Joshua 5:10-15

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Celebration of the Passover, and the Manna Stops

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Committed believers observe the remembrance feast in the land.

  2. Committed believers eat the food of the land.

  3. Committed believers serve the Lord of the land.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. You can always be sure of your next meal.

QUESTIONS

  1. Name some of the reasons why Gilgal was particularly important to Israel.

  2. What is the land of Canaan a spiritual picture of?

  3. What is the ark of the covenant a spiritual picture of?

  4. List the three pre-requisites in this lesson for living in the land.

  5. How do the verses in Joshua 5:10 and Exodus 12:6 relate to each other?

  6. Did the children of Israel keep the Passover during their wilderness wandering?

ANSWERS

  1. Gilgal became Israel's base camp for their military conquest of the land. It is where they set up one of their stone monuments to commemorate their crossing of the Jordan River. It is where the new nation was circumcised. It was where they celebrated the Passover and where they first ate the food of the land after the manna stopped. Gilgal is where the Lord, as Commander of the army, appeared to Joshua.

  2. It is a type of the spiritual land that God wants believers today to possess.

  3. It opens up the way into the land. We enter into the land by first recognizing our spiritual position in Christ, that we have died with Him and that we have been raised with Him.

  4. Committed believers observe the remembrance feast in the land, committed believers eat the food of the land, and committed believers serve the Lord of the land.

  5. The children of Israel arrived in the land just in time to keep the Passover, celebrated on the eleventh day of the month.

  6. No, because of their sin of unbelief.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. The children of Israel observed the Passover. Today, believers observe the Lord's Supper. Consider the need for self-judgment prior to partaking. Read 1 Corinthians 11:26-32. Is it possible that you are partaking in an unworthy manner? How much do you appreciate the remembrance of the Lord's Supper? What impact does it have on your life?

  2. Manna is a picture of Christ, the bread of life come down from heaven. The food of the land is also a picture of Christ because He is not only our Savior, but our sustenance. Is He this to you? Are you feeding on Christ?

  3. When Joshua realized who the Commander of the army was, he fell on his face and worshipped. He realized that he was standing on holy ground. Do you have this sense of awe in the presence of the Lord?

CHALLENGE

  1. See Matthew 6:25-34. Which do you tend to seek first - the kingdom of God or your needs?

KEY VERSES

  • "The children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover...then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land." (Joshua 5:10-12)

  • "Joshua lifted his eyes and saw a Man ...he fell on his face and worshiped, and said to Him, 'What does my Lord say to His servant?' (Joshua 5:13-14)

  • "Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, 'Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.' And Joshua did so." (Joshua 5:15)

Joshua, Old Testament, TalksRon ReidJOSHUA 5:10-15