Circumcise Again?: Preparing for Spiritual Battle by Being Set Apart for God

Listen to today’s passage – Joshua 5 – 7 

Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Joshua 5 

Second Milers also read – 2 Thessalonians 1 – 3; Proverbs 13; Psalms 61 – 65

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 3:1

Read a previous post from today’s passages – “Sin in the Camp“

Read the “0313 Evening and Morning” devotion by Charles Spurgeon.

Did you ever wonder why just before the Battle of Jericho, when the men of Israel were preparing for their first military conquest in their new land, God again commands that all the Israelite males be circumcised again? Seems like a strange thing to do right before a major battle. Let’s dig into this story and see why.

The Mystery of the Second Circumcision

“1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. 2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 7 And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. 8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. 9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. 10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.” (Josh 5:1–10)

Notice this test of their faith came right after the victory of crossing the Jordan River on dry ground. God often will test our faith after a great victory. The Scottish preacher Andrew Bonar (1810–92) used to say, “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.”[1]

We must recognize that we are Ambassadors for the Lord and, as such, we must be completely set apart and yielded to Him.

Circumcision was a seal of the Abrahamic Covenant:

The Abrahamic Covenant that God made with Abraham included land and a nation. (Genesis 17:1 – 13)

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” (Exodus 2:24)

“And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.“ (Exodus 6:4-5)

Why the First Generation Failed

God’s people broke the covenant with God when they had rejected God’s promise to bring them into the land victoriously at Kadesh Barnea (Numbers 13 and 14), and while they wandered in the wilderness for forty years, they neglected the commandment to circumcise their male children, though it was clearly commanded in the Law. (Leviticus 12:3)

God wanted the Israelites to be sure that His covenant with them was still in force, but He wanted them to renew the seal of the covenant with Him.

Interestingly, Moses was also commanded to be circumcised before God would allow him to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt:

“And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.” (Exodus 4:24-26)

Our “Circumcision” in Christ

This Old Testament event doesn’t just teach us about ancient Israel—it points forward to a deeper reality fulfilled in Christ. Circumcision was an outward sign of the fact that a person belonged to God. Circumcision should really be just the outward symbol of an inward, heart condition. In Romans, Paul said:

“For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” (Romans 2:25-29)

Application: Living Set Apart Today

Paul was not stating here that circumcision was wrong, or that the Jews should no longer observe it. What he is saying, however, is that if an uncircumcised man is living a life that is yielded to God through faith, is he not more set apart for God then the man who is circumcised in his flesh, but is in rebellion.

Dr. Paul Fedena states:

What Paul is saying is that circumcision may identify a person physically with a nation, but it cannot change the heart.  That requires an inward “cutting away” of something more than mere flesh! Lawbreakers negate the symbolism of circumcision and God looks on them as His people only nationally, not spiritually.

Paul argues that the righteousness of the uncircumcised is more likely to gain God’s favor than the unrighteousness of the circumcised.

In Colossians Paul speaks of a circumcision “made w/out hands” which is superior to a fleshly circumcision.[2]

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Colossians 2:11)

Circumcision had become a mere formality, a ritual. What was intended to be a symbol of a wonderful relationship with God had instead become a badge of superiority and pride. The Jews looked down their noses on those that were uncircumcised.

Baptism also becomes a mere formality when we just participate physically in the rite of immersion in water, without being immersed in the Spirit and will of God.

One final point to consider regarding circumcision. This move made absolutely no sense militarily. The entire army of Israel would be unable to fight for a few days until they were healed. The army of Jericho could have easily defeated this incapacitated army. Jacob’s sons were once able to destroy all of the men of Shechem while they were “sore” from their circumcision. (Genesis 34) Yet, God wanted His army to be prepared spiritually even as they were preparing militarily.

Notice in v. 9 – “this day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off of you”. Gilgal means “rolled”. God had not only taken them out of Egypt, He was taking Egypt out of them. After forty years of wandering in a desert wilderness, they were finally ready to walk by faith and let God bring them into the land, His way and in His power.

Today, we are also in a spiritual battle and it is just as important that we are spiritually prepared by being set apart for the Lord. 

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Strong (p. 59). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] Fedena, Paul Bible Studies in Romans, Lesson 11 “Are You a Jew”


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