I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Joshua chapter 10. Joshua chapter 10. I'd like to deal out of both
messages today out of Joshua. I had prepared a message out
of Joshua and one out of Proverbs. for today and was looking over
my notes a few days ago and as I was looking
over my notes, I read something that I'd like to consider this
morning. The Lord has given victory to
Israel over Ai and the inhabitants of Gibeon, they've entered into
a league of peace with Joshua. They've submitted themselves
onto Joshua as servants. And having done that, all the
cities in that surrounding area have risen up to smite them because
they've submitted themselves Well, truly unto the Lord. They've
submitted themselves unto the Lord. Have followed the Lord. You know, when someone makes
that statement, I want to follow the Lord. What do they mean? Well, if they've
been taught of God, that means they want to bow to Him who is
sovereign. They bow to him who, as he told
Moses, has mercy and compassion on whomsoever he will. That's
following the Lord by faith. Following the Lord is to put
no confidence in your flesh. I followed the Lord, how is that? I don't have anything to offer
him. By the grace of God, God has
shown faith unto me. Following the Lord is to shun
all former works that you thought reconciled you to God. and count
those works as dung. That's following the Lord. So when someone says, I just
want to follow the Lord, they may have to qualify what that
means because this world, those are easy words. I saw a sign
the other day and it says this, are you following Jesus? And
I thought on that sign, I thought, what do you mean? You tell me
what you mean. According to these scriptures,
Well, the people of Gibeon have, by the grace of God, followed
Christ. They've submitted themselves.
Joshua is a picture of the Lord. And they've sought Joshua, a
picture of Christ, for mercy. And it was found. And now these
cities is raised up against them. And that's going to be the way
that it is. The world is going to hate God's
people. These trials don't come our way
by accident. These trials are from the providential
hand of Almighty God. He has revealed. They're gonna
come. And he sent them. He sent them. He worketh. I want you to hold
your place and turn with me a second, Samuel. If you're in Joshua,
Just a book or two toward the middle of the Bible, 2 Samuel
16. Don't you look at something here. 2 Samuel 16. 2 Samuel 16. Now my statement was
God sent these trials. 2 Samuel 16, verse five. And when King David came to Behurim,
behold, came out a man of the family of the house of Saul whose
name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed still
as he came. He just came and he was just
cussing while he came. And he cast stones at David and
at all the servants of King David. and all the people and all the
mighty men were on his right hand or his left hand, and thus
said Shimei, when he cursed, come out, come out, thou bloody
man, thou man of Belial, you who are of the devil. That's
what he's telling King David. The Lord hath returned upon thee
all the blood of the house of Saul in whose stead thou hast
reigned, and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of
Absalom, Thy son, and behold, thou art taken in thy mischief,
because thou art a bloody man. Then said Abishai, the son of
Zeruiah, unto the king, why should this dead dog curse my lord the
king? Let me go over, I pray thee,
and take off his head. And the king said, what have
I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse, because
the Lord has said unto him. Curse David. Who shall then say,
wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai and
to all his servants, behold my son, which came forth of my bowels,
seeking my life. How much more now may this Benjamite
do it? Let him alone. Let him curse,
for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will
look on mine affliction, that the Lord will requite me good
for his cursing this day. Now, let me tell you who, it
was Abishai, verse nine, Abishai. Abishai was David's nephew. That was his nephew. That was
the son of David's sister. And here he's got, this is part
of his family. I want you, if you want to see
that, turn over to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 2. 1 Chronicles
2. Let me show you who this guy
was. 1 Chronicles 2, verse 13 to 16. It's given a genealogy. 1 Chronicles 2 and Jesse. Who
was Jesse? That was David's daddy. Jesse
begat his firstborn, Eliab, Benadab the second, and Shema the third,
Nethaniel the fourth, Radai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, David
the seventh, whose sisters were Zeruiah. That was his sister,
Zeruiah. So back in 2 Samuel, here comes
Abishai, the son of Zeruiah. So he's got his families with
him, and they love David. And this guy came and he's cussing
David and David's nephew said, I'll take his head off. No, he
said, leave him alone. He said, God told him. You curse
David. It may be the Lord may show me
mercy because of that. So here's the people of Gibeon. They are being oppressed and
they They're allowed to suffer. And when we suffer, we're allowed
to suffer for God's glory and our good. We remember some things. When people speak against us,
as Shimei did to David, we're allowed to remember the suffering
of our enemies, to remind us of something. That's where we
came from. They're not doing anything that we didn't have
a heart to do before. We're gonna be made to remember
the pit of depravity from which we've been dug, and when we're
tried for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, remember something. We were without God in this world
before the Lord in sovereign mercy and grace drew us. to himself. So don't think it
strange when people oppose us. These surrounding cities rose
up against the people of Gibeon and they cried out, they cried
out to Joshua. Joshua chapter 10 verse 6, this
is what I want to preach on this morning. And the men of Gibeon
sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal. Sent to Joshua, and where was
he? He was in Gilgal. And as I read
that, I began to think, the Spirit of God made it explicit where
Joshua was. when they sent to him for help. He was in Gilgal. Now I want
to consider that, just for a few minutes. The men of Gibeon sent
unto Joshua to the camp in Gilgal. But for the grace of God, we
just read right over that, just sent to the camp in Gilgal, okay?
