Joshua 5:1

All right, today we are going over Joshua chapter 5, verses 1 through 12. So we're going to jump into that really quick, but before we do that, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we enter Your word today and seek to grow through it, Lord, we ask that You have free reign to work in our lives. Point out the things, Lord God, where we have fallen short, either by intention or by inattention. I pray that You do the work in our hearts that we need. Whether we feel like we're ready or not, Lord, we give ourselves up to You and ask that You change us by the power of Your Holy Spirit, using Your word as an instrument. Heavenly Father, God, we give ourselves to You. We look forward to spending time with You in Your word today. Thank You for being God and allowing us to follow. I pray these things, Jesus, in Your name. Amen.

All right, so Joshua chapter 5 follows after Joshua chapter 4. Chapter 4, which we finished up last week, was talking all about the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. The Jordan River was a barrier, and God broke that barrier down for them by parting the waters and allowing them to walk across. The people who walked across the Red Sea fathered children who then walked across the Jordan River, both of those on dry land and both by the power of God.

This picks up right after that. In chapter 5, verse 1, it says, "As soon as all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel."

See, because the people of Israel walked with God, God took care of them. God made a way for them; He parted the Jordan River, and they commemorated that. But their enemies heard about it. Imagine the Jordan River drying up. You're going to hear about that downstream; you're going to hear about that all over the place. Did you hear that the people of the God of Israel walked across the Jordan on dry land? This terrified them, broke their spirit, and left them in a very psychologically vulnerable state.

They were totally afraid because God walked with His people. God is already fighting for them. He has made an impression on the kings of the land that He has promised to give to the Israelites. So clearly, if the enemy kings are disturbed, they should go in and take the land, right? Their hearts have melted, their armies are scared; they should rush right in there, right?

Well, see, God has something He needs to take care of first with the children of Israel. In Chapter 5, verse 2, at that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time." Yes, we are going to be talking a lot about circumcision. Circumcision is an outward, albeit largely private, sign to indicate that they are committed to God and that it signifies their belonging to Him.

So, what is circumcision? Where did it come from? We see the origin in Genesis Chapter 17, verse 3. It says, "Then Abram fell face down, and God spoke to him. He said, 'As for me, here is my covenant with you.'" God is speaking to Abraham. He says, "You will become the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful, and I will make nations and kings come from you. I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. This is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. To you and your future offspring, I will give the land where you are residing, all of the land of Canaan, as a permanent possession, and I will be their God."

This is the covenant. He says, "Abraham, you are going to be the father of many nations. My covenant to you and to your offspring, a permanent covenant, is that I will give you the land where you are currently residing, all of the land of Canaan, as a permanent possession, and I will be their God." The covenant is that God will give them the promised land, and God will be their God.

In verse 9 of that same chapter, it says, "And God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant. This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you that you are to keep. Every one of your males must be circumcised. You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old.'"

Every male born in your household or purchased from a foreigner and not your offspring, whether born in your household or purchased, must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant. If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people, for he has broken my covenant. The purpose of circumcision was to mark a permanent covenant between God and His people. It was to happen at eight days old and was for all males, whether born into the children of Israel or purchased as a slave.

It's important to remember that the Bible deals with people as they were, not as we wish them to be. Slavery was wrong, is wrong, and will be wrong, but it was a common practice. God still made His covenant available to those who were slaves and those who were slaveholders because it was common practice at the time. He finishes by saying that if you were not circumcised, you were not His people. You were not God's people if you were not circumcised.

So why then does Joshua need to circumcise the males now? Weren't they Israelites? Shouldn't they have been circumcised? This is a point that scholars disagree on. Some say that it was inconvenient or impossible while they were traveling in the wilderness. Others say that it was a sign of the rebellion of that generation that died in the wilderness. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it had not been done, and now it needed to be done.

They were on the verge of entering the land that God promised to them in the very covenant that circumcision was the sign of. The Passover laws required that they be circumcised to celebrate Passover, which was coming up. Anyone who wanted to participate, any male that wanted to participate, had to be circumcised. So, they were on the verge of entering the land, on the verge of entering what God had made for them through the covenant, and yet they needed to be circumcised.

In verse 3, it says, "Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath Haraloth." Joshua is quick to obey, even in the difficult things. Sometimes, I have a tendency to obey a little slower at uncomfortable tasks, especially if I have to break unpleasant or difficult news or bring challenging words to somebody.

Who I know is not going to receive them well. I have a tendency sometimes to drag my feet at that. This is a challenging set of instructions. Imagine going to the whole nation and saying, "Hey guys, we have to do something here before we step into the Promised Land."

