RCL: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Joshua 5: 9-12 The people of God are catching their breath. They have crossed over another river… the Jordan. When this journey began, they crossed over the Red (Reed) Sea, fleeing their Egyptian oppressors. Now, with the wilderness in the rearview mirror, they make…

Joshua 5:9-12 As we continue our journey in Lent, we are invited in a deeper awareness of our bondage to sin and the threshold decision moments in our lives. At this juncture in the Book of Joshua, the Israelites stand on a threshold between the wilderness and the Promised Land. The people have crossed over…

Joshua 5:9-12 The Lord tells Joshua in this passage that the disgrace of Egypt has been rolled away from the Israelites, meaning that they no longer carry the lowliness of having been enslaved by the Egyptians. They are free, and they have made it out of the wilderness where they faced scarcity and the fear…

Joshua 5:9-12 When we think “Joshua,” there’s a good chance we think “conquest” or at least something in that vein. The book is about Israel coming into Canaan and taking the land as their own after the wandering exodus from Egypt. In this rather short pericope, we hit an important turning point in the story….