_CIRCUMCISION AND PASSOVER--MANNA AND CORN._
JOSHUA v. 1-12.
The first two facts recorded in this chapter seem to be closely
connected with each other. One is, that when all the Amorite and
Canaanite kings on the west side of the Jordan heard of the miraculous
drying up of the waters and the passage of the Israelites, "their
heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more." The other
is, that the opportunity was taken then and there to circumcise the
whole of the generation that had been born after leaving Egypt. But
for the fact recorded in the first verse, it would have been the most
unsuitable time that could be conceived for administering
circumcision. The whole male population would have been rendered
helpless for the time, and an invitation would have been given to the
men of Jericho to commit such a massacre as in the like circumstances
the sons of Jacob inflicted on the men of Shechem (Gen. xxxiv. 25).
Why was not this business of circumcising performed while the host
were lying inactive on the other side, and while the Jordan ran
between Israel and his foes? It was because the kings of the
Canaanites were petrified. It is true they plucked up courage
by-and-by, and many of the kings entered into a league against Joshua.
But this was after the affair of Ai, after the defeat of the
Israelites before that city had showed that, as in the case of
Achilles, there was a vulnerable spot somewhere, notwithstanding the
protection of their God. Meanwhile the people of Jericho were
paralysed, for though the whole male population of Israel under forty
lay helpless in their tents, not a finger was raised by the enemy
against them.
It is with no little surprise that we read that circumcision had been
suspended during the long period of the wilderness sojourn. Why was
this? Some have said that, owing to the circumstances in which the
people were, it would not have been convenient, perhaps hardly
possible, to administer the rite on the eighth day. Moving as they
were from place to place, the administration of circumcision would
often have caused so much pain and peril to the child, that it is no
wonder it was delayed. And once delayed, it was delayed indefinitely.
But this explanation is not sufficient. There were long, very long
periods of rest, during which there could have been no difficulty. A
better explanation, brought forward by Calvin, leads us to connect the
suspension of circumcision with the punishment of the Israelites, and
with the sentence that doomed them to wander forty years in the
wilderness. When the worship of the golden calf took place, the nation
was rejected, and the breaking by Moses of the two tables of stone
seemed an appropriate sequel to the rupture of the covenant which
their idolatry had caused. And though they were soon restored, they
were not restored without certain drawbacks,--tokens of the Divine
displeasure. Afterwards, at the great outburst of unbelief in
connection with the report of the spies, the adult generation that had
come out of Egypt were doomed to perish in the wilderness, and, with
the exception of Joshua and Caleb, not one of them was permitted to
enter the land of promise. Now, though it is not expressly stated, it
seems probable that the suspension of circumcision was included in the
punishment of their sins. They were not to be allowed to place on
their children the sign and seal of a covenant which in spirit and in
reality they had broken.
But it was not an abolition, but only a suspension of the sacrament
for a time that took place. The time might come when it would be
restored. The natural time for this would be the end of the forty
years of chastisement. These forty years had now come to an end.
Doubtless it would have been a great joy to Moses if it had been given
him to see the restoration of circumcision, but that was not to take
place until the people had set foot on Abraham's land. Now they have
crossed the river. They have entered on the very land which God sware
to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to give it them. And the very first
thing that is done after this is to give back to them the holy sign of
the covenant, which was now administered to every man in the
congregation who had not previously received it. We may well think of
it as an occasion of great rejoicing. The visible token of his being
one of God's children was now borne by every man and boy in the camp.
In a sense they now served themselves heirs to the covenant made with
their fathers, and might thus rest with firmer trust on the
promise--"I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee."
Two other points in connection with this transaction demand a word of
explanation. The first is the statement that "all the people that were
born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt,
them they had not circumcised" (ver. 5). If the view be correct that
the suspension of circumcision was part of the punishment for their
sins, the prohibition would not come into operation for some months,
at all events, after the exodus from Egypt. We think, with Calvin,
that for the sake of brevity the sacred historian makes a general
statement without waiting to explain the exceptions to which it was
subject. The other point needing explanation is the Lord's statement
after the circumcision--"This day have I rolled the reproach of Egypt
from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal
(_i.e._, Rolling) unto this day." How could the suspension of
circumcision be called the reproach of Egypt? The words imply that,
owing to the want of this sacrament, they had lain exposed to a
reproach from the Egyptians, which was now rolled away. The brevity of
the statement, and our ignorance of what the Egyptians were saying of
the Israelites at the time, make the words difficult to understand.
