Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
Joshua 5:10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
Joshua 5:11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. :12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Joshua 5:15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
We said yesterday that there where 4 things in chapter 5 that prepared them for their conquest of Canaan. I was a little over ambitious to think I would cover them all in one day. So, we'll cover them day by day. Yesterday we talked about their circumcision and what it represents.(by the way if your reading these devotions for the first time you can go back and reference previous dates here:https://www.besorbaptistentebbe.com/blog
Today we want to talk about the very next thing that happened after their circumcision and that was the Passover.
1.Circumcision
2. Communion
Joshua 5:8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. :9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. :10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
The Passover was established in Exodus 12. It was when God instructed Israel to take a spotless lamb, kill it and apply the blood to the door post and lentil of their house because the death angel was passing by and He said when I see the blood I will passover you. Now that was the literal event that happened but God instructs them that on the 14th day of the first month that they are to hold a Passover service to commemorate and remember what deliverance God wrought for them in Egypt. We do something similar in our Churches today, Communion or The Lords supper. I personally believe that Communion is just New Testament Passover. The Last Supper we commemorate in Communion was Jesus and His Apostles observing the Passover. Just like Israel was remembering their deliverance wrought by God through the blood of an innocent spotless lamb, we at Communion are remembering our deliverance wrought by God through the Lamb of God,Jesus Christ the righteous. Recall the words of our Savior, "This do in remembrance of me." It only makes sense that this communion took place after the circumcision. There was a requirement for The Passover feast, that any man who wanted to participate had to be circumcised(Exodus 12:48). We too observe the circumcision of the heart so to speak before taking communion. Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. also: 1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. This means that before we take the Lords supper we should examine our selves and confess any sin that hasn't been dealt with. This confession isn't to a man but to God(1 John 1:9) and it isn't for forgiveness from God but for fellowship with God (John 13: 8-10).
Now moving to our scripture today. This wasn't the first time that Passover had been kept since Exodus 12 but it is the first time that this generation had been able to participate. There was an entire generation that had never been able to because they hadn't dealt with the flesh. See, what Israel is experiencing here is a revival. Everyone talks about revival and writes books on revival and gives formulas for revivals but a revival is exactly as it sounds. When you revive things that have been ignored of forgotten. They revive the covenant of circumcision and that led to their revival of the Passover. Dear friend revival never comes from something new, it's in the word Revival, you can't revive something that has never been alive. As Christians we need not to grab on to some new thing but to have a revival of the things that have been left off. I believe that if the church would have a revival of separation and holy living(circumcision of the heart) that would lead us to a revival of remembrance of where our redemption and power comes from. Many churches today have left off separation and holy living and that has lead them to rely on marketing schemes, programs and all manner of man made devises to build the church. The Israelite's revival of circumcision lead to a revival of remembrance. We as the church need these things badly! We need to remember where the power comes from. It's not through social media campaigns or marketing techniques or any of those man made props men have been taught to rely on for the growth of the church. The Church has forgotten it was God that added to the church daily, that the the preaching of the cross is the power of God, That faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We need a revival of remembrance, that only comes after the revival of separation. Do you want communion with God? Let him wash your feet like He did for Peter and the apostles. At the Last Supper before they could fellowship, Jesus washed His apostles feet.
John 13:6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? :7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. :8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. :9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. :10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
If we want communion with God there will have to be a cleansing. We need a revival like they had. A revival of separation from the flesh that leads to a revival of communion with God.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. :9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. :10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord!!
Onward Christian Soldier!!