Joshua chapter five, and I'll start in verse one. And it came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which are by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel until they were passed over, that their hearts were melted. Neither was their spirit in them anymore because of the children of Israel. At that time, the Lord said unto Joshua, make these sharp knives and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise all the people that came out of Egypt that were males, even all the men of war died in the wilderness by the way after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised, but all the people that were born in the wilderness, by the way, as they came forth out of Egypt, them had they not circumcised. For the children of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, they died, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord. unto whom the Lord sware that they would not show them the land which the Lord sware unto their fathers, that he would give us a land that flowed with milk and honey. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass when they had done circumcising all the people that they abode in their places in the camp till they were whole or healed. And the Lord said unto Joshua, this day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore, the name of the place is called Gilgal until this day. And the children of Israel encamped at Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month at Eden in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parts corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land. Neither had the children of Israel manna anymore. but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with a sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou for us, or art thou our adversaries? And he said, nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord, I am come now. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto him, what said my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe off thy foot for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, every time we open your word, Lord, we ask you that you would lift the veil from our eyes, Lord, lift the worries of this week, the concerns we have perhaps that we came in with, Lord, that you would lay them aside and that we can focus on your word. Father, we thank you that you have kept it for us, that we have it in our hands, that we can be taught thereby. And I pray that you would help me bring it. In Jesus' great name we pray. Amen. So we are continuing in the book of Joshua. And we have followed him and the nation into the land in the first four chapters. And just as the Lord Jesus and the apostle speak and encourage the church in what they said in the word now preserved for us about the ultimate destination being heaven itself, we see that from time to time they had a special enjoyment in the presence and glory of God with them. Of course, they had it always, but especially from time to time. So the children of Israel had been promised a great land. It was a good land. It was flowing with milk and honey. And if they had been paying attention, they would have benefited much from all those promises that God had given them along the way as they traveled into the promised land from the wilderness. But we know, unfortunately, many of them that was not the case. Often they would be distracted, they would, by temporal circumstances, or they would wrongly interpret things that were happening around about them. And most of all, it was rooted in, of course, unbelief. Last time, the overarching theme we looked at was the remembrance, in chapter 4, the remembrance of what God had done, particularly with the crossing of the Jordan and the memorial was put on. So the subsequent generations, they would walk through there, and the children could be reminded of what God had done in those days. So from the beginning until the end, it was the grace, and it was the merciful work of God to them. And through it all, God's attributes shone forth, and they were magnified, and it was clearly shown to them, and now to us as we read his word. And in this chapter, we see one of the rites, circumcision, and one of the feasts restored where it should have been. We also see that the daily supplying of manna has come to an end. And we see Joshua meeting the angel of the Lord towards the end of the chapter. So basically, chapters 2 and 4 is about entering into the land. And then now, chapters 5 to 12, it is about taking the land for themselves, all of the land. So the people are now camping it. Gilgal, they have just arrived there, they have just seen that great miracle of the parting of the waters, and it's fresh in their mind, and in their thoughts, no doubt. You can imagine the conversations they would have sitting around the campfire or in their tents, and how exciting it must have been for them, just having been witness of that, eyewitness to that great power. And they would have thought of all that that had gone before them, and the 40 years of wandering in Egypt and so on. And they'd be thinking about what's next. I think we all would be very similar. We'd be like, what's next? Where are we going next? And you could imagine, too, that there was some sobering reflection. as they thought of their parents, their grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends that didn't make it because of unbelief. They died in the wilderness because of their rebellion against God. Who would have gathered them in had they obeyed? In verse one, we