Is God on Our Side? Joshua 3-6

May the mumbling commence!

Is God on our side?  When nations or factions are at war, this question is often asked.  Most people believe the answer is yes, but most people are wrong.  The answer is quite simple.  Read this exchange between Joshua and the commander of the army of the Lord:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 

The commander of the Lord's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. (Josh 5:13-15)

Is God for us or our enemies?  The answer from the Lord is NEITHER.  The better question to ask is this: Are we on God’s side?  Like Joshua, do we fall facedown before the Lord and ask for His guidance?  Do we humble ourselves and take off our sandals on holy ground?  These questions are much more important than asking the question, “Is God on our side?”  And these questions are much harder to answer.  That’s why we fall facedown and humble ourselves before the Lord and wait upon the Lord’s instruction – no matter how long it takes.

And God commands us in ways that are contrary to worldly wisdom.  After Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, the Lord commanded Joshua to circumcise all the Israelite men again.  These men were born during the desert wanderings and had not been circumcised.  There was Israel on the doorstep of the enemy, and they circumcised all their fighting men.  They reclaimed the sign of their covenant with God and left themselves vulnerable to attack.  Do you remember how the sons of Jacob deceived the men of Shechem by asking them to circumcise all their men only to attack them while they were still sore and aching from the procedure? 

Israel now found themselves with the shoe on the other foot, but the Lord protected them through the fear that He caused with the drying up of the Jordan River at flood stage that allowed Israel to walk over on dry ground.  Perhaps, the people of the Promised Land thought that the flood season was buying them some time before Israel could cross the Jordan.  Now, they quaked with fear with Israel at their doorstep.

I wonder what Israel’s fighting men thought of the strategy that Joshua used at the command of the angel of the Lord.  Marching around Jericho once for six days must have seemed useless because it only delayed the inevitable fight.  And, did things get better on the seventh day?  They marched around the city seven times, and on the seventh time, at the command of Joshua, all men were to shout then storm in to take the city.  Would Israel be the laughing stock of the Promised Land?  They may have thought so.  

But as the song teaches us, the walls came tumbling down.  The Lord delivered Jericho into their hands.  What an awesome act of God!  This victory had nothing to do with the fighting men of Israel or their strategy.  God was the victor; Israel had only to obey and take nothing devoted to the Lord – an issue that will come up tomorrow.

And, what about Rahab?  Do you remember her?  She lived in the outer walls of the city.  She was told by the spies to remain in her home for protection until they came and got her and her family.  The act of staying in her home while the outside walls of Jericho were crumbling around her must have taken immense faith.  Rahab trusted in the Lord’s protection, and her trust in the Lord ushered her into Israel.  Rahab even makes it into the genealogy of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew.

May you and I show such faith in the Lord for our protection – against all circumstances that the world will throw at us.  Then, we can begin to answer the question, “Are we on God’s side?”  with a firm “Yes.”  Let us humble ourselves, fall facedown, and wait on the Lord’s salvation.  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out