Rolling Away Reproach

Before Israel can celebrate the Passover, one more major event must take place—the men must be circumcised (Ex. 12:43–51). Thus, God commands Joshua to make flint knives—perhaps as an allusion to the antiquity of the rite (Gen. 17:11) or to the circumcision of Moses’ son (Ex. 4:25)—and “ ‘circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.’ ” Scripture is not clear as to when the first circumcision implied here took place, but it appears to have been shortly before the Exodus, “for all the people who came out had been circumcised.” Those men had been given this mark of God’s covenant with Abraham, which entitled them and their families to participate in the Passover. But when their generation rebelled and refused to invade Canaan, the nation came under God’s judgment and was condemned to wander in the desert until all of them had died. Commentators disagree on why the Israelites did not circumcise the children born in the desert, but it is possible that God did not want it performed. Matthew Henry argues that it is unthinkable that such a crucial covenantal rite would be neglected under Moses’ leadership. He believes that the cessation of circumcision was “a continued token of God’s displeasure against them for their unbelief.” In any case, God is now ready to consecrate a new generation of Israelites to Himself. One part of God’s covenant with Abraham was the promise of land (Gen. 17:8). That promise is now fulfilled, so God directs that the sign of the covenant be applied to all the males who have inherited the promise.

It is interesting that God would have His people undergo such a debilitating rite at this point. Having crossed the Jordan, they are practically within sight of Jericho. But God has filled the Canaanites’ hearts with terror to cause them to cower during this time. Though circumcision will render Israel’s men unable to fight, the nation is safe under the wing of its covenant-making, covenant-keeping God.

Joshua obediently circumcises the men at a place that comes to be called “the hill of the foreskins.” And when the rite is completed, God declares “ ‘the reproach of Egypt’ ” rolled away. No longer can the Egyptians or any other pagan people ascribe evil to the God of the Israelites (Num. 14:13–16; Deut. 9:28), for He has set His love upon them and brought them into Canaan, just as He said He would.