BAPTISM AT GILGAL – Joshua 3:1-13 – 9-22-24

The concept of baptism precedes the New Testament church. If we told someone from the promised land generation of Israelites about our baptism here today, they would, no doubt, liken it to the events at Gilgal upon crossing the Jordan river into the promised land of Canaan. Likewise, we can greater appreciate their experience in light of our service here today. The name 'Gilgal' is explained in Joshua 5:9. Here the Lord says: “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Gilgal means: “rolling”. We can appreciate this event all the more in light of (Mat 28:2-7) where the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Greater Joshua, is punctuated by way of an earthquake, an angel, lightning, and the rolling away of the grave stone. Here, the hope of Gilgal extends to all eternity. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord has rolled away the reproach of our sin. Gospel connections are abundant at this chapter in Israel's exodus. Attention is drawn to this moment in the redemptive history of the people of God in multiple ways. In addition to telling literary devices like repetition, the text itself documents: divine revelation, symbolic imagery, miracle, memorial, covenant sign, and ceremony.