Yet one thing more before the conflict begins. Joshua, though the most prominent in Israel is not the real Leader. The real Captain of the host is Jehovah Himself. Joshua did not know Who the man with the drawn sword was. Had he not yet learned that He Who had led would still lead? He had led through the wilderness, He would still lead against their enemies. But the fact was revealed to a prepared heart, and he “fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto Him—what saith my Lord onto His servant.” And mark, the word of the Captain is not as to the order of battle against Jericho, that is given later, but first a word which reminds Joshua in Whose presence he, is. “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon than standest is holy. And Joshua did so” (Josh. 5:1515And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:15)).
Saints now need the same word. Indeed there is no word ever given to the saints of old but what finds its application to saints now. While we rejoice in God our Father, let us never forget that our Father is God, and that reverence and godly fear is ever our becoming attitude in His presence. It is no spirituality and deeper communion when we hear too familiar language used in prayer or praise. This is not so much lacking in addressing the Father; it is when speaking to the Lord that irreverential manner is most frequent. Holy confidence, and freedom of access does not mean familiarity, which may imperceptibly become levity. Jesus is indeed our Savior and Friend, but saints should constantly remember that God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ. And so the Lord Himself says, “Ye call me Master and ye say well for so I am” (John 13). Evidently the first thing for Joshua is to loose his shoe, for he was on holy ground; but that is where the church of God is now, and there to know the Lord as worthy of honor even as the Father, as well as our great Leader against all spiritual wickedness. The reverential worship of Joshua, and the man with the drawn sword just express our position in the world, only that our warfare is not with men but with the powers of evil in heavenly places (cf Eph. 6:1212For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)).
When the father received the prodigal, among other things he said, “put shoes on his feet.” It was not fitting that he should be shoeless in his father's house; he was no longer a homeless wanderer, but a son restored to all the privileges he had lost. And we, forgiven and received into the Father's family, have shoes on our feet, for we are sons not hired servants. It is the witness of acceptance, and place in the house. Israel left Egypt with feet shod; readiness for the journey, and breaking with the world. And the saint is now told to have his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and this is activity in service. All these have to say as to our position through grace before God and before man, as leaving the world behind us, as having our associations and joys with those who are of the Father's household, and as having God's message of love and peace for man. But here in Joshua it is something far higher and is not for the world's cognizance. The unshod feet in God's presence is the sign of subjection, the heart, the understanding, and the will, surrendered to God. Joshua said “What saith my Lord unto His servant.” The outward manner must be in accordance with the inward spirit, and he puts off his shoe.
There is no true worship apart from holiness, reverence and godly fear. And if all these are taught Israel through Joshua in view of their earthly Canaan, how much more heed should we give, having in view our greater privilege and higher destiny. Nor is there a true fitness for the battle to be fought with the world, the flesh and the devil, unless the three things now before us, namely, consciously risen with Christ, self-judgment, and subjection in true worship, are known and enjoyed. Equipped with these the believer goes on to victory. Israel now prepared after a carnal sort, we for the heavenly places, for the spiritual conflict by faith in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The taking of Jericho is marvelous proof that Jehovah was Captain of the host. The imposing yet strange array of the army as it marched round the city—rendered more striking still by the presence of the ark and the attendant priests—must have filled with wonder if not with dread the minds of the dwellers in Jericho. But there was a power with the army beyond what they could see, of which the ark was the symbol. By that power alone apart from man was the city won. Israel did not raise a finger till Jehovah by His unseen power had thrown down the walls; then it was that every man went straight before him. And then it was not battle but judgment upon the guilty: This first victory is a confirmation of the word spoken to Joshua, “As Captain of Jehovah's host am I now come.” It was also a sample of how future victories should be gained. For victory is sure for those who trust in God. The presence of the ark would be a witness of faith in Him, as the ram's horn is expressive of contempt for human might. For it was with these two moat prominent characteristics—faith in God, and no confidence in the flesh—that the Captain's power was made so manifest. Later we may see more energy, and faith more active. When the sun and the moon stood still at the word of Joshua there was more of the boldness of faith than at Jericho. Yet even that, when one day was made equal to two, does not reach to the height of the glory when by the will of Jehovah the walls fell down flat. The standing still of the sun and the moon was equally the power of God, but Joshua and Israel were very busy in the fight; here it is man standing aside and as it were looking on while God single-handed—if we may so say—performs the whole work. The Captain of the host made good His word and proved His power.
