Preparing for Battle, Part 2

Joshua chapter 5, verse number 9. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Israel crossed into the land. God said to Israel, gave them a test whether or not they would obey him or not. And they obeyed. Joshua obeyed. And God said, Today, I have rolled away. That's why the place is called Gilgal, which means to roll away. I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Now, what's the reproach of Egypt? Turn back with me, if you would, to the book of Exodus, the 32nd chapter, Exodus chapter 32.

And listen to what God says in verse number 9. The Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then, let me alone, that my anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of you a great nation.

God says, I'm going to wipe out this idolatrous people. They have committed idolatry. They've committed immorality. I'm going to wipe them out. And Moses, I'm going to make a new nation with you. Now listen to this. Verse 11. Then Moses entreated the Lord, his God, and said, O Lord, why doth thine anger burn against thy people? whom thou hast brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying With evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth.

Turn from thy burning anger and change thy mind about doing harm to thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants to whom thou didst swear by thyself, and didst say to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken, I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. So the Lord changed his mind about the harm which he said he would do to his people. God was going to kill him. And Moses entreated his God based, listen, on what Egypt would say.

Turn over to the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 14. Another incident. After the nation of Israel had gone in to spy out the land, this is 40 years earlier, they had gone in to spy out the land, and the 10 spies came back and said, no, we can't do it. Two said, yes, we can. Joshua and Caleb. And God said, that's it. It's over. It's done. All those 20 years and older are going die in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb. They're not going to inherit the promised land. Verse 11, and the Lord said to Moses, How long will this people spurn me?

And how long will they not believe in me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? I will smite them with pestilence and dispose them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they. But Moses said to the Lord, Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by thy strength thou didst bring up this people from their midst, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of the world This land, they have heard that thou, O Lord, art in the midst of his people, for thou, O Lord, art seen eye to eye while thy cloud stands over them, and thou dost Go before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.

Now, thou dost slay this people as one man, than the nations who have heard it. Heard of thy fame will say, Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which he promised them by oath, therefore he slaughtered them in the wilderness. But now I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as As thou hast declared, the Lord is slow to anger and abundant in loving kind, forgiving iniquity and transgression. But he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations.

Pardon, I pray. The iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of thy loving kind, just as thou also hast forgiven this people from Egypt, even until now.

And the Lord said in verse 20, I have pardoned them. You see, Moses says, God, listen to what people are going to say. They're going to say, You promised something, but you didn't fulfill it. You brought them out of Egypt, but you couldn't bring them into the land you promised to bring them into. They're going to mock the name of God. They're going to ridicule the name of God. They're going to ridicule us. And God says in Joshua chapter 5, today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.

No longer are you a laughing stock. No longer are you going to be mocked. Because what I promised, I delivered. And now you're here. And this gener has obeyed my voice. You see, immediately after they obeyed the voice of God to go through the act of circumcision, God knew that their hearts were right before Him. Nobody grumbled, nobody murmured, nobody complained, nobody said, Don't want to do this. No, I don want this. This is too hard. Why? We believe we're here. They said, what God says we will do.

And they were standing in the land that He'd promised them. And God says, today, I've removed the reproach.

You know, many times we as believers are ridiculed and mocked because of our commitment to God. And people say, Where is your God? Where is he in your time of need? That's why it's so important that in our time of need, we always show dependence upon God and show people that we are committed to our God. That's why it's so important that that we like when you go to a funeral for a Christian versus a funeral for a non-Christian, we weep But we don't weep as those who have no hope, see, because we have a hope of eternal life.

We have a hope of a destiny with God. Sure, we're sad that our loved one's gone, but we're not like the unbeliever. Who gets depressed and downtrodden because they have no hope? We have hope. We're unlike them. And that's why sometimes people, when we as Christians, sometimes don't act like Christians and they mock us. In the end times, the Bible says in 2 Peter 3, people will mock and say, Where is the promise of his coming?

Where is the Lord? Didn I promise to come and take you home to be with him? Well, where is he? He's not here yet. Everything just continues on as it always has been. And Peter says, oh, it will escape their notice that that's not true.

And the Lord will come like a thief in the night and will destroy this world with fervent heat. But God removes the reproach of his people. That's why it's so important to live in obedience to God. Because God removes the mocking, God removes the scorn, God removes all those pitfalls that come our way. Because he rewards those who obey him. It doesn't mean that there's not going to be times of difficulty. There will be. 40 years, Israel was mocked and scorned by Egypt. But it was mocked to scorn because of their unbelief and because of their disobedience, not because of their obedience.

And while all those people died in the wilderness, 70 of them per day, for 40 years, those who believed had to endure the ridicule and the mocking of those in Egypt because their fathers disbelieved. But God says on this day, I remove the reproach.

It's gone. Because on this day, you have demonstrated your obedience to me and you have followed me. Remember what God told Joshua in chapter 1? Be careful to observe all that is written in the law. Don't turn to the left. Don't turn to the right. And in whatever you do, you will have great success and you will prosper. Just obey me, Joshua. And Joshua was committed to obeying his God. Okay, God, I going to obey you. Whatever you say, I'm going to do. You will have success. And I will make your way prosperous.

