Read Joshua 5:8-9 – So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. (NKJV)
What does circumcision have to do with God’s blessing? For the Israelites, circumcision was a sign of their connection to God and His covenant. During the slavery years in Egypt and continuing into the wilderness journey, they had neglected obedience to this command. So in Joshua’s day, the issue was erasing their past failure through present obedience. The thought of trying to undo the mistakes of our past would be quite daunting, and that’s not what God asks us to do. But we must live obediently in the present. If we, like the Israelites, have become accustomed to patterns of disobedience and somehow think our continued failures are no big deal, well, it seems we may not know God very well. We must choose to be obedient to His Word, even in those areas we may have previously accepted our own disobedience. Obey God and He will lead you to life. Disobey Him and you won’t be living in His full blessing.
– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.
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