The Commander of the Army

Introduction

So far in Joshua we have looked at God’s commission for Joshua to step into Moses shoes. To be strong and of good courage. We have seen God save Rahab and her family, non Israelites. And we have seen how God uses visible signs in the hope that His people, in generations to come, will not forget His Loyal Love.

Israel has crossed the Jordan and are now camped at Gilgal. The manna has stopped and are now eating the local produce. We see the men of war being given the sign of circumcision and this is where we pick up the story. You see, God wants Israel to be absolutely clear in whose battle this is and who is the true champion of Israel.

Joshua most likely went to look over Jericho while the men were recovering from there surgery. So, in all likely hood, this private event with Joshua and the Commander is happening sometime during the recovery period.

Body

The Commander

Divine Judgement

Joshua 5:13, 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. A good general will always seek to know as much about the enemy as possible. What is Jericho’s defenses? what is the lay of the land? what does the city look like? How big are its walls? etc. Joshua is being a wise leader in spying out Jericho first. Knowledge of these things will help Joshua make wise choices in the battle ahead. Another option, though closely linked to the first, is Joshua getting away from the busyness and pressures of leading Israel to spend time before the battle in prayer to God. He goes off on his own so he can ask God for help and guidance. And we too need to take time away from the pressures of life and spend time alone with God.

Almost out of the blue(this is what is I think is meant by the word behold) Joshua looks up and sees a man standing opposite him with His sword drawn. Joshua can’t help but notice the warrior has his sword ready to kill.

Joshua the bold

The text doesn’t show Joshua’s fear at the drawn sword. Joshua 5:13 says, And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” If you want to get the proper answer be direct. Joshua pulls up his pants and applies God’s command to be strong and courageous. He asks: are we about to fight, or not? Are you on our side or our enemy’s side? This is a simple but effect question to ask. What can be a little difficult to understand is the answer this figure gives.

What He says

Joshua 5:14, So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” This meeting resembles two other meetings. The first meeting is between Jacob and the man at Peniel, found in Genesis 32. The second is the meeting between the burning bush and Moses. This interaction goes a bit differently though. Instead of affirming to Joshua that the Commander is on his side, He says NO. I am not here to take your side or the Amorite’s side. I am on the LORD’s side. The Commander doesn’t take sides, you take His side. Joshua is thinking like a man, you have to take sides, which one do you pick. The Commander responds as only God can, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Commander of the army most often refers to the military head, who answers directly to the king. In 1 Samuel 14:50 we see Abner is the commander of Saul’s army. in 1 Kings 1:19 David’s commander of the army was Joab. Naaman, in 2 Kings 5:1, is the commander of the Syrian army. The commander was the supreme military authority and so in Joshua’s mysterious figure we are able to understand that the Commander of the army of the LORD was the supreme military authority, who answers only the King, God. He is sent by the LORD and is on a divine mission.

Joshua the LORD’s servant

Joshua’s response is proper and appropriate. Joshua 5:14, And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” In the supernatural accounts of Jacob and Moses, both fight with the supernatural figure. Jacob wrestles all night with his divine figure, while Moses argues with the Bush. Joshua on the other hand doesn’t do either. Instead, he gives the only right response; he humbles himself. He becomes subservient to his Lord. He understands straight away who is before him and so plants his face to the ground. Joshua, who is told over and over again to be strong and of good courage, knows the man standing before him is of a higher caliber than himself. Joshua is the general of the Israel, and so has authority over the whole nation. On the other hand, though, he recognises that the man standing before him is his superior officer. He worships the Commander and asks what are Your orders.

Holy Ground

Joshua 5:15, 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.

Some people may think this is an angel sent by God to give His orders. If this is the case, he must be one of the archangels, possibly Michael or Gabriel. But if we look at the interaction between the two we come to the conclusion that this Commander is not an angel, but THE ANGEL of the LORD. In Revelation 19:9-10 we see John getting rebuked for falling down to worship an angel. It says, Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!” A true angel of God would reject any type of adoration and direct them to worship the true King.

This next account refers to the proper response when people try to bow down and worship other humans. Acts 14:11, Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them. Paul and Barnabas were outraged that the people of Lystra would treat them as gods. They tore their clothes in disgust. On both of these occasions we see God’s messengers strongly reprimand those who try treat them as God. Only God is worthy of all adoration and praise. To do otherwise is in direct violation of the first commandment, you shall have NO other gods before me. The only beings capable of allowing false worship are other humans, as well as Satan and his fallen angels.

