Joshua 5

Israel has crossed the Jordan, but before the battle for Canaan begins, God prepares His people. They renew the covenant sign of circumcision, keep the Passover, and eat the land’s food as the manna ends. Then Joshua meets the Commander of the LORD’s army and learns that the war belongs to God.

Joshua 5:1

News of the Jordan drying up spread through the whole land, and Canaan’s kings were paralyzed with fear. Israel had not yet fought a battle, but God’s power had already won ground. Their courage drained away because they knew the LORD was acting for His people.

BSA: melted (“wasted away, became weak”): Their courage did not just dip; it dissolved like wax, leaving them with no strength to resist. heard (“listened, obeyed”): The report of what God did was not idle gossip; it struck them so hard it shaped their whole state of mind.

See also: Joshua 2:9-11; Exodus 15:14-16.

Joshua 5:2-3

Just when the enemy was terrified and Israel could have struck, God told Joshua to stop and circumcise the men. It looked like poor military strategy, but obedience to God’s covenant came before any battle plan. The place was later named for what happened there.

BSA: circumcise (“cut off, dedicate”): The act was more than surgery; it set a people apart as belonging to God. flint (“stone, rock”): Stone blades were an ancient and sharp tool, fitting for a solemn covenant act.

Hebrew: שׁוּב (shuv, H7725) — “again, a second time.” The word points back to the covenant sign Abraham received. It signals a fresh start for a new generation, not a new rule.

See also: Genesis 17:10-11.

Joshua 5:4-7

The generation that left Egypt was circumcised but died in the wilderness because they would not obey. Their children, born on the journey, never received the sign. The long wandering was the result of disobedience, yet God kept His oath by raising up their sons to enter the land.

BSA: obey (“listen to, heed”): In Hebrew thought, to listen to God and to obey Him are one and the same thing. vowed (“swore an oath, made a promise”): God’s judgment was as solemn as His promise; both rest on His sworn word.

See also: Numbers 14:28-35; Deuteronomy 2:14-15.

Joshua 5:8

After the circumcision, the whole nation waited in camp until the men healed. It was a vulnerable moment, but God’s protection made it safe. Israel’s security rested not on their strength but on the fear God had placed on the surrounding peoples.

BSA: healed (“to live, revive, or be quickened, made whole”): The word carries the idea of being restored to full life, not just a wound closing.

Joshua 5:9

God declared that the shame of Egypt was now removed. Egypt stood for slavery and for the years of failure that followed it. By restoring the covenant sign, God gave this people a clean standing. The name Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew for “rolled” and keeps the memory alive.

BSA: reproach (“shame, disgrace”): It was the disgrace of a people who had been slaves and then lost their way, now lifted by God. rolled away (“removed, taken off”): The picture is of a heavy burden being rolled off, never to be carried again.

Hebrew: גִּלְגָּל (Gilgal, H1537) — “a rolling, a circle of stones.” The name echoes the verb for rolling away, so every mention of the place recalled God removing Israel’s disgrace.

Joshua 5:10

On the fourteenth evening of the first month, Israel kept the Passover, as God had commanded. It was their first Passover in the land, and they remembered how God had rescued them from Egypt. Having been marked as His people, they could now celebrate the feast.

BSA: Passover (“a memorial of liberation”): The feast kept alive the memory of God’s saving act, and no uncircumcised person could share in it.

See also: Exodus 12:1-14; Exodus 12:48.

Joshua 5:11-12

The day after Passover, Israel ate the land’s own grain, and the manna that had fed them for forty years stopped. God’s provision did not end; it changed form. Now they would live from the land He had promised, which showed that the wilderness years were truly over.

BSA: manna (“a special food from God, heavenly bread”): For forty years it was daily proof that God feeds His people, and its end marked a new stage of provision. ceased (“stopped, came to an end”): The manna ended on a definite day, the very next day after they ate the land’s produce.

See also: Exodus 16:35; Deuteronomy 8:3.

Joshua 5:13

Near Jericho, Joshua saw a man with a drawn sword and boldly asked whose side He was on. The drawn sword shows He came ready for war. Joshua was a seasoned leader, yet he still had to learn who was really in command of this campaign.

BSA: drawn sword (“a knife or cutting tool”): The weapon was bare and ready, a sign that this was a warrior on a mission.

See also: Numbers 22:31.

Joshua 5:14

The visitor answered “Neither.” God is not a partner who joins our side; we must join His. Joshua responded rightly, falling facedown and calling himself a servant. His question now was not about tactics but about what his Lord wanted.

BSA: Commander (“leader, captain”): He is the one who leads heaven’s armies, so Joshua was no longer the chief commander in this war. reverence (“awe, worship”): Joshua’s fall to the ground was worship, and the visitor accepted it, which points to a divine presence.

See also: Daniel 10:13.

Joshua 5:15

Like Moses at the burning bush, Joshua was told to take off his sandals because the ground was holy. The place was holy because God was there. Joshua obeyed at once, and the campaign began with worship and submission before any strategy.

BSA: holy (“set apart, sacred”): The ground was set apart simply because God was present, not because of the place itself.

See also: Exodus 3:5.