But see, delayed obedience is just short-term rebellion. When we choose to delay obeying, we're just rebelling for that period of time. It's not a matter of, "Oh well, maybe." When you look at it that way, we can see that delayed obedience is just rebellion. So when we procrastinate or drag our feet, we're choosing rebellion, even if it's only for a short time.

As parents, we know how bad that looks on our own children. When we give them instructions and they choose to do something else instead of rushing to obey, like when we say, "Hey, you need to put your shoes on; we're getting ready to go," and they don't put their shoes on, we wonder, "Why did you not put your shoes on?" We look at that and see, "Wow, that's rebellion." Yet in our own lives, we look at our delay and think, "Well, it was just procrastination."

We have a tendency to embrace and allow our own rebellion when we think we have a good reason. But Joshua here steps right up and says, "You know what? We're going to make flint knives, and we're going to be circumcised right here, right now."

In verse four, it gives us the reason. One of the things we can look for is, "Why in the world do they have to do this?" In verse four, it says, "And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised."

See, everybody that had left Egypt was already circumcised, but those who were born in the wilderness were not. This points out to us that every generation needs to make the commitment. God has no grandchildren. Your salvation and my salvation do not transfer to our kids, unlike many of our own bad habits.

We need to teach our kids, we need to pray for them, and we need to show them a good example. But the decision to follow Christ ultimately is up to them. That is one of the scariest things that I've ever had to process: that my children's faith is their own responsibility.

Salvation is up to their own choice. There's nothing I can do to make them be saved. I cannot be a good enough parent to ensure their salvation, but I can only help them. The Bible calls it training them up in the way that they should go. However, the choice ultimately remains theirs.

One of the saddest things that I have seen, and I have been in youth ministry for 20 years, is when parents try to force their own salvation on their kids, usually in an extremely legalistic manner. This legalism often exalts rules for conduct over a relationship with Jesus. Yes, we know that there are rules, and yes, we hold our kids to a certain standard. But rules without the same grace that we've received will result in a yoke that is crushing instead of a burden that is light. It gives a false picture of Jesus as harsh and unforgiving.

Point one, if you are taking notes today, is: Do we discipline our children in a way that reflects the grace that Jesus shows us? I'll say that again: Do we discipline our children in a way that reflects the grace that Jesus shows us? We couldn't follow the law, so we need to understand that our kids cannot either. Is the law bad? No, the law is good, but it points us to Christ; it drives us to Christ because we are unable to be that perfect fulfillment of the law.

We need to help them find, in our example, a picture of Jesus as loving and forgiving. Since we are broken, we need to repent to them when we fail. When we screw up, when we hold them to a standard that we could not hold ourselves to, we need to repent of that and apologize to them. We need to go to them and say, "You know what, son or daughter, I was not showing you a picture of who Jesus is, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

On the other end of the spectrum, there are parents who choose not to guide their children at all, instead leaving them to the care of a world that wants to destroy them. This is often portrayed as letting them find their own path or not wanting to unduly influence them. We are called to train up our children, not to just throw them willy-nilly. The Bible talks about this in Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 7. It says, "You shall teach them diligently to your children," referring to the statutes of God, and you shall talk...

To them, when you sit in your house, or when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

If we look at that, we see that there are eight things mentioned. We need to teach them diligently. This is an instruction. Teach them diligently. This is not a half-thought-out idea; we need to teach them diligently.

We need to, number two, talk to them in our homes. This should be something that is marked in our homes, that we talk about the things of God. We talk about what God calls us to do. We talk about what God wants from us. We talk about the importance of a relationship with our risen Savior.

You're also to talk to them, three, when you're out and about, when you're heading through the day, when you're with your children and you're driving. Talk about Jesus. Discuss it in the context of what's happening around you. When you see somebody on the freeway driving like an absolute dingbat, you can explain to them that this doesn't honor God. We need to be careful in our response to people like that to ensure that our response honors God, which can sometimes be a challenging task.

Number three, when you go to bed. It specifically mentions when you go to bed and when you wake up. At the beginning of your day and at the end of your day, with your children, you should be reminding them how much God loves them. You should be talking to them about the love and the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

It should be marked. We should be marked by it in what we do, where it talks about tying it on our hands. What we do around our kids, with our kids, when our kids can see and when they can't see, all of those things should be marked by a relationship with Jesus Christ. Like frontlets, it should be kept at the forefront of our minds. If we keep everything we do filtered through our relationship with Jesus Christ, our kids are going to see that, and that will be attractive to them.