What seems most likely is, that when the Egyptians heard how God had
all but repudiated them in the wilderness, and had withdrawn from them
the sign of His covenant, they malignantly crowed over them, and
denounced them as a worthless race, who had first rejected their
lawful rulers in Egypt under pretext of religion, and, having shown
their hypocrisy, were now scorned and cast off by the very God whom
they had professed themselves so eager to serve. We may be sure that
the Egyptians would not be slow to seize any pretext for denouncing
the Israelites, and would be sure to make their jibes as sharp and as
bitter as they could. But now the tables are turned on the Egyptians.
The restoration of circumcision stamps this people once more as the
people of God. The stupendous miracle just wrought in the dividing of
the Jordan indicates the kind of protection which their God and King
is sure to extend to them. The name of Gilgal will be a perpetual
testimony that the reproach of Egypt is rolled away.
Circumcision being now duly performed, the way was prepared for
another holy rite for which the appointed season had arrived--the
Passover. Some have supposed that the Passover as well as circumcision
was suspended after the sentence of the forty years' wandering, the
more especially that it was expressly enacted that no uncircumcised
person was to eat the Passover. We know (Num. ix. 5) that the Passover
was kept the second year after they left Egypt, but no other reference
to it occurs in the history. On this, as on many other points
connected with the wilderness history, we must be content to remain in
ignorance. We are not even very sure how far the ordinary sacrifices
were offered during that period. It is quite possible that the
considerations that suspended the rite of circumcision applied to
other ordinances. But whether or not the Passover was observed in the
wilderness, we may easily understand that after being circumcised the
people would observe it with a much happier and more satisfied
feeling. There were many things to make this Passover memorable. The
crossing of the Jordan was so like the crossing of the Red Sea that
the celebration in Egypt could not fail to come back vividly to all
the older people,--those that were under twenty at the exodus, to whom
the sentence of exclusion from Canaan did not apply (Num. xiv. 29).
Many of these must have looked on while their fathers sprinkled the
lintels and door posts with the blood of the lamb, and must have
listened to the awful death-cry of the firstborn of the Egyptians.
They must have remembered well that memorable midnight when all were
in such excitement marching away from Egypt; and not less vividly must
they have remembered the terror that seized them when the Egyptian
host was seen in pursuit; and then again the thrill of triumph with
which they passed between the crystal walls, under the glow of the
fiery pillar; and once more the triumphant notes of Miriam's timbrel
and the voices of the women, "Sing unto the Lord, for He hath
triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He hath cast into the
sea." And now these days of glory were coming back! As surely as the
passage of the sea had been followed by the destruction of the
Egyptians, so surely would the passage of the Jordan be followed by
the destruction of the Canaanites. Glorious things were spoken of the
city of their God. The benediction of Moses was about to receive a new
fulfilment--"Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people
saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy
excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou
shalt tread upon their high places."
The remembrance of the past is often an excellent preparation for the
trials of the future, and as often it proves a remarkable support
under them. It was the very nature of the Passover to look back to the
past, and to recall God's first great interposition on behalf of His
people. It was a precious encouragement both to faith and hope. So
also is our Christian Passover. It is a connecting link between the
first and second comings of our Lord. The first coming lends support
to faith, the second to hope. No exercise of soul can be more
profitable than to go back to that memorable day when Christ our
Passover was sacrificed for us. For then the price of redemption was
paid in full, and the door of salvation flung wide open. Then the Son
sealed His love by giving Himself to the cross for us. What blessing,
whether for this life or the life to come, was not purchased by that
transaction? Life may be dark and stormy, but hope foresees a bright
to-morrow. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye
also appear with Him in glory."
Yet another incident is connected with this transition period of the
history. "They did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after
the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.
And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old
corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more;
but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." It is
not necessary to suppose that they did not partake at all of the
fruits of the land till the morning after that Passover. The conquest
of Sihon and Og must have put a large share of produce in their hands,
and we can hardly suppose that they did not make some use of it. The
narrative is so brief that it does not undertake to state every
modification that may be applicable to its general statements. The
main thing to be noticed is, that while the manna continued to
descend, it was the staple article of food; but when the manna was
withdrawn, the old corn and other fruits of the country took its
place. In other words, the miracle was not continued when it ceased to
be necessary. The manna had been a provision for the wilderness, where
ordinary food in sufficient quantity could not be obtained; but now
that they were in a land of fields and orchards and vineyards the
manna was withdrawn.
We have already adverted to the Bible law of the supernatural. No
sanction is given to the idea of a lavish and needless expenditure of
supernatural power. A law of economy, we might almost say parsimony,
prevails, side by side with the exercise of unbounded liberality.
