WDJD?
Joshua 5:13-15
INTRODUCTION
The passage that we will look at today is a passage that speaks about reverence. I realize that in our culture today, very few things or people are given reverence. Any more, reverence is not an attitude or action that we see on a daily basis.
ILLUSTRATION… Moral and Spiritual Anarchy (Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, www.barna.org)
In his [Barna’s] new volume he flatly states that moral anarchy has arrived and rules our culture today. The argument hinges on a substantial amount of attitudinal and behavioral evidence: record bankruptcy levels, frivolous lawsuits, the rapid growth of the pornography industry, highway speeding as the norm, income tax cheating, computer hacking and viruses, rising levels of white collar crime, rampant copyright violations (movies, books, recordings), terrorism and intimidation tactics, Net-based plagiarism, emotional comfort with lying and cheating, increasing rates of co-habitation and adultery, and so forth.
Moreover, Barna takes the argument farther and suggests that the United States is now in a state of spiritual anarchy as well. He mentioned that millions of people’s faith activity is no longer affected by parameters such as church loyalty, respect for clergy, acceptance of absolutes, tolerance of Christianity, reverence for God, a desire to strive for personal holiness, sensitivity to theological heresy, and appreciation of tradition. The rejection of these elements has created a void that has been filled by the customized spirituality that lacks biblical moorings.
What is this culture-watchdog saying? One of the more specific items I noticed is that a lack of reverence for God has contributed to the spiritual anarchy we see in our nation and in our world. As in everything, my initial question is, what does the Bible have to say about reverence?
Scripture speaks in the Old and New Testament about the reverence we ought to possess for God. The primary term in the New Testament has two basic meanings. The first is the concept of fear in the sense of fright, dread, or to be seized with alarm. The Bible clearly impresses upon us the need for people to possess a healthy dread of God. Jesus warned in Matthew 10:28 that we should “fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." The second meaning built in the term reverence is the idea of awe, worship, and respect. This concept is the more prominent meaning and is common throughout the Bible.
The passage in Joshua 5:13-15 is one that expresses both of these meanings at once. We see both a healthy fear and a sense of awe given to God by Joshua. It is 5:13-15 that we focus on this morning.
READ JOSHUA 5:13-15
Joshua was faced with a holy situation. He was traveling near Jericho and he “happened” upon this person with his sword drawn. He must have looked like a mighty warrior. Joshua asks this man’s identity and asks whose side he is on. Why do I say this was a holy situation? Because this messenger was not only a messenger of the Lord, but the Archangel Michael [a very educated guess because he identifies himself as the commander of God’s army; this is Michael in Revelation 12:7]. Joshua is face to face with an angel… a holy situation. WDJD? What did Joshua do?
I. ACTED APPROPRIATELY (v. 13-14a)
Immediately upon learning the identity of this person in front of him, Joshua acted appropriately. He fell with his face to the ground in reverence. We find, in Scripture, that when the people of God are faced with a holy situation they act appropriately. Moses and Aaron (Numbers 20:6) when entering the Tabernacle and were faced with the presence of God… fell on their faces. Elijah (1 Kings 18:42), when faced with God’s presence on the top of Mount Carmel, bowed down before God. King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:18) worshipped the Lord by bowing his head with his face to the ground. When the people of God encounter God / a holy situation, they act appropriately.
I have one more example. Jesus (Matthew 26:39) when praying and seeking the will of God in the Garden of Gethsemane fell on his face. This was not a slip or an accident, but an act of reverence for God.
Why do this? Why fall to their knees and put their face to the ground? Why fall prostrate on the ground when faced with the commander of the Army of God? It’s all about worship. It’s all about praise. It’s all about physical humility.
APPLICATION: I wonder, when we are faced with holy situations in our lives, how to we act? When we come into this sanctuary, how do we act? When you go to God in prayer, how do you act and what is your posture? Are we reverent during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper? Are we reverent people when faced with holy situations in our lives?
II. SPOKE HUMBLY (v. 14b)
Not only did Joshua act reverent before God, but he spoke humbly. I don’t think I am revealing any new secret when I tell you that you must speak to God in reverence. Even in the Ten Commandments, God instructs us that even His very name is holy and we should be careful how we use it in our speech.
Joshua was faced with this mighty angelic warrior and what did he say? He was humble and asked, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Joshua was available for whatever God needed of him. He was there ready to listen to the God of Heaven speak to him.
ILLUSTRATION… “Yo, Big Kahuna!” (p)
I remember distinctly a prayer group that I attended while I was in Bible college. We gathered and took prayer requests and then began to pray. During the prayer time, one of the young ladies in the group referred to God as “the Big Kahuna.” If I remember correctly, I had the devotional after the prayer time. I set my devotion to the side and our group had a discussion about names of God and reverence. “Big Kahuna” is a Hawaiian term, I think, that means Chief, King, something like that. I could not convince ½ the group that to refer to God in this way was irreverent. Is still, even to this day, don’t think I was wrong.
APPLICATION: Are we reverent in our speech? Have you been caught up in the habit of taking the Lord’s name in vain in your daily speaking? It is something to think about and take inventory of!
III. OBEYED IMMEDIATELY (v. 15)
I think the last sentence of chapter 5 is the most powerful: “And Joshua did so.” When faced with this holy situation, Joshua acted appropriately, spoke humbly and obeyed immediately. The mighty warrior commanded him to take off his sandals… and Joshua did so.
All throughout Scripture, you will find that being a reverent person means that you obey the Lord and you do so immediately. Noah (Genesis 6:22, 7:5) never having seen rain, trusted God, and built an ark immediately. Abraham (Genesis 22:2-3) was instructed to go and sacrifice his son. He did not wait, but rose early in the morning and went! Paul (Acts 16:10) received a dream from God that he should concentrate efforts in Macedonia and immediately after having this vision he and his group made plans to go.
Joshua showed his character and faith in God when he did exactly as he was told immediately after he was told. This shows that he accepted who this man was in front if him and that he was in fear and in awe.
APPLICATION: I think sometimes we don’t obey God because we aren’t afraid of what will happen. Let me repeat that. I think sometimes we don’t obey God because we aren’t afraid of what will happen.
We need to be afraid of God. We need to be in awe of His mighty power and His awesome wisdom. Again, Jesus warned in Matthew 10:28 that we should “fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." God is not a cosmic thunder God shooting bolts down on us because of our disobedience, but then again, Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5, 10) might disagree with that.
CONCLUSION
WHAT THEN IS REVERENCE?
1) Acting appropriately
2) Speaking Humbly
3) Obeying immediately
