The Captain of the Lord's Host, Part 1

Joshua chapter 5 is where we're at. Joshua chapter 5. I don't know how your battles are going, but hopefully you are being prepared to face them each and every day. In Joshua chapter 5, we meet the captain of the Lord's host. We meet the pre-incarnate Christ as Joshua would meet Him there outside of Jericho. We're going to pick up the narrative in Joshua chapter 5, verse number 13. This is where we left off last week.

"Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, they lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him. And his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us or for our adversaries?' And he said, 'No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, 'What has my Lord to say to a servant?' And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet. For the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so."

I want to look with you at the engagement, the engagement with the captain, and then look at some enlightenment for the Christian. That's our outline this evening. But this whole engagement with the captain is the whole idea of the third principle in gaining or preparing for victory, and that is the principle of reverence. Bowing before the Lord God in humble submission to His authority, learning to revere Him for who He is.

The Bible tells us in verse 13: "Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho." Now, when was that? We don't know. It was sometime after the circumcision of the men. It was sometime after the Passover. We don't know exactly when it was, but Joshua was by Jericho. God had not yet given him the orders as to what he was going to do. That's in chapter 6. We're going to talk about that in weeks ahead. But he wasn't sure how it was all going to happen. Sometime after their obedience, sometime after their remembrance was going to come an opportunity for reverence. And Joshua was out walking around, and all of a sudden he comes across a man, a man whose sword is drawn.

And Joshua sees him and he asked him a question. So the first point under the engagement with the captain is the question that's asked. He goes up to him and asks a question.

Now, Joshua is a bold man. He's not a fearful man. He's a strong man. We know that because God told him in Joshua chapter 1 three times, "Be strong and what?" Courageous. One time he said, "Be strong and very courageous." So Joshua comes across this man. The text is very clear: this is a man. His sword is drawn, and Joshua boldly walks up to him and asks this question: "Are you for us or are you for our adversaries?" Now you got to like the question. It wasn't like, "Hi, my name is Joshua. What is your name? Let me tell you where I'm from. Let me tell you what God's done in my life." It wasn't anything like that. Joshua was a black and white kind of guy. "Are you for us or against us? Are you on my side or are you on their side? Because if you're on their side, you're going down. So you've got to make sure you're on our side." See? But he goes down, he's very pointed. He asks the question. A question that's important.

Because you see, Joshua wasn't afraid. You know, so many times we're afraid to ask questions of people, aren't we? We're fearful as to how they might respond. We're fearful that they might not like us very much. But the Bible says that Joshua went right up to the man, he went right to him. Because he wasn't going to just accept him for who he was. Because he didn't know. When you think about that, with all the different men and different movements that happen across our churches today, it's always good to ask questions. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 4, verse number 1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world." As Joshua was, so we too need to be strong and courageous and examine and question everything. Remember what Paul said over in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse number 19, "Do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophetic utterances, but examine everything carefully." You know the Bible tells us that we are to examine everything carefully. We just don't accept something because a famous preacher said it or a great author wrote about it or some TV evangelist spoke on it. We need to examine everything carefully to see whether or not these things are true. And Joshua was a man of question, a man of challenge, a man who would examine the individual. "Whose side are you on? Are you on our side? Or are you on the other side? I need to know."

But I want you to notice something about this. The answer that's given by the captain of the Lord's hosts. He says, "No." I'm not on anybody's side. He says, "I indeed come now as captain of the hosts of the Lord." You know, what is said here is very profound. You need to understand it. Because, you know, as Christians, we want God to be on our side, don't we? I got news for you: God's not on your side. You got to be on God's side. And the captain of the Lord's hosts, the pre-incarnate Christ, which we'll talk about in a second, said, "You know what, Joshua, I'm not on your side, and I'm not on their side, but you better be on my side." So many times we think that God's on our side, and therefore God ought to be doing things for us because He's on our side. Folks, we are on God's side. He's not on our side. And we need to align ourselves with what God says and who He is. God's not going to align Himself with who we are and what we say. But in this me society, in this self-centered society, we want God to do for us, and we want God on our side. And the captain of the Lord's host says very clearly, "No, I'm not on their side. I'm not on your side. I've got my own army, and you better be on my side or you lose."

