August 27, 2021
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
~Joshua 5:13~
As we stand in agreement with God's covenant we need to be ready to question who is with us and who is against us. Not to say we, as Christ followers, should be aggressive. We are called to be loving and humble. We should be alert though. Joshua was the type of soldier to remain alert and take his role for God very seriously. So seriously that He mistakened Jesus for a possible adversary. Perhaps we tend to get a little too focused that we begin to question our own. Do I think the Lord found anything wrong with asking Him if he was for or against them? No I do not. I believe the Lord wants us to be aware even to the point of making sure our very own people are for us. So easily as humans we can slip, we can become complacent and we can choose to turn our backs. Jesus is wanting His people to stand firm even to the point of making sure one truely represents God. Let us remain on guard and be ready to discern what is truth and what is error; "We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
(I John 4:6)
Of course Joshua was speaking to the Lord face to face and he was soon to find out that he was standing in the presence of what is holy, the Commander Himself; "So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” (Joshua 5:14)
Who are we in this battle? We are just as Joshua was to stand as. We are in the Lord's army, He is our Commander. He gives the orders and the direction to go and we follow. A soldier does not sign up, train and go to battle only to turn their back on their people. They remain exactly where they are stationed. Are we being strong and courageous willing to discern who is for us and who is against us?
Joshua understood the need to "pick a side."
We are either for the Lord or we are against Him. Sadly there are many folks out there who believe they can stand on their own, not serving anyone. If we do not follow Christ we are just continuing to follow the god of this world. "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
(II Corinthians 4:4)
The other side is capable of deceiving, distorting and hindering the motivation and will of a man/woman to follow the Lord's army; for he knows where more are multiplied in Christ more are taken out of this world completely. The glory will shine upon those who choose Him. For Joshua saw this glory face to face, he questioned the One true Commander if He was for them and Joshua then fell on his face in reverence when he realized who he was speaking to. Notice the gentleness in the Lord's appearance to Joshua. He doesn't condemn Joshua for challenging Him, in fact He welcomes it just so He can tell Joshua just exactly what He represents and that is Himself. He made it very clear that Joshua was His servant and Joshua represented Him. Thats when the fear of the Lord increased and we see Joshua's humility.
His next question was to ask the Lord what it is that he, as God's servant was to do next.
Jesus replies with an order; "Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so." (Joshua 5:15)
Just as Moses stood by the burning bush, on holy ground, Joshua was now in the presence of the Almighty. The Lord does not wish that we never question or remain bold in our journey. When we do understand who we are, who is with us and who He is standing before us; we can grow in that same reverence, fear and humility of Jesus Christ.
Let us be ready to really stand in His army, for if we do not we remain on the opposing side. There is no "in between." We have a choice to make and a choice to remain standing. The more we abide in Him, the more we focus our eyes upon the Lord just as Joshua gazed his eyes up. We will hold firm in our faith and not get stuck thinking we can just be on our own in this war. We must pick a team, so to speak, and take it very seriously. We serve a Mighty Commander and He is Sovereign enough that we cannot even stand on our feet in the Presence of Him face to face. I beseech you to take this to heart and be aware, praying for understanding and strength to hold fast under this Commander to the very end; "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."
(Revelation 3:21)
To think, one day we could sit beside Him in glory!
Prayer:
Lord God, thank you for being my Commander. I trust in Your orders. I give myself to You and I pray against all deception. I choose to consecrate myself each day so that when the time comes I will endure to the end. Show me who is for us and who is against us. I pray for the ones who are and the ones who are not. Help me to make disciples, to walk in purity, to walk in humility, to seek you, to love others selflessly, to give sacrificially and generously.
May Your blessing touch them and may they come to know who You are. I trust in Your holiness for it is all I have and live by. May Your glory shine on me just as it did to Joshua. In Your Mighty Name, Jesus Christ. Amen.