Some define integrity as being the same person all the time. In Joshua 5 God invites his people to have a ritual and mark that points to a spiritual reality. That their lives are being transformed inside and out by their faith in God. We too are called not just to love Jesus by going to church or reading the bible, but having a faith that leaks into all of our lives, into the things you can see and cannot see.
As Abram traveled, his family drew the attention of other nations, as they would pass by and through. Abram felt a tension that we all know well. Do I need to take matters into my own hands or do I wait for God’s guidance on this?
When God steps into Abram’s life he has a big ask and promise for him. God promises to make a great nation out of his family. The ask: leave his lucrative life, pack up what he can travel with and head out that way. No clear sense of his final destination, just pack up, and start moving. Take the next faithful step, trusting that God will reveal the next step on the way to the first one.
Throughout the old testament the Israelites were instructed to set up cities of sanctuary for those fleeing from unjust punishment. Joshua 20 can teach us what it means to care for others and what it means to build our lives for the purpose of serving others.