书一3 凡你们脚掌所踏之地，我都照着我所应许摩西的话赐给你们了。

　　 6 你当刚强壮胆，因为你必使这百姓承受那地为业，就是我向他们列祖起誓要赐给他们的。

　　神从列国和万民中，把祂的选民以色列人分别出来，为着完成祂的经纶。他们与偶像和鬼无分无关；反之，他们乃是被天地的神所占有。神的百姓被形成、构成、管教、训练，并且合格了，就来到摩押平原，等候着要进入美地，取得并据有这地。

　　约书亚一章三节指明，虽然神已经将美地赐给以色列人，以色列人仍然需要去取得那地。一面，神已经赐给了美地；另一面，神的子民需要与神合作，起来得着那地，以完成神的任命（约书亚记生命读经，一一、一三页）。

　　Josh. 1:3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses.

　　6 Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.

　　Among all the nations and peoples, God had separated Israel, His elect, for the carrying out of His economy. They had nothing to do with any idols or demons. On the contrary, they were occupied with the God of the heavens and the earth. After being formed, constituted, disciplined, trained, and qualified, God’s people had come to the plains of Moab where they were waiting to enter into the good land, to take it, and to possess it.

　　Joshua 1:3 indicates that even though God had given Israel the good land, Israel still needed to take the land. On the one hand, there was God’s giving of the good land; on the other hand, there was the cooperation of God’s people in rising up to fulfill God’s commission to possess the land. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 8, 10)

　　神对约书亚的鼓励，乃是以约书亚遵行神的话为条件。……这律法书不可离开他的口，总要昼夜默想，好使他照这书上所写的一切，谨守遵行（书一8上）。约书亚要被神的话占有，也要让话占有他。借着被话占有并充满，他就能顺利并成功地取得美地。

　　以色列人同意约书亚，接受神的任命〔16~18〕。他们的回答含示他们是乐意的，是预备好的，并且他们不只与约书亚同心合意，也与耶和华他们的神同心合意；这显于他们在他们神的名里给约书亚祝福的事上。他们在神经纶的大轮里与三一神是一，目的是要得着美地。

　　以色列人已预备好进入美地，要取得那地作他们的产业。然而，他们在旧人里无法取得胜利。他们的旧人必须埋葬，好使他们能成为新人。这与神新约的经纶相符。以色列人在基督的死里埋葬，然后在基督的复活里复活。这指明甚至在旧约时代，以色列人就与基督联合，与祂成为一了。因着他们与基督成为一，经过基督的经历，祂的历史就成了他们的历史；特别是他们经过基督的死，埋葬他们的旧人，并成为在基督里的新人，为着打属灵的仗。

　　我们必须看见，我们天然的人，我们的旧人，是完全不合格为基督打属灵的仗。……现在因着我们是在基督里的人，我们就不再是旧人，乃是新人了。

　　割礼是在基督的死里埋葬的延续。借着过约但河，以色列的旧人被埋葬，然后他们出来，成为新人。这是神所作客观的工作，以色列人仍需要将其应用于他们的肉体。所以，他们预备了火石刀，割去他们的阳皮〔书五3〕。这个割除就是他们应用神在过约但河的事上所作的。借着割除他们的肉体，辊去埃及的羞辱，他们就在实际并实行上被埋葬、得复活。

　　罗马六章三至四节说，我们已浸入基督的死，和祂一同埋葬；但八章十三节和加拉太五章二十四节告诉我们，我们必须靠着那灵，将十字架的割除应用于我们的肉体。事实上，我们的肉体已经被钉十字架，但在实行上，我们需要天天将肉体钉十字架。这是留在基督之死与埋葬里的实际与实行，这也是割礼的意义（约书亚记生命读经，一五、一七、二六至二七、三二至三三页）。

　　参读：约书亚记生命读经，第二、四至五篇。

　　God’s encouragement to Joshua was in the term of Joshua’s walking in the word of God….The book of the law was not to depart from his mouth, but he was to muse upon it day and night so that he would be certain to do according to all that was written in it (Josh. 1:8a). Joshua was to be occupied with God’s word and to let the word occupy him. By being occupied and filled with the word, he would have prosperity and success in taking the good land.

　　The children of Israel agreed with Joshua in taking God’s commission [vv. 16-18]. Their response implied their willingness, their readiness, and their being in one accord not only with Joshua but also with Jehovah their God as expressed by their blessing of Joshua in the name of their God. They were one with the Triune God in the great wheel of His economy for the purpose of gaining the good land.

　　The people of Israel were ready to enter into the good land and to take it as their possession. However, in their old man they could not gain the victory. Their old man had to be buried so that they could become a new man. This corresponds to the New Testament economy of God. The children of Israel were buried in the death of Christ, and then they were resurrected in the resurrection of Christ. This indicates that even in the Old Testament time the children of Israel were identified with Christ and were one with Him. Because they were one with Christ, passing through Christ’s experiences, His history became their history. In particular, they passed through Christ’s death to bury their old man and to become a new man in Christ for the fighting of the spiritual warfare.

　　We need to realize that our natural man, our old man, is altogether not qualified to fight the spiritual warfare for the gaining of Christ….Now because we are persons in Christ, we are no longer the old man but the new man.

　　Circumcision is a continuation of the burial in the death of Christ. By crossing the river Jordan, Israel’s old man was buried and they came out to become the new man. This was an objective work done by God. Israel still needed to apply it to their flesh. Therefore, they prepared knives of flint to cut off their foreskins [Josh. 5:3]. This cutting was their application of what God had done in the crossing of the river Jordan. By cutting off their flesh to roll away the reproach of Egypt, they were buried and resurrected, both actually and practically.

　　Romans 6:3-4 says that we have been baptized into the death of Christ and buried with Him, but Romans 8:13 and Galatians 5:24 tell us that we should apply the circumcision of the cross to our flesh by the Spirit. In fact, our flesh has already been crucified, but in practicality we need to crucify the flesh day by day. This is the reality and practicality of remaining in the death and burial of Christ, and this is the significance of circumcision. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 11-12, 19, 25)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Joshua, msgs. 2, 4-5