Our home, as it talks about putting it on the doorpost, should be marked by a relationship with God. Our home should be different from an unbeliever's home. It's not just about putting a "live, laugh, love" Christian sign on your door or some fancy posters, although those are fine. What happens in your home—the way you and your spouse interact, the way you interact with your children, the way you interact with friends, the things you allow in your home and the things you don't allow—should all be marked by your relationship with God.

If we are not willing to do those things, or if we do not do those things, the best thing that we can do for our children is what has happened here: that we die in the desert. This generation that has left Egypt, all of those who were of fighting age and above, are all dead in the desert. They ended up wandering in the desert until they died, and we will talk about that in a minute.

The failing of that generation that died in the desert is described in verse 6. The people of Israel walked for 40 years in the wilderness until all the men of war who came out of Egypt perished because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. The Lord swore to them that He would not let them see the land that He had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. This refers to what happened in Numbers chapter 14.

In verse 3, it says this was the children of Israel's response to God bringing them to the promised land the first time: "Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and our children will become plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" Their response was rooted in fear because there were kings and armies in the land, and they were terrified that they would not be able to overcome them, even though God had promised them victory.

Their response was one of fear, and their fear was that their wives and children would become plunder. In response to that fear, they chose to say, "Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" God saw that disobedience born out of fear, and this was His response later on in that chapter, chapter 14, verse 30: "I swear that none of you will enter the land that I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land that you rejected, and they will enjoy it. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness."

Because the parents gave in to fear—fear that God would not do what He expressly promised— the children would suffer the consequences for the failure of their parents.

Parents, and that's a principle we see true today in the same way. Children pay the price for their parents' failures. Our children, my children, will pay the price for my failures. This is why it is so important. You see, your job is not eternal. Your golf handicap is not eternal. Your education is not eternal. Your hobby is not eternal. Even your service to your church is not eternal. Your bank account, your retirement, your home—none of those things are eternal, but your children are.

Point two, if you are taking notes: your children are eternal. They are eternal beings that will last for all time. How much time do we spend on things that will ultimately be worthless? Parents, be bold in your calling to be parents. Be persistent in your calling. Be tireless in your calling. Be gracious in your calling. The lasting impression is very rarely what we say; our children see what we do, and they see how we live. Those are the things that stick with them.

Do we model to our kids that we trust God with what we have, or do they learn that God is not who He says He is from our actions? This is heavy, but being a parent is a sacred responsibility. God has given us the task of molding and shaping people that He loves. He's given us a unique calling and a unique set of circumstances, and He asks us to raise His children.

Now, a word of comfort in all this: there are no perfect parents. It's also never too late to start being better. One of the most influential things that we can do as parents is to ask our children for forgiveness when we're wrong. So, if you need to ask your child for forgiveness, no matter how old they are, do it today. Take this moment; if you're watching at home, pause, make a note, set a reminder—whatever you need to do. But do not miss the opportunity that God has given to you right now to try to make things right, to do better, to reach out to your children, to let them know how much you care.

It is important to acknowledge our shortcomings. Often, that acknowledgment will have to start with an "I'm sorry." I'm sorry that I did this. I'm sorry that I placed more value on this than I did on you. I'm sorry that I chose this thing instead of you. I'm sorry that I showed you an incorrect picture of who God is.

But don't miss this opportunity. Even if your children are currently wandering in a wilderness—one that you may have brought them into—you can still reach out to them. You can still have an influence on them. Remember, though, God is faithful even when we fail. Let me say that again: God is faithful even when we fail, and God loves our children more than we do. Honestly, God loves them better than we do. So pray for them, love them, and show them your love for God in how you live.

Jumping back over to Joshua chapter 5, verse 7, it says, "So it was their children whom he raised up in their place that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way." You see, it was the children of the parents who recoiled in fear at the promise that God had for them. Those were the ones wandering in the desert. Now they have made it to the promised land, but they have not been circumcised. They needed to be made right with God by the removal of their flesh.

Now we can ask ourselves, what does this even mean for any of us? Are we still required to be circumcised? Am I no longer close to God because I am circumcised or not circumcised? The New Testament tells us a lot about this. In Galatians chapter 5, verses 2 to 6, it says, "Take note, I, Paul, am telling you that if you get yourself circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. Again, I testify that every man who gets himself circumcised is obligated to do the entire law. You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ, and you have fallen from grace. For we eagerly await through the Spirit, by faith, the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything. What matters is faith working through love."

Now, if you are circumcised, Paul is not telling you that you're done; you have to complete the law. He is addressing a group of people in Galatians who were trying to become Jewish in order to become better Christians. The two are different things.

They were trying to be circumcised to be more holy, but that's not the option. Our standing with God is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is not through a mark in our flesh; it is through Jesus' work that we are made whole. We receive that grace, and then we work forward through that.

