"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? And the captain
of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot;
for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." Joshua 5:13-15
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Joshua, the great general of God's
people and one of the greatest men ever recorded in history stands as
an example for God's people to follow in these last days.
Observe the great courage Joshua
had when standing before the enemies of God, to be matched only by his
great humility when bowing before his God. Both of these qualities are
desperately needed by God's people today.
No doubt the man Joshua lifted his
eyes to see was a formidable man to behold both in might and glory, yet
without hesitation; Joshua approaches the man with a courage few men
have ever known, ready to fight this man whose sword has already been
drawn, or to embrace him as an allied friend.
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Remembering back to the commandment God gave Joshua, The Lord said, "Only
be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all the law... turn not from it to the right hand or to the
left... This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but
thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to
do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make
thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Be strong and
of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the
LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
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Because Joshua was obedient to the
heavenly calling, he did not fear when confronting the man by Jericho.
He stood upon the promises of God with a pure heart. If this man were an
enemy, Joshua knew God was with him to defeat this formidable foe.
When Joshua found the man to be
Captain of the Host of the Lord, he in all his greatness as the general
and leader of Israel, bowed down low in reverence to the Lord his God
and asked for His guidance. Joshua found great favor with God.
Like Joshua, the Church today must
walk in complete obedience to the heavenly calling so that when
confronting the enemies of God, she can stand with the assurance that
God will fight with her. The gauge for determining the enemies of God is
nothing less than the Truth of God! This means the Church must walk
with great discernment.
The Word of God is our measure for
Truth, every word spoken must line up with Truth, and every man who
claims to fight on God's side must line up with Truth. We must with
great courage approach every man in the name of Truth and ask, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"
Every lie must be defeated by
Truth, every liar must be found out by Truth. Every enemy of God will be
defeated by the same courage Joshua had; remember however the truth
that Joshua himself walked in. Without obedience to the Truth, you are
no match for the enemies of God.
Lastly, forget not the humility
Joshua walked in. His life was given over to the Lord completely. His
fight was God's fight. He was a true servant of God. It was not his
ministry, his project, his plans, his people. He played a role in God's
plans with God's people. Joshua knew he was nothing more than an
instrument in God's hands. The Church today would do well to follow this
example of humility. No matter your position in the Body of Christ, you
are a part of the whole, with Christ alone as the Head.
