SET For RESTORATION-I—Joshua 5:2-12
Attention:
Ben worked at the Tropicana Orange Juice processing plant in Bradenton for 3 months.
Demand being what it is, Ben had to be switched from bottling fresh juice to making OJ Concentrate.
Shortly thereafter Ben’s boss calls him in & tersely tells him that he would have to fire him.
“Why am I being fired?” Ben asks—The boss bluntly tells him & gives him his walking papers.
Some buddies from the plant approach Ben asking the reason he had been fired.
Ben answers, “Well, guys it comes down to the fact that I just can’t concentrate!”
Ben needed to restore his work incentive/environment.
God restored/renewed/rededicated Israel as His covenant people.
God’s people must be restored.
How can God’s people be restored?
What can bring restoration to God’s people?
4 settings for spiritual restoration.
Ps. 147:3— “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
1—A Setting for spiritual restoration is...
A RENEWED FLESH(:2-8)
Explanation:(2-8)
:2—“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, & circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.”
:3—“So Joshua made flint knives for himself, & circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.”
:4—“And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.”
:5—“For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.”
:6—“For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD--to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk & honey.”
:7—“Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.”
:8—“So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.”
:2a—“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, & circumcise the sons of Israel...”
What follows took place at the same time that the heathen kings currently living in—soon to be Israel— had lost their spirit of defense, offense, & purpose(5:1).
YHWH spoke to Joshua commanding that he make “flint knives.” The knives were for the particular purpose of “circumcising” the sons of Israel.
?Why flint versus iron or some other malleable material?
“the Targum[Aramaic interpretation of the OT] calls them sharp razors”—J. Gill
“sharp knives. or, knives of flints. Before the use of iron was common, all the nations of the earth had their edge tools made of stones, flints, etc. Our ancestors had their arrows & spearheads made of flint; which are frequently turned up by the plough. And even when iron became more common, stone knives seem to have been preferred for making incisions in the human body. The Egyptians used such to open the bodies for embalming; & the tribe of Alnajab in Ethiopia, who follow the Mosaic institution, perform the rite of “circumcision”...“with knives made of stone.”—TSK
This practicality & tradition of flint-knives for “circumcision” is also related in Ex. 4:24-26.
Ex. 4:24-26—“And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him & sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone & cut off the foreskin of her son & cast it at Moses’ feet, & said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”--because of the circumcision.”
“Joshua”—ewvwhy Yeh-ho-shoo'-ah -OR- evwhy Yeh-ho-shoo’-ah—Joshua or Jehoshua = “Jehovah is salvation”—Noun Proper Masc.—1) Son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim & successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan; 2) A resident of Beth-shemesh on whose land the Ark of the Covenant came to a stop after the Philistines returned it; 3) Son of Jehozadak & high priest after the restoration; 4) Governor of Jerusalem under king Josiah who gave his name to a gate of the city of Jerusalem. Strong—“Jehovah-saved”; Jehoshua(i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader.
“Make”(See :3)—hse aw-saw’—Qal Imperative—1) To do, fashion, accomplish, make—1a) (Qal)—1a1) To do, work, make, produce—1a1a) To do, 1a1b) To work, 1a1c) To deal(with), 1a1d) To act, act with effect, effect, 1a2) To make—1a2a) To make, 1a2b) To produce, 1a2c) To prepare, 1a2d) To make(an offering), 1a2e) To attend to, put in order, 1a2f) To observe, celebrate, 1a2g) To acquire(property), 1a2h) To appoint, ordain, institute, 1a2i) To bring about, 1a2j) To use, 1a2k) To spend, pass. Strong—a primitive root; To do or make, in the broadest sense & widest application.
“Flint/Sharp”(See :3)—rwu tsoowr OR ru tsoor—Noun Masc.—1) Rock, cliff—1a) Rocky wall, cliff, 1b) Rock(with flat surface), 1c) Block of stone, boulder, 1d) Rock(specific), 1e) Rock(of God), 1f) Rock(of heathen gods) Noun Proper Deity, 1g) Rock. Strong—properly--A cliff(or sharp rock, as compressed); generally--A rock or boulder; figuratively--A refuge; also--An edge(as precipitous). 64/78X in KJV translated “rock.”