see what Rehoboam already had told them in chapter three about the kings of the land. that it was true and accurate. The Lord already had gone before Israel and the account of what happened in Israel, in Egypt, and how they were dealt with. They had received the military blow in the Red Sea there, and they were frightened. They were at wit's end. Their minds were filled with fear and angst. And Moses, God through Moses, had promised that in Exodus 23, 27, I will send my fear before thee and will destroy all the people whom thou shalt come. And I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. Now with this new miracle that the Israelites just said, happened to them right on their border, there was a fresh level of anxiety, no doubt. The fear had gone up a notch or two. They concluded that it was over for them. Their doom was sure. Such was their paralyzing fear that they didn't even, as kings together, as nations together, plan another attack on them. Now don't think that these were just bunch of small little nations dwelling in a few huts here and there. These were large, fortified cities that we'll look at next time in Jericho. These people had armies, they were well equipped, they were smart, they had trading routes, so they were just not a bunch of losers, so to say. They were people really that had built up great countries for themselves. But the Lord had brought their spirits down. as they were aware of the God of Israel. Unfortunately for them, unlike Raab, who had come to faith in the God of Israel, they had remained in fear of him and had not repented. You remember how Raab had said, for the Lord your God, he is the God in heaven above and on earth beneath? So she had become that unlikely pagan who had become a believer in the God of Israel. She had heard what God has done and had gone to him, was drawn to him. But these kings melted, their hearts were melted in fear and did not seek mercy. Isaiah, when he speaks about the judgment on Babylon, says, Isaiah 13, verse six, Howly, for the day of the Lord is at hand. It shall come with a sudden destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, that he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. How terrifying it will be when the Lord of glory comes again and we are outside of Christ. we have not applied the true Passover lamb to us, to our souls. Revelation 6, 15. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men, the chief captains, the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hit themselves in dens and in the rocks of mountains. and set to the mountains and the rocks. Fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sitted on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb." See a picture of enormous fear. For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand? How we need to pray for our leaders, for our government, that they would indeed come to fear God. Or, as these kings experienced, that they would experience the melting type of fear. Their hearts would melt, and their evil plans would be frustrated and come to nothing. Maybe some of you have read that letter that John MacArthur wrote to the governor, Newsom, of Florida. It was a loving rebuke. It was a stern rebuke. The gospel was extended. And the word of God was quoted and given, right? May it cause him to melt of his wickedness and the blood that is on his hand. It's a good reminder for us to use the word of God to our leaders, because it's the word of God that convicts. Now, when the kings and the nations, in being in such a state, should they attack now? Would this not be a great time to beat the enemy when they're down anyway? would this not be a good opportunity? The people would have known from Jacob's prophecies, we went through that many months ago, that he gave at his deathbed, that for each one of them was a plot of land set aside, a nice plot of, or for most of them, a nice plot of real estate. Some might be impatient and eager to get going, to start their farms, their orchard, their businesses. I can see some of the ladies already picking out a blueprint for their homes. They finally would have a home. Remember, for 40 years, they did not have a place to call home. They were wandering in the desert, and they stayed around in tents. It wasn't a pleasant situation. But as we see here in verses 12 or 2 to 12, that the first, the Lord has to deal with this new generation of people. Joshua in chapter one had been reminded of the law of God and he should not depart from it, to put it in his heart. Don't go to the right, don't go to the left. And he, of course, taught that to the people. But now God is dealing with this group of people and it's a time of renewal, going back to what it should have been. in this few verses focuses on the right or the practice and observance of circumcision. And he speaks about people being circumcised for the second time, not that they had to do it again individually, but to resume the ordinance as it once had been given to them in the days of Abraham in Egypt. And it comes out in this section of scripture that the circumcision had not been applied to those men since they had left Egypt. Now the question kind of comes up, why was this not done? Did not Moses always urge people to keep the law? Was he not always on top of them to obey God? Why did he not make him do it? Why did he not rebuke him for it? Remember Moses on his way to Pharaoh in Exodus 4, he had also not circumcised his son. And it says there that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. perhaps by, in