Whose side are you on?
“When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my Lord say to his servant?” Joshua 5:13-14
After leading God's people into the promise land where there were many adversaries, Joshua encountered a man with a drawn sword in his hand. Who was this man? Many scholars believe that this man was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. The strongest evidence for this view is that Joshua was commanded to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. Similarly Moses was commanded to take off his sandals when he encountered God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5).
Before fully understanding who he was talking to, Joshua asked if the man with the sword was on the side of Israel or their enemies. The man replied, "No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord." Whether this man was an angel or a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, he was speaking for God. And essentially his response to Joshua’s inquiry was, “I didn't come to take sides, I came to take over.”
What we need most in our lives is more than God’s help to achieve our plans. We need God to be in charge of our lives, to lead us in the way we should go, to take over. In a conflict, people sometimes wonder whose on their side. But what we need to be most concerned with is not whether God or anyone else is on our side, but whether or not we are standing with God. If we are standing with God, then we can trust that God is standing with us. And if God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31). God is for us when we bow to Jesus and receive Him by faith as Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9).
Don’t look for God to take your side. Seek Him to take over.
Blessings,
Pastor Marco
After leading God's people into the promise land where there were many adversaries, Joshua encountered a man with a drawn sword in his hand. Who was this man? Many scholars believe that this man was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. The strongest evidence for this view is that Joshua was commanded to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. Similarly Moses was commanded to take off his sandals when he encountered God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5).
Before fully understanding who he was talking to, Joshua asked if the man with the sword was on the side of Israel or their enemies. The man replied, "No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord." Whether this man was an angel or a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, he was speaking for God. And essentially his response to Joshua’s inquiry was, “I didn't come to take sides, I came to take over.”
What we need most in our lives is more than God’s help to achieve our plans. We need God to be in charge of our lives, to lead us in the way we should go, to take over. In a conflict, people sometimes wonder whose on their side. But what we need to be most concerned with is not whether God or anyone else is on our side, but whether or not we are standing with God. If we are standing with God, then we can trust that God is standing with us. And if God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31). God is for us when we bow to Jesus and receive Him by faith as Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9).
Don’t look for God to take your side. Seek Him to take over.
Blessings,
Pastor Marco