Another application that can be drawn from Joshua 5:1–12 is to consider our response to God’s provision today. The Lord has promised to provide everything that we need as his people (Matthew 6:19–34). Though God is able to provide for us miraculously, as he provided manna and quail for the Israelites, he normally provides for us through ordinary means.
Throughout the Bible, God’s people are encouraged to work hard in ordinary jobs and trust God to care and provide for them through their work. See, e.g., Proverbs 24:33–34; 2 Thessalonians 3:10; Ephesians 4:28.
If God has redeemed us, we can have every confidence that he will provide for us. And he has promised to provide mostly in ordinary ways: a monthly paycheque, a fruit tree in your garden that bears fruit once again, a gift of money from a friend or family, a meal provided by your neighbour. These are normal and ordinary means, but we must never forget that it is God who provides through these things. Let us thank him constantly, with every meal, every new sunrise, every day that we enjoy good health and are able to go to work.
1 As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.