Be Strong and Courageous:
As Commander of
the Army of the LORD
I Have Now Come
Everything has been prepared. Joshua leads by the authority of God. Israel is consecrated and obedient. The Jordan has been crossed. The people of God are enjoying the fruit of the Promised Land. They are poised to begin the conquest of the land when Joshua encounters a heavenly visitor.
In Sunday’s lesson, we will discuss Joshua’s encounter with the Commander of the Lord’s Host.
Joshua 5:13-15 13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
I have met some interesting, at times even, famous, individuals in my life, but none like the one Joshua met near Jericho. Here was a man (?) with his sword drawn. This individual was prepared for battle and wielding his sword in an ambiguous enough way to prompt the response from Joshua, “Are you for us or for our enemies.” This is most likely to be viewed as a challenge to the stranger by Israel’s general, “Halt! Who goes there? Friend or Foe?”
The stranger’s response is intriguing, “Neither.” In the same breath he will identify himself as the commander of the Lord’s Army, but the response is still odd. If I may paraphrase, he says, “I am neither for you nor for your enemies.”
This is confusing. Is the LORD no longer on Israel’s side? Will this heavenly warrior refuse to fight for God’s people? No, God has not left Israel. The commander of God’s army is making his allegiance clear – it is for the LORD and the LORD alone that he fights.
This lesson is one we need to learn today. We commonly think of God being “on our side” in whatever allegiances we may take. We may have good, even biblical, reasons for whatever side we may take doctrinally, religiously, socially, politically, nationally or even in regard to our college football team (have you ever prayed your team would win?).
However, God is not Republican or Democrat, American or Israeli, Capitalist or Communist, conservative or liberal, progressive or traditional, Bronco or Vandal. A common reason for our becoming disillusioned with God is our expectation that he will always support our cause, plan, program, ministry, etc. This is a naïve expectation that assumes that God thinks like us.
No, instead, we should ask if we are on God’s side. That was the allegiance of LORD’s Commander and that is why Joshua changed his attitude from challenging a rival – “are you for us or our enemies” – to humble submission before God – “what message does my Lord have for his servant?”
Victory is for those who are on the LORD’s side, not for those who think the LORD is on theirs.
Be Strong and Courageous! Joey
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