John Calvin Commentary Joshua 5:10

"And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal; and they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho." — Joshua 5:10 (ASV)

And the children of Israel kept the Passover, etc. Here it is stated that the Passover was celebrated on the regular day, although some think the words used imply that the practice was unusual. They therefore infer that, like circumcision, it had been interrupted for forty years, as it would have been absurd for uncircumcised persons to take part in a sacred feast. To confirm this view, they observe that we do not read of the Passover having been observed after the beginning of the second year.

But it is not probable that what God had recently ordered to be perpetual (Exodus 12:42) was suddenly cast aside. For it had been said to them, It is a night to be observed by the children of Israel in all their generations. How inconsistent, then, would it have been if this practice, which was to be observed throughout all ages, had become obsolete in the course of two years! And again, how heartless it would have been to bury the memory of a recent favor within so short a period!

But it is said that the lack of circumcision must have kept back a large proportion, so that the mystery might not be profaned; for at its institution it had been declared, No uncircumcised person shall eat of it. To this I have already answered that it was an extraordinary privilege, as the children of Israel were freed from the law.

For it is certain that they continued to use sacrifices and to observe the other parts of legal worship, although this was unlawful, unless something of the form prescribed by the law had been remitted by divine authority. It is certain that unclean persons were prohibited from entering the court of the tabernacle, and yet the children of Israel, while uncircumcised, offered sacrifices there, thus doing what was equivalent to the slaying of the Passover. They were therefore permitted, by special allowance, to do what was not lawful according to the rule of the law.

The mention Moses makes of the second celebration of the Passover (Numbers 9) is for a different purpose: namely, to indirectly censure the carelessness and sluggishness of the people, who would not have observed the sacred anniversary at the end of the first year if they had not been reminded of it.

For although God had proclaimed that they should annually renew the memory of their deliverance throughout all ages, they had grown so oblivious before the end of the year that they had become negligent in performing this duty. It is not without reason that they were urged by a new reminder, as they were not sufficiently attentive on their own initiative.

That passage, therefore, does not prove that the use of the Passover was afterwards interrupted. On the contrary, it may, with some probability, be inferred from it that it was annually observed, as the Lord, towards the end of the year, anticipates its observance, telling them to make careful provision for it in the future and never deviate from the command which He had given them.