Hi All,

Some of you may have noticed that some of my articles are missing. I have moved. I am in the process of combining this blog and one other into my main website, so you will soon be able to find more of me in one place. My website is http://www.sandramurquhart.com. Feel free to visit me there, as my articles will soon all be over there. Thanks for your support. See you there! Peace and blessings.

 

 

There’s an issue of exchange. Nothing just happens. You have to give in order to receive. If you come offering nothing, but expecting to receive, you will be waiting for a long time. Even in the New Testament, this principle was practiced. The man of God was “tended to” out of the possessions of the people who followed him. This was done by many women for Jesus as well, Mary Magdalene among them.

 

If you are expecting God to bless you, or you have a dream or goal that you want to achieve, you have to find a way and a place to give of yourself first, and you will find that the doors of heaven will open up to you; the path will reveal itself, and people will be placed strategically into your path to help you get where you are going.

 

These guys knew about this principle, which is why they were discussing this matter, trying to figure out what they could offer the man of God.

 

1Sa 9:8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: [that] will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

 

They searched from among their possessions to find something to give. It just so happens that he had this shekel of silver.

 

shekel - the chief unit of weight or measure

1) gold - 1/10000 of a talent and equal to 220 grains

2) silver - 1/3000 of a talent and equal to 132 grains

3) copper - 1/1500 of a talent and equal to 528 grains

 

Ok, so I’m previewing this statement with the fact that I am mathematically challenged, but I believe ¼ of 1/3000 is .750, but again...I’m not great with numbers, and especially fractions. It’s been too long since I’ve done that in school. However, I know it is the equivalent of 33 grains.

 

1Sa 9:9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for [he that is] now [called] a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)

 

I am so glad the scriptures defined this word, because I brought it up once in meeting, and one woman was quick to tell me, with an attitude, that my saying that I am a seer is not scriptural. She was the same person who contested trances as well, once I mentioned having had these in the past as well.

 

These days, seers are a reference to a medium and divination. However, when I said I was a seer, I meant a see-er, not a medium. I was able to quickly find the word trances in the New Testament, so that quelled her argument, but I did not find the word seer immediately, although I had seen it previously.

 

People who are ignorant of the scriptures don’t understand that some people are born with gifts like this; the ability to see things. Some dream and see (which I also do by God’s will), and the truth is revealed to them in dreams. The problem comes when people in the church who lack understanding, attack a young person with this gifting, and turn them away from God.

 

Most of the time, young people with a gifting of this nature get pushed into the dark arts on account of the ignorance in the church about these things. What they need to do is direct these young people to God, and instruct them to turn the gift over to Him, so that He can anoint them and utilize them for His glory.

 

1Sa 9:10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God [was].

1Sa 9:11 [And] as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here?

1Sa 9:12 And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, [he is] before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for [there is] a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:

1Sa 9:13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; [and] afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.

1Sa 9:14 And they went up into the city: [and] when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.

 

Now, when you come to petition the Lord for something, and you have come prepared to give, then he sets people in your path to direct you on your way. Here, they found young maidens who directed them right to where God’s man was. Not only that, the man of God came out to meet them. He was already expecting them. This is what happens to people who give because they have a heart for the Lord.

 

 

Manna was a visible reminder to the Hebrews of God’s providential care for His people. This care was conditional, just as it still is today, but the process of lining oneself up to receive was a little different in Old Testament times than it is now. In the next sets of scriptures on this matter, I will underline or make bold, the sections that involve a condition (or something that stands out to me, such as language, or a description), so as to make it plain as to the reason why I’m delving into these scriptures. I know it will seem like I’m going way outside of the book of Joshua, but there is a point, and it will draw you back into the verses in Joshua.

 

First I’m going to touch upon a point I heard from Creflo Dollar. He was discussing the process of receiving.

                                                                                           

1Sa 9:1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name [was] Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

 

Let’s see the background of Saul.

 

Benjamin = "son of the right hand"

Kish = "bent"

Abiel = "El (God) is (my) father"

Zeror = 1) bundle, parcel, pouch, bag (as packed) 2) pebble

Bechorath = "first-born"

Aphiah = "I will make to breathe"

Saul or Shaul = "desired"

 

1Sa 9:2 And he had a son, whose name [was] Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and [there was] not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward [he was] higher than any of the people.

