Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

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 (Joshua 5:9 NIV).

enlist in the army at Gilgal

I have gone back to this since we need to understand the significance of Gilgal and the prophetic relevance for us today. Earlier in the month we spoke about the circumcision that occurred at Gilgal and how for us who follow Jesus it is our mind that needs to be circumcised. The act of circumcision is cutting a covenant. At Gilgal we are called to renew our covenant of commitment to the Lord. Joshua called the New Generation to make a fresh commitment to the Lord by cutting away from them the reproach of Egypt. After the ‘shame’, ‘low self-esteem’ and rejection of the things of God was removed then the healing process could begin.

Later on in the history of Israel Gilgal became part of the circuit that Samuel visited. Starting from Bethel, the house of God, then unto Gilgal, the camp of God and unto Mizpah, the watch tower and finally Ramah his home, from where he Judged all Israel.

So Gilgal is a place of new beginnings where the sin of slavery has been removed from us. It is also a place where the shame of being in slavery and in relationships that were not Godly can be rectified. It was also a place where Joshua set up his camp and from where he went out to fight the enemies of Israel.

Gilgal is also a wheel or a round object in Hebrew. It is the root word from which Golgotha the place where Jesus was crucified is derived. It was at Golgotha that the reproach for all humanity was removed as Jesus, who knew no sin became sin for us.

Today let us understand the significance of Gilgal as the camp where soldiers are trained and let us remember that the reproach has been rolled away so that we can walk in newness of life because we have made a commitment to serve the Lord for the rest of our lives. Enlist in the army and obey the commands that God is issuing to his generals.

Read Joshua 5