Joshua 5:1-7:15 / Luke 15 / Psalm 81 / Proverbs 13:1
As God’s people prepared to destroy Jericho, not yet knowing what it will look like to have God fighting for them, God asked something of the men. Jewish custom and covenant stated that the baby boys would be circumcised on the 8th day after their birth as a sign of God’s covenant with them, their willingness to obey Him and be His people.
Since leaving Egypt, none of the males had followed that covenant, and God has asked Joshua to circumcise all the males before they go into battle, thus renewing their willingness to obey Him and be called by His Name. As I researched, I found an interesting fact I had never considered. Pharaoh’s daughter would have known immediately that Moses was an Israelite because he would have been circumcised when she found him. So, she knew from the beginning who he was.
Now that the covenant has been renewed, God says this in Joshua 5:9 “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place (where they camped) has been called Gilgal to this day. (Gilgal means to “roll away”)
The shame of slavery is removed. This reminds me of what Jesus did through His death on the cross – He wiped away the shame of our slavery to sin. We are no longer sinners, but children of the Most High God. We are no longer the wicked, but the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.
In our service yesterday, we talked about the fact that our shame has been removed and that our sins are remembered no more. Along with that, we talked about how important our words are. We must remember to identify ourselves by the New Covenant and not our old sin nature.
1 John 1:7 TPT But if we keep living in the pure light that surrounds him, we share unbroken fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continually cleanses us from all sin.
Romans 6:6 TPT Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.
Psalm 103:12-13 TPT Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset—that’s how far you’ve removed our guilt from us. The same way a loving father feels toward his children—that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you.
Micah 7:19 NASB He will again take pity on us; He will trample on our wrongdoings. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
This is the truth regarding our sin when we are in Christ. Sin has been removed – we are no longer slaves to it – God no longer remembers our sin because we are now seen through the eyes of His Son. We are made perfect in Christ.
We must now identify ourselves according to what Christ has done and no longer according to our old life. We are no longer that person ruled by sin. I exhort you today to walk in the new life given to you through Jesus Christ, and no longer see yourself through the eyes of the old life you once had.
2 Corinthians 5:17 TPT says this, and it’s profound – Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.
