Ya know how poems have rhymes? And music has repeated motifs? We get that here.

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You may have noticed some concepts in these chapters that connect back to the early chapters of Exodus.

Here are some that I noticed:

1. A memorial that children will ask about and prepared answers for when they do. (Ex. 12:26-27)
2. God parts the waters. (Ex. 14:21-22)
3. God speaks to the leader and the leader commands the people. (Ex. 14:15-18)
4. People in awe of their leader and trust him. (Ex. 14:31)
5. A crucial circumcision (with knives of stone). (Ex. 4:24-26)
6. Celebration of Passover (Ex. 12)
7. Deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 12:51)
8. A personal meeting between the leader and the Angel of the LORD with the command to take off shoes (Ex. 3:2-6)

This echoes are intentional and designed by the Holy Spirit. They help us connect narratives. As we study, we want to develop an eye for repeated patterns. It’s going to be very important when it comes to biblical prophecy.

Composers do this in music. One of THE best examples is Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. It has an unmistakable 4-note motif that gets used over and over but not always in exactly the same way. Often the rhythm pattern is retained but new notes are put in. Sometimes it’s changed from minor to major. Sometimes more notes are added. All of this “development” was intentional on the part of Beethoven.

(If you’re not a musician, and are wondering what on earth I’m blabbing about, here’s a 10min VIDEO that will make these ideas accessible for anyone. And it’s hilarious particularly if you are a musician.)

Anyhoos… the point is. Watch for repeated ideas. The words may not be exactly the same, but the concepts will be.

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These chapters are hugely transitional in the overall scope of the OT. We’ve moved out of the Torah (Law) and into the books of History. Israel FINALLY gets back to the land promised to Grandpa Abraham. Joshua is the new leader. The manna is over. And all the fellas have to make an appointment to be circumcised.

Imagine growing up on a diet of manna and now it’s gone. No more daily collecting of free food just lying on the ground. Now they’re going to have to work a bit more for it. But I kinda doubt any of them minded. Forty years is a long time to eat the same thing every day. 🫓🫓🫓🫓🫓🫓

About the circumcision… Moses had failed to circumcise his own sons back in Exodus 4. His wife, Zipporah, had to do it. It seems Moses also failed to enforce circumcision among the nation. So Joshua has to do it.

After the men are circumcised, “Yahweh said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.’ Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.” ‭Joshua‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭LEB‬‬

There is a play on words here and a bit of euphemism. The Hebrew word that is translated “rolled away” is galal (gaw-lal). It’s very close to Gilgal which means “wheel.” And what do the wheels on the bus do, Kids? Right. They go round and round. So when we were kids and sang “We will roll the ol’ chariot along” we were singing about galal while rolling our hands around like a Gilgal. 🛞🔄

The euphemism is “disgrace,” or some translations have it as “reproach.” It’s a word that also means the part that is cut off in circumcision. And it’s specifically called the “disgrace/reproach of Egypt.”

There are 3 places in the OT where the “circumcision of the heart” is mentioned: Deut. 10:16, 30:6; and Jer.4:4. In the New Testament, Paul taps into this idea in Rom. 2:29, but he really unpacks it in his letter to the Colossians. I suggest reading all of chapter 2 if you have time, but here is the key section:

“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.” Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Flesh that is cut away from the body cannot continue to live. Those who have been truly born again have had the sinful nature cut away from them. There is a separation that happens in repentant (real) baptism. The sinful nature is cut off because the old man dies (with Christ) and is raised a new man (in Christ). Christ has no sinful nature. In Him, the saint is free from it and genuinely has no desire to do the things that are inconsistent with the nature of Christ.

Egypt is a picture of bondage because of the years Israel spent in slavery there. To be outside of Christ is to be in bondage to the sinful nature: Egypt. So when God says that He has “rolled away the disgrace of Egypt” it’s a spiritual foreshadowing of the removal (cutting away) of the sinful nature that is part of being in bondage to the flesh and sin. What Joshua is doing with the flint knives is a physical representation of a spiritual reality that the greater Joshua (Jesus) will do through His death and resurrection. And this cutting away of the flesh happens in conjunction with the nation’s “baptism” as they all pass through the waters of the Jordan in the very location where Jesus will be baptized.

Honestly, this whole section is like a Dairy Queen blizzard. The vanilla text is just chock full of little treats that you have to stop and chew on a bit. You’re just going along eating cold creamy vanilla and BAM! you get a surprise bit of chocolatey treat. 😊

Shoot. Now I want one. 🙄

It’s a good thing we don’t have a Dairy Queen or a Sonic in town. I’m sure I could come up with a valid argument as to why I should have one.

Oh – and that final scene where Joshua meets the Commander of Heaven’s Armies…

Joshua: Are you for us or for them? 🤔

Commander: No. 🗡️🤨

Joshua: 😳😬

God doesn’t pick sides. He is His own side. We’d best get on it.