Joshua 5:13-15 Face to Face

 13Now 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 approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”

14“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.”

Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”

15The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”

And Joshua did so.

“We know that this Being, standing before Joshua, was God. Though the title Commander of the army of the LORD could perhaps apply to an angel (such as Michael, based on a passage like Revelation 12:7), Joshua’s falling down, and worshipping is inconsistent with angels, who never receive worship (Revelation 22:8-9).” (Guzik)

“As well, Joshua refers to the angel as my LORD; but most of all, the command to remove his sandals (a picture of our humanity and contact with a “dirty” world), was to Joshua (who read and knew Exodus 3:4-6 because he was in God’s word) clear proof that the Man standing before him was the voice from the burning bush.” (Guzik)

“The idea of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, appearing as a man before Bethlehem is provocative, but logical. We know that He existed before Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); why should He not, on isolated but important occasions, appear in bodily form? This idea is also evident in passages like Genesis 18:16-33, 32:24-30, and Judges 13:1-23.” (Guzik)

“Why did Jesus come to Israel at this strategic time?

He had come to instruct Joshua in the plan to capture Jericho. Joshua will carry out a plan in the following chapter that is so improbable it could only have been initiated at the direct command of God.” (Guzik)

I’m awestruck that these three verses are so rich with so much information about the Lord. Joshua was getting ready to take on the strongest fortified army in the promised land at Jericho and Jesus found it necessary to visit him personally!

I wonder when we finally meet Jesus how many times He has met us personally face to face and we were too busy to notice? As followers of Christ we need to turn off the television, radio and the news and spend more time with Him so we can hear that still, small voice!

1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.

Are you listening to Him?

Blessings