So it is from the question, you have the revelation. You have the revelation. In this revelation, Joshua knows immediately who it is because he falls down to worship Him. Right? He falls, he prostrates himself before this individual, this what is called man. Now, this is what the Bible calls either a Christophany or a theophany, because Christ is God. And this is Christ in the flesh, the pre-incarnate Christ revealing Himself to man before the incarnation in Luke chapter 2. This is Christ revealing Himself to Joshua. And this becomes so profound for you and me to understand not only the significance of the revelation, but the specialness in the revelation, because God also appears to us during our time of need in a way to explain to us how we will win the victory.

God is very precise, God is very clear, God is very concise in how He presents Himself so that we will truly know who He is. We know as we read through the Old Testament what is called the angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Christ revealing Himself to man. You can read about it in Genesis chapter 16 when God revealed Himself as the angel of the Lord to Hagar. You can read about it in Genesis chapter 18 when God revealed Himself with two other men to Abraham. Genesis chapter 32 to Jacob. Judges chapter 6 to Gideon. Judges chapter 13 to Samson's parents. Daniel chapter 3 to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the midst of the fiery furnace. It is the angel of the Lord. It is the pre-incarnate Christ manifesting Himself to that individual that they might understand who God is and what God is going to do in and through them.

Now he falls down and he worships this individual. You see, Joshua needed to know that the battle truly is the Lord's. It's not his. And the battle will be won because of the captain of the Lord's hosts. The battle will be won because God will lead His hosts into battle. And God never loses. You know, you like teams that are undefeated, right? Sure, you do. You want to go through the season unscathed. Let me tell you something. God goes through life unscathed. He never loses, He always wins. And see, Joshua needed to know that because this tells us about the suitableness of the revelation. Joshua is a man of war. He's a soldier. He's going to battle. And you got to know that when you go into battle, you don't do battle alone. You got to know that there's someone leading the troops. There's someone leading the hosts. There's someone in charge. And that person in charge is God Himself.

And Joshua had to have that assurance that there was going to be someone going before him that would win the battle. He could see Jericho. He could see the walls of Jericho. I'm sure there were doubts in his mind as to how this was all going to play itself out. Sure, he crossed the Jordan River, sure, he had just seen a miracle of the Lord God, sure, he had witnessed miracles throughout the 40 years wilderness wanderings, sure, he had seen manna fall from heaven, and God had always supplied. Sure, all those things were true. But now he was going to battle, and Jericho was on the horizon. And how was it that they were going to win this battle? And God says, "Let me tell you something. Let me tell you a little bit about who I am, because who I am determines what I do. I am the mighty warrior."

And I lead a whole army. One of the great titles for God is Yahweh Sabaoth. Not Sabbath, but Sabaoth. Yahweh Sabaoth is the Lord of hosts. And to know who the Lord of hosts is is mentioned 235 times in the Old Testament. And when you determine who the Lord of hosts is, then you determine who the Messiah is. And the Lord of hosts is the Lord of armies. And that's Jesus Christ, our Lord. And He introduces Himself to Joshua as the captain of the Lord of armies. "I am the ruler of all armies, specifically the invisible army that will fight for you." Listen to what the Bible says over in Psalm 34, verse number 7. "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them." The angel of the Lord, who's that? That's the pre-incarnate Christ. The angel of the Lord encamps around us. Camp around us. The Bible says over in Psalm 24, verse number 8, these words. "Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. The Lord mighty in battle." I wonder how many times you've sung that song. Because you've sat and watched God do the fighting for you.