form of a sickness or some other chastisement, because his son was not circumcised. And maybe you remember his wife, Sephora, somewhat annoyed, did the deed for him. And he learned an important lesson, that obedience is required before fruitful service. And it sort of mirrors the account that you see happening here. Circumcision, of course, first instituted by God in Genesis 17 as a sign of the covenant of God and his people. It was to be kept generation after generation. Similar instructions were given about the Passover. In Exodus 12, it had to be kept forever too. Genesis 17, 14. And the uncircumcised man's child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people, for he hath broken my covenant. Circumcision showed the outward separation between the pagan nations and the people of Israel, chosen and set apart by God. So the generation that came out of Egypt was circumcised and kept to Passover only twice, once in Egypt and once in Mount Sinai. And we all know what happened to that generation. They broke the covenant and they were sentenced to die in the wilderness. Verses four through six tells us what happened. And in verse six there it hints us the reason, probably why it wasn't applied. It wasn't applied because it's not stated directly, but it seems that God withdrew this sign from them, from this generation. And that's why we don't find Moses encouraging them to apply it here. John Calvin says concerning this situation, he said the reason why it was not administered for so long, that it was a sign of God's malediction to them. his rejection in part, not as a whole, of course, to the nation. There had been a rift between God and the nation, but not altogether. We see that as the Lord supplies them in those 40 years with food and other things. And since nobody could keep the Passover if they weren't circumcised, that also had not been celebrated. But the Lord, as I said, did not cast the nation out altogether and renews here in, now that they've arrived into the promised land, out of the wilderness, sign of regeneration, as it were, out of the wilderness into the promised land. And he renews these most important signs and feasts to them and gives them, as it were, back to them as a pledge of his love and mercy to this new generation and draws them closer to himself. Now look at the timing of this. Israel's in the land, the enemies are there. We know that the kings are afraid, but the general population of Israel doesn't. So humanly speaking, you might have said, well, let's do this a couple weeks before we cross the Jordan or sometime after Jericho. The men would be in pain for some time, perhaps a fever, weakness to loss of blood, especially done at an older age. They would be in no state to fight. Maybe you recall the couple sons of Jacob when they went to Shechem and they said, oh, we'll make a deal with you. If your men get circumcised, you can trade with us. We'll give you our women and we'll be at peace. Well, on the third day they came back and they slew all the men of Shechem. I remember how Jacob felt about that. But they did that when there was no strength in them. But we do not see any objection with this generation. They are willing to obey. They don't even ask any questions. We don't see any grumbling. And they go through with this humbling and painful and at times health-wise dangerous procedure. And there's a vital lesson in it for them and for us with this act. They cut away, as it were, any confidence in the flesh. By keeping this so willingly, they show themselves to be a much more obedient and eager people than that previous generations. So the lessons from them were learned and they were applied. In verse eight, it talks about they were They rested until they were healed. They were made whole. I think they were made whole physically, of course, but you can imagine, collectively, as they sat in their tents and they were healing up, they were also drawn near to God. The sign had returned to them. They had often spoken about it, and it would have been a painful celebration, as it were. And the Lord Himself told Joshua, that in this act of obedience, verse nine, he had rolled away the reproach of Egypt, likely referring to the cruelty of the slavery, the mocking, the taunts that the Egyptians had done to them all those years before. Also, the reproach of not getting there sooner. Originally, it was never meant to last 40 years, of course, but sin, they had experienced the wages of sin in the wilderness, and the reproach of Egypt, saying that, you know what, they started out great, there were signs and wonders, but look at them now, they're still in the desert. Remember how Moses had interceded with the Lord at the golden calf incident, he intercedes, type of Christ, he intercedes for his people, and he said, look not unto the stubbornness of these people, nor to their wickedness, nor their sin, lest the land whence thou broughtest us out, say Egypt, out says because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he had promised them, and because he hated them, he had brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. So that reproach was now gone. Gilgal, meaning rolling or restoring, is now a place of restoration. And God restores that generation, that fellowship with his people here more completely. And then, and then only then, the Passover could be celebrated as well in verses 10 and 12. And like I said, they could not celebrate this until people had to be circumcised. So it opened the door to that great celebration. And what a feast this was. It