Joshua 5:8-158And 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. 9And 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. 10And 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. 11And 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. 12And 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. 13And 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? 14And 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? 15And 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. (Joshua 5:8‑15)
The believer has a new life with new desires and a new Object, but circumcision was a painful thing, especially at first, and so when we seek to put the sentence of death upon the flesh, it suffers. We are told of this in 1 Peter 4:11Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; (1 Peter 4:1), for it says, “He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” The old nature does and it suffers when we cease from sin. We notice, however, that after this painful operation at Gilgal, there was the mighty victory at Jericho. Indeed the children of Israel had to return to Gilgal before they moved forward in other conquests, and so it is only as we get into the place of self-judgment after each victory that we will be able to gain others. If we neglect this, then pride and self-confidence are sure to come in, and we will soon go down to defeat. This happened to Israel, as we shall see later.
The children of Israel then kept the Passover on the plains of Jericho. How needful to consistently reminded of what the Lord Jesus did for us upon the cross, as typified in the keeping of the Passover.
After this they ate of the old corn of the land, and the manna ceased the next day. The manna tells us of Christ in His life here, as the bread of God who came down from heaven, while the old corn of the land speaks to us of Christ in resurrection, and so we might say that the truth typified to us here is very important. It is what is brought before us in 2 Corinthians 5:16, 1716Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:16‑17). There we read, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We find so much in Christendom today about the life of Christ, forgetting that His perfect life only condemned us. It showed how far short we came, and when Christ was at last rejected and put upon a cross, man’s trial was over Christ’s death and resurrection are the only ground of blessing, and so Christianity begins will, Christ in glory. We who are saved are in Him, in resurrection life, in new creation. In that sense we do not know Him after the flesh, but are united to Him in glory. All this is beautifully typified in the manna ceasing, and the people, from then on, eating of the old corn of the land.
When they came near to Jericho, Joshua saw a Man with a drawn sword in His hand and so he asked Him, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” The Man (who was the Lord) then replied, “Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.” Joshua immediately fell upon his face and said, “What saith my Lord unto His servant?” It is beautiful to see that the enjoyment of our portion comes first, as typified in the feeding upon the passover and the old corn of dry land, before that which speaks of the conflict which will surely follow. And when the soul is in the enjoyment of these things it is ready to own the absolute authority of the Lord and follow with reverence and obedience. This is most important, for while earnestly contending for the faith, we must remember that it is not our beliefs, but the truth of God and His authority which we are ever to maintain.
ML 02/08/1953