Why were the Israelites in Joshua 5:5 uncircumcised during their wilderness journey? Circumcision: The Covenant Marker from the Beginning • Genesis 17:10-11: “This is My covenant… Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” • The eighth-day rite identified every son of Abraham as belonging to the LORD’s promises (Leviticus 12:3). What Joshua 5:5 Reports • “Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt had been circumcised.” • Two facts stand out: ‑ The Exodus generation (those twenty and older in Numbers 14:29) were circumcised. ‑ The sons born during forty years of wandering were not. Why the Wilderness-Born Were Uncircumcised 1. Consequence of Corporate Unbelief • Numbers 14:32-33: “Your bodies will fall in this wilderness… Your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, bearing the brunt of your unfaithfulness.” • The sign of covenant inheritance was suspended while the unbelieving generation lived under judgment. 2. Life Outside the Land of Promise • The Abrahamic sign pointed to the land inheritance (Genesis 17:8). • Because the parents forfeited entry, God withheld the mark until their children actually crossed into the land (Joshua 5:6-7). 3. Continuous Movement and Hardship • Deuteronomy 8:4 recalls the rigors of wandering: clothes and sandals never wore out, yet there were no stable settlements. • Surgical recovery in desert camps repeatedly breaking down and moving would endanger life (Genesis 34:24-25 illustrates vulnerability after the procedure). 4. Divine Discipline, Not Divine Neglect • Psalm 78:10-11 notes Israel “did not keep God’s covenant, refused to walk in His law.” • The LORD never revoked His promise; He waited to renew it with the obedient generation. The Moment of Renewal at Gilgal • Joshua 5:2-3: “At that time the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel again.’” • Now the wilderness judgment is finished; covenant heirs stand in the land; the sign fittingly returns. God’s Faithfulness Shines Through • Even when people fail, “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). • Circumcision at Gilgal re-sealed Israel to the covenant, just before Passover (Joshua 5:10) and the conquest. Takeaway Truths • Sin may delay blessing, but it cannot nullify God’s sworn promises (Numbers 23:19). • Covenant signs matter; they testify that God’s Word is literal and reliable. • Renewal follows repentance and obedience, always on God’s timetable. |
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