 

It seems that Saul, at that time, lived up to his name. He’s described here, not just as a “choice young man, and a goodly,” but also as there not being a “goodlier person than he;” and apparently, he stood out being that he was taller than everyone else as well.

 

1Sa 9:3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

1Sa 9:4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found [them] not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and [there they were] not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found [them] not.

1Sa 9:5 [And] when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that [was] with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave [caring] for the asses, and take thought for us.

 

Saul and his servant passed through the following places.

 

Ephraim = "double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful"

Shalisha = "thirds"                                                                      

Shalim = "foxes"

Benjamite - "a son of the right hand"

Zuph or Zophai = "honeycomb"

 

At this point, Saul says, “Let’s go back before my dad starts to worry about us.”

 

1Sa 9:6 And he said unto him, Behold now, [there is] in this city a man of God, and [he is] an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.

 

According to Creflo Dollar, the reference to “honourable man” was a reference to an anointing. They wanted a bit of that anointing to direct them.

 

1Sa 9:7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, [if] we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and [there is] not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?

 

This was the part that Creflo pointed out that was really important. The fact of the matter is, many people ask of God, and just basically come before him with nothing to offer, as if just their presence is enough. Remember, He is the King of Kings. If you would go before an earthly king with a petition and a gift, why would you expect to do any less for the King of All?

 

Jos 5:11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched [corn] in the selfsame day.

Jos 5:12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

 

I kept wondering about this “old corn,” and why it is that the moment they ate it, the manna ceased. This is what I found on old corn and manna. I’m going to put the corn part first and the manna part after that, since the info is more extensive, and there are some points that I want to focus on that may take a few posts to get through.

 

Wheat – The most important cereal grass mentioned in the Bible. This was the bearded variety belonging to the genus Triticum. It was cultivated in Bible lands from early times (Gen.30:14). Egyptian wheat was the many-eared variety called “mummy wheat.”(I think this is the type most common in America, which many people have allergic reactions to.) This was also depicted on Egyptian monuments.

 

Wheat was sown after barley in November or December. It was usually broadcast and then either plowed or trodden into the soil by oxen or other animals (Is.32:20). This grain was used for bread (Ex.29:32) and was also eaten parched (Lev. 23:14; Ruth 2:14). It was used in ceremonial offerings (Lev.2:1; 24:5-7) and as an article of commerce (Ezek.27:17; Acts 27:38).

 

When corn is mentioned in the Bible, it refers to wheat, as corn was not known in Bible times (Ps. 72:16: Matt. 12:1; Mark 4:28). Jesus compared His death to a grain of wheat which must die to produce fruit (John 12:24).

 

Manna – the food that God provided miraculously for the Israelites in the wilderness during their Exodus from Egypt. (Ex. 16:35, 31, 33; Num. 11:6-9)

 

As long as the Hebrew people wandered in the Sinai Peninsula, they were able to gather manna from the ground each morning (Ex. 16:35). They ate the manna for 40 years, “until they came to the border of the land of Canaan” (Ex. 16:35) According to Joshua 5:12, the manna did not stop until the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River, had camped at Gilgal, had kept the Passover, and “had eaten the produce of the land.”

 

“What is it?” (Ex.16:15). This question, asked by the astonished Israelites, led to the name manna being applied to the “small round substance as fine as frost” (Ex. 16:14). Manna looked “like white coriander seed.” It tasted like “wafers made with honey” (Ex.16:31) or “pastry prepared with oil”(Num. 11:8).

 

The manna appeared with the morning dew. The Hebrews were instructed to gather only what was needed for one day, because any surplus would breed tiny worms and be spoiled. On the sixth day, however, the Israelites were permitted to gather enough for two days; they were forbidden to gather any manna on the Sabbath. Miraculously, the two days’ supply of food gathered on the sixth day did not spoil.

