To this point in time, the people of Jericho sat and watched from the walls of their city as these children of Israel marched like little ants on dry ground. The flood waters of the Jordan were piling up like a dam was holding the waters back and backing into the dead sea. They had heard of the path through the Red sea, that allowed the these children of Israel to pass unharmed. Then when they were safe on the other side, the sea closed and buried the Egyptian army, the most powerful force of that day. That event had forty years to build up in the minds of those seven nations that occupied the land that God promised the children of Israel, the offspring of Abraham.

Now right before their eyes, these people of Jericho watched helplessly as these Israelites marched right to their city and camped outside the walls of the city. Are you getting the picture; the word is spreading to the other nations of the land of Canaan, and those kings of the Amorites and other nations are starting to melt. They know something has to be done, for they also know what happened to Sihon and Og, kings of other Amorite cities. They were utterly destroyed in the path of these Israelites, as even Rahab the business woman was well aware of.

Just as sure as the Ark stood in the way of the overflowing river, so will the election of God stand in the way of the flood of lies and deceptions flowing out of Satan the Antichrist's mouth. These events of Joshua's day are examples to us living today in these end times, for God will allow Satan to have his way with the people of the earth for that five month period, as we read of in Revelation 9:5, 10. Friend, just like Noah had his ark that kept him safe, and this covenant that held the waters back, our ark is the Word of God that gives us the understanding to keep from being washed away by that flood of Satan. Our only way to stand in these days, is to build our house of belief on the Rock, which is to say "Jesus Christ" the Word of God.

Joshua 5:1 "And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel."

Remember that God promised Joshua that he would be bless just as He bless Moses. God has already told Joshua that He would give him the victory. God has given you and I the same promises of protection in these end time, as He gave Moses and Joshua.

As the word of the powerful force that God dealt in the protection of Israel in holding back the waters, the paralyzing fear struck right into the heart of these people and their kings. the terror that came over them melted their heart and their spirits left them. God can make himself know through his powers that He uses to control the forces of this universe that He created. This is exactly what we are seeing here as these heathen nations are watching the supernatural acts that God uses to protect and advance His people.

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." 

God made an eternal covenant promise to Abraham that was in three parts. The first was that he and Sarah would become the father and mother of great nations and kings, the second was that his people would be given the land from the Euphrates to the Nile, and the last was that the entire world, all nations would be blessed through him. God gave these children of Israel this land of the Canaanites that they are about to take, but God also set a condition to the generations that followed that would be part of this covenant, and we read of it in Genesis 17:9 - 11.

Genesis 17:9 - 11 "And God said unto Abraham, "Thou shalt keep My covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations." [9] "This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised." [10] "And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and you." [11]

After making this covenant with Abraham, that we read of in Genesis 17, this covenant inheritance promise and the circumcision was carried on by Isaac, Jacob [Israel], and now down through the generations to Joshua. Moses was raised in the household of the Pharaoh, and when he was cast out of Egypt, he went to the land of the Kenites, and married the daughter of a Midianite priest. After God called him to go back to Egypt and free the children of Israel from their bondage, and he was on his way to do this task, God almost killed him for not paying attention to this part of the covenant. Moses forgot to circumcise his two male children.

Exodus 4:24 - 25 "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him." [24] "Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me." [25]

God made the requirement of circumcision, and even Moses had to pay attention to it. As the children of Israel passed through the wilderness over the past forty years, the people forgot this part of God's covenant, but God is demanding of Joshua that all of the twelve tribes of Israel now take the time to conform with this requirement.

Circumcision of the New Testament is not of the flesh but of the heart, and it is a requirement of both male and female that claims the name of Christ. In the death and resurrection of Christ, we are brought out from under the law, as Romans 2:25 - 29 tells us, for our circumcision is not in the letter of the law, but of the heart. "But he is a Jew, which is on inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."

Paul tells us in Colossians 2:11, 12; "In Whom ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ:" [11] "Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God Who hath raised Him from the dead." [12] 

Our circumcision is done within our hearts when by our faith in Jesus Christ, "we are risen with Christ in our baptism, and through our faith of the operation of God". The operation of God is written in His Word, and in that operation Jesus Christ willing went to the cross to pay the price for one and all times. The Father "God Who hath raised Jesus from the dead." This faith and obedience to the Word is required both by man and woman alike that loves God and claims to be a Christian. In our obedience to Baptism and the sharp knife that we use today is in the cutting away of that old nature of our flesh within our hearts and minds, we are circumcised in the new nature of Jesus Christ. We put on that new nature as we study His Word and become obedient doers of the instructions from that Word

So here Joshua is following the instruction of God before they start taking the land. Obedience is the first step in claiming their inheritance.

