Joshua 5:13 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.
Joshua 6:2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days…
15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!…
20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.
Joshua 5:13-15 describes an encounter Joshua has prior to the taking of Jericho in chapter 6, some of which I excerpted above as well. I’ve heard this story before, but didn’t really think about verse 14 until yesterday. Such is the richness and depth of scripture that we can return to familiar passages and see things in a different light.
Joshua wants to know if the one he encounters is on his side or not. Fair question. But he is told “neither,” the one he meets self-describes as “captain of the Lord’s hosts.”
…We have readers here from all over the world, but whether speaking with someone in Germany or here in Canada, it’s clear that American news also makes the headlines where we live, perhaps even much more so in the last dozen years.
I thought the selection above from Joshua 5 and 6 was interesting in light of the American Christian climate sometimes God is believed to be Republican, and not Democrat; or the upcoming climax to their American football season where people supporting both teams are asking God to help them win. This creates all types of polarities and rivalries which, if we’re looking through spiritual eyes, creates a number of giant distractions. Distractions which keep us from God.
Theologians and lay-people disagree as to whether or not this scene in Joshua describes a theophany, an Old Testament appearance of Christ himself. But if that is the case, why is the answer phrased the way it is? One pastor offers an answer to that (see esp. pp. 2 and 3) which serves to solidify the idea that Christ is the one to whom Joshua is speaking. The sword is also a clue to this identity. Another author offers that the appearance, title, instructions and Joshua’s reaction solidify the view that this is a theophany or Christophany.
But back to praying for political parties and sports teams, our focus today is also on the neutrality of Joshua’s visitor. While what is said clearly implies that neither side is favored, we know from the rest of the story that God is on Joshua’s side. So what does the comment mean? The Reformation Study Bible offers this:
The commander of the Lord’s army encourages Joshua, but He is not under Joshua’s command. God is bound neither to destroy all Canaanites nor to deliver all Israelites, as is powerfully illustrated in the subsequent chapters in the experiences of Rahab (6:25) and Achan (ch. 7). See note 6:17, 18. (emphasis added)
Again, to be clear, God does not come out on the side of a particular political party or a particular sports team. It almost seems to trivialize His involvement in our affairs — and trivialize prayer itself — to ask him to intervene in our sporting events or even elections.We’re told to pray for those who eventually do get elected to positions of power, but if we believe that each and every election winner constitutes a ‘divine appointment,’ we’re going to have a major disappointment when those people let us down, perhaps even crying God and asking, ‘Why did you allow that person to win?’
It’s complicated.
God is on our side in the sense that God is for his people, but once assured of that, we can’t control or manipulate God. (This is part of the main thesis of Skye Jethani’s book With.)
Related reading:
- Read more about Theophanies
- C201 Devotional (Jan, 2013) Nothing Formed Against You Shall Stand*
*I found this checking to see if we’ve used the song, The God of Angel Armies, by Chris Tomlin here, which we have. But it fits so well, I’m repeating it today for the third time:
Christianity 201 