Joshua 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.
Our Children Must Choose
Life is full of transitions. It’s important to know where the transitions are and how to handle them. Every day we find transitions, and every day is a transition. We transition from morning to night and from one day to the next, and we often transition geographically.
In Joshua 5-6, Israel was going through two major transitions. Geographically, they were going from the wandering to the land of Canaan, and chronologically, they were going from one generation to the next.
Joshua had impressed upon Israel the importance of this new generation being reminded of Who God is. Most people have very little context for their lives, what came before them, what comes after them, and what is going on in the world at large. In order to have any context for life, we need to understand Who God is and what He has done.
When Israel crossed the Jordan River on their way to the land of promise, God commanded that they were to take stones out of the dry riverbed and to set them up as a memorial to help their children remember what God had done. When the children asked their fathers about these stones, Joshua 4:22 says, “Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.” This would remind these children, who hadn’t experienced the Jordan crossing for themselves, of Who God was and what He had done.
Each new generation needs to be reminded of Who God is and choose to follow Him for themselves. Each of us has a responsibility to guide and train the next generation. We do that by reminding our children of Who God is and what He has done. When we recount the events of our lives to our children, it is important to recognize God’s part in that story. Our lives should inspire each new generation to choose to follow God for themselves.