JOS 5:9 "Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.' So the place has been called Gilgal to this day."
There are many ways already in the book of Joshua that parallel the Exodus events and Moses’ leadership. It is not surprising, then, that God is making it clear that as He was with Moses, so He is enabling Joshua to lead like Moses. We should also be reminded that the people swore an oath that ‘as they had been with (obeyed) Moses, so they would be with (obey) Joshua.’ Ironically, the people were not very obedient to Moses (or God) and so results the 40 years in the desert.
“The reproach of Egypt,” I believe symbolizes several things that would require explanation for people today. Most notably, we would need to explain Israel’s slavery in Egypt. Dr. Coleson begins several thoughts regarding this by stating, “The shame of your slavery in Egypt” is, literally, “the reproach of Egypt.” This phrase may have recalled to the older Israelites their enslavement in Egypt when they were very young, but “slavery” is not actually part of the phrase.” Since the text does not specifically state slavery, I think we are left with a broader, more inclusive “reproach.”
There are several possibilities as to what this “reproach” includes. It may be the ‘reproach’ with which the Egyptians reproached the Israelites through cruel mis-treatment, or the reproach itself of being slaves, the reproach involved in the taunts and jeers of the Egyptians who said that God had brought them out of Egypt to destroy them in the desert, which, therefore, would rest upon them as long as they were condemned to wander restlessly about and to eventually be extinguished in the wilderness. To this point Dr. Coleson adds:
More probably, this phrase refers to a scenario Moses had raised with God in his several intercessory prayers (Exod 32:12; Num 14:13-16; Deut 9:28). If Israel perished in the wilderness, Moses had argued, the Egyptians would hear about it. They would reason that though God had delivered Israel out of Egypt, He had not been powerful enough to bring them safely through the wilderness. This would bring reproach not only upon Israel, but also upon God. (Joshua 5, pg. 2)
It is important to understand the cultures of honor and shame that existed within the OT. There is certainly no shortage of reasons that Israel, the select people of God, should feel ashamed. These feelings possible stemmed from the same of enslavement, disobedience, being homeless and wandering, and a host of other reasons for failing to meet the standards and norms of what is deemed good, right, appropriate, and desirable. Israel had been held captive by and syncretized to the Egyptians. They had become a displaced people.
The greater importance for our study here, however, is that their reproach (shame) has been rolled away as a result of re-circumcision. According to the Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, “this reproach was rolled away from Israel with the circumcision of the people at Gilgal, inasmuch as this act was a practical declaration of the perfect restoration of the covenant, and a pledge that the Lord would now give them the land of Canaan for their inheritance.” If I understand Dr. Coleson’s commentary, he suggests that for Israel there is no more punishment necessary. They have been redeemed:
“Moreover, the reproach of slavery had been “rolled away” when God liberated Israel, administering disastrous justice upon Egypt in the process. There was no reproach left to Israel (if ever there had been any) because of her sojourn in Egypt” (Joshua 5, pg. 2).
Now that Israel has safely crossed the Jordan and is hemmed into the Promised Land, there can be no more shame from thinking that they would perish in the desert as the Egyptians said. “With Israel now safely in the land of Canaan, their disappearance in the wilderness no longer was a possibility”…they have come out of ‘darkness’ and into ‘light’ to be seen by the nations (Coleson, pg. 2).
As I have been thinking about and studying this short passage, there are several things that stand out to me about the significance of the “reproach of Egypt” being “rolled away.”
- It was a Rite of Passage. Ceremonially speaking, circumcision allowed them to begin a new chapter in their history. According to the promise, they have also began a new chapter by fulfilling what had been promised long ago. In one sense, they have ‘arrived.’
- It was a Purification Rite. By being enslaved and syncretizing with the Egyptians, they had become, I think, a ‘defiled people’ – or at least people in need of purification. In this way, the allotted time and actions necessary for purification is now complete – the reproach is purified and re-consecration (or re-instatement) is necessary to rejoin fellowship with God.
- It was a Re-establishment of the covenant. This, I’m sure, is discussed in more detail in other posts.
- It was the end of God’s ‘wrath’ or judgment on being forbidden to enter the Promised Land. In this way the iniquity is pardoned by reaffirming their faithfulness and obedience to God via the covenant.
- It was to symbolize they are no longer enslaved to Egypt (or to anything other than God himself). They are now ‘enslaved’ to God via spiritual circumcision. [Though earlier noted, there is no mention of slavery in this verse, but contextually it is applicable.]