How does Joshua 5:10 connect to Exodus 12 and the first Passover? Setting the Scene: From Exodus to Joshua - Exodus 12 records Israel’s very first Passover on the night of their deliverance from Egypt. - Joshua 5 finds the nation forty years later, having crossed the Jordan and encamped at Gilgal, ready to celebrate Passover again—this time inside the land God promised. Key Verse Comparison • Exodus 12:6, 14: “You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month… This day is to be a memorial for you; you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, a permanent statute for the generations to come.” • Joshua 5:10: “While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening in the plains of Jericho.” Shared Timing and Details - Fourteenth day of the first month (Abib/Nisan) observed in both passages. - Evening sacrifice of the lamb (Exodus 12:6) mirrors the twilight celebration in Joshua. - Unleavened bread commanded in Exodus (12:15) and eaten in Joshua (5:11). Circumcision and Covenant Requirements - Exodus 12:48—no uncircumcised male may eat the Passover. - Joshua 5:2-9—Joshua circumcises the wilderness-born generation just before Passover, fulfilling the Exodus requirement and re-establishing covenant identity. Deliverance Echoed - Exodus: deliverance from Egypt, confirmed by the blood on the doors (12:13). - Joshua: deliverance into Canaan, confirmed by the rolled-back Jordan (4:23) and by God saying, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (5:9). - Both events hinge on God’s mighty act, immediately followed by Passover to commemorate it. Provision Shift - Exodus 12 introduces manna one month later (Exodus 16:4). - Joshua 5:12 notes manna ceasing right after this Passover, because the people now eat the fruit of the land—bookending the wilderness years between two Passovers. Continuity of Covenant - The perpetual statute of Exodus 12 is honored in Joshua 5, demonstrating God’s unbroken faithfulness and Israel’s responsibility to obey His revealed word (Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 9:1-5). - By keeping Passover, the new generation publicly affirms the same covenant their parents entered at Sinai (Deuteronomy 29:10-15). Forward-Looking Foreshadowing - Exodus 12:46 commands none of the lamb’s bones be broken; this foreshadows Christ (John 19:36). - Joshua 5 celebrates Passover just before the conquest begins—setting the stage for God’s greater redemption plan ultimately fulfilled in “Christ, our Passover lamb” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Takeaway Joshua 5:10 reconnects Israel to the original redemption meal of Exodus 12, bookends the wilderness journey, renews the covenant through circumcision and Passover, and anticipates the final, perfect Passover Lamb who secures eternal deliverance. |
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