Joshua 5:10-12 | Sunday August 30, 2026
As we move through the book of Joshua, God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises stands out. After a 40-year delay in the wilderness, God’s people were finally in the land that had been promised to Abram over 700 years ago. This generation was taking part of a story that was much larger than them. God had the men be circumcised because it was the sign He had given the nation to show that He had made covenant promises with them. It was also to remind them that these promises would not be accomplished through the power of their own flesh but through God’s power and His faithfulness. Following this command incapacitated the Israeli army and required them to trust in God’s protection. Having the men be circumcised also served as a preparation for God’s next command.
Joshua 5:8-12 ESV
(8) When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
(9) And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
(10) While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho.
(11) And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.
(12) And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
It was time for Israel to celebrate the Passover. According to Exodus 12:48, “no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.” So part of the reason the men had to be circumcised was to prepare the nation to keep the Passover. This was only the third time the nation had kept the Passover. The second time the Passover was celebrated was 40 years ago in the wilderness of Sinai, which was one year after leaving Egypt (Numbers 9:1-5). The first time Israel kept the Passover was the night God passed over them in Egypt.
Exodus 12:2-3; 6 ESV
(2) “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
(3) Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.(6) and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
God’s timing is always perfect. Israel was to select the lamb for the Passover on the 10th day of the first month and then inspect that lamb until the 14th day of the month when the lamb was to be killed. Then 41 years later (1 year at Sinai and 40 years in the wilderness) to the very day, Israel crossed into the Promised Land and celebrated the Passover.
Joshua 4:19 ESV
(19) The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.
Joshua 5:10 ESV
(10) While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho.
Israel’s redemption was incomplete when they left Egypt. He had not abandoned them in the wilderness but was faithful and was going to continue the work that He had begun. Their parents' unfaithfulness delayed the entry, but it did not undo God’s promises. He would be their God, and His people would dwell in the land He gave, and it was all possible because they were covered by the blood.
Exodus 12:23 ESV
(23) For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.
Exodus 13:3-5; 8 ESV
(3) Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
(4) Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
(5) And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.(8) You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
God saved His people through the blood of the lamb. They were called to remember the day they went out of Egypt on the day they entered into the Promised Land. God keeping His promise was never in doubt. The people were to remember the Passover and how God used it to save them. They were to tell their children what God did for them. Any firstborn male who was 59-39 could give a firsthand account of how the blood of the lamb saved their life. 41 years ago they would have been 18 and younger. They were alive through the blood.
Romans 5:8-11 LSB
(8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
(10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
(11) And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
We are to boast in God for what He accomplished through Jesus. We are to remember and tell our children that we have been declared free of sin through the offering of Jesus’ blood. We should not let confusion or doubt creep in on what salvation is actually based on. We are justified, declared righteous because of the blood of Jesus. Now we can walk in His resurrected life. Israel was just entering the promised land. They were beginning to walk in the new life that had been secured for them.
Joshua 5:11-12 LSB
(11) And on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the yield of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted grain.
(12) Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the produce of the land of Canaan during that year.
After Israel celebrated the Passover, they ate some of the produce of the Promised Land. Instead of manna, they enjoyed roasted grain. After 40 years of eating the same thing, variety was greatly appreciated. Now that they were partaking of the blessings in the Promised Land, the manna ceased. All the years God provided the manna He wanted Israel to learn how to trust Him.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 ESV
(2) And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
(3) And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
God let Israel hunger and go to bed each night with an empty pantry so that they would be humbled. He wanted them to learn that life is found relying on His Word and not relying on their own strength to provide.
John 6:31-35 ESV
(31) Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
(32) Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
(33) For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
(34) They said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
(35) Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.
The manna was not about Moses and how he could provide for Israel. The manna was to show that true nourishment is found in Jesus. We are to live based on the Word of God, who is Jesus. Jesus is the true bread who came down; He is the bread of life. We are nourished in Him through His word. This is another reason that the manna stopped in the promised land. Israel was not to move past being nourished by the Word, but in their maturity they were to start chewing on the roasted grain.
Hebrews 5:11-14 ESV
(11) About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
(12) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,
(13) for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
(14) But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
The Hebrew believers were unskilled, lacking knowledge, and unacquainted with the word of righteousness. A child is too old for milk. There is no sin in maturing, and it is a process that cannot be sped up. Spirituality cannot be microwaved; it takes exactly 5 years to walk with God for 5 years. The issue arises when we do not move past the milk stage. We are called to start chewing on the solid food of the Word of God. This is depicted by Israel maturing from the manna to the roasted grain. They were to mature on the nourishing bread of life.
Hebrews 6:1-3 ESV
(1) Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
(2) and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
(3) And this we will do if God permits.
The manna did not cease when Israel complained about it or even when they were unbelieving at Kadesh Barnea. As they were unfaithful, He was still the provider. God had used the manna as an amazing way of providing for His people, and He wanted them to mature in trusting Him. Now that the manna stopped, He was still going to provide for them but through the blessings of the Promised Land. They needed to recognize that all the blessings came from Him and His provision.
Deuteronomy 8:7-10 ESV
(7) For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills,
(8) a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey,
(9) a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
(10) And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land He has given you.
Instead of an empty pantry to remind Israel to rely on God, He was going to bless them in the Promised Land, and they would lack nothing. They could eat all the bread they wanted without scarcity. When Israel was full, they were to bless the Lord and praise Him for His goodness. They were to enjoy Him and the blessing that flowed from walking with Him. They were to worship in a thankfulness that He provided for them in such magnificent ways. They were to see that every good thing in front of them was a gift from God. They did not deserve any of it, and they did not earn any of it. They were to thankfully enjoy God’s goodness to them. Unfortunately, these very blessings could become a problem if Israel forgot whom they were from.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14; 16-18 ESV
(11) “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes, which I command you today,
(12) lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them,
(13) and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied,
(14) then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,(16) who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.
(17) Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’
(18) You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
The danger would creep in if they began to forget what God had done for them. To forget God meant to ignore His commandments and stop walking with Him. The truth found in the manna continued in the Promised Land; true life was found living in the Word of God. If Israel forgot what God had done for them in Egypt, it would be easy to start taking credit for the blessings. Israel would start to think that it was by their own strength that they had all these blessings. They would forget God was the provider of the manna and these blessings.
As believers we are to watch out for the same danger. When we have eaten and are full, it is so easy to forget what this life is truly about: a deepening relationship with God. When life is easy, we tend to forget God’s Word and how He defines fellowship. So often we walk in a pride and marvel at what we have done. We need to remember His commandments and that life is found in His Word. We are to remember what the blood of Christ has accomplished for us. We are to walk in His power and in His new life as we are equipped by His life-giving Word.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 ESV
(14) But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
(15) and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
(16) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
(17) that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.