 

Manna could apparently be baked, boiled, ground, beaten, cooked in pans, and made into cakes (Ex.16:23; Num. 11:8). Moses even commanded Aaron to put a pot of manna in the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 16:32-34), so future generations might see the “bread of heaven” on which their ancestors had fed. The New Testament records that inside the holy of holies in the Temple, the ark of the covenant contained, among other things, “the golden pot that had the manna”(Heb. 9:4)

 

Numerous attempts have been made to identify manna with substances found in the Sinai Peninsula. Insects living on the tamarisk bush produce a small sweet substance during the early summer that has been identified as manna by some scholars. But this substance does not fulfill all the biblical requirements for manna. Other suggestions have included resinous gums that drip from some wilderness shrubs. But such substances do not resemble the manna that the Hebrews gathered and ate. Manna certainly was nourishing, but it cannot be identified with any known food. 

 

Jos 5:10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.

 

The feasts and festivals of the Jewish nation were scheduled at specific times in the annual calendar and they were both civil and religious in nature. Some marked the beginning or the end of the agricultural year, while others commemorated historic events in the life of the nation. All of the feasts were marked by thanksgiving and joyous feasting.

 

Meat, a scarce item in the daily fare of the Hebrews, was eaten at these affairs, and wine was also consumed. The fat and the blood of the animals were reserved for sacrifice to God as a burnt offering. The libation (or offering) of wine may have been drunk by the worshipers as part of the meal ceremony. First the blood and the fat were offered to God; then the worshiper ate the meal.

 

The feasts and festivals of Israel were community observances. The poor, the widow, the orphan, the Levite, and the sojourner or foreigner were invited to most of the feasts. The accounts of these feasts suggest a potluck type of meal, with some parts of the meal reserved for the priests and the rest given to those who gathered at the Temple or the altar for worship. One of the feasts, Passover, originated in the home and later was transferred to the Temple. The rest were apparently observed at specific times during the year and in designated places.

 

The Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread have references to the Exodus. The Passover was the first of three great festivals of the Hebrew people. It referred to the sacrifice of a lamb in Egypt when the people of Israel were slaves. The Hebrews smeared the blood of the lamb on their doorposts as a signal to God that He should “pass over” their houses when He destroyed the entire first born of Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let His people go.

 

Pecach and Matstsoth:

 

The Passover was the annual Hebrew festival on the evening of the 14th day of the month of ‘Abhibh (Abib) or Nisan, as it was called in later time, with the service beginning in the evening. It was on the evening of this day that Israel left Egypt. Passover commemorated this departure from Egypt in haste.

 

 It was followed by, and closely connected with, a 7 days’ festival of matstsoth, or unleavened bread, to which the name Passover was also applied by extension (Le 23:5). Both were distinctly connected with the Exodus, which, according to tradition, they commemorate; the Passover being in imitation of the last meal in Egypt, eaten in preparation for the journey, while Yahweh, passing over the houses of the Hebrews, was slaying the firstborn of Egypt (Ex 12:12 f; 13:2,12 ); the matstsoth festival being in memory of the first days of the journey during which this bread of haste was eaten (Ex 12:14-20).

 

Unleavened bread was used in the celebration because this showed that the people had no time to put leaven in their bread as they ate their final meal as slaves in Egypt.

 

Several regulations were given concerning the observance of Passover. Passover was to be observed “in the place which the Lord your God will choose.” This implied the sanctuary of the tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem.

 

Pecach mitsrayim:

 

The ordinance of pecach mitsrayim, the last meal in Egypt, included the following provisions:

 

(1) the taking of a lamb, or kid without blemish, for each household on the 10th of the month;

 

(2) the killing of the lamb on the 14th at even;

 

(3) the sprinkling of the blood on doorposts and lintels of the houses in which it was to be eaten;

 

(4) the roasting of the lamb with fire, its head with its legs and inwards—the lamb was not to be eaten raw nor sodden (bashal) with water;

 

(5) the eating of unleavened bread and bitter herbs;

 

(6) eating in haste, with loins girded, shoes on the feet, and staff in hand;

 

(7) and remaining in the house until the morning;

 

(8) the burning of all that remained; the Passover could be eaten only during the night (Ex 12:1-23).

 

Jos 5:3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

Jos 5:4 And this [is] the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, [that were] males, [even] all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.

Jos 5:5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people [that were] born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, [them] they had not circumcised.

