Joshua 5:9-12 (NRSV)
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Verse 9The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.
Verse 10While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. Verse 11On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. Verse 12The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
Devotion
Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt. The Israelites had left Egypt a long time ago. A new generation has grown up knowing only wandering. In the last few days they have crossed over the Jordan into a new land. After arriving at Gilgal all males are circumcised (not at the hospital, not at a bris, ouch!). The Israelites celebrate Passover in this new place and the very next day they are no longer homeless. God's people are ready for a new start in the land promised to them.
Has your life always been stable, filled with the familiar and the comfortable? Or have you lived in exile? Have you ever crossed a border and faced danger? In 2015, The United Nations High Commissioner reported almost 60 million refugees worldwide—not six million but sixty million. Can you imagine leaving all your possessions behind and wandering? How long would you be homeless? What would it be like not to know if you would ever find a new land, a new home?
Prayer
God of new beginnings, thank you for all you provide, all you have rolled away, for leading us to a life without disgrace. Help us to care for our land and all it produces. Amen.