See, by nature, we're fighters. We want to fight. We want to win because we want to take the glory. See? We want people to see how strong we are. We want people to see, "Wow, that man is courageous. That man is good. I like that guy." We say, "Yeah, I am. I am good." You know? And God says, "Wait a minute. I'm the Lord, mighty in battle. I am the warrior. I am the Lord of hosts. I am the captain of the Lord of hosts. I will fight for you." Joshua needed to hear that. That tells me a lot about my God. God always does what we need. In Joshua on this day, not looking for the Lord to show up, and the Lord shows up because God knows what needs to happen in his life. God has to prepare this man for battle, and He knows that the only way you win victory is to revere the Lord of hosts. And Joshua prostrates himself before the Lord of hosts and bows down promptly. Promptly. No hesitation. No hesitation.

And so you go back to Joshua chapter 5 and you realize not only the question that he asks, the revelation that's given, but the adoration that's received by the captain. He bows down before Him in humble submission. What is worship? Worship is the human response to divine revelation. That's what worship is. Listen, there is no worship without divine revelation. That's why we always get upset when people say, "Well, you know, I like Christ Community Church, but I don't like the worship." You know, what's that? What does that mean? "I don't like the worship." So you asked him, "Define that. What does that mean?" "Well, I don't like the music." Let me tell you something: music is not the worship. Sorry about that. You see, we get all confused. We think, "Well, we're going to worship and then we're going to have the sermon." Let me tell you something. Without the sermon, there is no worship. Because worship is a human response to divine revelation. And this is the divine revelation of Almighty God. God's Word is opened and preached and taught, it can be lived. And if it's not lived, it's not true worship.

And so, what does he do? He bows before the captain of the Lord's host promptly in worship, in adoration, because he knows he is subject to the authority of the captain. Let me tell you something. You want to win a battle? You can't do it with arrogance. It only is done through reverence. In obeying the Lord God Himself, in submitting yourself to His authority, and that's what Joshua does: He promptly bows before Him. The Bible says in Psalm 95, I love this verse. Psalm 95:6, "Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our God, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as at Meribah." You see, worship is about hearing the voice of God and responding to what He says. "Come, let us worship and bow down before Him. Let us humble ourselves to His authority." Why? Because one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Everybody's gonna bow the knee to Jesus. If you don't bow it in this life, you'll bow it in the next life. But everybody bows the knee to Jesus. And Joshua bowed the knee because this was the pre-incarnate Christ. This was God in the flesh. And he heard the voice. He knew the voice. And he knew immediately who it was. And there was no hesitation to his worship. It was immediate falling down, prostrate before Him in humble submission.

And what does he say? Listen to this. "What has my Lord to say to a servant?" Let me tell you something. That's how you come to church every Sunday. "What has God to say to me? What has He got to say?" And Joshua's, "You know what? Whatever you're going to say, I'm going to do. Just tell me what, what is it you want me to do? I know who you are. So just tell me what to do, and I'm going do it." "What has my Lord to say to a servant?" You see, he recognized that he was a servant, he recognized that he was a slave of the master. He knew that he wasn't the captain. He knew that he was, as leader of Israel, subject to the leader, the Lord of Israel. He knew that. He never thought for one moment that he was top dog and that everybody had to follow him and obey him and that he was commander-in-chief. He realized that there was a true commander, there was a true captain, and that was the Lord of armies. And when he heard His voice and came face to face with Him, he bowed before Him because once he saw and heard of the holiness of God, he recognized his own sinfulness and knew he was not worthy. He would bow before Him. And that's the response of people, right? Matthew 17, the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John, they bowed before the Lord God Almighty. Read Revelation chapter 5. What do you got? You got the 24 elders bowing before the Lamb in true and humble worship. It's the constant bowing before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that humbly submits to the king of the universe. He says "What do you want me to do?" See, worship always results in service. Right? Matthew 4, verse number 10: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matthew 6:24, you can only serve one master, you can't serve two. The essence in worship, listen, how do you know you've worshiped God? It eventuates in service for God. That's how you know you truly worship God. That's why Romans 12 says, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your logical form of service." That's what Romans 12 is about. The only logical thing to do, once you recognize who God is, is to bow before Him and say, "Okay, what is it you have me to do, Lord? Where is it you want me to go? I'm at your beckoning call. Whatever you say, I will do. Whatever you want me to say, I will say, because, Lord, I am your servant." And that's Joshua.

