The children of Israel were journeying from Egypt toward the land God had covenanted to give Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:7–8). Moses, the servant of the Lord who brought them out by God’s mighty hand (Ex. 3:10; Ex. 14:31), had died. And Joshua, commissioned by God as his successor (Deut. 31:23), was now entrusted with leading Israel into Canaan.
God reaffirmed to Joshua the very instructions He had given Moses before him: “Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses” (Jos. 1:2–3; cf. Deut. 11:24).
Joshua obeyed, leading Israel across the Jordan as God dried up its waters—mirroring the mighty act He performed at the Red Sea for Moses (Jos. 3:15–17; Ex. 14:21). God demonstrated His unchanging power to Joshua.
As Israel crossed the Jordan and advanced under God’s sovereign hand, the inhabitants of the land were struck with fear. The Lord’s mighty works made the nations’ hearts melt (Jos. 5:1; cf. Ex. 15:14–16).
“So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.” —Joshua 5:1
With the enemy terrified and their courage drained, human wisdom and conventional warfare would dictate an immediate assault to secure total victory. However, God did not lead Israel according to human strategy but according to His own divine purposes.
“At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.”—Joshua 5:2-3
“At that time,” when momentum was high and victory seemed within reach, God commanded every man to be circumcised. Circumcision would leave them vulnerable, unable to fight, and seemingly hand the advantage to their enemies.
God Cannot Be Rushed
We must therefore ask: why then? Why did God choose that precise moment to command the circumcision of every man? Why not issue the command before Israel crossed the Jordan? From every outward appearance, this was a season of progress and success.
The lesson is this: even when God is clearly guiding you toward the promise you’ve long believed for, and everything is moving smoothly, He may still ask you to pause and let Him deal with some things in your life first. This may happen in seasons of apparent success, when life feels smooth and progress is steady. Usually, our instinct in these moments is to keep moving forward—not to stop. Yet it is often at such times that God pauses our advance to refine our relationship with Him.
When this happens, many of us assume the devil is trying to block us from God’s promises, when in reality it is God asking us to stop, search our hearts, and cut off some things which cannot go with us into the promise.
God is not pressed for time; we are the ones who feel the pressure of the clock. He is not anxious about you reaching your promise a little later. His priority is your relationship with Him. Before He brings you into the fullness of what He promised, He wants your heart to be right, your walk to be steady, and your relationship with Him to be whole.
For Israel, the reason God halted their advance into Canaan at such a strategic moment was profound.
“All the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.”—Joshua 5:5
The generation under Joshua’s leadership was uncircumcised, unlike their parents who left Egypt under Moses (Joshua 5:4–5). Why was this such an issue? What was the significance of circumcision for Israel, and why did God require it before they could move forward?
Significance Of Circumcision
God had promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Gen. 17:7-8).
Israel now found themselves at the cusp of inheriting that very promise. But before they could take the land, they had to meet a key condition of the covenant God had established with their forefather.
“And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” —Genesis 17:9-11
Circumcision functioned as the covenant sign God instituted with Abraham and his offspring. However, the generation Joshua led had not been circumcised and therefore were not in covenant membership, even though they were Abraham’s descendants.
God had warned Abraham that the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, shall be cut off from his people because he had broken God’s covenant (Gen. 17:14). Circumcision was not optional; it was the covenant marker that identified one as belonging to God’s covenant community.
Israel was about to attain the promise God made to Abraham, but they were not in proper relationship with God. Without the covenant sign, they could not legitimately claim the covenant inheritance. It was for this reason that God commanded Joshua to pause Israel’s advance into Canaan so their covenant relationship with Him could be restored.
“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.” —Joshua 5:7
Cut It Off
Circumcision served as the covenant sign for Israel, but under the new covenant, abiding in Christ is the defining mark of God’s people (Jn. 15:4–5). And so we must ask ourselves: what must be cut off—what must be surrendered—so that nothing hinders our abiding?
Circumcision represents the cutting off of anything that doesn’t belong in the life of a child of God. A believer can be journeying toward God’s promises yet remain unprepared to inherit them. You can be moving toward what God has called you to be and still not be ready for the work ahead. It is even possible to be praying in Jesus’ name—asking, seeking, knocking—and yet be unprepared to receive the very thing you’re asking for.
Just as Israel had to pause and circumcise the flesh of their foreskins before advancing, we too may be asked to stop and circumcise the flesh of our hearts before moving forward (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4). God’s pauses are not punishments; they are preparations.
