Joshua 5:9a
Joshua 5:9a
Read: Joshua 5:1-9
The children of Israel had come to the Promised Land for the second time. They had spent forty years in the desert and had crossed the Jordan River. The hearts of all the kings of the land had melted, so the children of Israel were ready to enter and take over the land of Canaan.
But God said, “Wait.” Though the people thought that they were ready, God told them, “Not yet.” First, God had to roll away the reproach of Egypt from them. This means that all their sins and shame from the past needed to be cleansed first. They couldn’t enter the Promise Land while they still carried those sins on their shoulders. They first needed to be made right with God. They had to repent of their sins of the past and again commit themselves to serving the Lord alone.
God had given the children of Israel circumcision as a sign of the covenant, a sign that they were God’s special people. They had a special relationship with the Lord. As part of this covenant, God had promised the Israelites that he would always care for them and always love them. He would forgive their sins when they repented. And the children of Israel had promised the Lord that they would always serve him and make sacrifices to cover their sins.
But while they had been in the desert for forty years, they hadn’t given their boys the sign of covenant. So God said, “Before you go into the land of Canaan, we must renew the covenant.” As part of this they had to circumcise all the males. This was a reminder that they were God’s covenant people. They were going to serve the Lord alone.
These verses are very comforting for us as well. The Israelites were sinful, but so are we. But just like God rolled away their sins and gave them the sign of circumcision to remind them of his love and forgiveness, so he rolls away our sins and gives us the sign of baptism to remind us of his love and forgiveness.
Reflection with your child:
What does it mean that God rolled away the reproach of Egypt?
Source: Sermon by Rev. R. Vermeulen
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