“Knives”(See :3)—brx kheh’-reb—Noun Fem.—1) Sword, knife—1a) Sword, 1b) Knife, 1c) Tools for cutting stone. Strong—Drought; also--A cutting instrument(from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement.
“Circumcise”(See :3, 4, 5, 7, 8)—lwm moowl—Qal Imperative—1) To circumcise, let oneself be circumcised, cut, be cut off—1a) (Qal) --To circumcise. Strong—a primitive root; To cut short, i.e. Curtail(specifically the prepuce, i.e. to circumcise); by implication--To blunt; figuratively--To destroy. Used 36X.
:2b—“...circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.”
This “circumcision” was not to be merely a second national “circumcision”, but was meant to signify a second or renewed Israel...In that they were newly constituted & reestablished/renewed as the covenant people of God.
This was a renewal of Israel’s commitment to God, as opposed to those who had died in the wilderness in unbelief.
“Circumcision” had been instituted as a sign of the covenant to be maintained thruout their generations beginning with Abraham(Gen. 17:9-14). In that sense only was it politically(though theocratically) mandated or national.
Gen. 17:9-14—“And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you & your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me & you & your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; & you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, & it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me & you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house & he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, & My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.””
Flesh must be surrendered to(our part) & empowered by(His part) the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said,
Energies/Focus/Discipline
“Again”—bwv shoowb—Verb—1) To return, turn back—1a) (Qal)--1a1) To turn back, return—1a1a) To turn back, 1a1b) To return, come or go back, 1a1c) To return unto, go back, come back, 1a1d) Of dying, 1a1e) Of human relations(fig), 1a1f) Of spiritual relations(fig)—1a1f1) To turn back(from God), apostatize, 1a1f2) To turn away(of God), 1a1f3) To turn back(to God), repent, 1a1f4) Turn back(from evil), 1a1g) Of inanimate things, 1a1h) In repetition; 1b) (Polel)--1b1) To bring back, 1b2) To restore, refresh, repair (fig), 1b3) To lead away (enticingly), 1b4) To show turning, apostatize; 1c) (Pual)--Restored (participle); 1d) (Hiphil)--To cause to return, bring back—1d1) To bring back, allow to return, put back, draw back, give back, restore, relinquish, give in payment, 1d2) To bring back, refresh, restore, 1d3) To bring back, report to, answer, 1d4) To bring back, make requital, pay (as recompense), 1d5) To turn back or backward, repel, defeat, repulse, hinder, reject, refuse, 1d6) To turn away (face), turn toward, 1d7) To turn against, 1d8) To bring back to mind, 1d9) To show a turning away 1d10) to reverse, revoke; 1e) (Hophal)--To be returned, be restored, be brought back; 1f) (Pulal)--Brought back. Strong—a primitive root; To turn back(hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively(not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally--To retreat; often adverbial--Again.
“Second”—ynv shay-neey’—Adj.—1) Second—1a) Second(the ordinal number), 1b) Again(a second time), 1c) Another, other(something as distinct from something else). Strong—properly--Double, i.e. Second; also adverbially--Again.
:3—“So Joshua made flint knives for himself, & circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.”
Joshua did as YHWH commanded. More than likely, Joshua did not circumcise the entire nation of men single-handedly as he was probably merely head of the operation.
See :7-8—“...when ‘they’ had finished circumcising...”
The circumcision took place at a location they called Gibeath-haaraloth(“hill of the foreskins”). This location is better known as Gilgal, the same location where the 12 stones were set up.—NAC
:4—“And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.”
The purpose of circumcision was explained thusly...All those males, men of war(20yrs. old & upward who were able to go to war(Num. 1:3ff.)), who had exited Egypt thru the Red Sea had been circumcised.
However, all those men of war had died in the wilderness.
“Reason/Cause”—rbd daw-baw’—Noun Masc.—1) Speech, word, speaking, thing—1a) Speech, 1b) Saying, utterance, 1c) Word, words, 1d) Business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner--by extension. Strong—from rbd[To arrange, speak, subdue]; A word; by implication--A matter(as spoken of) or thing; adverbially--A cause.
