What is the meaning of Joshua 5:10? On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month • God gave Israel an exact date for Passover: “The fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5; cf. Exodus 12:6; Numbers 28:16). • Their obedience reveals a nation freshly recommitted to the covenant after forty wilderness years and the recent circumcision at Gilgal (Joshua 5:2-9). • The timing underscores the Lord’s sovereignty: Israel crosses the Jordan at flood stage (Joshua 3:15) and, four days later (Joshua 4:19), is ready to celebrate redemption right on schedule. While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal • Gilgal lies just inside the Promised Land; it becomes Israel’s first base of operations (Joshua 4:19-20). • The name recalls God’s promise: “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (Joshua 5:9). The physical camp echoes a spiritual reality—shame removed, identity restored. • Gathering the nation in one place to worship highlights unity before the coming battles (Psalm 133:1; John 17:21). On the plains of Jericho • These open fields sit under the shadow of a fortified city (Joshua 6:1). Celebrating God’s deliverance within sight of the enemy magnifies trust in Him rather than military strength (2 Chronicles 20:17). • Israel’s order is striking: worship first, warfare second. The sequence models putting spiritual priorities ahead of material challenges (Matthew 6:33; Ephesians 6:10-13). • Jericho’s looming walls remind us that victory flows from God’s past faithfulness—the very theme of Passover (Deuteronomy 7:18-19). They kept the Passover • Passover commemorates the night God spared Israel through the blood of the lamb (Exodus 12:13). Now, in the land long promised, they remember that same saving act. • Only the second recorded national Passover since Sinai (the first was at Mount Sinai, Numbers 9:1-5); it marks a new era of covenant faithfulness. • The feast looks ahead as well: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as Israel trusted the lamb’s blood, believers trust Jesus’ finished work (Luke 22:15-20; Hebrews 9:12). • Keeping Passover before assaulting Jericho proclaims that victory is rooted in redemption, not strategy (Zechariah 4:6). summary Joshua 5:10 shows Israel stepping into promise with hearts anchored in God’s past deliverance and present covenant. On the exact Passover date, in their first campsite inside Canaan, surrounded by enemy territory, they choose worship over worry. The verse teaches that obedient remembrance of God’s saving work precedes and empowers every battle we face today. |
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