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Joshua 5

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1 Ja kui kõik emorlaste kuningad, kes olid teisel pool Jordanit, mere pool, ja kõik kaananlaste kuningad, kes olid mere ääres, kuulsid, et Issand oli kuivatanud Iisraeli laste eest Jordani vee, kuni nad olid läbi läinud, siis läks nende süda araks ja neil polnud enam julgust Iisraeli laste ees.

2 Sel ajal ütles Issand Joosuale: 'Tee enesele kivinoad ja lõika Iisraeli lapsed taas ümber, teist korda!'

3 Ja Joosua tegi enesele kivinoad ning lõikas Iisraeli lapsed ümber Araloti künkal.

4 Ja see oli põhjus, miks Joosua ümber lõikas: kogu Egiptusest lahkunud meessoost rahvas, kõik sõjamehed, olid surnud kõrbeteekonnal pärast lahkumist Egiptusest.

5 Sest kogu see rahvas, kes oli lahkunud, oli olnud ümber lõigatud; aga kogu see rahvas, kes oli sündinud kõrbeteekonnal pärast lahkumist Egiptusest, ei olnud ümber lõigatud.

6 Sest Iisraeli lapsed olid käinud nelikümmend aastat kõrbes, kuni oli lõppenud kogu see rahvas, kõik sõjamehed, kes Egiptusest olid lahkunud, kes ei kuulanud Issanda häält, mispärast ka Issand neile oli vandunud, et ta ei lase neid näha maad, mille Issand vandega nende vanemaile oli tõotanud anda neile, maa, mis piima ja mett voolab.

7 Aga nende lapsed, keda ta oli lasknud tõusta nende asemele, lõikas Joosua ümber, sest need olid ümber lõikamata, sellepärast et teekonnal ei olnud neid ümber lõigatud.

8 Ja kui kogu rahvas oli ümber lõigatud, siis püsisid nad oma leeris paigal, kuni nad terveks said.

9 Ja Issand ütles Joosuale: 'Täna ma olen teie pealt ära veeretanud egiptlaste teotuse.' Ja seda paika hüütakse tänapäevani Gilgaliks.

10 Ja kui Iisraeli lapsed olid leeris Gilgalis, siis selle kuu neljateistkümnenda päeva õhtul pidasid nad paasapüha Jeeriko lagendikel.

11 Ja paasapühale järgneval päeval sõid nad selle maa viljast hapnemata leiba ja kõrvetatud viljapäid. Selsamal päeval,

12 paasapühale järgneval päeval, kui nad sõid maa viljast, lõppes manna ja Iisraeli lastel ei olnud enam mannat, vaid nad sõid juba Kaananimaa selleaastasest saagist.

13 Ja kui Joosua oli Jeeriko juures, sündis, et ta tõstis oma silmad üles ja vaatas, ja ennäe, tema ees seisis üks mees, paljastatud mõõk käes. Ja Joosua läks tema juurde ning küsis temalt: 'Kas sa oled meie või meie vaenlaste keskelt?'

14 Ja tema vastas: 'Ei kumbagi, vaid ma olen nüüd tulnud kui Issanda sõjaväe vürst!' Siis Joosua heitis silmili maha ja kummardas ning küsis temalt: 'Mida mu Issand räägib oma sulasele?'

15 Ja Issanda sõjaväe vürst ütles Joosuale: 'Võta jalatsid jalast, sest paik, kus sa seisad, on püha!' Ja Joosua tegi nõnda.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Joshua 5

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Joshua 5: The Circumcision and the Passover

In this chapter, the Israelites are now in the land of Canaan, and local Amorite and Canaanite kings lose heart to oppose them because of God’s miracle at the river Jordan.

God tells Joshua to circumcise all the men who were born since they left Egypt, because none were circumcised in the wilderness, and their fathers who were have now all died. So Joshua obeys, requiring circumcision of all the men of Israel.

As a result, God says to Joshua : “I have this day rolled away the stain of Egypt from you.” The place was therefore called Gilgal, which means “rolling”. The Children of Israel camped there till they were healed. They then ate the Passover using the food of the land for the very first time, and the daily manna, which had been provided by God every day in the wilderness, stopped.

Then, Joshua has an encounter with an angel:

When Joshua lifted his eyes he saw a man opposite him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asked him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” The man answered, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Joshua fell and worshipped and asked what he should do? The man said, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy”. And Joshua did so.

Note that this chapter is the very first one when the Israelites are in Canaan, and straightaway two important Jewish rituals are carried out – circumcision and the Passover. Circumcision is the cutting off of the foreskin. It means to become purified from loving oneself and the world, and the outer things of life, and to be righteous before God inwardly. (See Arcana Caelestia 2102.)

This meaning helps us see why elsewhere in the Bible it often talks about “circumcising your heart”. The circumcision in Canaan was to mark the new generation, which spiritually for us means that our regeneration always involves new states. (True Christian Religion 601)

The Passover was originally a meal to mark leaving slavery in Egypt, so it is very appropriate for celebrating entering the promised land. The spiritual meaning of the Passover is rich and complex, but, put simply, it is about the presence of the Lord with us, especially when we attribute life’s good events and blessings to the presence of God. “The Lord has done this for me… The Lord has done that for us.” (Arcana Caelestia 7902) The reason that it is a meal is that we share meals together, often in families, and spiritually everything in us comes together to be joyful and thankful.

The first camp of the Israelites in Canaan was at Gilgal, a place close to Jericho, the name of which means “rolling”. We’ve looked at its connection with circumcision but more generally, to ‘roll’ is to move forward, move on, keep going. This is a powerful early-in-the-story description of our regeneration, with its trials and blessings, both of which aim to keep us moving forward to be evermore in the life the Lord wants us to have. (Arcana Caelestia 8911)

With all this early first feeling of having finally got to Canaan, the land which God had always promised to give them, it is so very appropriate that Joshua is met by a militant angel of the Lord, the Commander of the army of the Lord. (Arcana Caelestia 7277). Note carefully that when Joshua asks if he is for us or for our enemies, the Commander says “No.” Spiritually this is very significant because the Lord uses everything – good and evil – peace and temptation – to lead us towards heaven.

The Commander declares that Joshua is to remove his sandal from off his foot because where he stands, this is holy ground. Spiritually, “holy ground” is the whole sweep of life, and our sense that all of it is the Lord’s gift to us. (See Arcana Caelestia 566, 1585)

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Arcana Coelestia # 7902

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7902. 'You shall eat unleavened bread' means the assimilation by good of truth purified from falsity. This is clear from the meaning of eating as making one's own or assimilating, dealt with in 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 4745 (the assimilation of truth by good is meant because truth is assimilated by good, and good - as shown in various places already - derives its specific quality from truth; therefore to make truth one's own truth must be assimilated by good, and to make good one's own good must be conditioned by truth); and from the meaning of what is 'unleavened' as truth purified from all falsity, dealt with in 2342. As regards truth purified from all falsity, it should be recognized that pure truth cannot ever reside with anyone. It cannot both because falsity issues constantly from the evil present and firmly fixed within him, and because the truths are interconnected; therefore if one falsity is present, worse still if a number are present, the actual truths remaining are consequently defiled and have something of falsity in them. But truth is said to be purified from falsity when a person can be preserved by the Lord in the good of innocence. Innocence consists in acknowledging that nothing but evil resides in oneself and that any good comes in from the Lord, and also in believing that one neither knows nor perceives anything, including the truth of faith, if left to oneself, only with the Lord's help. When this is a person's state falsity can be removed from him and truth instilled by the Lord. This state is what is meant by 'unleavened bread' and also by the eating of the Passover lamb.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.