Joshua 5:8
And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
The circumcision was of all those born in the wilderness during the wandering years, performed immediately after arrival in the promised land and before keeping the Passover in its plains. It took place after the Lord stopped the swollen and impetuous Jordan and brought Israel over on dry land, following the slaying of two kings of Moab which had melted the hearts of the Amorite and Canaanite kings with fear. It belonged to Israel's history just before taking possession of Jericho, before the appearance of the Captain of the Lord's host and before the overthrow of Jericho by divine power alone. After circumcising all the people, they abode in their places in the camp till they were recovered and whole.
The events of that time show Israel carrying out the principles God had given them during their forty years of wandering. The circumcision after the miraculous passage of the Jordan was the recognition of God's covenant. The crossing rolled away the reproach of Egypt because God signally manifested His power and favor in bringing Israel over. The heathen nations had triumphed over Israel's long wandering and failure to possess Canaan soon after leaving Egypt by declaring He was not able to lead them in, so their enemies could no longer reproach them. Together with those mighty manifestations of God's power, the circumcision gave solemn weight to the command to keep from the accursed thing, so that transgression was defiance of the most direct and solemn warnings.
The verse shows the host of the Lord gathering with sanctified hearts to hear what the Lord will say and to receive increased light, armed and equipped to come up to the battle to the help of the Lord against the mighty. God Himself works for Israel, silencing every lying tongue and overthrowing deceptive schemes by angels' hands so the bulwarks of Satan never triumph. As the Captain of the Lord's host tore down the walls of Jericho, the Lord's commandment-keeping people triumph and all opposing elements are defeated, and victory attends the third angel's message.