Joshua 5:3 "And Joshua made him shape knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins."

Joshua 5:4 "And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the People that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt."

So this is the reason why Joshua took the time here to have all the males of Israel circumcised. The last time of the circumcision was done in Egypt, before the time of the Passover, as the children of Israel were making ready for the trip to the promise land. However, because of their unbelief, God did not allow them to enter into the promise land, and all those people died off in the wilderness. These people were to go in and take the land, only they did not have the fight in them to follow God, nor the faith to trust the Lord to do what He promised them to do. They were a pack of wimps, without the will to take what was rightfully theirs. God simply could not use people like that which have no backbone to make a stand for Him.

If you think that you can refuse to obey Him, and just don't care of about the things of the Lord, there is not much that He can use you for. There is a spiritual war coming, and God is setting aside His warriors to make a stand for Him. That war takes time and study to prepare yourself, and seal your mind with the truth of our times. Before God will send Satan to play his role as the Antichrist, He gives Satan certain instructions. Revelation 9:4 "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."

Satan will act as an environmentalist, care for people and present himself as he wants them to prosper. However, he is out to lie and deceive the people into believing he is God. God is giving Satan permission to play mind-games with all the people except those with the seal of God well set in advance in their minds. The point here is that just as the elect become sealed with the truth and act in obedience, so this cutting away of the circumcision is also an act of obedience to God.

Joshua 5:5 "Now all the People that came out were circumcised: but all the People that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised."

So this circumcision that was taking place here was for those born in the past forty years, during the travels in the wilderness.

Joshua 5:6 "For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the People that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the Lord sware that He would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that He would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey."

Forty is the number for probation, for a trial period to see if you measure up to the standards set by God. Most of those coming out of Egypt failed that test and died in the wilderness. They "obeyed not the voice of the Lord:" and they just did not believe that God was able to give them the land flowing with milk and honey.

When the children of Israel reached Kadish-Barnea, God told them to go into the land and fight and He would give them the victory. Instead they sent out spies into the land and trusted the lies of these cowards, instead of putting their trust in the Living God. God has given us His Word and all the promises that are within it. Those promises are guarantees from God to you, but only if you take it and act on it in faith. God promises us that if we act on His Word, study it and make it part of our lives, He will bless you. "A land flowing with milk and honey" means that it is a place of plenty, peaceful and flourishing. This is the land that we will enter into at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He comes to set up His kingdom here on earth.

Sure all souls will bow to Christ at the beginning of the Millennium age, but by the end of the Millennium when Satan is released, many will set their discipline and teaching aside and run back to Satan, as they do in this earth age. They will be the ones to follow Satan into the lake of fire. God will blot out those defiant souls, and it will be as if they had never existed in the first place. You just won't remember them to shed tears for them. This is what this earth age is all about, choosing where you spend eternity. It's your choice.

Joshua 5:7 "And their children, whom He raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way."

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."

After this time of circumcision, the people rested until all the people were healed from their circumcision. Remember from Revelation 7:1,-3 when the four spirit or winds were about to bring on the final judgment on the earth, "another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea," [ cried stop!]

Revelation 7:3 "Saying, "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."

The point here was that the people of the elect had to be sealed before the events could take place. The People of God had to be instructed and ready for the battle that was before them, and healed from the cutting away of the flesh that would hold them back.

Joshua 5:9 "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 called Gilgal unto this day."

"Gilgal" in the Hebrew tongue means "rolling". The reproach of Joshua and the children of Israel was in their lack of faith, and when you demonstrate that the faith in God Word has returned, God will roll back those things that kept you bound in bondage. When you prove to God that you trust Him, and study His Word and become a faithful servant to Him, He will roll those problems out of your way, and make your life flow smoothly.

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."

This is time to stop for a moment as consider exactly what Passover is, and why it is so important for these children of Israel to honor this day. Passover starts at the sunset on the fourteenth day after the spring Equinox, the time that marks the beginning of the New Year. That evening back in Egypt was final night that the children of Israel would spend under bondage to the Egyptians, and the final plague of the ten plagues would be the one that would cause Pharaoh to change his mind and all the Israelites to go free.

God instructed Moses to have the people slay the best of their lambs and place the blood of the lamb on the door posts, and over the door of God's people, and in the night when the death angel came to claim the life of the first born of man and animal; that death angel would pass over them. God instructed the people that this feast day was to be marked and honored eternally.

