The Rites of Passage--Joshua 5:1-12
A driver's license is one of many rites of passage teens go through during the maturation process. Once they receive the license, the teen truly becomes a free, young adult. Marriage is another rite. After the ceremony, the young adult transitions from a selfish state to more of a selfless state--a mark of becoming a mature adult.
Why are these rites so important? They are symbolic on our journeys through life. There are other spiritual rites that are as important, if we choose to take them. Like the Israelites entering the Promise Land, they had the choice to ignore the spiritual rites and continue on or reestablish the important rites that bring them a clearer understanding of their relationships with God.
So, upon entering Canaan, Joshua paused. Instead of being the immature conqueror, he paused to reestablish the Israelite commitment to God. I bet this was not popular with the Israelite men. Read verse 4. All of the men were to be circumcised. This is a painful operation today; think about the pain back then without our modern techniques. The men chose to fulfill their covenant (sacred agreement) with God. From that day on, the men made the statement that God was more important than the land, more important than their journey, more important than anything around them. The importance of this rite was not just the cutting of the foreskin, but the willingness to sacrifice.
Luckily for us today, circumcision is not the "covenant" that makes one a believer. The rite we must make today is the acceptance of Christ and to follow this with believer's Baptism. The Baptism is a symbolic rite that illustrates we as believers are willing to follow Christ no matter what.
Reread Joshua 5. Look at what happens once the covenant is reestablished. The manna stopped coming. The special food God had provided during the Israelite journey was no longer needed. The land was now given to the Israelites for them to live off of. They are to eat from the land. God moved from providing minimum food to providing protection and victory for the Israelites. The rite illustrated the Israelites, under Joshua, were ready for the next journey.
The question for you today is are you ready for the next journey or must you finish the one that God has set before you. I pray you will take this time to revisit your spiritual memorials and ask God what is the next rite of passage that is before you.
God Bless,
was
Why are these rites so important? They are symbolic on our journeys through life. There are other spiritual rites that are as important, if we choose to take them. Like the Israelites entering the Promise Land, they had the choice to ignore the spiritual rites and continue on or reestablish the important rites that bring them a clearer understanding of their relationships with God.
So, upon entering Canaan, Joshua paused. Instead of being the immature conqueror, he paused to reestablish the Israelite commitment to God. I bet this was not popular with the Israelite men. Read verse 4. All of the men were to be circumcised. This is a painful operation today; think about the pain back then without our modern techniques. The men chose to fulfill their covenant (sacred agreement) with God. From that day on, the men made the statement that God was more important than the land, more important than their journey, more important than anything around them. The importance of this rite was not just the cutting of the foreskin, but the willingness to sacrifice.
Luckily for us today, circumcision is not the "covenant" that makes one a believer. The rite we must make today is the acceptance of Christ and to follow this with believer's Baptism. The Baptism is a symbolic rite that illustrates we as believers are willing to follow Christ no matter what.
Reread Joshua 5. Look at what happens once the covenant is reestablished. The manna stopped coming. The special food God had provided during the Israelite journey was no longer needed. The land was now given to the Israelites for them to live off of. They are to eat from the land. God moved from providing minimum food to providing protection and victory for the Israelites. The rite illustrated the Israelites, under Joshua, were ready for the next journey.
The question for you today is are you ready for the next journey or must you finish the one that God has set before you. I pray you will take this time to revisit your spiritual memorials and ask God what is the next rite of passage that is before you.
God Bless,
was
posted by Was at
6:03 AM
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