“Died”—twm moowth—Qal Perfect—1) To die, kill, have one executed—1a) (Qal)—1a1) To die, 1a2) To die(as penalty), be put to death, 1a3) To die, perish (of a nation), 1a4) To die prematurely (by neglect of wise moral conduct). Strong—a primitive root: To die(literally or figuratively); causatively--To kill.
:5—“For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.”
No males born in the wilderness had been circumcised aside from those who had exited Egypt via the miraculous Red Sea crossing.
:6—“For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD--to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk & honey.”
They were not circumcised because all the nation, i.e., the men of war, that had exited Egypt, did not listen to the voice of the LORD(Num. 14:22).
YHWH had sworn to these men that they would not be allowed entrance into the Promised Land(cf.-Num. 14:23, 28-30). This was the same land which YHWH had promised to give to their very forefathers.
The Promised Land was a land of great abundance.
The children of the disobedient men of war were the ones whom God Himself had raised up to take the place of their disobedient fathers(Num. 14:31-32).
Num. 14:23, 28-32—“they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: ‘The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old & above. ‘Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh & Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. ‘But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, & they shall know the land which you have despised. ‘But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.”
:7—“Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.”
“on the way”
These were forty years “on the way” to the Promised Land.!
In our future, during ‘The Tribulation’, there will also be two markings(male & female) which will distinguish God’s people from Satan’s people(Rev. 7:1-3(144,00 of Israel), 9:4, 14:1; Rev. 13:11-17(right to buy & sell)).
Rev. 7:1-3—“After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth & the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Rev. 9:1-4—“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, & smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun & the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”
Rev. 14:1-5—“Then I looked, & behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, & with Him one hundred & forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, & like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, & the elders; & no one could learn that song except the hundred & forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God & to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
*Rev. 13:11-17—“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, & he had two horns like a lamb & spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, & causes the earth & those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword & lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak & cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small & great, rich & poor, free & slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, & that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
Rev. 20:1-4—“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit & a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil & Satan, & bound him for a thousand years; & he cast him into the bottomless pit, & shut him up, & set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, & they sat on them, & judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus & for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, & had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived & reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
*Rev. 22:3, 4—“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God & of the Lamb shall be in it, & His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, & His name shall be on their foreheads.”
*Rev. 3:12-13—“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, & he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God & the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Argumentation:
Rom. 12:1—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Eph. 4:1—“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,”
Rom. 6:3-7—“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.”
Rev. 2:4-5—“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent & do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly & remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.”
Ex. 32:25-30—““Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, & said, “Whoever is on the LORD’S side--come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, & go in & out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, & let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, & every man his neighbor.’” So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son & his brother.” Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.””
Lev. 20:7-8—“‘Consecrate yourselves therefore, & be holy, for I am the LORD your God. ‘And you shall keep My statutes, & perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”
Josh. 3:5—[Just prior to miraculously crossing the Jordan on dry land]“And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
Gal. 5:19-25—“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, & the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Rom. 2:25-29—“For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code & circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; & circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
Illustration:
Anyone who drives for an extended period & gets overtired/When your eyes start crossing or jittering you can easily be lulled to sleep at the wheel/People can get killed!/There is no substitute for sleep!—There is not enough coffee or espresso, nor enough ‘5-hour energy’ shots that will fix a lack of sleep!/You must get a solid nap of full-night’s sleep in order to be a safe driver/RENEWED FLESH
Church ‘Revivals’ are intended to get the church to reconnect with God in such a way that they willingly, joyfully, & anticipatingly bind themselves together in Christ...Rededicating themselves to their ‘first love’(Rev. 2:4-5)/RENEWED FLESH
Application:
?You need to RENEW your FLESH to God?
?You set for Restoration?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Ben—“I lost my job at Tropicana because I just can’t concentrate!”
Action:
4 settings for spiritual restoration are...
1. A RENEWED FLESH(:2-8)
Pt. 1 only! presented 10/08/2017am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-4 Presented 03/12/00pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Rd.
Whigham, GA 31797
