Demoralized enemies
1Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and Canaanite kings near the Mediterranean Sea have all heard about the LORD drying up the Jordan River so Israelites could cross. That news demoralized them. It dried up every drop of their courage.Time to circumcise
2That’s when the LORD told Joshua, “Sharpen knives from flint rocks. Then circumcise any boys or men who haven’t yet been circumcised.” [1] 3So Joshua ordered the people to make flint knives. The circumcision took place at a site they called Foreskin Hill. [2]4There’s a reason Joshua had to order the second generation of males to get circumcised. The first generation got circumcised. That included any male old enough to fight in battles. [3] But that first generation of adults coming out of Egypt died in the desert wasteland. 5Joshua was working with a new generation. The first generation had gotten circumcised. But this new generation—born after the escape from Egypt—skipped it. [4] 6Israelites had lived 40 years in the desert badlands. All the men old enough to fight in war eventually died during those 40 years. They died in the desert because they disobeyed God. The LORD had told them they would never see the land where milk and honey flow like rivers. [5] 7So, Joshua had their children circumcised because the first generation didn’t do it themselves. 8Israelites remained in camp until the men recovered.