Joshua displays some noteworthy attitudes. First, we see Joshua’s humility before the Commander’s superior office. We read that Joshua bows down and worships, calls Him Lord, asks for orders, as well as removes his sandals when commanded. Second, we see Joshua’s obedience to the superior Commander. Joshua asks the Commander for His orders, and in the next chapter we see him obeying the Commands.

Locked up tight

6:1 is a break in the story. The writer places a pause here so he can establish that the fear of Israel is still strong in the hearts and minds of Jericho. Joshua 6:1, Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. This verse helps us to understand the hopelessness of attacking such a well defended city. Jericho was known for being impenetrable. The outer wall was between 10 and 13 meters tall. Without taking God into account here, you could say that Jericho was safe. The doors were barred shut. No one was coming in and no one was leaving, because the citizens of Jericho had one thing on their mind, the unstoppable force of Israel and their God were here to destroy them. They knew it and a deep seeded fear swept through the city. No doubt, that while they were shaking in their boots, they sought comfort in their immovable walls.

The Commanders Orders

We are now taken back to the two main figures, The Commander of the LORD’s army and Joshua. Joshua 6:2-5 tells the orders given to Joshua by the Commander. In Joshua 6:2 we are given more information on who this mysterious figure is. It says, “And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” It says that the LORD, that is Yahweh, The covenant God of Israel speaking. This Commander must in fact be God. Throughout Scripture, and more fully understood in the New Testament, we see the Holy Trinity in different offices. We have God the Father, who speaks by the Word, Jesus Christ, through the Spirit. In my opinion, and I am happy for you to disagree, is that this mighty warrior, the Commander of the LORD’s army, is in fact the Jesus in His pre-incarnate, existence.

The LORD says, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” His first words are of comfort to Joshua. They may look more secure than money in a vault, but in God’s eyes they are already defeated. I have given all of them into your hands. Jericho will fall. As Christians we should not be surprised or disheartened by the world’s wickedness or fortune. Or of the impossibility of witnessing the Gospel to those around you. God’s ways are not men’s ways and if we are to be victors with Christ, then we must forego our plans and follow the Commander. We will not always understand what He is doing or Why He is doing it, but we can have full assurance that God does all things for His glory and our good.

How to win in God’s army

The Commander tells Joshua how to beat the unbeatable. In Joshua 6:3-5 we are to understand that Israel’s victory over their enemies does not come from their own power and might. Instead, the victory belongs to God. Though the men of war, those 20 years and over, are to prepare for battle, all they are commanded to do is march around the city. Once a day for 6 days, and 7 times on the last day. The Priests blow their horns, the people shout, and the walls come tumbling down. Only then are the men of war to begin their assault on Jericho. Joshua 6:5 says, “It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.””

I find it amazing that the Israelite army followed through with the LORD’s orders. His orders go against everything our finite minds know concerning warfare, and winning the fight. But, they did follow orders. Jericho had indeed fallen to the might of God’s army.

Total destruction

I want to quickly deal with why God devoted everything to destruction. Joshua 6:17, “Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.” The answer to this enigma is to be found in Genesis 15:16, “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” This is a very veiled explanation, but we can ultimately assume that the Amorites had not repented of their sin but become worse and worse in it. Such that in Joshua’s time the cup was full. God’s justice had come upon them. If nothing else, this gives us reason to believe that God is not joking about the severity of sin. If you are not a Christian, this is a warning that there is still time to trust in Christ.

Conclusion

In the New Testament we read that we too are in the war. Like the Jericho battle, we do not fight in our own stead, but fight according to God’s battle plan. Ephesians 6:12, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Our fight is a spiritual one. In some sense we fight against the power of sin that still plagues our being, whether the battle is against ourselves, or the world. But ultimately it the battle is an unseen one, in the supernatural world, against Satan and His evil forces. Just like Joshua, all those who have their trust in Christ can have full confidence in the outcome of the war. At the end of John’s account of Jesus life, he records Jesus final words, “IT IS FINISHED.”

Do you desire to gain the victory in your battles against sin and the devil?

Are you trusting in God’s salvation in Christ and living according to His battle plan?

Have you put all your hope in the Commander? Trusting that His plan is the only plan that leads to victory?

Living in this world can be hard enough, but if we add Christ in our lives then we are adding to the hardships. This is why it is imperative to put primacy to growing our relationship with God. God is the One who rules the world and everything in it. He alone is equipped with the knowledge and power we need to navigate the dangerous paths we face every day. To be victorious we must know our place. We are slaves of the Most High King. So bring each and every day before Him and ask Him for His orders. And if you desire to hear His orders, that’s easy. Read the Bible. If you desire to hear His orders out loud. Read the Bible aloud.

Let us pray.