“When all the nation had been circumcised, every one of them, they stayed where they were in camp until they had healed. ADONAI said to Y’hoshua, ‘Today I have rolled off from you the stigma of Egypt.’ This is why the place has been called Gilgal [rolling] ever since.”-Joshua 5:8-9
Today I wanna explore the meaning of the phrase…
...”Today I have rolled off from you the stigma of Egypt”.
So what is the contextual meaning of this verse?
Simple, those Israelites who only received the 1st circumcision still bear the stigma of Egypt in Hashem’s eyes.
What is the “stigma of Egypt”?
It refers to the hog wild rebellion the 1st generation of Israelites committed while in the wilderness.
It was because of this rebellion that this 1st generation ended up perishing in the wilderness because God had forbidden them from entering into His rest.
Keep in mind that the 1st generation are those who were raised in Egypt.
That’s why they’re also called the Exodus generation.
The Lord blames Egypt for staining the purity of His people because of their idolatries, fornications and heathen ways.
During the Exodus, while Israel may have physically departed from the land of Egypt, unfortunately Egypt still resided inside of their hearts.
That’s why the first circumcision was bloody insufficient (pun super intended).
One must be born again and have his or her heart circumcised or the inner motivations won’t change.
Recall what happened in the Book of Numbers.
“That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, ‘If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.‘”-Numbers 14:1-4
There’s a reason why the name Egypt eventually became synonymous with stigma and rebellion in Scripture.
This stigma has to be removed via a 2nd circumcision of the heart for any human being whether Jew or not (meaning whether circumcised or not) to stand before the Creator of the world in righteousness.
What’s the result of not agreeing to undergo the 2nd circumcision?
Eternal separation from God is what results.
Here’s another thing we shouldn’t overlook.
Notice the name of the area where over a million Hebrew men were circumcised after they crossed the Jordan River.
The name of the area is GILGAL.
Do you what that word means literally?
It means “rolled” or “rolling” as the Complete Jewish Bible conveniently points out for us.
This is connected to the idea that Hashem “rolled” the stigma of Egypt off the backs of his people.
And again, this was accomplished because Israelites who crossed over the Jordan agreed to the 2nd circumcision.
One final point that isn’t any less mind-blowing.
In the original Hebrew, what is the name of the person who led “physical Israel” across the Jordan River and then had them undergo a 2nd circumcision?
In the original Hebrew, his name is YEHOSHUA?
And in the original Hebrew, what is name of the person who led “spiritual Israel” from eternal spiritual death to eternal life via a 2nd circumcision of the heart?
In the original Hebrew, his name is YEHOSHUA?
And what does YEHOSHUA mean?
It means “God Saves”!
Can I get an AMEN in the house?!
If this doesn’t have goosebumps doing sprints up and down your spinal cord, I don’t know what will.
Can you see how the Gospel message and the concept of a 2nd circumcision of the heart ain’t some so-called New Testament dispensation?
It’s contained right here in the Book of Joshua (or the Book of Yehoshua to be more accurate)!
Truly, truly, Yeshua’s words when he said he did NOT come to do away with the Law EXPLODE with increasing clarity the more we study the REAL Scriptures.
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