And listen to what God says. Because listen, if you're going to be prepared for battle, obedience is number one, remembrance is number two, reverence is number three, and severance is number four. Sever. Listen to what God says. "And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy.'" Sever, the removal of all that which is defiled. This is very symbolic. Remember Moses at the burning bush? "Remove your sandals, Moses, because you're standing on the holy ground." Now, what made the ground holy? It's because the Holy One of Israel was standing there. That's why it was holy. He's in the presence of a holy God. And the fourth element in any kind of victory is to realize that any sin in my life is going to hinder any movement for God. And the Lord God is saying to Joshua, "Listen, Joshua, you got to make sure that you are holy before me. You got to make sure that you are right before me. You got to make sure that you are confessed before me. You've got to make sure you're clean before me because as Robert Murray McShane had said, 'A holy instrument is an awesome weapon in the hand of God.'" God uses holy vessels because He is a holy God. "Remove your sandals because you're standing on holy ground." Sever, a removal of those things that would in any way hinder my walk with God. That's why the writer of Hebrews says that we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And we are to lay aside any sin or any weight that so easily besets us, that we might run with endurance. What keeps us from winning the race? What keeps us from running full bore with our God? What keeps us from enduring? It's the weights. It's the sin that so easily beset us, that keep us from being all that God wants us to be. Sometimes those weights are worse than the sins. We know sometimes sin is going to hinder us, but the weights are those things that keep us from being all that God wants us to be. They might not be sinful in and of themselves, but they're holding me back from progressing in my walk with God. And that's why severance is an absolute necessity to prepare you for battle.

But there's one more: obedience, remembrance, reverence, severance. Here's number five: allegiance. Allegiance. Listen to the last four words. "And Joshua did so." I love that. I thought about just doing a sermon on it, "And Joshua did so." It's four words. But I started mapping it out, and it would take me four weeks to get through it, so I figured I wasn't going to do that. "And Joshua did so." I mean, talk about allegiance. "Whatever you say, man, I am loyal. I am committed. Lord, I will do it. I align myself with you. Though none go with me, I will fall. I will follow." I love what it says in Psalm 119:112. "I have inclined to perform your statutes. Forever, even until the end." Folks, that's allegiance. That was Joshua. "And Joshua did so."

You know what happens in Joshua chapter 6? God then communicates to him and begins to tell him the plans. He tells them what's going to happen for them to win the victory. He begins to map out the route to victory. So Joshua understands that. But it only happens after Joshua is prepared to go to battle. And God only opens up more revelation for him once he is obedient. Once he remembers who God is. Once he reveres his God and bows before Him, once he's able to remove those things and sever all those things that would hinder that relationship, and once he commits to aligning himself only with God and God only, and then God says, "Okay, now here they're watching. This is what you're going to do." And so many times we go to battle and we don't know what to do. We don't know what to say. We don't know what to handle because the first five principles have never, never happened. See, God's preparing him. And Joshua's following because he wants to win. He doesn't want to lose. I guess it really comes down to how bad you want to win and not lose. Do you want to come out the victor? See, God has already fought the battle. He is the victorious warrior. He is the mighty, valiant one. He is the mighty man of valor. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Instead of thinking God's on our side, we've got to get on His side. Let's align ourselves with Him and do everything that He says. And when you read Joshua chapter 6 and what God does, that is a lesson in what God wants to do in your life.