The Security of Gilgal

2 Kings 2:1
We have seen that Gilgal is a place of rolling away, memorial, cost, freedom, abuse and separation. What we also find is that Gilgal is a place of security.
We all need places of security, places where we know God is, and where He has intervened in our lives.

Let's look at 2 Kings 2:1
Elisha had found the place of security with God and was prepared to go with Elijah and witness his grand departure into heaven.
The security of Gilgal is something that we all must find but there is no easy way or short cut to finding it. We have to go through the process of laying down our memorial stones, our marker for all to see. We will experience the cost of Gilgal together with the freedom that can be found in Gilgal. I guess at times we will even abuse the freedom found and may also experience the wrath of God and the separation that comes because we do not fear the holiness of God as we should.

The great thing is that even in situations like this God can and will, if we are willing, bring us back to Gilgal to the place of memorial which becomes our place of security. We, like Elijah will be able to draw from the well of salvation the freedom that is found in such a place and be able to know that we can go out again and accomplish great things for God. The security of Gilgal gives us knowledge and we, with Elisha will be able to say "yes I know; keep silent!" 2 Kings 2:3

Have we found our Gilgal?
Have we established our memorial?
Have we tasted of the bounty of Gods provision or are we still looking for manna in the wilderness?

I trust and pray that you will know God and His wonderful provisions for life. I also pray that we may guard against any abuse of freedom which leads to separation. If you are separated then I pray that you will be able to find the place of security and re-establish a relationship that will bless and encourage others.

The Separation of Gilgal

Hosea 9:15 and Hosea 12:11
This shows the consequences of what happens if we abuse the freedom God has given us. We become worthless and our alters (memorials) become just a heap of rubble with no meaning.

Paul writes to the Galatian church (Galatians 5:13) and advises them not to use their new found liberty in Christ as an excuse for self gain or selfish ends.

As we saw in the last post Saul abused the freedom that is found in Gilgal (found because God gives freedom to those He calls and to those who choose to follow) and forfeited all of Gods blessing for Him.
We read in Hosea that God was so abhorred at their (the Jews then) behaviour, lack of trust and failure to seek Him that in Hosea 9:15 He says that "all their wickedness is in Gilgal" and "I will drive them from my house". This is a sorry state of affairs that a people who were rescued by Gods grace and subsequently kept by His mercy were still able to reject and drive Him to distraction. In Hosea 12:11 God says that the very memorials that have been placed in Gilgal will be heaps of rubble, just turned over and forgoten. Oh that we learn not to forsake the Lord our God but that we learn to continue in the freedom of Gilgal, not abusing that freedom which leads to the separation and destruction of the very memorial we first set up and talked about.

Is this the end or is there security to be found in Gilgal?

The Abuse of Gilgal

As we saw in the first post there is a security at this place called Gilgal. Now, it is not about the physical place but about this place in the heart that knows this is the place of memorial, the place where we find security even if there is a cost. In this post we will see that it is possible to abuse that memorial place and loose all that has been secured by the grace of God.
Samuel encourages the people of Israel in 1 Samuel 11:14 to return to Gilgal and to renew the kingdom there. The place of the new beginning, the place of commitment, the place of security. We know when we read this passage that there was repentance in the form of sacrifices and there was great rejoicing, something that can only come at the place of security.
It wasn't long before this place of safety and security was abused. We can read the story in 1 Samuel 13.
Essentially power goes to Sauls head, whether it was of his own doing or out of fear or just because he thought he was doing the right thing is not really important. What is important though is that Saul rushed on and into something that he should not have done. He commands that a sacrifice be offered before the right time and he assumes that he, as king, has authority to offer it when in fact it was reserved for the "man of God". He abused his position as king because he saw all around him falling apart. How many times have we done that?, rushed in to try to rescue a situation when really what we should do is reconvene, pray and wait God's time. It was in that reckless moment that all that Saul had been entrusted with was lost. God needs people who will seek him for who he is, seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness. When we do that Gods blessing will follow. In a short two years as king of Israel Saul had managed to alienate his people he went from 3000 fighting men to just 600. His subjects were so scared and fearful of the enemy that they resorted to hiding in caves, in bushes, in rocks, in holes and in pits. 1 Samuel 13:6. From this moment on Saul was on his mission and not on God's mission. It all became about Saul and not about God. Let us remember the security, the cost and the freedom of Gilgal and seek to walk in Gods way and not or own so that we do not fall fowl of the possible abuse of Gilgal.

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.

The cost of Gilgal

Joshua 5:2-8
Gilgal is not only the place of memorial and remembrance but a place that also has a cost. When we have followed Jehovah and have been brought through Jordan and have placed down the marker so all can see we have to acknowledge that there will also be a cost to this following. Here in Joshua the cost was circumcision, this gives us an illustration of how God wants to define us as followers of Him. This is not about a physical act but all about a spiritual undertaking, something that God had instigated back in Deuteronomy 30:6 "circumcise the heart". The word circumcise literally means to cut off or cut around. What God is saying is I want to set you apart, the miracle of salvation will inevitably involve a cost and will certainly involve a process where by we are required to place ourselves in a position that God can perform the act of circumcision, a cost that some may find to great but for those who capitulate the reward is great, there is is no gain without pain. For God to be able to reign supreme and for Him to be able to work out His salvation in and through us we have to be willing to allow Him to wound us, to bring us low and then sustain us in that desperate place so that in His time He can raise us up so that we can be a witness to His salvation. The cost of Gilgal adds wait to the memorial of Gilgal.

The challenge of Gilgal.

Gilgal = Rolling Joshua 4:9-24 Gilgal is the place that God defines as the place where He rolls away the reproach of Egypt, that is He cuts them, the children of Israel off from their past, from their slavery and desert wandering. Gilgal is also the place of memorial. It is the place where they themselves, other people in their generation and future generations can be reminded that God has intervened in their lives. We all need a Gilgal in our lives, we all need to have that place where we know God has cut us off from our past, from our slavery to sin and our constant wandering in deserts, living from one crisis to the next. We also need a Gilgal where we have set up our memorial, the place where we put down our marker for all to see, the physical demonstration that God has brought us through from our sinful past to an inheritance beyond what we deserve. This is a place that we will have to return to at various points in our lives to remind ourselves of what God has done for us.