Joshua 5:13-15
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Subject: God fights for us.
Up to this point, Joshua may have thought he as the MAN. He was now in charge. He as given a special miracle of authentication by leading the people through the Jordon River, just like Moses led the people through the Red Sea. The people now revered him. Note:
Joshua 4:14
On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
However, to make sure Joshua did not view himself in a hire status than he should, he meets the "commander of the army of the Lord." This is either a Christophany (an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament), or, at the least, a Theophany (the appearance of God in physical form in the Old Testament). God is in charge. God rules the day. God IS THE commander. The interesting piece in this passage is when Joshua ask who side this person is on the Commander of the Lord's army replies, "No." He does not respond in a way we would think. Yet, He does clarify who He is and who's side He is on ... He is on the Lords side. That IS on the answer. There should be no confusion in HIs answer. He is letting Joshua know that He stands for the Lord. If Joshua stands for the Lord than this Christophany IS on his side. If, on the other hand, Joshua ceased to follow God, this Commander of the Lord's army will still be on the Lord side and therefore agains Joshua. For us it is the same. God is here to fight for us as long as we are clinging to Him. He will fight against us if we lose our focus on Him. This is a lesson Joshua will soon have to know or learn (see chapter seven and the story of Ai).
No comments:
Post a Comment