顺服带来祝福
约书亚记五章10至15节
10以色列人在吉甲安营。正月十四日晚上，在耶利哥的平原守逾越节。
11逾越节的次日，他们就吃了那地的出产；正当那日吃无酵饼和烘的谷。
12他们吃了那地的出产，第二日吗哪就止住了，以色列人也不再有吗哪了。那一年，他们却吃迦南地的出产。
13约书亚靠近耶利哥的时候，举目观看，不料，有一个人手里有拔出来的刀，对面站立。约书亚到他那里，问他说：你是帮助我们呢，是帮助我们敌人呢？
14他回答说：不是的，我来是要作耶和华军队的元帅。约书亚就俯伏在地下拜，说：我主有甚么话吩咐仆人。
15耶和华军队的元帅对约书亚说：把你脚上的鞋脱下来，因为你所站的地方是圣的。约书亚就照着行了。
信息分享
吉甲只是一个细小的地方，但它却成了以色列民得蒙祝福的重要地方。
首先，他们在那里守了逾越节。也许，他们在四十年前在埃及第一次守节，出埃及后在西乃山下第二次守节以后，这次只是他们的第三次守节。圣经没有告诉我们，他们在旷野飘流的四十年间有没有守节。既然忘记了行割礼，也许也忘记了每年守逾越节。因为神曾经在出埃及记十二章48节对他们说，所有男子务要受割礼，才可以守这节。
当众民遵照神的命令守节，他们真的经历到神的奇妙祝福。事实也确实如此：只要我们遵行神的教导，我们便会更多和更深的经历神的恩典。
此外，百姓也在吉甲这个地方，开始改变他们四十年来的饮食习惯。他们在旷野飘流的期间，已习惯每天起来收取神从天上降下的吗哪作为食物；但在吉甲开始，他们便可以吃迦南地所出的一切土产。
对这新一代的以色列民来说，这是一个全新的经验。当他们取了玉米，拿在手上的时候，心中一定是在思忖着它的生长过程。它不是从天而降，让他们俯身就可以拾取。他们将要经过犁地、撒种、耕耘和收割的过程，将要付出劳力和汗水，才可以获得他们的粮食。未来的生活将是全新的体验；但他们却知道，神的信实永不改变。
但神的行事方式却非一成不变。有些时候，祂会主动赐下祂的灵粮，让我们的心灵轻易得到饱足。但有时，我们却要用心钻研神的话语，才能有丰富的收获。我们不能够每周只吃一餐；唯有天天享用灵粮，我们的灵命才能成长。神已经在祂的话语中预备了丰富的灵粮，问题是我们有没有去认真品尝？
OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSING
Joshua 5: 10-15
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.
12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
15 Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Message
Gilgal was just a small place but it became a great place of blessing for Israel.
First they observed the Passover Feast. It may be that it was only the third time they had done it. We know they celebrated it in Egypt the first time, then at Mt Sinai the second time. We are not told whether they celebrated it during the forty years of wilderness wanderings. It may be that in those years when they neglected the rite of circumcision (as we saw in yesterday's reading) they did not keep the Passover annually as they should have. For God had said no uncircumcised person could at the Passover Feast (Exodus 12: 48).
When they did keep the Passover, they found wonderful blessing with God. It is always true that when we do what God wants, our fellowship with him becomes richer and deeper.
Gilgal was also the place where their food was changed by God. For forty years they had gathered and eaten manna every day. God had wonderfully provided for them. Now there was a new experience. They ate the corn and other food that had been harvested in the land of Canaan.
As they looked at the corn, they may have thought of what it had taken to produce that grain. There had been ploughing, sowing, cultivating, reaping. There had been hard work and they knew the same thing was ahead of them. It would be a new experience in every day, but God would be faithful in it all.
God doesn't always work in the same way. There are times when he freely gives us spiritual food almost without our working to find it. There are other times when we need to get down and dig into the Word of God to find what he has for us. We can't live on one meal a week. We need to daily discover what God has for us his world. It is there - God has provided food for us. Are we digging into it?