Jos 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people [that were] men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

Jos 5:7 And their children, [whom] he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. 

Circumcision was widely practiced in the ancient world, including the Egyptian and Canaanite cultures. But among these people the rite was performed at the beginning of puberty, or about 12 years of age, as a sort of initiation ceremony into manhood. 

In contrast, the Hebrew people performed circumcision on infants. This rite had an important ethical meaning to them. It signified their responsibility to serve as the holy people whom God had called as His special servants in the midst of a pagan world. 

The Hebrew people came to take great pride in circumcision; in fact, it became a badge of their spiritual and national superiority. This practice fostered a spirit of exclusivism instead of a missionary zeal to reach out to other nations as God intended.

Moses and the prophets used the term circumcised as a symbol for purity of heart and readiness to hear and obey. Through Moses, the Lord challenged the Israelites to submit to “circumcision of the heart,” a reference to their need for repentance. 

“If their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt,” God declared, “then I will remember My covenant,” (Lev. 26:41-42; also Deut. 10:16). 

In the New Testament circumcision was faithfully practiced by devout Jews as recognition of God’s continuing covenant with Israel. Both Joh the Baptist (Luke 1:59) and Jesus (Luke 2:21) were circumcised. 

But controversy over circumcision divided the early church (Eph. 2:11), which included believers from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds. Gentile believers regarded their Jewish brethren as eccentric because of their dietary laws, Sabbath rules, and circumcision practices. Jewish believers tended to view their uncircumcised Gentile brothers as unenlightened and disobedient to the law of Moses. 

A crisis erupted in the church at Antioch when believers from Judea (known as Judaizers) taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1-2). 

In effect, the Judaizers insisted that a believer from a non-Jewish background (Gentile) must first become a Jew ceremonially (by being circumcised) before he could be admitted to the Christian brotherhood. 

A council of apostles and elders was convened in Jerusalem to resolve the issue (Acts 15:6-29). Among those attending were Paul, Barnabas, Simon Peter, and James, pastor of the Jerusalem church. To insist on circumcision for the Gentiles, Peter argued, would amount to a burdensome yoke (Acts 15:10). This was the decision handed down by the council, and the church broke away from the binding legalism of Judaism. 

Years later, reinforcing this decision, the apostle Paul wrote the believers at Rome that Abraham, “the father of circumcision” (Rom. 4:12), was saved by faith rather than by circumcision (Rom. 4:9-12). He declared circumcision to be of no value unless accompanied by an obedient spirit (Rom. 2:25, 26). 

Paul also spoke of the “circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11), a reference to His atoning death which “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) and nailed legalism “to the cross” (Col. 2:14). 

In essence, Paul declared that the new covenant of Christ’s shed blood has provided forgiveness to both Jew and Gentile and has made circumcision totally unnecessary. All that ultimately matters for both Jew and Gentile, Paul says, is a changed nature-a new creation that makes them one in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:14-18). 

Jos 5:8 And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.

Jos 5:9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

Jos 5:10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.

 

Jos 5:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which [were] on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which [were] by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

Jos 5:2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

Note that it says the “second” time, which means I need to go back to see when was the first time. Additionally, I want to see more about circumcision and when and why it was initiated. To get that answer, I have to go back to Genesis.

Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Abram was ninety years old and nine--thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael [Gen 16:16]. During that interval he had enjoyed the comforts of communion with God but had been favored with no special revelation as formerly. So long the promise of Isaac was deferred, probably on account of, and to correct his hasty and blamable marriage with Hagar. Note, the comforts we sinfully anticipate are justly delayed.

The Lord appeared--some visible manifestation of the divine presence, probably the Shekinah or radiant glory of overpowering effulgence.

      I am the “Almighty God” which is the name by which He made Himself known to the patriarchs ( Exd 6:3 ), designed to convey the sense of "all-sufficient" ( Psa 16:5, 6 73:25 ).

Additionally, the word perfect here refers to complete, whole, entire, sound, healthful, entire (of time), wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity; what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact.

Gen 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

Gen 17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

Abram fell on his face--the attitude of profoundest reverence assumed by Eastern people. It consists in the prostrate body resting on the hands and knees, with the face bent till the forehead touches the ground. It is an expression of conscious humility and profound reverence.

