约书亚记5:割礼和逾越节

在本章中，以色列人现在在迦南地，当地的亚摩利人和迦南人的国王因为上帝在约旦河的神迹而失去了反对他们的心。

神告诉约书亚，要给所有离开埃及后出生的人行割礼，因为在旷野没有人行过割礼，而他们的父亲现在都已经死了。所以约书亚服从了，要求所有的以色列人接受割礼。

结果，上帝对约书亚说："我今天把埃及的污点从你们身上滚开了。"因此，这个地方被称为吉格，意思是 "滚动"。以色列人在那里安营扎寨，直到他们痊愈。然后他们第一次用地上的食物吃了逾越节，上帝在旷野中每天提供的吗哪也停止了。

然后，约书亚与一位天使相遇。

当约书亚抬起眼睛时，他看到一个人在他对面，手里拿着一把拔出的剑。约书亚问他："你是为我们还是为我们的对手？"那人回答说："不是，而是作为耶和华军队的统帅，我现在来了。"约书亚俯身敬拜，问他应该怎么做？那人说："把你的凉鞋从脚上脱下来，因为你所站的地方是圣洁的"。约书亚就这样做了。

请注意，这一章是以色列人在迦南的第一章，直接进行了两个重要的犹太教仪式--割礼和逾越节。割礼就是割掉包皮。它意味着从爱自己和世界，以及生活的外在事物中得到净化，并在内心深处在上帝面前成为公义。(见 天国的秘密2102.)

这个意思有助于我们理解为什么《圣经》中其他地方经常提到 "割礼"。在迦南的割礼是为了标记新的一代，在灵性上对我们来说，这意味着我们的重生总是涉及新的状态。(真实的基督教信仰601)

逾越节最初是为了纪念离开埃及奴隶制的一餐，所以它对于庆祝进入应许之地非常合适。逾越节的属灵意义丰富而复杂，但简单地说，它是关于主与我们的同在，特别是当我们把生活中的美好事件和祝福归功于上帝的同在。"主为我做了这个......主为我们做了那个"。(天国的秘密7902)之所以说它是一顿饭，是因为我们一起吃饭，往往是在家庭中，在精神上我们的一切都聚集在一起，充满了喜悦和感激之情。

以色列人在迦南的第一个营地是在吉甲，一个靠近耶利哥的地方，这个名字的意思是 "滚动"。我们已经看过它与割礼的关系，但更广泛地说，"滚动 "是指前进，继续前进，继续前进。这是故事初期对我们重生的有力描述，有考验也有祝福，两者都是为了让我们继续前进，在主希望我们拥有的生命中不断前进。(天国的秘密8911)

有了这一切早期的第一感觉，终于到了迦南，上帝一直应许给他们的土地，约书亚被耶和华的好战天使，耶和华军队的指挥官所迎接，是如此的恰当。(天国的秘密7277).请仔细注意，当约书亚问他是为我们还是为我们的敌人时，指挥官说 "不是"。在精神上这是非常重要的，因为主利用一切--善与恶--和平与诱惑--来引导我们走向天堂。

指挥官宣布约书亚要把他的凉鞋从脚上脱下来，因为他站的地方是圣地。在精神上，"圣地 "是指整个生命的范围，以及我们认为所有这些都是主给我们的礼物的感觉。(见 天国的秘密566, 1585)

10373. 'For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth' means the state of conflict and labour while the Church is being established. This is clear from the meaning of 'six days', when the subject is the establishment of the Church and a person's regeneration, as the state of conflict against evils and falsities, thus the state which comes before and is preparatory to the joining together of goodness and truth, dealt with above in 10366, 10367; and from the meaning of 'heaven and earth' as the Church.

[2] In the Word 'creating heaven and earth' is not used to mean what happened when the sky above and this planet were first created, but the establishment of the Church and the regeneration of a person there, 'heaven' being used to mean his internal and 'earth' his external. The fact that this kind of creation is what should be understood is clear from places in the Word in which the verb 'create' is used, as in David,

A people who will be created will praise Jah. Psalms 102:18.

In the same author,

You send forth [Your] spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. Psalms 104:30.

In Isaiah,

Thus said Jehovah, I am your Creator, O Jacob; I am He who formed you, O Israel. For I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are Mine. Every one who is called by My name - I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, and also I have made him. Isaiah 43:1, 7.

And in other places. The expressions 'creating', 'forming', and 'making' are used, and elsewhere 'Creator', 'He who forms', and 'Maker'. 'Creating' means bringing something into being that did not exist before, 'forming' means giving it specific quality, and 'making' means carrying into effect. 'Creating and making a new heaven and a new earth' means establishing a new Church, its internal and its external, as in Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1 - see 1733, 1850, 2117 (end), 2118 (end), 3355, 4535. 'Earth' in the Word means the Church, 9325. And also 'the creation of heaven and earth' in the first chapter of Genesis means the establishment of the Most Ancient Church, 8891, 9942.