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?” “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?” 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. ~ Joshua 5:13-15
Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan. It is a miraculous moment. It is reminiscent of Moses crossing the Red Sea 40 years earlier. Joshua gets across on the other side and he sneaks out and sees Jericho. He saw it 40 years earlier. He saw the fortress. The walls. It looked impenetrable. But somehow deep inside he knew God could do it. Sadly 10 of the other spies that were with him 40 years earlier couldn’t see it and they convinced Israel they couldn’t either. So they didn’t. It is now 40 years later. For Joshua it is a new day. God is working on their behalf. Joshua sees Jericho in the distance and had to wonder, “How?”
As he looks up at the city, he sees a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword. Joshua has been in enough battles, by this time in his life, to know exactly what a drawn sword means. It means “Get ready to fight.” Joshua places his hand on his sword and steps closer. He asks him. “Are you for us or for our enemies?” It is fair question. Because the answer determines whether Joshua draws his sword or keeps it at his side. The man answers, “Neither.” The answer stops Joshua in his tracks. Neither? He thinks to himself. What kind of an answer is that?
The man continues, he tells Joshua that he is commander of the army of the LORD...” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
Joshua realized he was standing in the presence of someone far greater than himself. He falls to the ground and asks for instructions. “What message does my Lord have for his servant.” Notice the two words “my Lord.” Lord is a term that indicates someone to whom total allegiance is due. Joshua places the personal pronoun in front of it. Joshua is giving this man in this encounter his total allegiance. Notice the irony as well. Joshua begins the conversation with asking whose side are you on and now Joshua’s actions indicate he wants to be on the side of “commander of the army of the Lord.”
The man instructs Joshua to take off his shoes because he is standing on holy ground. It is interesting to note that Joshua has heard this language before. In the 40 years he spent around Moses he had to hear Moses tell of his encounter with God in Exodus 3 many times. This moment is very similar because God tells Moses to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. Joshua is being told to take off his shoes, because he is on holy ground. The language is almost identical. Joshua knew in this moment that it was not a man standing in front of him, neither was it an angel, it was God. It is a theophany. A physical manifestation of God in the moment. He is very much in the very same place that his friend Moses was 40 years earlier. Joshua is in a face-to-face encounter with God.
I would take it a step farther – Joshua is encountering the holy, pre-incarnate savior of humankind – Jesus Christ. The one who would be born in Bethlehem. God in the flesh. Jesus was the one who made it his life purpose to intercede on behalf of humanity. Jesus would become the substitionary atonement for all humanity. He will be the sacrifice given to redeem and restore. The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He would become the great high priest offering himself as the perfect sacrifice. He would be the bridge between humanity and God. Jesus didn’t come to pick sides in human affairs he came to teach people the value, the importance of being, of living, on God’s side. He so loved all of humanity that he gave his life for all of us. To create for us life-changing communities of redeemed and restored humanity. He calls anyone, he calls everyone to live life surrendered and committed to him.
Let’s take this a little deeper. Paul says in Colossians 1:16-17, For in him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Paul is describing in the above verses who Jesus is. He is the master of the universe. He is the glue that holds it all together. He is the commander of the army of the heavenly host. He speaks and commands the universe into existence. That means you don’t ask Jesus to be your assistant. Jesus is greater than, more powerful than, wiser than any human who has ever lived.
Back to Joshua for just a moment. Joshua does not offer the one in front of him a position on his staff. He does not say, that is great so glad to meet you. You know I have an opening on my staff, and I think you would be perfect for it. Would you consider being my logistics coordinator in my army? No! In this moment Joshua is flat on his face asking to be on his team. He is seeking instructions, orders, commands from the commander of the heavenly host. Joshua is so far out ranked in this moment he doesn’t know what to say. Other than what are my orders. Joshua wanted to be on his side and no other. It is that attitude that changed everything for Joshua.
Sometimes I think we view Jesus as our assistant. We are living our lives our way and when we hit a snag or something doesn’t go as planned, we ask Jesus to intervene, to fix it for us. If it doesn’t get it fixed in the manner we want, or in the time we want, – we bring Jesus in for a performance review. He comes in and we ask him, “Didn’t I ask you to fix this for me? Why hasn’t it happened yet or why did you do it that way? That is not the way I wanted it done.” Jesus looks at us and simply says, “it was not in your best interest to fix it that way.” Do we get angry at Jesus at that point?
Years ago, someone told me, “Jesus is lord of all, or he is not lord at all.” Joshua sets an example for us when he says, “my Lord.” The one standing in from of Joshua is the one to whom all allegiance and loyalty is due. How can we give anything less?
Lord Jesus, I come to you. I commit. I surrender my life to you. I am at your beckon call. I long to hear your voice and then walk in obedience you. You are my Lord. My savior. My God. And King. My life is in your hands. In Jesus name amen.
Some of the above thoughts were inspired by Timothy Keller in a podcast entitled “Joshua and the General.”