Gen 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Gen 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Gen 17:6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

“My covenant is with thee,”- Renewed mention is made of it as the foundation of the communication that follows. It is the covenant of grace made with all who believe in the Savior.

“But thy name shall be Abraham,”- In Eastern countries a change of name is an advertisement of some new circumstance in the history, rank, or religion of the individual who bears it. The change is made variously, by the old name being entirely dropped for the new, or by conjoining the new with the old; or sometimes only a few letters are inserted, so that the altered form may express the difference in the owner's state or prospects. It is surprising how soon a new name is known and its import spread through the country. In dealing with Abraham and Sarai, God was pleased to adapt His procedure to the ideas and customs of the country and age. Instead of Abram, "a high father," he was to be called Abraham, "father of a multitude of nations" (see Rev 2:17).

I will give unto thee . . . the land - It had been previously promised to Abraham and his posterity (Gen 15:18). Here it is promised as an "everlasting possession," and was, therefore, a type of heaven, "the better country" (Hbr 11:16).

Gen 17:9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Gen 17:10 This [is] my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Gen 17:11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

Gen 17:12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which [is] not of thy seed.

Gen 17:13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Gen 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

After Abram had sojourned in the land of promise twenty-four years, The Lord made a covenant with him and changed his name to Abraham (Genesis 12:4,5; Genesis 17:1-5). The Lord proposed to make of him a great nation and to perpetuate the covenant through his offspring (Genesis 17:6,7). Birth and purchase were the conditions of membership in this covenant (Genesis 12:13). Of circumcision:

(A) It was a visible mark in the flesh.

(B) It affected only the males of Abraham's family.

(C) The children were circumcised on the eighth day.

(D) The uncircumcised were to be cut off from the covenant (Genesis 17:6-14).

Every man child among you shall be circumcised--This was the sign in the Old Testament Church as baptism is in the New, and hence the covenant is called "covenant of circumcision" ( Act 7:8 Rom 4:11 ). The terms of the covenant were these: on the one hand Abraham and his seed were to observe the right of circumcision; and on the other, God promised, in the event of such observance, to give them Canaan for a perpetual possession, to be a God to him and his posterity, and that in him and his seed all nations should be blessed.

 

Jos 4:14 On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

To magnify means: to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things. 

They feared him, as they feared Moses. Here, fear means: to fear, revere, be afraid, to stand in awe of, be awed, reverence, honor, respect, be dreadful, be feared, to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe, to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe, terrify. 

Jos 4:15 And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,

Jos 4:16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan.

Jos 4:17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.

Jos 4:18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, [and] the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as [they did] before. 

Jos 4:19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth [day] of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. 

Gilgal = "a wheel, rolling"

My bible dictionary also tells me that Gilgal means: “circle of stones.” This is interesting because it makes me think of Stone Henge, which is also a circle of stones.

Other interesting facts about this site:

It is the village from which the prophet Elijah ascended into heaven (2 Kin. 2:1).

This is also the site of the first Passover in Canaan (Josh. 5:9-10)

It also became the base of military operations for Israel during the conquest of Canaan, which lasted 6 years. From Gilgal, Joshua led Israel against the city of Jericho (Josh 6:11, 14 and conducted his southern campaign. (Josh 10)

It was Gilgal that was the site of king Saul’s coronation as well as his rejection by God as King (1 Sam. 11:15; 13:4-12; 15:12-33) After Absalom’s revolt, the Judeans gathered at Gilgal to welcome David back as their king (2 Sam. 19:15, 40). But during the days of later kings, Gilgal became a center of idolatry.

Jos 4:20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.

Jos 4:21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What [mean] these stones?

Jos 4:22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

Jos 4:23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

Jos 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it [is] mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.

The twelve stones were placed in the site as a memorial of God’s greatness.

 

Num 32:20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,

Num 32:21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

Num 32:22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.

Num 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

Num 32:24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

Num 32:25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.

Num 32:26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:

Num 32:27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.

Num 32:28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:

Num 32:29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:

Num 32:30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.

Num 32:31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.

Num 32:32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan [may be] ours.

