Jos 5:11-12 | KingComments | STEP | What will certainly soothe the pain is the thought of the Passover lamb, which was the cause of their liberation from Egypt. It speaks of the Lord Jesus and the judgment that came on Him to free us from the power of sin and from the judgment of God. Therefore, after circumcision, the Passover can be celebrated, for how could an uncircumcised people celebrate the Passover? That is impossible. So it is impossible to celebrate the Lord’s Supper without self-judgment ( ). The Passover is celebrated here for the first time in the land, after the people celebrated it in Egypt ( ) and in the wilderness ( ). They do it just before the walls of Jericho. The LORD “prepares a table” for His people “in the presence” of their “enemies” ( ). Blood is applied only once, in Egypt ( ), but the memory of the liberation from the judgment of God is celebrated every year. We can celebrate the Passover every first day of the week in celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Each time we celebrate, we will be impressed by the value of the blood. Without blood there is no salvation, no wilderness journey, and no entry into the land. Both the letter to the Ephesians and the letter to the Colossians, which present the highest Christian blessings to us, speak of blood and the forgiveness of sins ( ; ). We must never forget the blood of the Lamb. We owe all the blessings to the blood. After the Passover, the Feast of unleavened bread begins, which lasts seven days ( ). This speaks of a whole life – the number ‘seven’ speaks of completeness, in this case of a complete period – without malice and wickedness: “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are [in fact] unleavened. For Christ, our Passover, also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” ( ). If we have celebrated the Lord’s Supper, it will have an effect in the following week. At the same time, that week is a preparation for the next Lord’s Supper. On the day after the Passover, the people eat from the proceeds of the land. It is also the day on which the first sheaf from the barley harvest is brought. That speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is the Firstborn of the dead. In connection therewith the people may eat from the proceeds of the land. Through His resurrection we can enjoy all spiritual blessings. But we will never forget that we owe everything to the judgment that He wanted to undergo for it. We see this in the roasting (Darby translation) of the fruit of the land, i.e. the fruit is exposed to the fire. The fruit of the land, barley and wheat, symbolically represents the Lord Jesus. He is the bread of life ( ). The Passover speaks of His death, but He was raised on the first day of the week, on the day of bringing the first fruits of barley. That is why John 6 also begins with barley loaves ( ). To this the Lord Jesus connects His teaching about Himself as the bread of life. Whoever eats Him ( ) has eternal life, that is to say, gets Him as his life, for “He is the true God and eternal life” ( ). Eating Him means appropriating Him in faith in the acknowledgment that life is only given by Him. The Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as the grain of wheat and the fruit thereof when the grain of wheat dies ( ). The wheat comes later than the barley ( ). The barley speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The wheat speaks of His death, His resurrection, and the fruit of His death. We are, as it were, seven weeks further. We see a glorified Lord, while we see ourselves in the many fruits, as is also represented in the two wave breads ( ).

‏ Joshua 5:11-12

The Passover

What will certainly soothe the pain is the thought of the Passover lamb, which was the cause of their liberation from Egypt. It speaks of the Lord Jesus and the judgment that came on Him to free us from the power of sin and from the judgment of God. Therefore, after circumcision, the Passover can be celebrated, for how could an uncircumcised people celebrate the Passover? That is impossible. So it is impossible to celebrate the Lord’s Supper without self-judgment (1Cor 11:28).

The Passover is celebrated here for the first time in the land, after the people celebrated it in Egypt (Exo 12:1-14) and in the wilderness (Num 9:1-5). They do it just before the walls of Jericho. The LORD “prepares a table” for His people “in the presence” of their “enemies” (Psa 23:5a).

Blood is applied only once, in Egypt (Exo 12:7), but the memory of the liberation from the judgment of God is celebrated every year. We can celebrate the Passover every first day of the week in celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Each time we celebrate, we will be impressed by the value of the blood. Without blood there is no salvation, no wilderness journey, and no entry into the land. Both the letter to the Ephesians and the letter to the Colossians, which present the highest Christian blessings to us, speak of blood and the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14). We must never forget the blood of the Lamb. We owe all the blessings to the blood.

After the Passover, the Feast of unleavened bread begins, which lasts seven days (Exo 12:15-20). This speaks of a whole life – the number ‘seven’ speaks of completeness, in this case of a complete period – without malice and wickedness: “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are [in fact] unleavened. For Christ, our Passover, also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Cor 5:7-8). If we have celebrated the Lord’s Supper, it will have an effect in the following week. At the same time, that week is a preparation for the next Lord’s Supper.

On the day after the Passover, the people eat from the proceeds of the land. It is also the day on which the first sheaf from the barley harvest is brought. That speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is the Firstborn of the dead. In connection therewith the people may eat from the proceeds of the land. Through His resurrection we can enjoy all spiritual blessings. But we will never forget that we owe everything to the judgment that He wanted to undergo for it. We see this in the roasting (Darby translation) of the fruit of the land, i.e. the fruit is exposed to the fire.

The fruit of the land, barley and wheat, symbolically represents the Lord Jesus. He is the bread of life (Jn 6:33). The Passover speaks of His death, but He was raised on the first day of the week, on the day of bringing the first fruits of barley. That is why John 6 also begins with barley loaves (Jn 6:9). To this the Lord Jesus connects His teaching about Himself as the bread of life. Whoever eats Him (Jn 6:48-58) has eternal life, that is to say, gets Him as his life, for “He is the true God and eternal life” (1Jn 5:20b). Eating Him means appropriating Him in faith in the acknowledgment that life is only given by Him.

The Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as the grain of wheat and the fruit thereof when the grain of wheat dies (Jn 12:24). The wheat comes later than the barley (Exo 9:31-32). The barley speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The wheat speaks of His death, His resurrection, and the fruit of His death. We are, as it were, seven weeks further. We see a glorified Lord, while we see ourselves in the many fruits, as is also represented in the two wave breads (Lev 23:15-17).

The Manna Ceases

Eating the fruit of the land is not the same as eating the manna, the food in the wilderness. The manna represents the Lord Jesus, but in His life on earth. Every day we need the manna for our earthly journey. We eat that manna when we read the Gospels, for example. There we see the life of the Lord Jesus in humiliation on earth. By feeding ourselves with Him in this way we get His features. But for knowing the heavenly blessings we must concern ourselves with Him as Man in heaven. That is proposed in eating the yield of the land. We do this when we read about Him in the letters, especially Paul’s, in connection with the place He now occupies in heaven.

God gives in His providence the manna for as long as it is necessary. He has even given it when the people once show their aversion to it (Num 11:6). The fact that the people have been able to pick up the bread from heaven every morning and feed themselves with it has been a daily recurring miracle. God works miracles as long as it is needed. This also indicates that miracles are temporary. If there are ‘normal’ facilities, the miracles stop. There is no claim to be made on the progress of God’s extraordinary actions.