Today we are going to finish our study on Joshua 5. Joshua
is facing his first major battle after crossing the Jordan River and he is
standing outside the giant city walls of Jericho and is no doubt thinking how
in the world will they conquer this city that stands between them and the
Promise Land. It was there, in the darkness of the night and while he was
alone, that he had an encounter with the God of the universe.
In Matthew 6:6, Jesus taught us to pray by entering into
the closet and shutting the door, and pray, spending time with our Father who
is in secret, and our Father who sees in secret will reward us openly! Do you
have a secret place where you get alone with your Lord? You shut the door of
your mind to all the distractions of the world around you? You turn off the
cell phone, the computer, the iPad, and open up your Bible and concentrate on
His Word and commune with Him in prayer?
God had promised to be with Joshua (Josh. 1:5, 9), and the
people had prayed that the Lord would be with him (vv. 16-17). The enemy knew
that God was with Israel (2:8), and Joshua had encouraged his people with this
promise (3:9ff). Joshua was now experiencing the reality of that promise!
When Joshua discovered the visitor was the Lord, he fell at
His feet in worship and waited for His orders. In Christian ministry great
public victories are won in private as leaders submit to the Lord and receive
their directions from Him. It's doubtful that anybody in the camp of Israel
knew about their leader's meeting with the Lord, but that meeting made the
difference between success and failure on the battlefield. The Chinese Bible
teacher Watchman Nee wrote, "Not until we take the place of a servant can
He take His place as Lord."
Joshua was reminded that he was second in command. Every
father and mother, pastor, and Christian leader is second in command to the
Lord Jesus Christ; and when we forget this fact, we start to move toward defeat
and failure. The Lord's first order to Joshua revealed to him that he was
standing on holy ground. This reminds us of God's words to Moses at the burning
bush (Ex. 3:5). Joshua was standing in "heathen territory"; yet
because God was with him, he was standing on holy ground. If we are obeying the
will of God, no matter where He leads us, we are on holy ground; and we had
better behave accordingly. There's no such thing as "secular" and
"sacred," "common" and "consecrated," when you
are in the Lord's service. "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).
The sequence here is significant: first humble worship,
then holy walk, then heavenly warfare. This parallels the "spiritual
postures" found in the Epistle to the Ephesians. Joshua first bowed the
knee (Eph. 3:14); then he submitted to a holy walk (4:1,17; 5:2, 8,15); and
then he went out to battle the enemy in the power of the Lord (6:10-18). Like
Joshua, we have already been given our inheritance (described in Eph. 1-2) and
we must overcome the enemy in order to claim it for ourselves and enjoy it.
This also reminds me of Philippians 4, where Paul is
writing from prison, and he is encouraging and instructing the believers at
Philippi to quit worrying and being fearful of all the terrible circumstances
around them but to rejoice in the Lord by spending time in prayer, in
supplications, and thanksgiving. When they gave their burdens to the Lord, they
would experience the “peace of God” that would guard their minds. Then he told
them to start thinking the right things (Philippians 4:8), and then when they
did the right things in their daily walk, they would find that the very “God of
peace” was with them! (Phil. 4:9).
We don’t have to stay in the miserable wilderness of self!
Get alone with our heavenly Father each morning and yield yourself and your
burdens to Him and you will experience His peace and presence throughout the
day! Take time to be holy!
God bless!
