Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from
you. (Joshua
5:9)
Upon crossing
the Jordan and before engaging the city of Jericho in battle, the Israelites
renewed their covenant with Yahweh. In taking inventory, they realized the men
who marched out of Egypt forty years previous had been circumcised at Sinai,
but those born in the desert remained uncircumcised. At Gilgal, the people circumcised
the sons of those who had perished in the wilderness.
In Genesis,
to avenge their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons tricked the men of Shechem into circumcising
themselves. While they were unable to defend themselves, the brothers swooped
into town and killed everyone. Joshua’s obedience in having his men circumcised
is even more striking when we consider his army’s back was against the river,
and they were helpless in enemy territory.
The
writer records these words as spoken to them by God: Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Gilgal means “rolled away.”
Isn’t
it good to know that God wants to roll away our reproach? Whatever baggage we
have been carrying from our past, whatever dirt we’ve picked up walking through
life, God doesn’t want those things to stick to us. He wants to free us of
those things that might trip us up, tie us to the past, or hold us back from
moving forward into our future and his purpose for our lives.
Are
you holding on to baggage God has determined to roll away?
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