The Freedom of Gilgal

Joshua 5:10-12
This is the gain after the pain. What we have here is an account that illustrates that God wants us to live and eat freely of all His great provisions. He did not bring us out of a desperate existence, an existence of wandering around in a desert picking up a daily supply (fix) of His daily provisions, (quails and manna), just to continue in the same vain, No, He wants us to enjoy a freedom that allows us and enables us to partake fully of a "land flowing with milk and honey", a land that will fully satisfy, a land that has no limits.

The children of Israel committed themselves to observing the passover, the meal that had been the start of their amazing journey some 40 years before. It had always been intended that the passover was the threshold into something new, into freedom, yet 40 years before a different generation had failed to posses the land of promise. What I like about this passage is that it shows that God is a God of new beginnings, the God of the second chance, the question is are we wiling to accept the offer and follow through the Jordan in order to become a partaker of the freedom that is on offer. What we see in this passage is that because an obedience to follow and place down a memorial and because of a willingness to be wounded these people were able to participate in the freedom that came at Gilgal. We see in Joshua 5:11-12 some indication that God wants us to be free of daily handouts of a limited variety and become more accustomed to living in a land that provides more variety. The passage says they "kept the passover and then the manna ceased after they had tasted of the produce of the land". There is a truth that when we have tasted of the produce of a land that has a bountiful variety of God's goodness and Grace there is no need for the food of a limited variety provided, albeit provided, by Gods Grace while we wandered in the wilderness.  God turns our salvation over to us to work out. Paul the apostle encourages the church at Philipi in Philippians 2:12-16 "to work out their own salvation", "to shine as lights in the world". This is exactly what was required of the Israelites when they were "bought out to be bought in", they were to live by Gods Grace and possess what God had given them, freedom, but also to be an example of the same Grace to those in the land they were possessing. What about you and I are we living in the freedom of what God has given and are we good examples in a dark world? We will see in a later post what happens when we abuse the God given freedom of Gilgal.