Jesus multiplies the loaves and fishes to feed the multitude, but He
will not let one fragment be lost that remains after the feast. A
similar law guides the economy of prayer. We have no right to ask that
mercies may come to us through extraordinary channels, when it is in
our power to get them by ordinary means. If it is in our power to
procure bread by our labour, we dare not ask it to be sent direct. We
are only too prone to make prayer at the eleventh hour an excuse for
want of diligence or want of courage in what bears on the prosperity
of the spiritual life. It may be that of His great generosity God
sometimes blesses us, even though we have made a very inadequate use
of the ordinary means. But on that we have no right to presume. We are
fond of short and easy methods where the natural method would be long
and laborious. But here certainly we find the working of natural law
in the spiritual world. We cannot look for God's blessing without
diligent use of God's appointed means.
More generally, this occurrence in the history of Israel, the
cessation of one provision when another comes into operation,
exemplifies a great law in providence by which the loss of one kind of
advantage is compensated by the advent of another. In childhood and
early youth we depend for our growth in knowledge on the instructions
of our teachers. What puzzles us we refer to them, and they guide us
through the difficulty. If they are wise teachers they will not tell
us everything, but they will put us on the right method to find out.
Still they are there as a court of appeal, so to speak, and we have
always the satisfaction of a last resort. But the time comes when we
bid farewell to teachers. Happily it is the time when the judgment
becomes self-reliant, independent, penetrating. We are thrown mainly
upon our own resources. And the very fact of our having to depend on
our own judgment fosters and promotes independence, and fits us better
for the responsibilities of life. When we become men we put away
childish things. A habit of leaning on others keeps us children; but
grappling with difficulties as we find them, and trying to make our
way through them and over them, promotes manliness. The manna ceases,
and we eat the fruit of the land.
So in family life. The affection that binds parents and children,
brothers and sisters to one another in the family is both beautiful
and delightful; and it were no wonder if, on the part of some, there
were the desire that their intercourse should suffer no rude break,
but go on unchanged for an indefinite time. But it is seldom God's
will that family life shall remain unbroken. Often the interruption
comes in the rudest and most terrible form--by the death of the head
of the house. And the circumstances of the family may require that all
who are capable of earning anything shall turn out to increase the
family store. It is often a painful and distressing change. But at
least it wakens up all who can do anything, it rescues them from the
temptation of a slumbering, aimless life, and often draws out useful
gifts that turn their lives into a real blessing. And there are other
compensations. When Sarah died, Isaac was left with an empty heart;
but when Rebecca came to him, he was comforted. The precise blank that
death leaves may never be wholly filled, but the heart expands in
other directions, and with new objects of affection the gnawing void
ceases to be acutely felt. As old attachments are snapped, new are
gradually formed. And even in old age a law of compensation often
comes in; children and children's children bring new interests and
pleasures, and the green hues of youth modify the grey of age.
Then there is the happy experience by which the advent of spiritual
blessings compensates the loss of temporal. Nothing at first appears
more desolate than loss of fortune, loss of health, or loss of some
principal bodily sense--like sight or hearing. But in a Milton
intellectual vigour, patriotic ardour, and poetic sensibility attain
their noblest elevation, though
"Cloud and ever-during dark
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and, for the book of knowledge fair,
Presented with a universal blank
Of nature's works, to me expunged and rased,
And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out."
It is the total loss of hearing, the result of a sudden accident, that
turns the slater, John Kitto, into a most instructive and interesting
Oriental scholar and writer. How often temporal loss has proved in a
higher sense spiritual gain, all Christian biography testifies. Such
instances are not uncommon as that which the Rev. Charles Simeon
gives, in speaking of some blind men from Edinburgh whom nearly a
century ago he found at work in a country house in Scotland: "One of
the blind men, on being interrogated with respect to his knowledge of
spiritual things, answered, 'I never saw till I was blind; nor did I
ever know contentment while I had my eyesight, as I do now that I have
lost it; I can truly affirm, though few know how to credit me, that I
would on no account change my present situation and circumstances
with any that I ever enjoyed before I was blind.' He had enjoyed
eyesight till twenty-five, and had been blind now about three
years."[9]
[9] "Life of Rev. Charles Simeon," p. 125.
Lastly, of all exchanges in room of old provisions the most striking
is that which our Lord thus set forth: "It is expedient for you that I
go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
but if I depart, I will send Him to you." If we should think of life,
even the Christian life, as a mere time of enjoyment, albeit spiritual
enjoyment, no statement could be more paradoxical or unpalatable. It
is because life is a training school, and because what we most need in
that school is the immediate action of the Divine Spirit on our
spirits, purifying, elevating, strengthening, guiding all that is
deepest in our nature, that our Lord's words are true. Very precious
had been the manna that ceased when Jesus left. But more nourishing is
the new corn with which the Spirit feeds us. Let us prize it greatly
so long as we are in the flesh. We shall know the good of it when we
enter on the next stage of our being. Then, in the fullest sense, the
manna will cease, and we shall eat the corn of the land.