Joshua 5:2-7.  Joshua is told to circumcise the Israelites a second time. This is because they have been wandering in the desert for forty years and all of the circumcised men have "perished, because they did not hearken to the voice of the Lord" so they were not allowed to enter the promised land. The next generation is the one that will enter, with Joshua leading them, but they had not yet been circumcised. They must be before they can enter.

Circumcision was a sign of being set apart, of being special, of being one of the chosen people. The Israelites who had left Egypt had all been circumcised - they had been practicing their faith, remaining true to the promise, even while slaves. Yet, when they were free, they began to doubt and turn from God. It is so ironic - when we gain freedom, we feel we don't need God, even though he is the one who gained it for us! So the Israelites doubted God the first time they approached the promised land, and God therefore said they could not have it yet. They instead wandered in the wilderness for forty years and the entire first generation died off. The fact that they had not been circumcising their children just further shows how far they had turned from the covenant and how they did not deserve the land, they would not have appreciated it as the fulfillment of the promise. Now that the new generation has been led back to the promised land, God is ready to "start over" with them. So he has Joshua circumcise them, all at once. This is a new beginning - he will start building up his chosen people from step one in this new land, now that they are ready and worthy of the promise.

This is also a foreshadowing of baptism. Jesus came and gained the ultimate freedom for us - from sin and from death. God showed that he was ready to "start over" with not just the Jews, but all of us. We are cleansed and made ready for the promise through baptism - Jesus modeled that for us. He was a circumcised Jew, but he insisted on being baptized when he began his ministry. Later, the early Church concluded that circumcision was not necessary for Christians.

Jesus came for all, so anyone can be baptized and join him, one does not have to first be Jewish to be Christian, even though Jesus and his disciples were. Baptism, no longer circumcision, is the sign of the new covenant for all generations.