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.
Four things that Prepared Israel for their Conquest of Canaan.
(Click on the points to view the devotion from that day.)
1. Circumcision (May 13 2020)
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.
2. Communion (May 14 2020)
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.
3. Consumption
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.
We talked yesterday about the revival they experienced. It was a revival of renewed covenants with God. They weren't starting up new covenants or promises but they revived the ones that had been left off. They had a revival of the separation of the flesh and they had a revival of remembrance. Now,the very next thing that happen was that their diet changed. They were moving from Manna to the fruit of the land of Canaan. They had for the past forty years lived on this manna and it was God's provision for them in the wilderness but their not in the wilderness any more. Their location had changed, their day to day living had changed and manna wasn't going to suffice any longer. So our verses tell us that they did eat of the parched corn of the land. This parched corn is mentioned several times throughout the Bible and every time it's mentioned it's being served to someone that is laboring( Ruth 2:14, 1 Sam 17:17, 1 Sam 25:18, 2 Sam 17:28) God was changing their diet to match their need. God's provision will always match your placement. These were no longer wandering tent pitchers, they were now a band of warriors ready to conquer the enemy and live in the land God had promised for them. Manna will sustain walking but it won't sustain warring.That year they were going to eat of fruit of the land Canaan.
Oh how badly we need that revival we spoke of. How the church as a whole needs to separate from the flesh and the world and be reminded of the power of our God to redeem. If not the church as a whole, let it be your church, if not your church let it be you. Just like each of these points have progressed through our chapter in order I believe that this is an example of a good order to take in preparing to serve God in the Canaan God has called you to. Today though we've come to consumption. If you plan to serve God on the battle field in Canaan then your spiritual diet will have to change. God didn't expect these warriors to fight a war on rations meant for wandering in the dessert. Also, He didn't give them rations for war while they wandered in the desert. Dear reader, God isn't going to feed you with strong meat if all you are planning on doing is wandering about life outside of his will, also He is going to give you the milk if you've given up your will to follow Him. Gods provision for our life will match the placement of our life. Their diet was determined by what side of Jordan they were living on. It would be real hard to eat of the fruit of Canaan when you'd never made it there in the first place. I don't know about you but I want everything God has to offer me. I would much rather be eating of the fruit of Canaan than wandering around in the wilderness waiting on death, which is literally what they were doing because they couldn't cross over Jordan until that generation died. To the christian in the wilderness, peek over into Canaan land and see the land that flows with milk and honey, see the place where you can live with peace and purpose and promise. Do like Israel did, go spy out the land see that the land that God has for you is a good land. Don't be deceived to believe the same lie the 10 spies believed, that there is fighting and battles and death in the land. I challenge you to look into their experience in the wilderness, there were fighting's, battles and deaths in that land as well. The very thing they tried to escape became what they fell into in the wilderness. Do you want the fruit of the land of Canaan? Then cross Jordan, revive the area's of you life where devotion has grown cold and prepare for victory in Canaan.
This land is a good land!!
Onward Christian Soldier!!