Chapter 5:13-15
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship.”
The Lord Jesus ever comes to us in ways perfectly suited to our need and condition. He came first as the Shepherd to seek the lost sheep, and as our Redeemer when we needed redemption. He is our Guide through the wilderness where there is no way; and as the true manna, He is our daily food. In conflict He takes His place before us “with His sword drawn in His hand” as our Captain to lead us on to victory. With such a Captain, where there is faith to trust and follow Him, nothing can stand before us.
In the energy of faith, but not knowing at first who this stranger was, Joshua challenges him, “Art thou for as, or for our adversaries?” This was most commendable in Joshua and may be of instruction for us, for there can be no neutrality in our heavenly warfare. If one would fight the battles of the Lord, he cannot be on neutral ground. He is either for Christ or against Him.
Joshua falls down and worships—he begins the conflict in Canaan as a worshiper! How beautiful this is! When we are dead and risen with Christ, and see all that we were as men in the flesh gone in those dark waters of death, when the reproach of Egypt’s bondage is rolled away and we are now heavenly citizens, when we remember the wonderful grace that redeemed us (seen in the Passover), when we have tasted “the old corn of the land” and see our place with Christ on high, the sense of who He is and what He has done for us bows our hearts in worship. This is God’s way of fitting us to fight His battles; we are ready to obey His commands and trust Him for everything.
But there was one more lesson Joshua learned, the same thing as was impressed on Moses at the burning bush. He was told: “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” It was the same God, and His servant must always be as one who stands on holy ground.
Holiness and reverence become the presence of God; and so if God leads His people now to conflict, His holiness calls for us to be undefiled in our daily lives, to have those affections and that devotedness that become His presence.
If we are to be used of the Lord, there cannot be any lightness as to sin. We cannot make progress in the things of God or be victorious in our Christian life, if we are careless in our walk.
The Lord was Captain of His own host in Joshua’s day, and His sword was drawn for His people. In the same way He has deigned to go before us now, but in no way must His honor and glory be allowed to suffer through lightness or failure. May we seek grace to walk humbly and to serve Him “acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
ML-06/05/1977