THE FUTURE IS IN THE PAST (Joshua 4:1-5:15)
Joshua 4:1 When the whole nation
had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2
"Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3
and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right
where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at
the place where you stay tonight." 6 This is to serve as a sign
among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones
mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before
the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of
the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of
Israel forever."
II.
Go Back to Square One
5:2 At that time the Lord
said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites
again." .4
Now this is why he did so: 5
All the people that came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but all the people
born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not.
III.
Recognize Sacred Moments
5:13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"15 The commander of the Lord's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." and Joshua did so.
