Joshua Chapter 5 Verse 1

• Literally, “their courage failed!” Macac in the Hebrew…their hearts wasted away…Time to strike! You’ve won! You’ve gotten into their heads man! Ever do that in a competition of sorts? I remember one of the best moves, one of the most effective tactics and tools when I used to wrestle was my reputation. If the other schools knew your name, right then and there you’d win many of your upcoming matches. Because people would hear your name. Then what would they do? They would start asking questions…”well how good is he?”

• “Well he beat so and so last year,” or “He pinned so and so last year…(standing up)” And they would begin to get psyched out as they say but the truth is that fear is beginning to eat away their courage! And then by the time you stepped out onto the mat, they were already beaten!

• The Children of Israel…terrified the nations man. God had dried up the Red Sea and now the River Jordan…they had defeated the armies and the Pharaoh of Egypt! They had utterly decimated the kings and kingdoms of the land to the east of the Jordan river…and now those that lie before them, Joshua writes their hearts melted in their chests, their legs lost their strength and their spirits failed them!
• By the way, how was this possible? This crossing of the Red Sea and then the conquering of established and fortified kingdoms within the plains of the wilderness and finally the crossing of the Jordan, in the midst of the harvest/overflowing season…on dry land mind you? How was this all accomplished by these people? Simple, they trusted in God and they followed Him at His Word. Ups and downs for sure but we’re past that now…that generation of complainers and grumblers has died off and they have entered into the land of Canaan, the Promised Land…
• How? By trusting in God! Remember verse 9 of Chapter 1? “Have I not commanded you?” God said to Joshua. “Be strong, and of good courage, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The question, are you with Him? Obeying Him, following Him, trusting Him? If so…the implication…your enemies…or should I say, your enemy…your adversary, your accuser, your hater…the powers and principalities of darkness that are really behind all of the strife and the problems…

• Did you know that? Did you know that feud between you and your wife, you and your mom, you and your boss…did you know that it is a spiritual matter? “No she just drinks the last of the coffee and doesn’t make more…UGH!” Even that! It’s Ephesians 6, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

• And therefore the implication, the Biblical truth and thus the realistic truth…if you’re trusting in God, in His Word and following Him…even willing to step out in faith…even when it seems crazy…what does that do to the enemy? Death blow to his courage…We may forget, but our spiritual enemies always remember that If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) They know that when we are really trusting in God, their defeat is assured.

• So here they are…the Amorites and the Canaanites, shaking in their shoes…hearts melted, strength gone, courage failed…Perfect time to what? Attack! Easy fight! The Israelites could yell “BOO” and drop half the armies from stroke and heart attack! Yes! Time to ride man!

Joshua Chapter 5 Verse 2

• HUH? What? Make ourselves vulnerable? That’s crazy! That’s backwards! That’s contrary to reason and rationality…and yet…that’s the Word of God man! Literally, did you see that? “The Lord said to Joshua…” Literally, that’s His Word man…
• Our minds read the circumstance, our minds weigh the options…our hearts balance the options with what’s best for us personally and then our wills make the call…what’s the most excellent route, decision, move here…and we make moves towards execution…carrying it out. But there’s a problem. We don’t really know what’s going on…we can’t see it all…we think we can but we are limited man!

• Our mind reads the circumstance, but we don’t know all the angles….our mind weighs the options but we haven’t calculated all of them…we’re not capable of that…our hearts balance those imperfect options with what’s best for us personally and even corporately but problem, our hearts are deceitfully wicked and only concerned naturally with the here and now and thus wisdom is lacking and therefore by the time it makes it to our wills…we may think we have figured it out but all we’ve done is convinced ourselves!!!

• God is perfect. God sees it all. God knows the end from the beginning! This is His creation! His work! His canvas and this happens to be His Word…and therefore, His direction, perfect…whether we see it or not…doesn’t matter…whether we agree or not…doesn’t matter…do we believe? That’s the question? And will we have faith…man that is the key...
• Joshua says, “Should we attack?” Knowing sure and well practically…rationally…the answer…OF COURSE. Yet God says, “No, cut the men…circumcise them…” Why? Let’s look…

Joshua Chapter 5 Verses 3 - 7

• Notice the adjective, (if it is even an adjective), given twice to describe the men…men of war. That’s interesting to me. Impactful…because in essence the men of war…aren’t ready for war. I know what you’re thinking, I thought it too…but they conquered so many while in the wilderness…yes but they aren’t in the wilderness any longer…they’ve now entered the Promised Land…the Land flowing with the promises of God…a picture as we have looked at in weeks past of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit…where you just become…something else…a true living testimony of Jesus Christ…

• Not swayed by the circumstance of the day…not swayed by the approval or disapproval of men…you are now as Jesus spoke in Acts Chapter 1…a witness to all the earth of the power and love and depth of truth of Jesus Christ!

• Circumcision speaks of a heart change according to Romans Chapter 2…a sign outwardly for the Jew that they were set-apart…different…holy and separated from the world…it was, to an Israelite, like saying, “I’m not like other nations. I won’t listen to men or to politics, I will listen to God alone!” It was stepping out in faithful obedience and identifying yourself as one of the Lord’s people…and yet Paul writes in Romans 2 that true circumcision which the physical rite points to…is that of the heart…when your heart is pierced…divided…the sin is cut away as it were…
• Here in Joshua it happens, it is commanded by God in preparation for war…today, that is precisely what still happens. God is constantly making new men and women of war…war against temporal, circumstantial reactionary wisdom (which really isn’t wisdom at all)…war against pride, against self, against sin and the effect it has on folks…but before the men of war are men of war according to what we just read…they first must be mindful of their vulnerability…they first must be separated unto God…the underlying truth is that they first must receive grace man…
• Grace that reveals the truth that they don’t know it all…that their physical strength is fleeting…that God and God alone is wise…circumcision of the heart man…that is what consecrates us and qualifies us to advance the Kingdom of God…NOTHING else.

Joshua Chapter 5 Verses 8 – 13

• Wrong question. The question is not, “God, are you for me?” The question is, “God, am I for You?” Notice God’s answer…

Joshua Chapter 5 Verses 14 – 15

• The great commander of the greatest nation knows that he is not the greatest. That is the secret to his success. It’s laid out right there for us in Joshua Chapter 1, Psalm Chapter 1…all throughout the Bible even! Joshua could conquer nothing, the nation Israel could conquer nothing…until they themselves had submitted to God. This is the missing element in a life of victory (love) for many Christians…many have not been and many are not continually being…conquered by God…
• Are you for me God or for them? No. I am the Commander…Such a powerful answer and a powerful truth if we can get it…next week we’ll hear what it was that the Lord says to Joshua!