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But First

           Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.

Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not.  The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. (Joshua 5:1-8)

 

In this list of things God did that didn’t make sense while Joshua led Israel, this has got to be the biggest. They had moved into the land, the Amorite and Canaanite kings were shaking in their sandals, and God told Joshua to circumcise the men. Their whole army was incapacitated (more on this later.) Three days comes to mind as the length of time they would need to heal. I’m not sure that’s right, and I’m also not sure how long it would take to accomplish the task.

It needed to be done. We don’t understand this today. It not only seems wrong to us that God should require it of them, but to make it even worse, it was just another example of toxic masculinity. Men were better. They got to be closer to God because of circumcision. Something we should consider is that circumcision was a sign. The sacrifice demanded of the men of a household and the nation (usually when they were too young to remember it) was sufficient for the whole household and nation. It’s not that “they” were great for making the sacrifice. Again, most of the time it took place before they could understand or remember, but it was a sufficient, substitutional sacrifice for all.

It hadn’t been done while they were wandering in the wilderness. At least, it hadn’t been strictly practiced.  Why not? It might have kept the nation in one place, but there were times the nation stayed in one place. And, more generally, what did they do when someone was incapacitated? If a woman gave birth? If someone fell and sprained an ankle? Did they have all have nice big wagons? This is one of those questions that probably isn’t that important but leads us to scratch our heads. But God ordered the circumcision, and until or unless all the males were circumcised, effectively, none of them were.

Did their enemies know what was going on? I doubt it. But the time needed for them to heal gave the people of Israel a rest and the kings of the land time to seek peace, get even more frightened, or work up their courage. It also allowed the Israelites to begin to explore. They could wander a short distance from the camp, and forage for food. It also gave them time to realize that they had effectively burned their ships. The Jordan was in flood stage. Unless God parted the waters again, they weren’t fleeing back across any time soon.

Just as there are things that don’t make sense to us in this account, there are things that don’t make sense in our lives. But they make sense to God, who is not only using our circumstances in our lives, but also in the lives of others. Sometimes, they move us in some direction. Sometimes, they exercise our faith. Sometimes, the reveal something about God. Or us. Or truth.

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