The unnamed warrior

 Christ in all the scriptures

Are you with us??   Joshua 5v13-15

Joshua chapter 6 is the historical drama of the battle of Jericho.  We shall see that no other conflict is like it in the annals of military history.  Little wonder, then, it is prefaced by a pre-incarnate Divine appearance.  There is no doubt that the unnamed man with the drawn sword is none other than Christ Himself.  We know that for He accepted worship from Joshua (v14/15), and no angel accepts worship (refer Revelation 22v8/9-all in heaven know that God alone is worshipped).  The Lord appeared in person to Joshua before his greatest battle.

"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 enemies?  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 (the word is adon meaning sovereign lord and master) unto His servant?  And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from of thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.  And Joshua did so". 

Joshua knew this was the Lord in human form.  This is one of many such appearances of our Lord before He came as the babe of Bethlehem, and the Man of Calvary.  He came with sword drawn, and this places the narrative beyond the historical into the eschatological, for the bible ends with Him coming in battle mode (Revelation 19).  Brothers and sisters, this catapults the battle of Jericho into the last days when Christ will come to take the world for God.  We will find comparisons and contrasts, and the story applies way beyond the taking of Jericho.  There are a number of pre-incarnate appearances, which run from Genesis to the prophecy of Zechariah, which we can now consider.  They are called Christophanies, and are temporary manifestations of Christ before He came in flesh.

1) To Hagar as the Angel of the Lord to comfort her in her exile from the family, and to predict the future for her and her seed- Genesis 16v7-16.  Her understanding of it was in the proclamation, "Thou God seest me"

2) To Abram and Sarah in human form, with two angels also in human form, at the plain of Mamre.  He revealed the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which the two angels would enact-Genesis 18/19.  It was the Lord who appeared but seen as a man.  No less than 12 times in chapter 18, the title Lord occurs.

3) To Jacob at Peniel, when an unidentified man wrestled with him after separating from Esau.  Jacob's take on this was "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved"-Genesis 32v24-30.

4) To Moses at the burning bush, as the Angel of the Lord--"Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God"-Exodus 3.  He revealed Himself as the great "I AM" who would deliver Israel.

5) To Joshua on the borders of Jericho, as he was preparing for battle.  He appeared as an unnamed man, later identified as "Captain of the host of the Lord"-Joshua 5v13/15.

6) To Gideon as the Angel of the Lord, immediately prior to the conflict with the Midianites, over whom they were assured of victory-Judges 6v7-40.

7) To Manoah's wife as the angel of the Lord to predict the birth of Samson who would free Israel from Philistine bondage-Judges 13.

8) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego as the fourth man in the burning fiery furnace, where the flames did not touch them.  This was at a crucial time for exiled Israel, and the fourth man was said to be "like unto the Son of God"-Daniel 3v13-30.

9) To Daniel as the Angel of God to preserve him from certain death in the lion's den-Daniel 6v10-28.

10) To Joshua the high priest as the Angel of the Lord confronting and rebuking Satan in the temple of worship-Zechariah 3.

Over approx. 1,400 years, the Lord appeared in person to many people in difficult circumstances, spanning the course of Israel's history.  The particular appearance to Joshua, the military commander, on the verge of the battle of Jericho, makes fascinating reading.  Not knowing who the man was, Joshua asked, Are you with us or with our enemies?  The answer, "Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come".  This turned the dialogue full circle.  It was as if to say, if you knew who I was, I should be asking you Are you with me?  On the cusp of a major battle Joshua is learning that without the Lord's presence, all actions will fail.  He would learn that in a short time when they moved without the Lord they were defeated (chapter 7v1-6).  The reason was there was sin in the camp and the Lord will not work with them.  He is holy and requires the same from His people.  

We know, today, that God is with us: the real question is, Are we with Him?  He is the captain of the host of the Lord and He requires humility and holiness if we are to be overcomers in a corrupt world.  He is Lord, and must be seen to be Lord.  We do well to ask if our practises conform to the Lordship of Christ, or if in reality He is Lord in name only.