Joshua 5:1 – 9 “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 waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth (the hill of the foreskins.)
Now this is why Joshua circumcised them: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of war—had died on the journey in the wilderness after they had left Egypt. Though all who had come out were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness on the journey from Egypt had been circumcised. For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So, the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. And Joshua raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones he circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
And after all the nation had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal (roll) to this day.”
Joshua is about to undertake the conquest of the city of Jericho and has already sent out spies. Why would it be necessary to perform an uncomfortable procedure that would leave the fighting men unable to go to battle properly for several days? First, we must look at the importance of circumcision in the Jewish tradition. God ordered Abraham and all the males of his household to be circumcised. (Genesis 17:1-14) Evidently, the Israelite males who left Egypt had undergone circumcision; however, once that generation died off, the succeeding generations were not circumcised. Circumcision was instituted by God as a physical sign of an eternal covenant between God and the Jews. If the Israelite males who had crossed the Jordan River failed to undergo circumcision, they would be flagrantly disobeying God, breaking covenant with Him, and would face certain disaster.
Throughout Jewish history, circumcision played an important role as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews. Later during the time of Greek and Roman influence, there were apostate non – practicing Jews who underwent reversal procedures to try to make themselves look uncircumcised so that they could exercise naked in the gymnasiums.
Why didn’t the men of Jericho come out and attack the Israelites while their fighting men were still recovering from circumcision? The key is in the first few verses. ““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 waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.” When God dammed up the flooded Jordan River so that the Israelites could cross, He was also conclusively demonstrating His power to all the enemies of the Israelites as well. These tribes were hiding in their cities, wondering when the God of the Israelites was going to strike and destroy them. And there were probably 600,000 fighting men and 2,000,000 Israelites camped there at Gilgal, a huge group by anybody’s estimation.
Why did God tell Joshua that He had “rolled away the reproach of Egypt” from the Israelites? The Egyptians did not routinely practice circumcision, nor did many of the tribes the Israelites were about to encounter. God knew that even now, some of the Israelites were still clinging to Egyptian idols and Egyptian practices. By demanding that all the males undergo circumcision, God was making His mark on the bodies of those men, making them as distinct from the Egyptians as possible and giving them an unforgettable reminder of His covenant with them. Every time one of those men went to urinate, he would see God’s mark.
APPLICATION: Circumcision was never just about surgically removing the foreskin from the penis. Later in Jeremiah 4:4 God tells the people of Judah, “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.”
Circumcision was an outward symbol of devotion to the One True Living God. When Jeremiah was warning the people of Jerusalem to circumcise their hearts, he meant for them to remove every belief that was not rooted in God and every practice in their lives that did not honor God. The Jews of Jeremiah’s time practiced circumcision; however, they were trusting in empty rituals, not realizing that the rituals were meant as a sign of obedience. To practice rituals with the aim of manipulating God was both pointless and insulting to God.
Circumcision actually has a number of health benefits. Uncircumcised males are far more likely to develop cancer of the penis, a painful, embarrassing problem that may require unpleasant operations. Most surgeons and many emergency doctors have had to deal with male patients whose foreskins have been retracted and gotten stuck in that position, forcing emergency surgery. But what does “Circumcision of the heart” mean for us?
God wants us to love Him, honor Him, and serve Him with everything we’ve got. But many of us lead fragmented lives. Oswald Chambers has used the phrase “spiritual measles.” Many of us look good only in some spots but not in others. God wants our total obedience, and that means removing anything that does not honor God from our hearts, our minds, and our lives.
Some of us attend church or access on – line services but then turn to violent video games or even to pornography. There are programs on television that focus on serial killers, drug traffickers, and others. But God tells us in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
To honor God with your body is to practice circumcision of the heart. The Israelite soldiers had to undergo physical circumcision before they could hope to defeat their enemies. We must undergo circumcision of the heart if we want to overcome Satan and to live victorious lives.
PRAYER: Father God, we are in a mess! We have not honored You above everything else. We are distracted and confused. Help us to eliminate those things that are not of You and to concentrate on pleasing You above all else. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
February 11, 2022 at 10:12 pm
Wow, and I never knew all that about the health aspect either.