretched arm, a memorial not built of 12 stones, but built on the teaching of 12 apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It stands as a memorial in this world of what the Lord has done through His Son and what He continues to do and what He will do in the end when He comes again. But it's not just a celebration of entrance into the Promised Land. It's also a celebration of the exit of slavery. For Christ has come to be the Passover Lamb, as 1 Corinthians 5 tells us. He's the sacrifice. He's the one who ultimately turns away God's wrath. He's the one that puts death to sin and hell and judgment so that we might be brought in. And he's the one who enters into an eternal promise with us, an enduring promise, that he will always be with us, that he will never leave us or forsake us, that that promise will endure with us throughout our generations. And so the Lord reminds you today as He reminded the Israelites that the Lord has brought you into the promised land through Jesus Christ. That He's brought you out of slavery to sin and death. That He wants you to remember His mighty hand and outstretched arm saving you. He also wants you to revere His law. To live as His covenant people. To live as those who are in fellowship with their Lord. and who are reminded that because of Jesus Christ, we will endure to the end. Jesus Christ makes an everlasting covenant with us that we will celebrate tonight in the Lord's Supper. Take heart. The Lord's mighty hand has saved you. Remember what He's done in your life. And revere His name and live in godliness and holiness. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that you are a God who saves his people with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and who wants a people who will revere his law. Thank you, Lord, especially for Jesus Christ, the righteous one, who came to fulfill the law's demands so that a church may be established, a body of believers who might be able to enter into that promised land that rest that's beyond in heaven thank you also that he came to bring an end to the dominion of sin and death in our lives that he came to bring an end to the penalty of sin an end to the dominion of sin that he might have a people who are now freed from its dominion and who are able by the Holy Spirit more and more every day to live a life of holiness and we thank you that the covenant promise that we receive as an enduring covenant in His blood. That we will always know Him. We will always be partakers of Him by faith. And that He will see to it that that faith endures to the end. And as we live in this life, Lord, give us strength for the battle. May we go forth armed for war. Remembering that there's difficulty in this life, but there are memorials all around us to the saving work of Jesus Christ and that the battle will not go on forever and that Christ will return to bring us into his eternal rest come quickly Lord Jesus we pray in your name Amen