Paul says in Galatians that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything. What matters is faith working through love. In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, starting at verse 17, it says, "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches." Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision, for neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Jumping down to verse 24, it states, "So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God."

In Philippians chapter 3, verses 2 through 3, it says, "Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh." Our sign that we are right with God, the thing that brings us into a covenant with Him, is Jesus Christ.

We see that we are redeemed from the law by the sacrifice of Jesus, and now we have a new covenant, one that is based on grace, not on the law. Paul points out that what matters for us is not circumcision, but instead, faith working through love, worshiping by the Spirit, and remaining with God.

In Colossians, he goes on to outline it a little bit further in chapter 2, verses 11 to 14. He says, "You were also circumcised with him, with a circumcision not done by hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ. When you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead."

When you were dead in trespass and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of death with its obligations that was against us and opposed to us, and had taken it away by nailing it to the cross. So, circumcision for us is reflected in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

It is not a matter of works that are done in our flesh. It has nothing to do with the flap of skin that we either have or don't have. It has to do with what is happening in our hearts.

In verse 8, getting back to Joshua again, when the circumcision of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their place in the camp until they were healed. Circumcision here made them vulnerable for a time. God made them totally defenseless, and they were dependent on Him as they took their first step in the promised land. There they were, all their fighting men, unable to fight, unable to run, and unable to do anything except pray for a quick recovery. Yet, they were never safer because they were walking with the Lord.

How quickly we forget that when we walk with God, we are completely secure in His care. Until He calls me home, no weapon formed against me will prosper except what He allows for His purpose. The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Therefore, the name of their place is called Gilgal to this day. The reproach of Egypt, the influence of the ungodly society, was removed by the covenant of God and was renewed and remembered at Gilgal.

Point three in your outline, if you are taking notes: our reproach, the reproach of sin, is rolled away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Let me say that again. Our reproach, the reproach of sin, is rolled away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We need to accept that sacrifice and surrender to Him. Without His sacrificial death on the cross in our place, there is no circumcision, there is no work that we can do, and there is nothing that can make us right with God. Only through Jesus' sacrifice can we be saved.

No one else can do it for you. Your parents can't save you, your kids can't save you, and your spouse can't save you. Only by receiving the gift of Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection can we be made right with God and enter the promised land that He has for us.

So, our focus is not on circumcision; our focus is on the covenant that we are brought into by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We need to grab hold of that. It needs to mark how we live.

Now we see in Exodus chapter 12, the rules for Passover required that anybody who was...

Going to celebrate Passover required circumcision. In verse 10, it says, "While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month, in the evening, on the plains of Jericho." Their first steps here, after crossing the Jordan, were to celebrate the Passover on the 14th day of the month. They entered the plains of Jericho, and there they kept the feast of the Passover.

Passover was a remembrance and celebration of what God had done in Egypt for the children of Israel in bringing them out. It ultimately marked the death of the firstborn of all of Egypt, except for those whose doorposts and lintels were marked by the blood of the sacrifice, pointing directly to the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. So there they are, rededicating and celebrating as the first things they do after entering the Promised Land. They are rededicating their hearts and cutting off their flesh while celebrating the way that God had rescued their ancestors in Egypt.

Now remember, for them, this is not some far-off memory; this is not just a bit of history. This is something they lived. Very often, we can gloss things over because it’s just history. I had this experience a while back when I was talking to a group of high schoolers about what happened on September 11th, 2001, when we were attacked. I remember discussing it with them, and they said, "Oh yeah, we learned about that in history." It hit me then that history and memory are two very different things.

It's important to remember and to mark things in our history, but knowing history and having a memory are not the same. They had the memory of what God did, just as those of us who were old enough to remember what happened on 9/11 do. For them, it’s a history lesson. For us, we still remember hearing the crunching and the thumping in the background during the live news coverage, with nobody realizing what it was until someone pointed out, "No, that’s the sound of bodies hitting the ground; that’s the sound of bodies landing on cars because they were jumping rather than burning."

There’s something that is indelibly etched in our memory that is different from what we know of history. So for them, they are celebrating Passover, but they are also remembering it. For many of them, those who weren’t born during that time or those who were younger than the others, the experience is different.

In the war-fighting age, they remember leaving Egypt. They remember walking through the Red Sea and all the things that the Passover commemorated. They recall huddling in the house that night, listening to the screams and cries of the Egyptians. For them, celebrating Passover is not just a historical event; it is a visceral and real experience. They are now taking their first steps in the promised land, and they remember how they got there.

