Preached by Apostle Aje Pelser, Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town, South Africa. With notes from MBTC Subject Manual, “Historical Books 1.”

Events that coincided with Passover in the Promised Land
1. Their enemies’ courage melted.
“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.”

The word went out that the Amorites were afraid of the people of Israel because of the things their God does for them. The Amorites were a strong people, and they were used to war, the Israelites on the other hand had been a slave nation for a few hundred years, and after that a nomadic people for 40+ years. In the natural there was not much the Amorites had to fear. Yet the Amorites tremble at the thought of the Israelites because of their God.

Don’t try and impress people with your own abilities, rather impress them with your God.

2. Circumcision
Reproach of Egypt rolled away. Slavery. We are no longer slaves to sin.
V.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.”

This scripture mentioned that all Israel’s men of war had died in the wilderness. This strengthens the case in v.1, where, in the natural, the Amorites had nothing to fear from Israel, and yet…

Don’t only know yourself according to the natural, because then you will never do great exploits for God. Devote yourself to God and see yourself as what God can do through you. The enemy knows God’s children and he shakes with fear, not because of who they are but because of their fierce and awesome Friend they have who is watching over them.

Rom_2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Gal_5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Gal_5:11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
Gal_6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

3. Twilight
14th Day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho – Jesus was sacrificed as our Passover Lamb 0- the sky turned dark. The Passover Lamb had to be sacrificed at twilight.

4. Manna Ceased.
The Manna ceased – old form of provision did not stop until the Lord has created a new form of provision. “And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain on the very same day.” Then the Manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land.,”
God has called us to be productive.; A mentor once taught me, “We do the output and the outcome is from God.”
V.12
“Then 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.”

At this stage the Israelites were inside Canaan long enough to live off the land. The manna ceased the day after the produce of the land fed Israel. God did not stop His provision, in fact, He increased it. In the past they had manna, manna and more manna. Manna for breakfast, teatime, lunch and dinner. Now they had fruit, vegetables etc. It seems that God’s provision stopped but in fact all He did was to give Israel better food and more responsibility (i.e. He promoted them a bit). Now food did not fall from the sky anymore, they had to work to eat.

God did not take away the manna until they had eaten the food of the land. God will not take away one form of provision from His children before He has established the next. Don’t get frightened if in different areas in your life the manna stops, it is simply God saying; “Well done my child, I can see you are growing up. Now I can give you more responsibility, and with it comes better food.” When you were a child, you had Purity every meal and your mom fed you. Now, your mom does not feed you anymore, but also, you don’t only have to eat purity anymore – now, you can choose steak, chocolate cake, yogurt ice cream, etc. It works the same in the spirit, don’t be scared when God takes away the feeding spoon in your life and hands you a knife and fork, it means better food is coming!

5. They held their first Passover in the Promised Land.
Jesus has become our Passover. It is also significant that they celebrated their first Passover in the Promised Land.
Joshua had led them over into the land, just like Jesus leads us into our promised land of rest from the condemnation of sin and death. Covenant releases provision.

6. Joshua meets Jesus the commander of the armies of the Lord.
Joshua meets Jesus, like Moses – he had to take the sandals off his feet. In other places where men bow to angels, they tell them not to worship them. In this case I believe it is the Lord, the commander.
“The “Commander of the Army of the Lord” in Joshua 5:13–15 is widely interpreted by theologians as a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, known as a Christophany. As a divine figure accepting worship and identifying with YHWH, He appears to Joshua to confirm that the battle for Canaan is under divine, not human, command.”
Vv.13-14
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’
So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.’…”

When Joshua asks the Angel whom He is for, the Israelites or the people of Jericho, the Angel of the Lord simply states that the question is irrelevant, for His concern is neither for Israel nor Jericho, but simply to do God’s will.

We can so easily become entangled in things down here i.e. interpersonal problems, church politics. This attitude of the Angel just lifts us a bit beyond our agendas (no matter how godly they may be) and just puts the focus onto God – the One who is the reason for our living.

Further Summary from Online research:
“Key details about this encounter:
Divine Nature: Because the figure accepts worship from Joshua (unlike angels in Revelation), it indicates He is God Himself, not merely a created angel.
Pre-incarnate Christ: This figure is often understood as Jesus appearing before his birth in the New Testament to lead God’s people in battle.
Context: The encounter emphasizes that the victory belongs to God and that Joshua must rely on divine guidance rather than his own military strategy.
Symbolism: He is described as having a drawn sword, signifying His role as the warrior-leader of heavenly armies.”

“Joshua approached the person and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” (Joshua 5:13). The man’s reply was curious: “Neither” he said, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come” (verse 14). Joshua’s question was natural enough. Upon meeting an armed man on the eve of a battle, he asks, “Are you on our side, or on the side of our enemies?” The man’s response is key: He is neither an Israelite nor a Canaanite. He is the commander of the Lord’s army. The better question for Joshua to have asked was, “Are we on your side?”

When the man identified Himself as the commander of the army of the Lord, “Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence” (Joshua 5:14).
Abram’s reaction to the presence of God (Genesis 17:1–3).
The Lord tells Joshua to take off his sandals, “for the place where you are standing is holy” (verse 15). This is exactly what the Lord God told Moses at the burning bush encounter (Exodus 3:5).
Joshua addresses the man using a Hebrew word that means “master” or “lord,” indicating the level of respect Joshua had for the person with whom he spoke.

Application:
1. What are we convicted of in our hearts when we stand in God’s presence like Joshua?
2. When have you encountered a moment with the Lord when you felt like your sandals should also be removed? What is the significance to you?
3. What reproach of former slavery (Egypt) has the Lord rolled away from you? Perhaps a personal question to reflect upon.
4. What is the significance of Passover historically? And how does the concept of Passover affect New Testament believers? See also 1st Corinthians 5:7