 

The children of Gad & Reuben initiated this contract, and Moses ordered Joshua to honor it, as long as they fulfilled their end of the contract.

 

Num 32:33 And Moses gave unto them, [even] to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, [even] the cities of the country round about.

 

Sihon = "warrior"

Amorite = "a sayer"

Og = "long-necked"

Bashan = "fruitful"

 

Num 32:34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

 

Gad = "troop"

Dibon = "wasting"

Ataroth = "crowns"

Aroer = "ruins"

 

Num 32:35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

 

Atroth-shophan = "crowns of their rapine"

Jazer or Jaazer = "helped"

Jogbehah = "lofty"

 

Num 32:36 And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.

 

Beth-Nimrah = "house of the leopard"

Beth-haran = "house of their mount: house of the joyful shouter"

 

Num 32:37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

 

Heshbon = "stronghold"

Elealeh = "God is ascending"

Kiriathaim = "two cities"

 

Num 32:38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.

 

Nebo = "prophet"

Baal-meon = "lord of the habitation"

Shebam or Shibmah or Sibmah = "fragrance"

 

Num 32:39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which [was] in it.

Num 32:40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

Num 32:41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.

Num 32:42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

 

Machir = "sold"

Manasseh = "causing to forget"

Gilead = "rocky region"

Amorite = "a sayer"

 

Jair = "he enlightens"

Manasseh = "causing to forget"

Havoth-jair = "villages of Jair"

 

Nobah = "barking"

Kenath = "possession"

 

Jos 4:13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

 

Once again, the number forty appears. (check my study on the cycle of 40) This means it is a Spirit-led action.

Jos 4:4 Then #Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

Jos 4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

Jos 4:6 That this may be a #sign among you, [that] when your children ask [their fathers] in time to come, saying, What [mean] ye by these stones?

 

Exd 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

Exd 12:27 That ye shall say, It [is] the sacrifice of the LORD'S #passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Exd 13:11 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

Exd 13:12 That thou shalt set apart unto the #LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males [shall be] the LORD'S.

Exd 13:13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

Exd 13:14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What [is] this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:

Exd 13:15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.

Exd 13:16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

 

All that openeth

1) firstborn, firstling, that which separates or first opens

 

Matrix

1) womb

a) #womb

b) womb-man, woman-slave, woman, two women

 

This reference to the womb occurs a total of five times in scripture.

 

Exd 34:19 All that openeth the #matrix [is] mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, [whether] ox or sheep, [that is male].

 

Num 3:12     And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;

 

Num 18:15   Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, [whether it be] of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

 

Opening the matrix is a reference to the firstborn, which opens the womb; among men, those shall be redeemed when brought to the priests, as well as any unclean animals. The redemption price at that time was five shekels, which were like the shekels of the sanctuary; or 20 gerahs.

 

Shekel

1) the chief unit of weight or measure

a) gold - 1/10000 of a #talent and equal to 220 grains

b) silver - 1/3000 of a talent and equal to 132 grains

c) copper - 1/1500 of a talent and equal to 528 grains

 

Gerah

1) a weight, a 20th part of a shekel, equal to the weight of 16 barley grains or 4 to 5 carob beans

 

Deu 6:20 [And] when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What [mean] the #testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

 

Jos 4:6 That this may be a sign among you, [that] when your children ask [their fathers] in time to come, saying, What [mean] ye by these stones?

Jos 4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

 

Effective #leaders look for ways to use the successes of today to empower their people for the challenges of tomorrow. Joshua did exactly that. Although God would work a miracle to allow the people to cross the Jordan on dry ground, Joshua knew that only those who saw the incident would remember it-and he wanted to leave a #legacy for the next generation, born long after the miracle occurred.

 

The purpose of setting up these various types of stone #monuments, is to help the people of #Israel remember what God has done for them, and to pass on this information to their children, so that they remember and reverence the Lord as well.

 

To accomplish this goal, Joshua devised a plan called, “The Stones of Remembrance.” The stones severed as “handles” to communicate what #God had done. Good leaders always provide “handles” to enable their people to grab hold of the vision.

 

Jos 4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of #Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

Jos 4:9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the #priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

 

Effective leaders find a way to communicate future #vision and past victories, because their people need to be constantly reminded of both.