Why no such display of sovereign power afterward? If man (Israel) is more active in subsequent battles, and the intervention of their Captain not so marked and glorious, it was because failure came in. After failure, when grace brings in restoration, faith frequently appears more energetic. It was so with Israel; at Jericho their might was in abeyance; as to the Red Sea they were told to stand still and see the salvation of God, so here they wait till God overthrows the first barrier in the land to their possession. This wondrous overthrow is the pledge of final victory, the assurance that the Captain of the host is leading them. But why is there no following instance of the same power acting apart from man? Because they had to be taught the necessity of watchfulness and dependence upon God, of which they did not feel the need when at Jericho. The required moral condition had been symbolically set forth, i.e. no confidence in themselves, but faith in God; but they had to learn their need practically; So while they still overcame their enemies, there was greater demand for the exercise of faith; a putting forth of their own might, yet under the control of God, was the appointed way of possessing the land. All was theirs according to promise, actual possession was “every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon” (Josh. 1:33Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (Joshua 1:3)). Unfaithfulness prevented full possession, and God would not throw down walls for those who failed in faith. Surely all wisely and graciously overruled for our instruction. But never after was the presence of the Captain so marked. And how fitting that this first trophy in the conquest of Canaan should be rather the evidence of His presence than the result of Israel's prowess. It was the confirmation of the original promise first made to Abraham; joy to Israel and terror to the Canaanite. At no subsequent point in their history were they so exalted as at this moment. Even the glories of Solomon, and of the temple when dedicated did not more manifestly show the presence of Jehovah.
Compare them now with what they were on leaving Egypt. Let the eye run down the whole thread of their history when they cried out for fear (Ex. 14:1010And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. (Exodus 14:10)) to this day of triumph, and then say, What hath God wrought? Yes, it is the triumph of grace. Grace which like Jordan overflowed its banks. Grace which had been put to the test, which had never been found wanting, which it is not enough to say had met all the need of a perverse nation in the wilderness, but the need of Him Who in spite of their rebelliousness would righteously bring them into the good land according to His promise. And now behold this self-same people crowned with glory in the presence of their enemies; is it not the overflowing of grace? Yea, of sovereign grace, which will continue to be sovereign, rising still over every obstacle until the day come when He, the Captain of the host—now our risen Lord—shall come in power and glory, and visit the earth with sudden and overwhelming judgment, of which the fall of Jericho is both a type and a warning.
Beautifully interwoven with Israel's greatness is the story of Rahab—one of the most degraded in the guilty city. This is truly the river of grace overflowing both its banks, towards the Gentile as to the Israelite. And with no other event in their warfare could it so suitably be found. Quite in keeping with Jehovah working in grace for Israel apart from any putting forth of their own strength. The same grace singles out one from among the crowd of sinners in Jericho, but she the only one who truly bowed to the word of God. Grace would not leave that one to perish, and the word of judgment which bowed her soul before the God of Israel is followed by the word of grace. Spies, so called, were sent to view the city, but really they were messengers of grace to a woman who was a sinner; and she trusts the word of the spies—bringing glad tidings—as she had before bowed to the impending judgment. Her soul was prepared to receive the message of mercy. None accept grace but those who bow to God's sentence against themselves. God's grace is only truly glad tidings to the soul that owns the righteousness of judgment. When this is not the case the result of hearing the gospel is sometimes like seed falling on ground where there is no deepness of earth.
