God required circumcision before battle because Israel's covenant relationship with Him had to be honored before the nation advanced to conquer the land.
The Bible places the command at Gilgal immediately after Israel crossed the Jordan and before the battle of Jericho (Joshua 5:2). The wilderness-born generation had not been circumcised (Joshua 5:5), so the covenant mark had to be restored. In the provided clips, Les teaches that circumcision was the blood-covenant sign God commanded for Abraham's descendants, showing why the rite was central to Israel's standing before God.
Joshua 5:2 — This is the exact command to circumcise the children of Israel a second time, coming after the Jordan crossing and before the Jericho battle.
Joshua 5:5 — This explains why the second circumcision was needed: the generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised.
Immediately after Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground, the LORD told Joshua, "Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time" (Joshua 5:2). The reason is given a few verses later: "Now all the people that 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" (Joshua 5:5). So before the first battle in the land, the covenant sign was restored to the nation.
In the provided clips, Les teaches that circumcision was the "blood covenant" God established with Abraham and the nation of Israel. He points to Genesis 17, where God commands every male child of Abraham to be circumcised, and explains that God was cementing the whole covenant relationship with blood. For Les, this covenant is what made Israel God's covenant people, lifted out of the nations as a people for His own possession. Les also teaches that God's master covenant with Abraham promised Israel a great nation, a land, and God Himself as their King. He stresses that Israel was to be obedient in preparing for that fulfillment and was set apart from the pagan nations around them. At the same time, he shows from Romans 2 that the circumcision that truly counts with God is not merely outward in the flesh but inward, of the heart. The supplied clips do not directly comment on the Gilgal circumcision scene, but they establish why the covenant sign was foundational before the nation proceeded in the land.
God commanded Abraham, "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10). Les describes this as God cementing the covenant with blood, comparing it to ancient blood covenants where parties would cut themselves and mix blood. He emphasizes that circumcision gave God a blood covenant with the nation of Israel, the children of Abraham.
The biblical record shows the command to circumcise came after the Jordan crossing and before Jericho, and the stated reason was that the wilderness-born generation had not been circumcised (Joshua 5:2, 5). Les does not directly expound this passage in the provided clips, but he teaches that God's master covenant with Abraham promised Israel the land, and that Israel was to be obedient in preparing for its fulfillment. The covenant sign therefore had to be in place as the nation moved toward the covenant battles.
Les uses Romans 2 to show that a true Jew is not one merely circumcised outwardly in the flesh. The circumcision that really counts with God is inward, of the heart. This spiritual circumcision points beyond the physical rite to the heart change that the covenant sign represented for Israel.
Crossing the Jordan
Les describes how God supernaturally stopped the Jordan River and brought Israel across on dry ground, setting the stage for Israel's entry into the promised land.
Circumcision as Blood Covenant
Les teaches that the institution of circumcision gave God a blood covenant with the nation of Israel, and that every child of Abraham was to be circumcised on the eighth day.
God's Covenant Command to Abraham
Les shows God commanding Abraham to keep the covenant of circumcision and describes how God cemented the whole covenant relationship with blood.
Israel as God's Covenant People
Les explains that keeping God's covenant made Israel a peculiar treasure, lifted out of the mainstream of humanity as God's favored, chosen people.
The Land Promise in the Covenant
Les teaches that God's master covenant with Abraham promised Israel would become a great nation, dwell in their own land, and have God as their King.
Israel Prepared for a Future Role
Les shows that God gave Israel the Law and the priesthood to prepare them for a future role in the midst of surrounding pagan idolatry.
Israel's Separation from Pagan Nations
Les teaches that Israel, as God's covenant people, were to remain separate from the pagan nations and were never to intermarry with them.
Circumcision of the Heart
Les uses Romans 2 to explain that true circumcision before God is inward, of the heart, not merely an outward mark in the flesh.
Joshua 5:2: At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
This is the direct command to circumcise Israel after crossing the Jordan and before the battle of Jericho.
Joshua 5:5: Now all the people that 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.
This explains why the second circumcision was necessary: the wilderness-born generation had missed the covenant sign.
Genesis 17:10: This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
This is the original covenant command that made circumcision the sign for Abraham's descendants.
Romans 2:28-29: For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Paul shows that the physical rite points to a spiritual reality, a truth Les applies to the meaning of circumcision.
Scripture says the generation that came out of Egypt had been circumcised, but those born in the wilderness during the forty years had not been (Joshua 5:5). The LORD therefore told Joshua to make sharp knives and circumcise the children of Israel again before the conquest (Joshua 5:2).
The provided transcripts do not teach that this was a repeated requirement before every battle. The biblical record in Joshua 5 shows the command given at Gilgal before the Jericho campaign because the wilderness-born males were uncircumcised.
Les teaches that circumcision was the blood covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants. The rite marked Israel as God's covenant people, set apart from the nations around them.
Les uses Romans 2 to explain that a true Jew is one inwardly, and the circumcision that really counts with God is of the heart, not merely the outward flesh. This spiritual circumcision points to the inward reality the physical sign represented.
Watch the Teaching: Crossing the Jordan on Dry Ground — What Most People Miss