While reading the book of Joshua, we expect to enjoy the miracle of watching the impregnable Jericho within us pulled down. The Bible tells us that this miracle is always preceded by our obedience. It is carried out by God. Thats why the book of Joshua is the book of obedience. We all want victory. God wants to teach us through the book how to obey first instead of how to win victory.
1. God wants us to circumcise. Joshua 5 is about obedience, the basic way to follow. After crossing the Jordan River, Joshuas army heard the good news that the Canaanites hearts melted on hearing the Israelites arrival. To the Israelites, it was the best time to wage a war. At this time, however, the Word came that they should e circumcised. The message was not Strike Jericho, as they expected, but Make flint knives and circumcise yourselves. Thus God wants us to cut our flesh, not our enemies, with the flint knife that we made. The Word is the sword that pierces us. God planned to pull down the city of Jericho through the Israelites obedience. Pulling it down with the sword is human thoughts. Without laying down this fixed idea, its impossible for us to understand and follow the Word. We often think the way God drives us is too much for us. However, thats the way God urges us to wage our war in His way. In order to break our fixed idea, we need to replace I with He. We need to confess that its not about our plans, but His. We often feel that the Word is too heavy to endure, which is to pull down the city within us, not the external Jericho. What is the circumcision that God commanded his people to do at their most critical moment? It is the sign of Gods covenant and the process of becoming Gods people. God commanded Abraham to circumcise with his promise for the land and descendants of Abraham. Circumcision is the sign that says You are my people. Those who are circumcised have to lie down for days till they are healed. We cant have circumcision without total trust in God. Therefore, circumcision itself is a circumstance of relying only on God. If we have no other choice but to rely on God because of someone who bothers us, we are in the circumstance of circumcision. Why then should we lie down helplessly doing nothing? Its because we are Gods people, not his enemies. Yet we often forget Gods promise because of our unchanging circumstances. So God reminded the Israelites of his promise for them by commanding them to have circumcision again especially for the uncircumcised generation.God wants to accept us as his people regardless of who we are and and wants to accept his promise that he will bring us to his kingdom is still in effect.
2. He wants us to cut off our embedded sins. Circumcision is a practice to mark the relationship between God and us by cutting off part of our flesh. Thus faith is not only of our heart but also of our body. The living sacrifice that pleases God should be offered with our whole body, not only with our heart. True faith is expressed with our bodily effort and practice rather than our lip service. We dont forget what we learn in our body. Belonging to our faith community is also an example of this practice. Its a way of embedding our faith in our body. We also have countless sins embedded in our body. We commit sins with our body without effort. Where did the Israelites evil practices and bad habits come from after their forty year-wilderness life? They were from what they learned from their parents, who didnt listen to the law of the Lord and refused to believe in the Word. Likewise, our children also learn from us family war, divorce, remarriage, affairs, gambling, violence, swearing, alcoholism, smoking, addiction, suicide, rage, ignorance, persisting without listening, forcing, and self-deprecating. Many evil practices are embedded in our body because of our sinful nature. They become part of us in spite of ourselves while we are chasing what pleases us. God wants us to get rid of them one by one. The circumcision situation where we are in a fix makes us cut off our sins. Therere no good or bad parents. The best parents are those who shove us to Jesus. What are you going to embed your child with? So far, whether we like it or not, weve ingrained our child with evil. Now its time for us to make our child permeated with Jesus blood.
3. He wants us to get rid of our shame. God named the hill of our shame Gilgal, which means rolled away. The Israelites had the shame of a 400-year slavery and a 40-year wandering life. Without cutting off their shame, they waged the wars of human vengeance and enmity. Meanwhile, after cutting off their shame, they can wage the holy war that fulfills Gods promise. We proclaim that we are Christians. However, we often face others, saying 'Look at you! Are you still there? What a mess you are in.' We are wounded by their scoffing because we envy their prosperous life without Jesus. Remember! A life of hardships with Jesus is better than the scoffers comfortable life. Then our previous shame and mockery will be changed into our mourning for them. Jesus endured the extreme shame of being crucified. He was never distressed with it, not even for a moment. He lamented over the people who didnt recognize their sins. We can be emancipated from our shame by recognizing that we are Gods irreplaceable beloved child. We can get out of the cage of mockery by walking the way of mission. Just wrapping up our shame wont work. Only Jesus can cut it off from us. Through Him and the Word, we need to roll away the rocks of our shame, one by one. Then well find ourselves standing on the solid rock of thanksgiving.
Some young teenagers were sharing their QT until 4 AM after the evening program of our last retreat. Actually, they were rolling away their shame and suffering. How could they be free from the bond of shame and revenge despite their suffering? Without Jesus, its impossible. So it is with our children. How could they get rid of their sins, ingrained in their body? We need the cross of Jesus, circumcising us with the Word. Thats how we leave children our spiritual inheritance. May God bless us to make our spiritual challenge!