You're going to make it, Joshua. But all you got to do is one thing, just one thing. Obey me. God requires one thing: obedience. That's it. Just obey me. Just do what I say. That's all I ask. And Joshua was committed to doing that. And so were the people who followed him. They didn't turn to the left or to the right, and God made their way successful. Today I removed the reproach. Today. You and all will see you and know that I am your God. I faithfully delivered you to the place I promised you. A circumcision centered around obedience.

That's the first step in preparing for battle. First step. But second is remembrance. And that's the commemoration. We read on in Joshua chapter 5. It says this. While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal, they observed the Passover on the evening of the 14th day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. What are you doing? Taking time to observe the Passover. What are you doing? You're on enemy territory. And now you're going to take time out to observe the Passover. Let me tell you something.

This was so crucial. This was so important. Joshua was so committed to obeying God that no matter what was around him, he would not forfeit obedience to God. Listen to what the Bible says way back in Exodus chapter 12.

And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner is to eat of it, but every man's slave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, they May eat of it. So there had to be a circumcision before there was a celebration of the Passover. That was important. But Joshua knew That there had to be a celebration of the Passover. Listen to what the Bible says in chapter 13 of Exodus.

And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, this was the day of the Passover, in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery, and by a powerful hand the LORD brought you out from this place, and nothing leavened shall be eaten. On this day, in the month of Abe, you are about to go forth. And it shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Am, Hiv Debus, which he swore to your fathers to give you a land flowing with milk and honey, that you Shall observe this right in this mon.

In Joshua chapter 5, it was the exact month and the exact day. And Joshua knew what his responsibility was as a leader to celebrate Passover. So, the people of God would never forget. Let me tell you something.

They're about to go to battle, right? And when you're going to go to battle, you've got to know that you are going to battle with the ultimate deliverer. And God is the ultimate deliverer. And this memorial was to be kept. Listen to what it says in chapter 12. You know the Passover. You know, when the death angel passed over those, over the firstborn and allowed them to live, the blood of the lamb was put on the doorpost of the house. It's the 10th plague in Egypt. We discussed it in great length in Exodus 12 and Exodus chapter 13.

We went through the life of Moses. And this Passover was so important. It says in verse number 14 of chapter 12: Now, this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast of the Lord throughout your generations. You are to celebrate it as a Perm ordinance. You are to celebrate this generation after generation after generation. Not one time in the wilderness wanderings did they celebrate the Passover. Not once. In fact, the Bible records six occasions in the Old Testament where they celebrated Passover.

Six. Six. When you come to the New Testament, Israel was celebrating the Passover, but they were going through a ritual. They didn't believe in what the Passover represented, what it symbolized. Remember, circumcision and the Abrahamic covenant, the coming of a substitute that would bear their sin. The celebration of the Passover describes the Lamb who would be the substitute. And they couldn't forget this. It was all about remembrance. Remember, this is a memorial to me, God says.

God's in the memorials. What's the memorial name of God? Exodus chapter 4, Yave. What does the memorial name of God mean? This is the name you're to remember from generation to generation. What is that? The name that I am a redeemer, that I am a deliverer. When Moses said, What shall I say is his name? You tell him, I am that I am sent you. That is, Yahweh sent you. The great God of the universe, that tetragamat that speaks about the eternal nature of God, He is a Redeemer, He is a Deliverer. And you need to remember that I am the ultimate deliverer because you will never be prepared for battle if you go into each and every battle thinking you're defeated.

Can't. Because I'm the deliverer. And if I can deliver you from your sin, I can deliver you from any other as that you encounter. And so there was a remembrance. That talks about the but there was the neglect. Of the Passover. Israel neglected it. They didn't keep it like they should. The Bible tells us back in Numbers chapter 9. They observed the Passover on the first anniversary of their emancipation, of their freedom from Israel, freedom from Egypt, excuse me.

So they celebrated it in Exodus chapter 12. They celebrated it in Numbers chapter 9. 2 Chronicles 30. 2 Chronicles 35 when there was a revival. Ezra chapter 6 and Joshua chapter 5. Those are the six occurrences in the Old Testament when they celebrated the Passover. Now, they might have done it other times, but we know for certain they didn't do it during the 40 years of wilderness wandering. Because those people didn't believe in their deliverer. When they spied out the promised land, they had a defeatist attitude.

We can't win. They're bigger than we are. And yet God says, wait a minute, who am I? I am your deliverer. I am your redeemer. See, God wants to be known as a deliverer. That's who He is. Do you know God is a deliverer? Shadra, Mes and Abedne did. Oh, king, throw us in the furnace. That's okay. Our God will deliver us. They had no fear of a fiery furnace because they knew that their God was a delivering kind of God. Do you believe that your God is a deliverer? Do you believe that your God is a redeemer?

