"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?" (Josh. 5:13,14).
God had appointed Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the land of Canaan. It was just before the battle of Jericho that the great leader looked up to see a man with a drawn sword facing him. His sudden appearance must have startled Joshua, but he showed no trace of fear--not Joshua!
Advancing toward the man, Joshua demanded, "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" No wonder the answer brought him to his knees! He had been standing face-to-face with the captain of the Lord's hosts, no doubt Michael, the angelic prince of Israel (cf. Dan. 10:21; 12:1).
The question was not whose side was the angel of God on, but whose side was Joshua on! Was he himself in harmony with God's will?
What a lesson to learn! In the constant battle over truth and error, there is a tendency for Christians to demand of other Christians: "Whose side are you on? Are you for us or for our adversaries?"
If this is as far as we have gotten in our service for the Lord, we still have much to learn, for the great question is not "Are you on my side?" but "Am I on God's side?"
God's truth will prevail. His purposes will be carried out, and even though we might be on the side of the most powerful and influential of men, we will surely be driven to defeat if we are not in harmony with God's Word and will.
Should we not all fall on our faces with Joshua, then, and ask, "What saith my Lord unto His servant?"
Article by by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam / The Berean Bible Society
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