“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” —(Deutronomy 10:16)
Believers are called to examine themselves and remove anything inconsistent with life in Christ. Whatever the Holy Spirit exposes or convicts you of—an attitude, a habit, a distraction, sin— cut it off. When God halts your advance to address an area of your life, it signals the need for obedient action, not hesitation.
God is fully aware of the uncircumcision we conceal. Israel’s circumcision was hidden beneath their garments, yet God knew a whole generation had neglected His covenant.
People around them couldn’t see it, but nothing is hidden from the One who sees all.
God judged that generation of Israel not by what others could see, but by what was hidden beneath the surface. So it is with us. People see the outside, but God sees the heart. “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). No one else may know the true condition of your heart—but God knows. And He wants to ensure that your outward progress does not outpace your inward obedience.
Today, if you hear His voice, cut off the foreskins of your heart, and do not be stubborn. Only then will you be ready to advance in the journey He has appointed.
Time To Heal
After cutting off what the Spirit has exposed, there must be a season of healing. Israel could not advance immediately after circumcision, and likewise, spiritual renewal requires time for God to restore and strengthen us.
“So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.” —Joshua 5:8-9
After cutting sin off from your life, you must remain in place until you are healed. Israel’s circumcision left them wounded and unable to move forward immediately. Their healing took time—and it wasn’t the same for every man. Therefore, do not compare healing times. God heals each of us differently. He alone determines the pace of our renewal and He restores us gently before we can take the next step of the journey.
When you’ve cut off something as prompted by the Holy Spirit, you need not fear vulnerability during the healing process. God protects His people in their obedience. Stay in the camp. Israel remained at Gilgal after circumcision, unable to fight, yet divinely shielded. Likewise, remain in a place of spiritual safety—away from former temptations. For new believers, this means staying in fellowship with other believers, learning the ways of your new Lord and Master.
God’s Provision Methods Change
It would have been a grave mistake for Israel to assume that because God called Canaan a land flowing with milk and honey, their only responsibility was to wake up and gather milk and honey. Scriptures says that when:
“They ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day…the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.” —Joshua 5:11-12
The very next day after Israel tasted the food of Canaan, the manna that had sustained them for forty years stopped. There would also be no more water from rocks and no more meat falling from heaven. The season of wilderness provision had ended, and the season of promised‑land provision had begun.
This didn’t mean God was done providing. It meant His provision methods were shifting. The God who rained bread from heaven for forty years would now bless their plowing, their planting, and the ground beneath their feet. Yes, the land was rich with milk and honey, but Israel still had to work the soil to taste its goodness. God was going to bless the works of their hands.
Likewise, before Canaan, God had fought every battle for Israel—plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea swallowing Pharaoh’s army, and more. But once they stepped into the promise, they had to fight the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Girgashites, Jebusites, and Perizzites. God gave them the land, but they had to take it through conquest. He changed the way He fought for them, but He still fought their battles.
As you attain God’s promises, don’t be surprised if His provision looks different or if His ways of fighting for you change. The same God who has cared for you all along is still caring for you—He may simply be doing it through new channels.
So don’t keep looking to the sky waiting for food or striking rocks for water. You’re in Canaan now. Put your hands to the work God has given you, and He will bless it. His provision hasn’t stopped—it has simply changed form.
God’s Promises to Christians
Just as God’s promise to Israel was tied to the Abrahamic covenant, God’s promises to His children today are tied to the new covenant established through Jesus Christ (Lk. 22:20; Heb. 8:6-7, 2 Cor. 1:20). You have to remain in Christ to attain God’s promises (Jn. 15:4-7).
Through faith in Christ, we have been granted the legal right to become children of God (Jn. 1:12). As His children, we now receive God’s promises through the new covenant, mediated and secured by Jesus Christ.
Through Christ, God has granted us eternal life and adopted us as fellow heirs with His Son (Rom. 8:17). He assures us that prayer will be answered—asking, seeking, and knocking will not be in vain (Matt. 7:7–8). Jesus vowed never to forsake us, so He sent His Spirit to dwell within us (Jn. 14:16–17). And He promises to return, when He will reward His people according to their works (Rev. 22:12).
God desires for us to inherit every promise He has given in Christ. The question is not whether God will keep His word, but whether we are aligned with Him to receive what He has promised. Be ready to attain God’s promises.
Amen.