Do you believe your God is a savior? I called upon the Lord, the psalmist said in Psalm 34. And he delivered me from all of my fears. He's a God who delivers his people. And you see, Joshua. We don't know, the Bible doesn't say that God said to Joshua, can you now celebrate the Passover? But you know what? God didn't have to tell Joshua to celebrate the Passover. Because Joshua knew that when he got into the promised land, according to Exodus chapter 13, his job was to celebrate the Passover. On the 14th day of that month.

And so it was, that's where they were. And he wasn't going to let it pass because they needed to remember.

They needed to rem because we're prone to forget. There was neglect of that Passo all through the wilderness wanderings, but not anymore. Joshua was going to make sure they remembered. And why is it so necessary? Because God commanded it to be a memorial unto him. That's why. It's a memorial unto him. Exodus 12, 14, we read it earlier. Exodus 13, 5 says, And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, thou shalt keep this service in this Month. God commanded this. God wanted it done.

Why? Because man tends to forget. Talked about this last week. He just tends to forget. Psalm 106, we read that last week as well. Just read through Psalm 106. We just don't remember what God did. And God says, You can't afford to forget what I did, or you'll fail.

You're not going to make it. And so you have this commemoration, you have this memorial, you had this Passover event that is to remember God as deliverer. Because the one who is the deliverer is the fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant promise. And the two therefore are tied together. And help the people of God know how to win. They can't do it without God. You see, God says, This is not about you, Israel.

This is about me. This is my victory. This is not Joshua's victory. This is not Israel's victory. This is God's victory. And so you're going to do exactly as I say. You're going to follow my orders because I've got a plan. And the people of God say, Okay, Lord, we will do that. We will follow your orders because we want to fulfill your plan. We want to do it your way, God. We want to be prepared to fight. God says, okay, circumcise all the males.

And they said, okay, we'll obey. Obedience. No matter what you say, no matter how dangerous it is, no matter how risky it is, no matter how vulnerable it makes me, I will obey God. And then a commemoration of the Passover. A remembrance you can't forget. You can't forget who I am, that I am the ultimate deliverer. And you know what? God commanded us because of the character of man, his tendency to forget. Because he commanded it because of the importance of teaching their children. If you go back to Exodus chapter 12, it says, And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, What mean you by this service?

You shall say, It is a sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. Again, it's about spiritual instruction. Again, it's about teaching your children about God's ultimate delivering power. Your children got to know. So you keep the Passover so the children will ask the questions.

Why do we do this? What's so important about this? It's because of what God did for me in Egypt. And because he did it for me, he's going to do it for you as well. And there had to be that remembrance. The third thing on which you see is the nourishment after the Passover.

Notice what it says. And on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year. Can you imagine the trans? No more manna. For 40 years, God pro supernaturally for his people. Food from heaven. Remember the story? They'd have to go out every morning.

They had to take enough just for that day. They couldn't keep it for the next day. Because it would spoil. So they had to make sure they got up early every day, got their manna, brought it in, prepared it for the day. Except on Friday, it had taken up for Saturday as well. And God supernaturally preserved it through Saturday. For 40 years, God supernaturally provided for his people in the wilderness. An amazing thing. Now, all of a sudden, no more. No more manna. Now let me ask you a question.

Did God stop providing for them? No. Not at all. Because the food they would receive in the land of Canaan was, listen, just as supernaturally given to them as the manna would come down from heaven. See, we forget that God provides for our needs. We forget that God supplies our needs. Dr. John Witherspoon, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was president of the College of New Jersey. He lived a couple of miles away from the college at Rocky Hill and drove a horse and rig each day to his office at college.

One day, one of his neighbors burst into his office, exclaiming, Dr. Witherspoon, you must join me in giving thanks to God for his extraordinary providence in saving my life, for I was driving from Rocky Hill. The horse ran away, and the buggy was smashed to pieces on the rocks. But I escaped unharmed. Witherspoon replied, Why, I can tell you a far more remarkable providence than that. I have driven over that road hundreds of times. My horse never ran away my buggy never was smashed. And I was never hurt.

You get it? I mean, think about it. You know, God's provision doesn't always come in great supernatural acts that we see with our eyes every day. People are getting into car accidents and are preserved in a supernatural way. But there are people. Others who drive back and forth on the same road every single day and experience the same power and protection of God, and they're never in a car accident. They are never injured because God is always watching over them and protecting them supernaturally.

See, we forget that. Now, Israel's method of provision was going to shift a little different now, but God was still going to supply, wasn't he? He was still going to take care of them because he is the ultimate deliverer and redeemer of man, not only spiritually but physically. And they could never forget that. And Joshua didn't want his people to forget it. Think of, fellas, your own responsibility in your home as a leader. That you never want your children or your wife to forget that your God is the ultimate deliverer, the ultimate provider, and that you will obey Him no matter what.

The best way to be prepared for battle, no matter what the battle may be, no matter where the battle may be fought, no matter how great the enemy is, is number one, always be obedient to God, no matter what he asks.

No matter how ridiculous it might seem to you, no matter how insignificant it might seem to you, no matter how risky it might be for you, and no matter how vulnerable a position it places you in, always obey God. And you will always obey God if you remember that He is the ultimate deliverer.