"Captain of the Lord’s Hosts"
Josh. 5:13-15
Intro:
We will deal with four things in this story: the problem facing Joshua, who is this "man," what is the meaning of his title, and His answer to Joshua.
Use your imagination with me for a moment. The year is approximately B.C. 1450. Joshua has "went for a walk." He wants to be alone. As he walks perhaps he is attempting to collect his thoughts or gather his bearings. Maybe he isn’t just "hammering out" tomorrow’s battle strategies, but perhaps he is also thinking of the recent chain of events.
It is true, he is facing an incredible fortress. The walls that surrounded Jericho were double walls, thirty feet high. The outer wall was six feet thick and the inner wall was twelve feet thick. They were reinforced every so often by connecting walls between them. Some believe that there were cauldrons atop the walls so that in event of attack, when an army broke through the first wall and found themselves trapped inside a square of walls, boiling oil was poured on them from the cauldrons above.
It is possible that Joshua is remembering the evil report of the ten spies forty years earlier when they said, "the cities are walled, and very great." (Num. 13:28)
You have probably noticed that the "Jericho’s" of our lives come, not when things have been laid-back with plenty of time for forethought and preparation. All too often some of our toughest battles come when the days are full. Joshua had been very busy. Look at some of the recent events he might have had on his mind as he walked:
In Deuteronomy 34, Moses died leaving Joshua without a great friend and leader. This placed him in the position of authority over the great company of people.
Joshua had sent two spies to survey this city of Jericho. They had returned with their report.
Israel had crossed the Jordan river at flood-stage on dry ground. (3:15-4:19)
The Lord had instructed them to reinstate the circumcision. (5:2-9)
They had celebrated the Passover for the first time in the new land "in the plains of Jericho." (5:10)
They had eaten of Canaan’s corn and "the manna ceased" the next day. (5:12)
And here stands Jericho, the first city to battle, it represents an insurmountable obstacle in Israel’s path.
Now it’s evening, and Joshua meditates on all theses things, maybe wondering where to dispatch Caleb and his troops, and Salmon and his troops - the others.. He might be worried about how many lives will be lost. Maybe he’s trying to encourage himself, "God said we would subdue the land..."
Suddenly he realizes he is not alone! (Imagine further with me.)
Just maybe one of his soldiers saw him leave the camp - and thinking his too valuable of a man to lose, decided to keep an eye on him... and just maybe this soldier saw Joshua over "by Jericho" as he bent to remove his shoes and place his face to the ground in worship! "What is he doing?!" "Is Joshua surrendering to Jericho?!" "Quick, someone get Caleb!"
Well, maybe none of it happened that way. But you and I have the record of what took place from here -
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. (Josh. 5:13-15)
Who Is This Man?
The first question we need to answer is the same question Joshua was asking, the same one our imaginary soldier would have been asking had he seen this event transpiring - "Who is this man?"
Old Testament Christology identifies Him as Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
Alton Garrison tells the story of Jesus entering Abraham’s bosom after the crucifixion. It may not be very factual, but it illustrates how Jesus showed up in the Old Testament. According to the evangelist, Jesus enters the chamber unrecognized... some of the Old Testament saints had been there for years. They spent their days encouraging one another with prolonged testimony services while they awaited the anticipated arrival of their Deliverer.
Moses would say, "Take heart my brothers. I wrote to you that He would come and bruise the serpent’s head. (Gen. 3:15) I also wrote, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him." (Dt. 18:15) So hang on. He’s coming!"
Once he sat down others would stand to testify. Jesus listened for a while, then walked up front and asked them one by one:
Abel, who are you looking for? Abel piped up, "I’m waiting for ‘The Lamb slain from the creation of the world.’" (Rev. 13:8)
Abraham, what are you waiting for? Abraham stood and said, "I’m looking for the One who is ‘My shield and my exceeding great reward," (Gen. 15:1) I’m still looking for the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb. 11:10)
Joshua, who are you looking for? Joshua said one day, the night before my first great battle as Israel’s commander, I was standing by Jericho when I saw a man with His sword drawn, I’m looking for that man to come again, I’m looking for the Captain of the Lord’s hosts."
Daniel, who are you looking for? Daniel said, "One day I was thrown to the lions, but they never harmed me, I’m looking forward to meeting the One who shut the mouths of the lions."
Shadrach, who are you looking for? Shadrach, stood and said, "A wicked king once threw some of us into a fiery furnace. We should have died that day, but God was with us. when we landed we took a head-count. Three of us had been thrown in, four of us were walking around unharmed in the flames. When the old king saw us in there he declared that the fourth man looked like a son of the gods. (Dan. 3:25) I want to walk again with the Son of God."