For us, what does that mean? We need to remember how we got where we are. We need to recount to our children what it was like when God saved us. This is what it was; this is where we were before. Maybe not in detail that they are not ready for yet, but we were once lost, but now we are found. It is powerful for us to share with them what God has done in our lives. The same way that our changed lives impact those around us, when they see things in us that are different, that is what truly makes an impact. That is why God has them remember these things, and that is why we need to remember and recount what God has done in our own lives to those around us.

In verse 11, it says, "On the day after Passover, on that very day," it is important to point out, "the day after Passover," they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes, and parched grain. They have stepped into the land of blessing, the promised land, and on the day after they renewed and remembered their covenant with God, they had their first taste of the fruit of that blessing.

Now remember, for them, it had been manna for 40 years, with some quail thrown in every once in a while. Now they step into the promised land and start to taste the blessings of God. What an incredible moment that must have been! New flavor, a new texture. Imagine, for the very first time, you hear the sizzle, smell the aroma, see the grill marks, and the crust that has been imparted to the meat. Then you taste it. Oh man, what an experience that would be!

This is part of the blessing that God has built into His creation. These varying tastes and all the blessings around us show how everything tastes differently. Think about apples. There are so many different varieties of apples and countless ways to prepare them. From the crisp, juicy bite of a fresh apple, when you think, "Oh, these are such fantastic apples," to the warm hug of a homemade apple pie, this is a part of the blessing of the promised land—a land flowing, as God described it, with milk and honey. It is a land where these things are abundant. God provided all of these tastes as a sign of His love for them and His love for us. He actually provided them this land flowing with milk and honey, and yet something else happens there.

In verse 12, we read that the manna ceased the day after they ate the produce of the land. So, the next day, after they ate the produce, they woke up, and for the first time in a generation, there was no manna on the ground. This is a shift of monumental proportions. The training wheels are coming off. God has fed His people, hand-fed them every morning for as long as most of them can remember, and now everything changes.

Point four in your outline, if you're taking notes, is that sometimes God's provision looks like loss. What had been as simple as walking around and picking up food off the ground now requires work. God's idea of perfection is not us like fat babies sitting on clouds with harps, as depicted in various places. Remember, in the Garden of Eden, before the fall, God gave Adam work. God's idea of perfection is not us doing nothing; it's us working with Him. We were created to partner with God in His work, not to avoid work. There is no retirement from work in God's kingdom. The work changes over time, but we are never in a place where we are supposed to stop working.

So, the Israelites are in the promised land, and now they have to adjust to a new life.

With new challenges, new temptations, and new foes, there was no longer manna for the people of Israel. This can look like a loss; there's no longer manna, no longer easy access to this. However, the verse goes on to say that they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. The reward is the promised land, but just because it is the promised land doesn't mean it's easy or free.

Just like the gift of salvation, we receive that gift freely from Jesus Christ, but it sets our feet on a path marked by difficulty and sacrifice as we are sanctified and molded into His image. There will be sacrifice, there will be difficulty, there will be pain, and there will be loss. Jesus is our promised land, but our path with Him requires that we wage war against our flesh and the enemy of our souls—a war that's fought on our knees. We know that the ultimate victory belongs to our Savior, but we still need to join in the fight.

Let us strive to be people who walk in the promised land with our parents and with our children. Please, Lord, help us to be people who are willing to focus on eternal things and not get hung up on the transitory things that have no lasting value. Let us walk with eternity in our hearts.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we ponder the example that You've set before us in the book of Joshua, as we reflect on the example of the children of Israel rededicating themselves right after crossing the Jordan River, Lord, help us to understand what it means to be set apart, to be circumcised, to be dedicated for Your glory. I pray that You would help us to see the importance of the roles You've given us, whether as parents or as children, and the significance of what it means to follow after You.

Lord, help us not to turn away from the work You lay before us. Help us not to take the easy path when You've called us to difficulty. And Father God, forgive us where we fall short. Forgive us where our example of You is more like Moses striking the rock a second time.

Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice on our behalf. Thank you that it allows us to walk confidently in grace and clothed in your righteousness. Help us to do things well.

Lord, I just pray for our children right now, the children of all those represented who are watching and listening, and those who may be approaching this kind of thing for the first time. I pray that you would do a work in our children. Father God, help us to be good examples, but ultimately, Lord God, we know that it is between them and you. I pray that you would be gracious to them as you've been gracious to us.

Lord, be with my children, and I pray, Lord God, that they would rely on you all their lives. Thank you for the position of parent and the position of pastor that you've given me. Be glorified, Lord, in your people.

We pray these things, Jesus, in your name. Amen. God bless you guys. We'll see you next week.