Joshua 5 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Joshua 5 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• The Israelites were in the wilderness from approximately 1490-1450 B.C., which places the events recorded in Joshua 5 at approximately 1450 B.C.

• The Israelites crossed Jordan on the 10th day of the 1st month (4:19). They observed the Passover Feast on the 14th day of the 1st month.

CHARACTERS:

• Joshua - Moses’ assistant while he led the people in the wilderness. God selected Joshua to lead the Israelites into Canaan after Moses’ death.

• The Commander of the Lord’s Army – A spiritual being who appeared to Joshua in the form of a man (see the application section for more details).  

WHERE:

• Israel camped at Gilgal after crossing the Jordan River.

• They celebrated the Feast of Passover on the plains of Jericho (5:10).

OUTLINE:

• FEAR SPREADS THROUGH THE LAND OF CANAAN (5:1):

  • When the kings of the Amorites and Canaanites heard about God miraculously helping the Israelites to cross the Jordan River, they were terrified.

  • The text says, “their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them.”

• THE ISRAELITE MEN ARE CIRCUMCISED (5:2-9):

  • God told Joshua to make flint knives and circumcise the men in the camp.  

  • All the Israelite men who had not previously been circumcised were to receive the operation.

  • The Israelite men who came out of Egypt were circumcised in the wilderness, but those born since that time had not been.

  • Circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with His people (Genesis 17:11).

• THE LAST MANNA AND THE FIRST PASSOVER (5:10-12):

  • Israel crossed over the Jordan on the 10th day of the 1st month.

  • They kept the Feast of Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month (Lev 23:5).

  • The day after, the Israelites started eating the food they found in the land.

  • The day after that, the manna, which God had been sending to Israel for 40 years (Exo 16), stopped appearing on the ground every morning.

• JOSHUA MEETS THE COMMANDER OF THE LORD’S ARMY (5:13-15):

  • When Joshua was near Jericho, he encountered a man with a drawn sword standing in front of him.

  • He asked the man if he was an ally or an enemy.

  • The man told he was the “commander of the army of the Lord,” and told Joshua to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.

  • Joshua immediately fell on his face and started worshiping.
    

APPLICATION:

• How are we to understand the Commander of the Lord’s Army? Was he an angel? Was this a theophany (a visible manifestation of God)?

• I lean towards the interpretation of the Commander of the Lord’s Army being God, one of the persons of the Trinity, perhaps Jesus.

• I favor this view because Joshua bowed down and worshipped the man. Other Bible passages reveal angels (messengers of God) didn’t accept worship because it belonged only to God (Revelation 22:8-9).

• Additionally, the only other passage where a man is told to remove his shoes because he is standing on holy ground is in Exodus 3 when Moses was speaking to God at the burning bush.

• There are people who suggest the Commander should be understood to be an angel. Other translations like the NASB translate the term “worshiped” as “bowed down,” which might indicate Joshua was showing respect to the Commander of the Lord’s Army but wasn’t necessarily worshiping him.