When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man stading in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, "Are you friend or foe?"
"Neither one," he replied. "I am the commander of the Lord's army."
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. "I am at your command," Joshua said. "What do you wnat your servant to do?"
(Joshua 5:13-14, NLT)
I was reading along this week and found this incident again- one of my favorites. I would so like something like this to happen to me! I want to see the guy with the sword.
It's such a great reminder. God isn't on anyone's side but His own!
Then, of course, Joshua leads the people into the "battle" of Jericho, where they clearly did not take the city by their own force. God wanted it to fall, so it fell. They really couldn't claim that victory as their own in any way. Love it!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I always have a little trouble with some of the stories in the Old Testament, Joyce. There are so many battles like this one, but I do appreciate the idea of "neither friend nor foe." I don't remember that part of the story; what I remember most is the spiritual about Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho and "the walls come a-tumblin' down."
I know that a lot of people struggle with the battle stories, as I did for a long time. I think there is a lot to be learned about remaining obedient in those stories, though, even though we have a different sensibility about all that violence. What I liked here is that Joshua was in fighting mode, and thought it all depended on him as a leader, and this angel clears that up for him.
Post a Comment