Joshua 5 Chapter Study

Joshua 5 slows the pace between a parted river and a fallen wall. With Canaanite kings paralyzed by fear because the Lord dried up the Jordan, Israel pauses within sight of Jericho not to attack but to obey, renewing the covenant sign neglected in the wilderness and preparing for Passover in the land (Joshua 5:1–3, 10). The nation accepts vulnerability while the men heal, trusting that God’s reputation and promise will cover them as surely as the river did the day before (Joshua 5:8–9; Exodus 15:14–16). Then, as unleavened bread and roasted grain replace manna, a new rhythm of provision begins that matches a new stage in Israel’s life (Joshua 5:11–12; Deuteronomy 8:7–10). Finally, Joshua meets a man with a drawn sword who identifies himself as commander of the Lord’s army and directs Joshua to remove his sandals because the ground is holy, a scene that centers the coming campaign in God’s presence rather than in human partisanship (Joshua 5:13–15; Exodus 3:5).

The chapter is therefore about identity before activity. Israel takes on the mark of belonging given to Abraham, keeps the feast that tells their rescue story, and acknowledges that the same Lord who brought them out now brings them in (Genesis 17:9–14; Exodus 12:26–27; Joshua 5:10). The ceasing of manna and the taste of Canaan’s produce signal that God’s care is constant even as its form changes (Exodus 16:35; Joshua 5:12). And the commander’s “Neither” teaches that the question is not whether God is for our side, but whether our side is for God. Joshua 5 thus readies the people for Jericho by anchoring courage in covenant, worship, and holiness (Joshua 5:9–10, 13–15).

Words: 2691 / Time to read: 14 minutes

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Historical and Cultural Background

Gilgal becomes Israel’s first base inside the land, located on the plain east of Jericho where the nation encamps after crossing on the tenth day of the first month, four days before Passover (Joshua 4:19; Joshua 5:10). Reports of the halted river destabilize the region’s rulers, matching what Moses’ song foresaw when nations would melt in fear at the Lord’s deeds (Joshua 5:1; Exodus 15:14–16). Instead of exploiting that fear with immediate siege craft, Joshua receives a command that turns attention inward: prepare flint knives and circumcise the sons born on the journey who had not yet received the sign (Joshua 5:2; Genesis 17:12–13). The work happens within striking distance of Jericho, underscoring that God’s protection, not Israel’s timing, secures the camp (Psalm 27:1; Joshua 5:8).

Circumcision was the covenant sign given to Abraham’s household, an outward marker that a family stood inside God’s promise concerning descendants and land (Genesis 17:7–14). Those who came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but the generation that died in the wilderness left a gap that now must be closed before Passover in the land is kept (Joshua 5:4–7, 10). The choice of flint rather than metal may reflect a traditional ritual association and certainly highlights the intentional, solemn character of the act (Joshua 5:2–3). The hill where the procedure occurs is named Gibeath Haaraloth, a stark memorial that covenant identity is costly and concrete (Joshua 5:3). Only after the whole nation is circumcised do they remain in place until they are healed, accepting exposure in obedience (Joshua 5:8).

The Lord then declares, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you,” and the place is called Gilgal, echoing the word for roll (Joshua 5:9). The reproach likely refers to the taunt that Israel was freed only to die outside the promised home, a charge now silenced as the people bear the covenant sign and stand within the land (Exodus 32:12; Numbers 14:13–16). Four days later, at twilight on the fourteenth, Israel celebrates Passover on Canaan’s soil, remembering the night when the Lord passed over their houses and redeeming that memory for a settled life rather than a hurried escape (Joshua 5:10; Exodus 12:11–14). The next day they eat unleavened bread and roasted grain from the land, and manna stops the day after, a precise marker of transition from wilderness provision to cultivated bounty (Joshua 5:11–12; Deuteronomy 8:10).

The final scene unfolds near Jericho, where Joshua encounters a man with a drawn sword who identifies himself as commander of the Lord’s army (Joshua 5:13–14). Joshua’s question—“Are you for us or for our enemies?”—meets a holy correction: “Neither,” because the decisive alignment is with the Lord Himself, not with human factions (Joshua 5:13–14). Joshua falls facedown and is told to remove his sandals, for the place is holy, language that recalls Moses before the burning bush and ties Joshua’s commission to that earlier encounter with the God who dwells with His people (Joshua 5:15; Exodus 3:5). The encounter places the coming battles under a banner of worship and submission rather than merely under banners of war (Psalm 24:8–10).

