Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

The Israelites have just set foot in the promised land as a nation for the first time.

This is the partial fulfillment of something God promised them approximately

750 years earlier when he first called Abraham in Genesis 12. More fulfillment will come when they

take the land, but at this point, their enemies the Canaanites still live there. The first city

they plan to take is Jericho, a town near the eastern border of the promised land. But before they do that,

God wants them to be fully prepared. In God's economy, preparing for battle has very little

to do with sharpening your weapons. It has everything to do with preparing your heart.

He wants to make sure their hearts are surrendered to him and aligned with his own heart

before they go face the enemy.

The first thing they have to do is circumcise all the Israelite males, then allow them time to

recover. After every male is circumcised, they celebrate Passover. The timing of this is beautiful.

It's kind of a second exodus, exactly 40 years after the first one. Their hearts need to celebrate

Passover, because it will reinforce their faith. It serves as a reminder to them that God has

protected and provided for them through the years. Then in 512, we get a little sentence that speaks

volumes. It says, the manna ceased on the day after they ate the produce of the land.

What? This is incredible. This is God's precise provision on display. He gave them miracle food

six days a week for 40 years and the manna even follows them into the promised land,

but then it stops on the day after they have access to the local food.

There are no gaps in God's provision. Next, Joshua has a strange encounter with a man holding a

sword. Obviously, this could be super scary given the fact that they're in enemy territory.

So Joshua wants to know if this man is an Israelite that he just doesn't happen

...