was first time kept just before they left Egypt all those years ago. And now it was kept right after they crossed the Jordan. During the meal, there's also a Passover meal, they would consider all the mercies of God to them, his wonderful favor on them and his patience with them. A wonderful picture of what a Passover truly meant. and was meaningful to them now, and more meaningful than ever. And of course, in light of the New Testament, they didn't have it. It was dim to them, but it was a rich shadow of things that were to come. A spotless lamb was slaughtered. The blood of the lamb applied to the doorpost alone could save that firstborn. from death, a great picture of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom John said, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The full light of the Old Testament meaning had dawned on John that instant, and he saw it now clearly and brightly. Apostle Paul teaches us that Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. the just for the unjust, the spotless lamp for the vile and sinful, and so redeeming a people for himself. At the Passover meal, the unleavened bread was eaten. To do this, every house had to be cleansed from leaven so none of it could come in the bread, it couldn't rise, a picture of sin. They were to be clean from sin before they participated. And you notice in verse 11 that the corn came from the promised land. Old corn, meaning from the previous year's harvest, was used. Maybe they found it in the stores, bins that were left behind by the fleeing Canaanites. We're not told. It would have been a tremendous amount needed because there was a million or so people. But they were now eating for the first time from the fruit of the land. Figuratively speaking, many times it was promised that there would be a land flowing with milk and honey. And the writer mentions that they were eating of the fruit of the land three times in verses 11 and 12. God had provided and supplied all their needs. And does he not so with us as well? Could we not say with the apostle that my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus? By and through Christ. The God of all grace loved us and has chosen, adopted, regenerated us and sanctified us and fully assures us that he would supply our needs in Christ and that we are complete in him, having in him all grace and all spiritual blessings. Ourselves, we're poor and we're needy, we're sinful, but in him we have that righteousness that we so desperately need. The application for us that they were an obedient people now and who placed their trust in him. The Lord will fulfill his promises and protection if they did so. But the fruit of action is obedience and must be seen. We also notice that since now they're in the land, the manna ceases to fall. God has supplied them all the years with this extraordinary gift. Every morning it would fall down from heaven around the tents, except the Sabbath. And sometimes they had complained about it, of course, as they often did, but God had not abandoned them in that way. It was there every morning. There was a table for them filled in the wilderness. There was no means to gather fruit in that wilderness, in that desert. But there they are now, eating of the fruit of the land. And soon, they would be, like everybody else, working for their food. They would be sweating. They would be picking rocks, picking thistles and other weeds, and laboring hard in the heat of the day, just like everybody else, just like Adam told, or God told Adam. Manna was needed for a season, but it had become needless now for the people. God doesn't waste miracles, as it were. when it is in our own hand to do something about it. We don't look for miracles when we are able to do it by a God-given abilities, means, gifts that he already has given to every believer. When Peter was in jail and he was rescued by an angel, he still needed to walk out of jail. He wasn't flown out. The apostles, when they had seen the miracles of the loaf and the fishes, afterwards had to work for their food. They were tent makers, and they labored. It did not miraculously multiply whenever they wanted. Young fellows, the Bible says, whosoever findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord. But a good wife is from the Lord, yes, but one has to seek her. We cannot wait for her to be dropped off out of heaven one happy morning. But at the same time, We must never get accustomed to the mundane or to the normal or to the ordinary. Whereas things seem seemingly, it's always been like that. We must not grow accustomed to it. Ralph Davis puts it nicely. He said, most of God's gift to his people are not dazzling and showy, but are wrapped in simple brown paper. a quiet provision of safety on the highway, health of our children, a paycheck, supper with the family, and so on. So we have to remember the goodness of God in the ordinary. The manna had sustained them, but of course pointed to the one that is greater than the manna, a type of Christ. As we sung about this morning in the song, who is the bread of heaven. He's born in Bethlehem, the house of bread. He came down from heaven, and whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He, of course, surpasses the emblem of the manna. Manna was for the body, but the Savior is for the soul. He is the true bread, as he said. Manna only preserved from physical death, But whosoever believes in him shall be saved from eternal death and have everlasting life with him. In heaven, we will fully feast on him. We'll fully see him as he is. And