Biblical Narrative

The chapter opens with a report of fear spreading among Amorite kings west of the Jordan and Canaanite kings along the coast because the Lord dried up the river until Israel crossed (Joshua 5:1). At that time the Lord commands Joshua to make flint knives and circumcise Israel again, not a repetition of a single act but the completion of a sign in a generation that had not yet received it (Joshua 5:2–3). A brief historical explanation follows: the men of military age who came out of Egypt died in the wilderness due to disobedience, and those born on the way had not been circumcised (Joshua 5:4–7; Numbers 14:29–35). After the nation is circumcised, they remain in camp until healed, and the Lord declares the reproach of Egypt rolled away, naming the place Gilgal (Joshua 5:8–9).

Passover then returns to center. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, Israel keeps the feast at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, memorializing the rescue that defined their birth as a people (Joshua 5:10; Exodus 12:26–27). The day after Passover, they eat unleavened bread and roasted grain from Canaan, and the manna that had sustained them from the wilderness ceases the day after they taste the land’s produce (Joshua 5:11–12; Exodus 16:35). The wording is careful: there was no longer any manna for Israel, but that year they ate from Canaan, anchoring the change to a particular season and place and showing that God’s care continues in a new form suited to a settled life (Deuteronomy 8:7–10).

A personal encounter closes the chapter. Near Jericho, Joshua looks up and sees a man standing with a drawn sword. He approaches and asks, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” The reply cuts across the question: “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come” (Joshua 5:13–14). Joshua falls facedown in reverence and asks for the message his Lord has for his servant. The commander answers with a command that echoes Sinai’s sanctity, instructing Joshua to remove his sandals because the place is holy (Joshua 5:14–15; Exodus 3:5). The narrative stops there, leaving the holy moment to hover over what will follow at Jericho (Joshua 6:2–5).

Theological Significance

Joshua 5 insists that covenant identity precedes conquest. Before a single trumpet sounds, Israel receives again the mark given to Abraham and aligns with the story that defines them through Passover (Genesis 17:9–14; Joshua 5:10). The order matters. God does not arm strangers; He forms a people who belong to Him and then sends them to inherit what He swore to their fathers (Deuteronomy 7:6–8; Joshua 1:6). In that era, belonging was signified by circumcision, a concrete boundary around the community of promise, especially in view of Passover’s requirement that participants stand within that covenant frame (Exodus 12:43–49). The principle endures even as the outward form of belonging unfolds across Scripture: God gathers a people by His word, marks them as His, and calls them to live out that identity in faith and obedience (1 Peter 2:9–10; Romans 6:17–18).

The scene at Gilgal also displays faith’s willingness to be vulnerable under God’s hand. Stopping to circumcise within enemy territory would be tactically questionable unless the Lord Himself is the shield of His people (Joshua 5:2–8; Psalm 3:3). Scripture emphasizes that regional dread has already softened resistance, but the people still choose obedience that leaves them waiting to heal, trusting that the God who parted the river can guard a camp (Joshua 5:1, 8; Psalm 121:5–8). The pattern is instructive: true readiness for God’s work comes not from constant motion but from responsive obedience that sometimes waits precisely when action seems urgent (Isaiah 30:15; Psalm 27:14). Courage here is not bluster; it is trust that obeys when obedience is costly (Joshua 1:7–9).

The cessation of manna and the first taste of Canaan’s grain teach that provision can change form without failing in substance. For forty years the Lord fed Israel daily with bread from heaven; now He feeds them through the land He promised, requiring sowing, reaping, and festivals that celebrate harvest (Exodus 16:35; Joshua 5:11–12; Leviticus 23:9–14). The same hand that gave manna now gives fields, and the people must receive the change with gratitude, diligence, and reverence (Deuteronomy 8:10–18). Theologically, this shift echoes a larger pattern in Scripture where God’s one saving plan advances through distinct stages, each with its appointed signs and practices, yet all revealing the same faithful Lord (Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Corinthians 3:5–6). Grace does not end when form changes; it matures.

The commander’s “Neither” corrects a persistent human instinct to conscript God into our conflicts. Joshua asks a battlefield question; the answer reorders the field around holiness and authority: the decisive issue is whether God is present to lead, not whether He can be recruited to a human side (Joshua 5:13–15). Joshua’s response—falling face down and removing sandals—shows that submission to God takes precedence over strategy, and that worship frames the work that follows (Exodus 3:5; Psalm 24:8–10). Some readers see here a theophany, others an exalted messenger, but the text’s emphasis falls on holiness and command: the Lord’s army has a commander, and Israel’s general must first be a worshiper (Joshua 5:14–15). Victory will not be a tale of human ingenuity; it will be a testimony to God’s direction (Joshua 6:2–5).