This night then was the fortieth year to the day that the Israelites huddled in their homes back in Egypt, as the Death angel claimed the lives of all the firstborn of Egypt. Keep in mind that this marks the end of that probation period of the coming out of Egypt. This then is an example for us living today, to make sure that the death angel passes over you. Our circumcision today is not with the blood of animals, but of the heart. Jesus Christ blood paid the price for one and all times, and when we come under that blood on the door posts of our heart, Satan the death angel will pass over you.

Hebrews 10:9, 10 "Then said He, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O god," He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second." [9] "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." [10]

This is the purpose of this entire bible, to sanctified ourselves through the blood of Christ that was offered on the cross. The Old Testament sets the stage for the New Testament, and the old covenant for the new. It is through the first sacrifices that were strictly temporary, but the cleansing comes only through faith and repentance in Jesus' name, and through the shed blood of Christ on the cross. Many people today discard the Old Testament or parts of it as not being important, but they are examples for us living today. How can you have full understanding of the New Testament, if you have no idea of what the Old was. Christ came to fulfill the sacrifices required of the Old Testament, of sacrifices and burnt offerings that was going in Joshua's day. God required the shed blood for the remissions of sins, and without the shed blood there was no forgiveness from sin. When Christ willingly went to the cross with His innocent blood, that blood became the covering for those that would by faith believe in Christ, and have the faith that this blood was sufficient for their sins.

Why would you or anyone ever look to our Lord Jesus Christ's blood if you didn't believe it was sufficient for you? That is why we repent and pray in Jesus' name for God Himself told us that there is no other name under heaven that can save us. By praying in Jesus' name you are say that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, that He came to live the perfect life and that He willingly went to the cross, suffered, died and rose from the dead on the third day, and that He ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father as your advocate in heaven. You believe that Jesus died at the hands of the Kenite Jewish religious leaders that sought his death through Pilate. Jesus Christ came into this world to save, and not to destroy; but He will destroy those that chose to follow the devil, the son of perdition. The choice is yours, you chose Christ or you chose Satan, and many today simply don't have the knowledge to make that choice and thus the Millennium age. Our Heavenly Father is fair to all people, and no man goes into hell fire in ignorance, and this is not talking about a second chance for most people today don't even have that first chance to see the love of our Heavenly Father.

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."

This taking of the Passover feast was exactly forty years from the time of the first Passover in Egypt.

Joshua 5:12 "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."

So on the day after this fortieth Passover, the third day that they crossed over the Jordan, the manna was not more. There was no more gathering of the manna for the days feeding. They were in the promise land, and they were eating of the fruit and corn that was grown in the land of Canaan from that day forth.

Friend, Jesus told us what the manna of our end times will be in Revelation 2:17 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.' "

The manna is still here on earth, but it is hidden to those that have not overcome. The word "stone" as used here is the same word used for "count"; as in the Revelation 13:18. It tells you how to count the number of the beast, or man. That manna is understanding that was taught in the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia. It is the knowing of those are that claim to be Jews, but lie and are of the synagogue of Satan. They call themselves Jews, but in fact they are of the seed of Satan. The come into our churches, set the standard and source for teaching, yet they are of Devil. Your in trouble when you can't separate their teaching from the true Word of God. Those that did not know this, every one of the other churches failed.

The requirement for receiving this manna is that you must have the spiritual eyes to see and the spiritual ears to hear all of God's Word with understanding.

Joshua 5:13 "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a Man over against him with His sword drawn in His hand: and Joshua went unto Him, and said unto Him, "Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?"

To translate from the Hebrew: "And it came to pass when YHVH's Savior was by the land of fragrance" [the land of milk and honey] Joshua went right up to this armed man to ask him if he was for or against us. Joshua did not know him when he say this man, but he was bold enough to approach him and confront him with the question.

Joshua 5:14 "And He said, "Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto Him, "What saith my Lord unto His Servant?" 

When you talk about "host" here you are talking about an army of angels. This Captain was over that army of angels that God sent to look after the Israelites. This of course was the Angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ Himself. We will see this in the next verse.

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."

You know that this Angel was not just some angel, for holy ground is only where our Lord is. If this was any other angel but Jesus, that angel would have corrected Joshua and not allowed him to bow before him. This Angel did not prohibit Joshua from worshipping Him, in fact the Lord told him to take his shoes off because He was standing there. When God promises that He will do something you can count on His support.