the things that we do now, baptism, Lord's Supper, preaching, are no longer needed. Here we walk by faith, and there we walk by sight. When the perfect is come, that's what is that was in part shall be done away with. So to close this section with some application, additional application for us, teaches us that we must obey God as revealed in his word. And Spurgeon summarizes it this way. We cannot accept God to help us if we neglect his commands. Before entering upon any Christian enterprise, it is well to look to home duties. When it is right within ourselves, we shall be a fit condition to do battle with the evils around us." The Church baptizes, a picture of that spiritual circumcision that happens to every believer, the circumcision of the heart, Paul says, he that is a Jew inwardly is that of the heart, circumcised in the heart. Colossians 2 verse 11, in whom also ye are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism wherein Also, he are raised with him through the faith of the operation of God, who raised him from the dead. Moses had spoken to the nation about this just before he died. He said, the Lord will circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed to love the Lord of God with all thine heart and with all thy soul, that you may live, that you may truly live. Jeremiah had warned the people, said, circumcise yourself to the Lord. Take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem. Lest my fury come forth like fire and burn that none can quench because of your evil doings. The Christian can say that this is what has happened to him. All things are passed away. All things are like new, like the Israelites in the land. And he follows that with baptism and the Lord's Supper. The reproach of sin is no longer on them. It has been rolled off from them unto the Lamb of God, who has fully paid for all the believers' sin. When we enter into fellowship with Christ, the reproach of Egypt, that that picture of sin is rolled away, and we enjoy the liberty of the children of God. And then God gives us his spirit. He gives us the fruit of the spirits. A great picture here in this account of a conversion to Christ. Gilgal became a place of freedom, freedom from Egypt, from unbelief, slavery, guilt, and the condemnation was now rolled away. And if that is your case, that is a great place to be. You can serve the Lord, and you can participate in his ordinances. You can participate in the Lord's Supper. You need to be baptized. That set us apart from those that are outside of the covenant of grace and shows us that we belong to the church, the called out ones, ones that have been set free from the bondage by the blood that the wine represents. Now in these last three verses, this happens right after this, we see Joshua as a leader. He goes to, as a leader of the nation, he goes to check out Jericho. At dusk, perhaps, so he is not detected. Having done what is most important as a leader, and probably difficult, the reinstitution of these ordinances, he goes to his next plan, which was his life's work. And we see here that he's determined, he is not wasting time, he is not inactive, but he runs as it were, as the psalmist puts it, he makes haste and he delays not his commandments. He knew what he had to do and he makes haste. It's a good lesson for us. Remember Lot, Lot was warned of the destruction to come and He lingered, he stayed around and had to be forcefully, mercifully for him, but forcefully be nearly dragged out kicking and screaming. Also remember that Joshua had not given a detailed plan how everything was going to work. He was told to trust the Lord, he had his word, but how and the what and the when, he was not told all at once. and also remember that he had never done this type of battle. This was new to him as well, especially the cities that he was up against. It would have been a weighty task on his shoulder, and it would have seemed daunting. One writer puts it nicely, and I forget who it was, but he says, God opens his hand often one finger at a time. He doesn't reveal everything that he's going to do with us or how he's going to do it. This way, our eyes are focused on Him, and we seek Him for guidance and for wisdom, and it keeps us humble, too. Day by day, we walk by His Word and faith in Him, even if we don't know all the outcomes. But we live by what has been revealed to us. So here, He's alone. To pray, to seek the Lord, he knew that self-reliance was dangerous. You don't fight these type of battles on your own, on your own insight, on your own smarts and strength. And that can be deadly, as Israel found out later in their history. Similar to us, we don't fight these battles, especially with sin, in a worldly way. But we seek the Lord. We pray to him. We use his sword, his word, and the full armor that he has supplied. I'm sure that he was also there to check out the city walls. Maybe there's a weak spot. What would be the best strategy to do this? Are the inhabitants preparing? How is it looking in a general way? Perhaps he contemplated the best result of attacking the city. Until suddenly, he's interrupted by a man standing in front of him with a sword drawn as if ready to fight. Now, notice that Joshua is brave, he gets closer. He right away asks him something. And he asks him whether he was with him or with the enemy, assuming there are only two possibilities. So that's quite brave of him. He doesn't hold back in confronting this military man. That seems to come out of nowhere. And he was doing what he was told back in Chapter one, to be