Because They Did Not Obey the Lord -- Joshua 5:1-12

The Sixth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Joshua

After forty years of wandering through the wilderness, the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan.  At Joshua’s command, the priests carried the ark of the covenant to the edge of the river.  The moment their feet touched the water, the Jordan River miraculously stopped flowing.  And then the entire nation of Israel–many hundreds of thousands people and all their possessions and animals–crossed the river on dry ground.  The covenant promise God made to Abraham some four hundred years earlier–in which God promised to give his people this good land flowing with milk and honey–was now a reality.  At long last, Israel was a great nation, across the river in the promised land, and ready to take the fortified city of Jericho which blocked their entrance into the rest of Canaan.  It will not be long before Israel will take possession of all the land that God had promised them as the Canaanites just melt away before them.  God had promised this would be the case and God always keeps his promises.

As we continue our series on the Book of Joshua, we now find the Israelites safely across the Jordan River, camped at Gilgal, just a few miles to the west of Jericho.  It was here at Gilgal that YHWH commanded the people of Israel to build a memorial to this great event, using twelve stones taken from the very spot in the river bed where the priests had set their feet on dry ground.  This monument will be the means by which future generations of Israelites are reminded of that glorious day when YHWH dried up the Jordan and his people entered Canaan to receive their promised inheritance.  The crossing of the Jordan was a graphic sign to Israel that YHWH keeps his covenant promise.  It was also a powerful warning to Israel’s enemies that YHWH is Israel’s shield and protector and that he will ensure that Israel will possess the land of Canaan.

With the people of Israel now safely across the river, in chapter 5 Joshua sets the stage for Israel’s future conquest of Canaan, beginning with the fall of Jericho as recounted in chapter 6.

Verse 1 of Joshua 5 is a summary of sorts, recounting the events of chapters 3-4.  “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.”  While this verse is a summation about Israel miraculously crossing the river, the verse also offers an explanation for what is soon to come, the conquest of all of Canaan.  The reason why the Israelites will be able to defeat the Canaanites so rapidly will have far more to do with YHWH’s power and Israel’s obedience to the terms of the covenant, than it does with Israel’s 40,000 soldiers.  This is what the people of Israel must recognize as they prepare to take possession of the land.  They will be victorious only so long as they are faithful to YHWH.

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