SCRIPTURE UNION DISCOVERY DEVOTIONAL (USA)
Scripture Union Discovery 4th February 2025 Devotional Message for Tuesday
TOPIC: Painful Surrender
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. Use it to help me know you better and submit to your purposes for me.
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Read JOSHUA 5:2–12
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.[a]
4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not.
6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal[b] to this day.
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after[c] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
Reflect
Forgiveness is a wonderful gift from God. When we confess our sins, he not only forgives us but lifts the shame from us. Ponder this amazing truth as you draw near to God.
Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, but a whole generation of men had grown up in the desert without it (vv. 5–7). Now Joshua is told to circumcise all those men of military age to remind them they are God’s covenant people, set apart and different from the surrounding peoples.
Strategically it seems a strange thing to do just before a period of warfare, for the men would be incapacitated and need time to heal, making them vulnerable to attack (v. 8). However, this is not a normal sort of warfare. With God, obedience matters most of all.
Physical circumcision represents a deeper spiritual work of God, the cutting away of rebellion and disobedience, and the surrender of the heart to God (Romans 2:28, 29). Indeed, the apostle Paul says that the truly circumcised are those who ‘serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh’ (Philippians 3:3).
This surrender paved the way for the celebration of Passover, and the end of eating only manna. Egypt was behind them and a whole new, abundant life ahead (vv. 11, 12).
Apply
When we surrender to God, we surrender not to force but to love; we submit to his loving care.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, I offer all of myself to you; take from me anything standing in the way of my dependence on your faithfulness.
Scripture Union Discovery 3rd February 2025 © 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved.
