LAST WEEK PREVIEW
1. The Test of Sacrifice
2. The Test of Following 1 Kings 20 through 2 Kings 1
3. The Test of Fellowship - Do I really desire Jesus? 2 Kings 2

Have You Been To Jesus? What is the Spiritual Meaning of Gilgal?
2 Kings 2:1-2; Joshua 4; Joshua 5:9

We are looking at the journey in 2 Kings 2 that Elisha takes with Elijah right before he is taken up in a whirlwind. The first place we see mentioned is Gigal. Now, Elijah had already taken Elisha to Gilgal and they were leaving from there to Bethel.

What happened previously at Gilgal? What meaning did it already hold for the people of Israel? What meaning did it hold for this journey between Elijah and Elisha? What meaning does it hold for us today?

The Meaning of Gilgal

Gilgal literally means "rolling" or "the rolling away."
It carries with it the idea of something old rolling away or passing away.

For the Israelites, they had spent 400 years in Egyptian bondage. That was their life and that was what they knew even though that was not WHO THEY WERE. (this knowledge was kept intact for we know that Moses mom still knew the Hebrew ways and taught Moses.) But this was not their lifestyle or true observance.

We see the real heart of what was rolled away from them in Joshua 5:9.

Escaping the Shame of our Past

Through their previous 40 years of wandering through wilderness, we see the Israelites struggle with many issues in trusting God. They worship idols, they long to go back to Egypt and endure bondage as long as they don't have to worry for their future, food, and families. We hear of their rebellion and constant complaining against God and Moses, questioning the leadership, power and ability of both. We see them not entering God's best for them due to fear.

And though these are major issues, here we see a glimpse of the foundational issue. What does it say was rolled away?
The "reproach" of Egypt. Other translations say "Shame of Egypt."
After all these years of being free from Egyptian bondage, they still say themselves as slaves. They were victims of their past and this was at the root of all their behavior against God and not entering into what He had promised them. The Book of Hebrews reveals a telling truth regarding this in Hebrews 3:19

Everything Changed at Gilgal. Joshua 5:9; Joshua 4 & 5

God's people had finally trusted Him to get to and cross over into the land that God had promised from before the beginning of their exodus from Egypt. God had said to Pharaoh "Let my people go so they may come out to worship me."

But we see that worship meant more than singing songs or studying the Bible. It meant possessing God's best and God's promises. It meant living a life of trust and love with God and with people. It meant facing and conquering all that stood in the way of those promises.

Finally at the brink of entering this promised land, many significant things took place that we will take a look at.

1. They had crossed over the Jordan together on dry ground.
2. They had set up a double memorial to remember what God had done from them that day.
3. None of the men of the new generation had been circumcised. This was a symbol of the removal of the old life of bondage and sin. It set them apart from every other nation as God's chosen people. (chosen to be the ones to bring the world to Jesus Christ in the future)
4. They celebrated the Passover for the first time together in this new land. And the moment that they began to experience and eat the fruit of this new land, the manna that God had been supplying stopped. (this was a shift in the type of provisional relationship they had with God.)
5. There was a stark difference in the men fromt his generation compared to the last generation. There were 40K armed and ready for battle. They crossed over into the promised land in victory and were ready and expecting victory. (keep in mind through this series that it's from this point that they marched forward to bring down the walls of Jericho.)

Bringing All This Home

The shame of their past and the identity shadow that this cast upon them had not only caused their behavior of failure, rebellion and defeat but it had kept them out of all that God had planned for them.

The shame of your past or where you think you come from can leave you believing wrong things about yourself, God and others. You cannot let these mindsets and ideas be carried into your future. Realize that Israel was only able to enter once they rejected these ideas and embraced who they truly were as God's people.

What "identities hold you back? Have you ever discovered who you truly are? God made you. And He doesn't make broken things. But He can and does restore them to what they were originally meant to be.

Will you allow Him to start this work in you today?