Isaiah, who are you looking for? The old prophet rose and said, I’m looking for the One called Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting God, Prince of Peace - I’m looking for the virgin-born Emmanuel!"
Zechariah, who are you looking for? Zechariah said, I can’t wait to see the one I called the Balm of Gilead. I want to see, in person, the one I saw in vision riding into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey. I want to see the one I saw pierced. When I asked Him what happened He said, "‘(These are) the wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’" (Zec. 13:6)
Malachi didn’t even wait to be asked, he jumped up and said, "I’m looking for the sun of righteousness (that) will rise with healing in its wings." (Mal. 4:2)
And Jesus made Himself known, and said, "Look no more! I AM He. And He "led captivity captive." (Eph. 4:8)
The man Joshua met near Jericho was none less that Jesus Himself. He is the Captain of the host of the Lord. So the captain of the host of Israel meets a very different Captain, the Commander-in-chief of the Lord’s army. (LB)
The Significance of His Title?
The second question we need to answer is what is the significance of this title? In answering this question, we first need to understand who the army of the Lord is in this context. We sing the children’s song "I’m in the Lord’s Army," and there is truth to that in many ways. But in this setting the Lord is referring to an army very different from military men. His army consists of innumerable angelic beings!
2 Kings 6 tells the story of Elisha and his servant in the trouble with the king of Syria. The king sends an army of horses and chariots to surround the city where Elisha is staying. His servant wakes in the morning to find themselves surrounded. With great fear he tells Elijah of the situation. With an uncanny calm, the prophet replies, "‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ 17 And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." (6:16-17)
And in our text we find that Jesus is Captain of these great angelic armies! Many scriptures refer to the Lord as the Lord of Hosts, or, Yaweh Tsabaoth. It is an unfortunate thing that the translators of our day felt that the average American would not understand this idea in association with the Lord and opted to translate that title "The Lord Almighty." It probably more accurately conveys the message those passages are trying to get across, but it loses this military image.
Ps. 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty-- He is the King of glory. Selah
Is. 1:9 Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. (Cp. Is. 1:24, Ro. 9:29)
Jam. 5:4 To the rich who have lived in self-indulgence and have robbed the poor of their wages, he says, Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
It is Jesus, their captain, or Prince, or King, who gives this innumerable host of angels the command, "Go forth into battle!" And they move into victory.
In the book of Revelation, He repeatedly commands the angels in particular duties for the end times. Hebrew says, "He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire. . . . Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (1:7, 14) It was Jesus who sent His angels to get Peter out of prison; that commanded them in war for Jehoshaphat; that had them blind the Syrian army. And this same Jesus, as Captain of the angelic armies of heaven, told the angles, "When Joshua and his people have finished their Jericho march, when they have blown their trumpets and given the victory shout, lean on the walls a little bit and push them down."
His Answer
The final things we need to consider is the answer Jesus gave Joshua. Joshua asked Him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" Jesus replied, in the old King James, "Nay; but as the captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." In other words, "No, I’m not here in either of those positions. I am here as the Lord of Hosts." (GB) He says, "I’m not here to choose whether I am for you or against you. You are here to decide whether you are for Me or against Me." (GB) That’s what Jesus tells us in Matthew, He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. (12:30)
The question is not whether He is on your side or not, but whether you are on His side. His actions toward us are determined by which side of the fence we are standing on. Are you friend or foe? If you are not saved, the Bible says you are enemies of God and objects of His wrath. (Ro. 1:18, 2:5, 8, 9:22, 5:9-10, Col. 1:21, Eph. 2:3, 5:6) The Bible says our sins have built walls that keep us from the Lord. If we will come to Him on His terms, He will tear those walls down just as He did for Joshua at Jericho. He will forgive our sins, when we choose to be on the Lord’s side. But we have to choose sides.
Close:
Some of you may be facing massive walls that obstruct your way.
The Jericho of Joshua’s day now lies in an eight acre mound of rubble. It is nothing but ruins. Archaeologists have discovered that when the walls of Jericho fell, they fell outward. Israel didn’t push those walls in, they fell out.
The secret of Joshua’s success in his battles was he did what the Lord told him to do. He took his shoes off. He got on his face before the Lord, in submission and obedience, and worshiped Him. Obedience in worship, and obedience in battle will bring the walls down. Jesus is the Captain of (our) salvation. (Heb. 2:10 KJV)