Spies! They went to her house, lay hid all the time, and then escaping by the window fly to the mountain and hide again for three days. What had they discovered? Nothing but what might have been apprehended already by faith. “I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee” (Ex. 23:2727I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. (Exodus 23:27) &c.). The spies only verified the word of promise spoken forty years before, and they report that “all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.” But what did they discover? They found a poor sinner who trembled at God's word, and they sheaved her the way of salvation, and she believed, and perished not with them that believed not. And this was the reason why spies entered Jericho. The Captain of the host needed no spies; He could look over the battlements and highest towers of the city; He could search every man's heart. Besides, He was going to throw down their walls; no spies needed for that. Nor were they unseen; their entry, though by night, was immediately told to the king of Jericho. But when it is the purpose of God to save, what can this king do? Rahab was one of God's sheep; not of the fold of Israel, but brought into it through grace. Grace was at that moment breaking bounds even for Israel. God had said that He would make their enemies turn their back unto them, but it was beyond Israel's expectation that upon their shout He would throw down the walls. God had said that they should possess all the land wherever they trod, but He did not tell them in what a marvelous way He would lead them to tread the streets of Jericho. If His grace was then overleaping and going beyond the strict letter of the promise, how could it be restrained from going still further and rescuing a poor Gentile from destruction? It was an intimation, at that early date that God would call whomsoever He would, and is the exercise of that sovereign grace which afterward would be characterized by bringing in Gentiles when Israel would be set aside. The Lord Jesus said when leading out the sheep of Israel to new pastures, “other sheep I have...them also I must bring.” And Rahab was one reckoned among the “other” sheep while Israel was still nominally the people of God. “Must!” There in Rahab's case is the same necessity of grace: then to number her with Israel (Josh. 6:2525And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (Joshua 6:25)); now, whether Jew or Gentile, to greener pastures and streams of living water, and to be numbered among His “one flock.”
Only after the cross did the great ingathering of “other sheep” from among the Gentiles begin. Yet before the gospel was sent out to all nations God had His witnesses outside Israel, with varying intelligence and faith according to the truth revealed. Job stands foremost in his day and God bears testimony that there was none like him in all the earth. His three friends doubtless were saints though far behind Job in intelligence of the ways of God. They were accepted through the intercession of Job. Melchizedec, the royal priest, wondrous type of Christ as without beginning of days or end of life; Jethro, who confessed the God of Israel though he would not cast in his lot with them: Rahab, pre-eminent as witness of sovereign grace: Ruth, who gave up the advantages her own country offered, to share the poverty of Naomi in order that as she says, “thy God shall be my God,” thus identifying herself with the poor of Israel—the same spirit as is recorded of Moses who chose to bear the reproach of Christ, rather than enjoy the pleasures of Egypt. And Ruth like Rahab has a place in the line of the ancestry of the Son of David. Naaman again, who submitted to the word and received healing: the widow of Zarephath, Gentile witness of life in resurrection power. And, coming down to the days of our Lord, we have the Centurion whose faith exceeded any in Israel: and the Syrophenician woman—another Gentile witness of the power of Christ over Satan. All these testify to the grace of God Who sought and found sheep bearing a testimony apart from the special witness of Israel. Each of these has a specific character. All proclaim the sovereignty of grace.
The presence and power of the Lord Jesus in the earliest days of the church when on Peter's first preaching three thousand were converted is analogous to this first victory in Canaan. On each occasion the enemy was surprised. The Christ-rejecting Jews and Satan at their head, not less so, when the power of the Holy Ghost came upon the gathered disciples, and immediately after three thousand converted, than were the men of Jericho when their defense suddenly disappeared and gave free entry to Israel. In the church (Acts 2) it is a victory of grace, of Christ over Satan, and wresting from him the captives that he thought must now be his forever, seeing that they had crucified the Lord. But that death is the means of life; what greater proof than the three thousand added to the church? Such was the mighty display of power in Israel and in the church before man cast his dark shadow over its bright glory; a glory which otherwise would have continued to shine in its power. But a blot came upon the church through Ananias and Sapphire as upon Israel through Achan. Grace, in each case mingled with judgment, was sufficient for both emergencies. But neither in Israel nor in the church was such a thing afterward seen as walls falling at the presence of the ark, or of three thousand souls converted at one preaching. Afterward the responsibilities of faith more appear. The grace of God still saves, the power of the word is still felt, but the energy of faith is more prominent. Divine wisdom controls all. By faith we overcome the world. The servant of the Lord is now in a position where his own dependence upon God is more felt. Most essential this to faithful and true service, yet not as a principal, but as a subsidiary to the grace of God, i.e. the faith and devotedness of the servant—which as a rule mark the successful evangelist—is used as a means by which God will accomplish His purpose of sending His message of love to souls.
Thus, then, Israel is prepared for the land. They have been led through the waters of death, they have set up their twelve stones as having overcome death (it was the ark that stayed the waters). They are circumcised, and they have Jehovah Himself as their Captain, Who has proved His might at Jericho. How did they answer to all this grace and painstaking?