Gilgal’s name and wordplay announce that shame is removed in the place of obedience. “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt” does not deny Israel’s failures; it declares that God’s gracious action and the people’s covenant alignment have silenced the taunt that they were rescued only to die outside the promise (Joshua 5:9; Numbers 14:13–16). The rolling away occurs where circumcision is embraced and Passover is kept, linking forgiveness and identity in a way that grounds later language about God changing hearts so His people can walk in His ways (Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:26–27). The chapter therefore preaches hope to communities weighed down by yesterday’s lapses: God removes reproach when He restores and we respond.

Finally, Joshua 5 advances the story of promise with concrete fulfillment and a horizon of more to come. Passover in the land and produce from Canaan are not metaphors; they are the first tastes of what God swore, and they set a pattern that real gifts can point beyond themselves to a fuller rest still ahead (Joshua 5:10–12; Hebrews 4:8–11). The God who keeps dates and meals also commands armies and declares places holy, binding everyday bread and battlefield strategy to His presence (Joshua 5:12–15; Psalm 46:7). Readers are invited to trust this Lord across the stages of His plan, honoring what He pledged to Israel while recognizing how His mercy will, in time, embrace many from the nations without erasing earlier commitments (Genesis 12:3; Romans 11:28–29).

Spiritual Lessons and Application

Life with God moves best when identity leads activity. Israel’s first acts inside Canaan are not siege preparations but covenant renewal and Passover, grounding their work in who they are by God’s promise (Joshua 5:2–10). Believers today likewise act from a settled belonging, living out a heart-marked obedience empowered by God rather than trying to achieve status by effort (Romans 2:29; Colossians 2:11–12). This means giving attention to worship and remembrance before charging ahead, letting the story of God’s rescue shape the tasks in front of us (Exodus 12:26–27; 1 Corinthians 11:26).

Obedience sometimes chooses vulnerability under God’s care. The nation remains in camp until healed, trusting that the Lord who frightened their foes can protect them while they mend (Joshua 5:1, 8). Churches and households may face seasons where the faithful step is to pause, repent, reconcile, and recover rather than to rush into action, believing that God honors those who wait for Him (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 37:5). Such pauses are not retreats from mission; they are preparations that keep mission honest and holy (Joshua 3:5; James 4:8).

Provision often shifts forms as God leads us into new responsibilities. Manna ceases when grain is available, inviting gratitude for what was and diligence for what now is (Joshua 5:11–12; Deuteronomy 8:10–18). Many will recognize this movement in their own lives, where God’s care arrives first as daily surprise and later as steady channels that require labor and stewardship (Proverbs 10:4; Philippians 4:12–13). The heart response in both seasons is the same: bless the Lord who provides and follow His ways.

Allegiance must be to the Lord above every cause. Joshua’s question meets a holy “Neither,” teaching leaders and communities to ask not whether God supports our plans but whether we are standing where He commands with our sandals off in reverence (Joshua 5:13–15; Micah 6:8). This posture guards us from baptizing our preferences and invites us to be led by God’s word in both strategy and spirit (Psalm 25:4–5; Proverbs 3:5–6). Where holiness frames our steps, courage takes its true shape.

Conclusion

Joshua 5 places covenant, worship, and holiness at the threshold of warfare. The Lord rolls away reproach at Gilgal, the people keep Passover on Canaan’s soil, the manna ceases as the land begins to feed them, and a heavenly commander claims Joshua’s allegiance with a call to remove his sandals (Joshua 5:9–12, 14–15). The message is plain and powerful: identity comes before activity, obedience before victory, and God’s presence before every plan (Genesis 17:9–14; Joshua 1:5; Exodus 3:5). The nation enters battle as a marked people who remember their rescue and submit to a holy King, not as a crowd trying to recruit God for their cause (Joshua 5:10; Joshua 5:13–15).

For readers today, the chapter teaches how to live when the next wall looms. Renew the marks of belonging that God has appointed, rehearse the story of His salvation, accept the changes in His provision with gratitude, and bend low before His holiness (Exodus 12:26–27; Deuteronomy 8:10; Hebrews 12:28). The God who kept a date for Passover and met Joshua near Jericho still leads His people through thresholds with care that fits the moment and commands that steady the heart (Joshua 5:10–12, 14–15). Where He says stop, we stop; where He says go, we go; and where He says holy, we remove our sandals and listen.

“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘What message does my Lord have for his servant?’ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:13–15)