They were just there. But let's consider something.
That word, see, it says, and the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua
to the camp, to Gilgal. It means, that word camped right
there, it's a word that means to lean, to incline, to lean
upon, to abide or to dwell. They were, Joshua was dwelling
in a place. dwelling in Gilgal. And there was something about
Gilgal that was so precious to Joshua and to the people. That's where they were. That
was the place, first of all, the first place that they camped
when they came out of the wilderness and crossed over the Jordan River,
it was in Gilgal, that's where they experienced God's deliverance
out of the wilderness. And there were 12 stones that
was put in Gilgal. Hold your place right, just turn
back a few pages, Joshua 4. Joshua chapter 4, 19. Joshua
4, 19. 19 to 24. And the people came
up out of Jordan on the 10th day of the first month and encamped
in Gilgal in the east border of Jericho, and those 12 stones
which they took out of Jordan did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 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? And you shall say to the children,
Israel came over this Jordan on dry land, for the Lord your
God dried up waters of Jordan from before you until you 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, that all the
people of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord, that
it's mighty, that you might fear the Lord your God forever. So
they came across, this is the first place they were. That's
where they encamped, right there. Gilgal was where the nation of
Israel, after they came out of the Jordan River, Gilgal. That
was a place where they circumcised again. Now there were some people,
look in Joshua chapter five, verse five. Joshua 5, five. All the people which 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. Now they were, they pitched these
12 stone in Gilgal, first place, first place that they, that God
allowed them to camp. They came into the land of promise.
They came over there and they started administering the rite,
R-I-T-E, of circumcision. That was something that had been
commanded them, but they been in Egypt, and all of them that
was in Egypt were circumcised, but they got into the wilderness.
And all of them that were in Egypt and had been circumcised,
well, that was one thing, but a lot of them were born in the
wilderness, and they'd never been circumcised. And so they
said that circumcision was necessary. And I began to think on that.
You know, we've heard of this all our lives. was the right, R-I-T-E, of circumcision. What was circumcision? Well,
it was a sign. It was a sign or a seal that
was given by God to Abraham. And it was a sign or a seal of
a covenant agreement that God had made, a covenant. had made
with his people, with Abraham, he gave this covenant, and what
it signified, what circumcision signified was a covenant or an
agreement concerning the obedience to all points of God's demand
for righteousness, the law. That's what it was. But here
was the problem. No one born in Adam could obey. That was a seal, that was a sign.
Here's an agreement. God made an agreement with the
people for life. Here's the only demand for it,
obedience. So brethren, the sign, the seal
of circumcision, always, always from its institution, had an
eye toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It always did, it always did,
always did. No one born in Adam could keep
the law. Now here's the sign, you keep
my word, you keep my agreement, you keep my covenant. And here's
the sign, I've made it with you. And I'm gonna show mercy to you,
the Jews. A sign of the spiritual Jews. But they couldn't keep it. Let
me show you, hold your place right there and turn to Galatians
5, Galatians chapter 5. The Spirit of God moved the Apostle
Paul to give us some understanding into this. Romans 5, 2 and 3. Romans 5, I said Romans, I'm
sorry. Galatians, I looked at the wrong
thing, Galatians. Galatians chapter 5. Galatians 5, verse 2 and 3. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if you be circumcised, that is, if you do this as a work
of obedience, thinking that you've been reconciled to God because
you were circumcised, if you be circumcised, Christ will profit
you nothing. where I testify again to every
man that is circumcised that he's a debtor to do the whole
law. This is what it was. It was a
right, it was a sign of God's covenant agreement to show salvation
to a people, but obedience was the issue. So circumcision always,
always pointed to the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. If
a man would submit himself to circumcision, or any other work
in order to gain acceptance with God, Christ profited him, nothing. So this is why the Lord Jesus
Christ, himself made of a woman, made under the law, was circumcised. Christ himself, he came into
this world and he was circumcised, and he made himself a debtor. to do that which was demanded
of the law, obedience. Romans 15 verse 8 tells us that
which the Lord Jesus Christ did. This is why circumcision always,
always looked to Christ. It always looked to Christ. Romans
15, 8, now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision
for the truth of God. to confirm the promises made
unto the fathers. And when I say that circumcision
always pictured Christ or looked to Christ, Abraham saw that. That's what's meant when it said
the Lord spoke and he said, Abraham, believe God. Abraham believed
God. and it was counted unto him for
righteousness. He saw Christ as his only obedience. So here's
Gilgal, not only back in Joshua chapter 10, not only was this
the first place, Gilgal, that's the first place God allowed them
to rest when they came out of the wilderness, into the land
of promise, Gilgal. This is the place where they
established that right of circumcision. to where they're saying that
circumcision that set forth, we're looking to the Savior himself
for obedience. We are covenant people, but he's
our federal head. So Gilgal was a special place
to Joshua. But not only was Gilgal where
Israel first encamped and crossed over the Jordan River and where
those 12 stones for a memorial were raised and circumcision
was administered unto those that had been born in the wilderness,
but it was also a place where the Passover was observed. The Passover that was observed
as a memorial. Look at Joshua chapter five,
verse eight to 10. Joshua five. It came to pass when they had
done circumcising all the people They abode in their places in
the camp till they were whole. And the Lord said unto Joshua
this day, have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from all
few, wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal. And the children of Israel encamped
in Gilgal and kept Passover on the 14th day of the month at
Even in the plain of Jericho. Now that Passover, you know what
that was. When they were in Egypt, the
Lord, because of sin, told Moses, I'm gonna come through. I'm gonna
pass through and every firstborn, man and beast, is gonna die except
where the blood is applied. And he gave Moses the instruction. how that blood was to be obtained.