strong and courageous, isn't he? He is confronting this man, knowing that the Lord is with him wheresoever he goes. Well, the man answers his questions, but not directly and says, no, I don't belong to either camp in the way that you are thinking. And he reveals himself not as a private or as a lowly sergeant that was going to be placed under Joshua, but as the captain of the host, I am come. Now Joshua knows those first five books of the Bible. And as soon as he heard this, he fell immediately to the ground, his face to the ground. he would have remembered that this same captain, or otherwise known as the angel of the Lord, a manifestation of God himself, or Christophany, also known, that it was the same man that appeared to Abraham as a traveler, or he appeared to Jacob, who was a wrestler, as a wrestler. or, this is of course later, as the one man in the furnace with the three guys in Daniel. But now here, he comes as a commander to Joshua. And it's very similar to how Moses is met in the burning booths right before his life's work. The Lord of Glory meets him in his great time of need. And it reminded me of the song we sung this morning, Trust and Obey. And Joshua did that, right? He trusted, he obeyed in reinstituting these things earlier. And the Lord of Glory sheds on his way, comes on his path. That was a fitting song. So instead of this man submitting himself to Joshua, Joshua knows right away who he's dealing with and that he needs to be subject to him. Joshua and Israel would conquer the enemy being under this ultimate and supreme captain. And only then would they win. Joshua and Israel were just a weapon in this man's hand, capable hands to defeat the animals or the enemies. And you can see by the posture of worship that he gives, he falls to the ground immediately. He puts his face to the dust, a sign of reverence, like Abraham and Daniel did likewise, and shows you that it was not a normal man, not a normal angel. Otherwise, the angel would have rebuked him, say, hey, I don't receive worship. Angels don't receive worship as we see in Revelation. And notice, too, the first words out of Joshua's mouth are like the Apostle Paul when he meets Christ. He's persecuting the church, and he meets Christ on the road to Damascus. And he sees that heavenly light, and he says, what would you have me to do? Tell me your instructions, and I will do it. I am your servant. He is like John, who, when he saw the Lord Jesus in Revelation, he fell as dead on his feet. He worships with heart and with body, showing surrender inwardly and outwardly to this captain of salvation. And what a moment it must have been for him. What an encouragement. In that position, in that position of humility, could God reveal further instructions to him when he was lonely, lowly, and humble. And great lesson for us too. When we're proud and self-sufficient, we are not eager to learn anything, aren't we? In a way, he says here what the Apostle John said too, that he must increase and I must decrease. And there, all alone, with the weight of this battle on his shoulder, he is made once again aware that there is the God of the universe behind him. And all power is in him. And responsibility is ultimately in him, and that he is a follower of him. And how, brothers and sisters, do we need to be reminded of that also, that it is not I, but Christ in me, and that all glory and honor goes to Him and the triune God. And He will work out things for us for His glory, first of all, and for our good. Like Moses, he's told to remove his shoes, sign of respect, we remove our hats, and an awareness of the presence that he was in. Again, it was that outward expression of that reverence that was deep inside of him. And then the chapter concludes that Joshua did so. He was unquestioning in his obedience. He was fast, he was serious. and more than willing to submit to this captain of the host. And he knows there is no victory without it, without obedience to God, to his captain. He may not get all the plans laid out yet. For every battle that's to come, the land is vast. There's many cities, not just Jericho. But he trusts in this captain. And he's reminded of God's position, that he is sovereign. And this is not a lesson that must be learned by every Christian. He is great and we must be small. And remember again and again that we are but dust. how we must ask the Lord constantly, what would you have me to do? Not my plans, not my thinking or my ways, but his. Let us stop thinking highly about ourselves, but look with humility to the captain of our salvation, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. I'd like to close with a famous song. Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thine will while I'm waiting, yielded and still. Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Hold over my being, absolute sway. Fill with thy spirit till all shall see Christ only, always living in me. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, indeed, let that be the prayer of our heart, Lord, that we come to you humble in worship, in adoration, knowing that we are but instruments in your hand. Lord, would you give us a great desire to be that way? Father, we see this example in Joshua. We see his example in following the law of God, Lord, as we heard about this morning as well, Lord, and to obey even when it is difficult. Father, would you give us your spirit to do so? We're stubborn by nature. And would you richly point us always to the great work of the captain of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.