Admit it—a very strange encounter, right? But was it a strange encounter of the best kind? Perhaps it was a good encounter for the customer, but not the best! The "best" will always involve a heart connection with the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible. In our church, we have been looking at the various appearances throughout the Old Testament of the Angel of the Lord. A careful look at each one reveals that He is not a created angelic being, but even God Himself. A very careful look at what this "Angel" says and does, narrows it down even more—He is the Son of God Himself, that is, the same Spirit of God that would fill Jesus centuries later, now comes in different forms to manifest the truth of God's love. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that He gave…" and I would add, "and gave and gave and gave and gave." He sent His Son not only at Christmas, but all through His dealings with His people—an "Angel" to speak with Abraham (Gen. 18); a "Voice" to Moses from a burning bush (Ex. 3); a sword-wielding "Angel" to stand before Balaam and his donkey (Num. 22), and so many others.
As we are in the midst of the Lenten Season, let us now look at the very strange encounter that Joshua had before the battle of Jericho, and how it even points to the Cross. Joshua, the successor to Moses, had already been experiencing several unusual things that correlate to the life of Moses—dejavu, if you will. Forty years before, the Lord had parted the Red Sea and allowed the people to escape the wrath of Pharoah by crossing on dry ground. Now, Joshua leads the people across the Jordan River in virtually the same manner. Forty years before, Joshua and eleven other spies had been sent by Moses into the land to scout it out, but only he and Caleb returned with the truth—if God leads it, the land will be taken. Now, Joshua sends two spies to scout out the possibility of taking the heavily fortified city of Jericho, and, on the word of a prostitute named Rahab, they receive the same message—if God is doing it, it's a done deal!
And that's not all—forty years before, Moses instructed the people to mark their doorways with the blood of the lamb before their exodus from Egypt, and the angel of death would "passover" those households and none would die. Now, Rahab is to put a scarlet cord out her window in the wall of Jericho as a sign of God's protection for her and her family—a bloodline, if you will—due to the help she showed the spies. Later, we would find her name in the "bloodline" of Jesus Himself (Matt. 1:5). WOW—so much must have been at the forefront of Joshua's mind as he looked up at the 30' high and 20' thick walls of the city. And then it happened—so very strange! "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?" (Joshua 5:13) Forty years before, when Moses saw the burning bush, he dropped everything and turned aside to see it. Now, Joshua steps right up for his amazing encounter.
To answer Joshua's question, He said, "Nay; but as the captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." (vs. 14a) In other words, "Neither—I am not just your ally; I am the Great I Am—I am your leader, your head, the only one who should have dominion over you; I am your Prince, your Lord, your Master. This is my battle, not yours. You don’t need to be snooping around here, wondering if this whole thing is possible—it's a done deal!" And Joshua fell flat on his face before God's Spirit—the Christ Himself—and worshiped Him. By the way, if this were only an angel, Joshua's worship would have been rebuked, for Christ alone is to be worshiped. And now Joshua asks for further orders from his Commander-in-Chief.
And He gives it—"And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." (vs. 15) Strange!—forty years before, Moses heard the same thing at the burning bush, and now Joshua is told of his first step—to know of God's holiness, and enter into it. Moses had taken his shoes off, but then proceeded to formulate numerous excuses for the task ahead. Praise God—finally, he submitted and allowed the Lord to empower him, but we don't all have to make the same mistakes and grieve the Spirit of God. Joshua had learned from what Moses went through before him, and we can do the same thing—if we will submit to the "Captain," and quit trying to be the boss. "And, behold, God Himself is with us for our Captain," (2 Chron. 13:12)—and the author of Hebrews makes clear, "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee." (2: 10-12)
What? This encounter is surely getting strange! Are we to believe that our leader, and even Prince, is to suffer?—and if we would enter into that with Him, we will be one with Him? That is what it says—it is His battle, but we, if we are truly His people, will enter into that with Him. It is not our battle to lose; it is His to win and have the victory. The account in the following chapters would make clear just how divinely inspired Joshua's military strategy would be. There would be three campaigns. The conquest of Jericho and Ai would be the first thrust right up through the middle, securing the central ridge and driving a wedge between the northern and southern sections of Canaan. The second campaign in the south would conquer the Amorite coalition, and the third would do the same to the northern confederacy. This was the plan, and remember—it was God's.
No swords, no catapults, no battering rams—just do as the Lord says! They marched around the nine- acre fortress once a day for seven days, and on the last day, they went around seven times. In the Jewish mindset, "seven" is a number of fullness and completion—God's way would accomplish the mission. There was no talking, no yelling, no anything of themselves—this was God's battle. When that was done, seven ram's horns sounded—quite literally, in the Hebrew, jubilee trumpets—and this was even before the first Year of Jubilee. Through the coming years, they would announce the arrival of Yahweh as King, whether to His true people to complete His covenant and proclaim release and liberty, OR, to His enemies, to judge and destroy them—the choice was theirs. Paul would later refer to the "trump of God" having this dual-purpose when announcing Christ's second coming. (1 Thess. 4: 16)
And with a great shout, as the song says, "The walls came tumblin' down." And everyone and everything was destroyed—all except the scarlet cord and Rahab's family. It was Christ's battle, His suffering, His death—but He had the ultimate and complete victory, and so did, and so does, everyone who will lay down their own demands and enter into it with Him. The full victory will be had by those who will cross over—not just out of Egypt—a picture of salvation, BUT over into the Promised Land, a deeper walk with full participation in the battles that lie ahead—a picture of being baptized in Holy Spirit and fire (Acts 2). The full victory will be had by those who come under the protection of the blood of the lamb, and hold onto His scarlet cord of purity and holiness until the walls are down. The full victory will be had by those who give up their own rule and control, letting Him be the Captain, with the sword of truth in His hand. In this Lenten season, please do just that—no more excuses, just full surrender! For such is the way of true victory—surrender. It sounds strange, but it's true. So many are trying to be, and do, "good"—don't settle for anything "good." You can have God's very best. As the Christ stands before you right now, know this—a true encounter with Him is the best kind, the only kind that leads to everlasting life! May His name be declared unto the brethren, and be praised in the midst of the church—Oh, the beauty of full victory—the very best God has to offer!!!