They were gonna take a lamb. They were gonna set that lamb
apart. They were gonna kill that lamb. They were gonna take the
blood and apply it on the door, side post, and the top. And when
the Lord came through, wherever the blood was found to be, he
passed over. They came into that land of promise. They were in Gilgal. The first
place God lets be, the place where God established, we're
in the land of promise. The place where circumcision
was instituted for those that had been born in the wilderness.
That sign, that symbol of covenant mercy that the Lord Jesus Christ,
the one who has made himself no reputation, humble himself
and answerable to the people of God. That's where that circumcision
was done again. Gilgal, a place where the covenant
of God showing you apply the blood in the Passover, that was
where the inhabitants of Gibeon knew. Where is Joshua gonna be
found? He gonna be found in Gilgal.
That's where he was. Oh, the significance of that
place, the rolling away, that city that would be a constant
reminder of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem
his people from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
them. Gilgal was a picture. It was a type. I read that. These men of Gibeon, they're
in trouble. They're in trouble. We're gonna
look at that in the next Lord willing, next message. They're
in trouble. But they were gonna find, where's Joshua? Where is
he? They knew where he was gonna
be. He was gonna be in Gilgal. That place that symbolizes, and
I thought on this, and I thought, this is a sweet thought to me.
Every believer has got a spiritual place in his heart. For that
mercy that's been shown him, and they remember, they remember.
Gilgal was a picture of the sweet remembrance of God's mercy. That's
where Joshua wanted to be, that's where the people of Israel wanted
to be. We wanna be here, we wanna be where the Lord has shown mercy
and that rest and that comfort in their heart. It speaks of
God's pleasure to show compassion in Christ. I've said this so
many times, this building right here, I love this little building.
I love the wood, I love the, it's just, but here's what I
love about this place. This is where God has been pleased
to show mercy. And I said, well, we could meet
anywhere. I agree with you. But there's a significance about
that which has been done. Not the wood, not the mortar,
not the rig, not the rocks. I like that. I like that. But
oh, the thought of Gilgal. There's a Gilgal. This is where
God showed mercy to so many of you, where God permitted this
guy here, come here and be with you. And concerning the significance
of Gilgal, it's a picture, it's a type. I mean, that city was
a city, but it was more than a city. It was a place where
God blessed Joshua. That's where God's people, that's
where they want to be. Where do you want to be? Spiritually
speaking, I want to be where God has been pleased to bless.
That's what I want, that's what I want. That's where God's people
are gonna be found. That was Jacob's attitude when
he wrestled with a man. The Lord Jesus Christ, he told
me, he said, let me go, day breaketh. Jacob said, I will not let thee
go, till you bless me. I wanna be found here, that's
where I wanna be. God blesses. When many forsook
the Lord, in John chapter six, you can read the chapter, the
Lord spoke and he, when God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he
declared man's total inability, what did he tell those that followed
him? He had so many disciples, those that were following him,
not apostles, I'm talking about people that were following him.
And this is what he said. No man can come to me except
it were given unto him of my father. That was a hard saying to them.
What you're saying is God sovereignly has the right to grant or withhold
permission. to come to Christ. That's what
you're saying. You're saying that God's sovereign and I'm
totally at his mercy. That's what you're saying. That's
exactly what he's saying. And they said, that's a hard
saying. And they followed him no more. And he turned to his
disciples and he said, will you go away too? And Peter said,
where are we going to go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we're sure you're the Christ. God's people want to
be where the Lord is pleased to bless. He's omnipresent, he's
everywhere, but there's places where he's pleased to manifest
himself, and that's where God's people want to be. They want
to be in that place of spiritual yoga. If you, like the men of
Israel, or Gibeon, I'm sorry, would want to know where God's
people are, where the Lord is. Look to that place where the
Lord has permitted, has granted the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ to be set forth with clarity, consistency, where he's faithfully
preached, and that's where you're gonna find people, God's people,
assembling themselves. The men of Gibeon, they were
in trouble. and they wanted to know, where's
Joshua? They knew, here's what the scripture
says, and the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal. That's where he was, and that's
where he was found. I pray that God bless this to
our hearts for Christ's sake, amen. All right, let's take a
few minutes break.