The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Captain” it comes from the Hebrew Word “sar” which means “captain, prince, commander.”
Just before the first battle, Joshua meets someone who isn’t on either side of the fight. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Joshua 5.
When the kings of the Amorites and Canaanites hear that God dried up the Jordan for Israel, their hearts melt with fear. God instructs Joshua to circumcise the Israelite men, since an entire generation born in the wilderness had never been circumcised. Once healed, Israel keeps the Passover at Gilgal, and the very next day eats unleavened cakes and parched corn from the produce of the land for the first time. That same day, the manna ceases completely, “neither had the children of Israel manna any more,” since they now eat directly from the fruit of Canaan.
Near Jericho, Joshua encounters a man standing with a drawn sword. When Joshua asks whether he is for Israel or for their enemies, the man answers, “Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.” The Hebrew word for captain is “sar,” meaning prince or commander. Joshua falls on his face and worships, asking what message his lord has for his servant.
The commander instructs Joshua to remove his shoe, “for the place whereon thou standest is holy,” an echo of Moses’ own encounter at the burning bush decades earlier. Joshua obeys immediately, recognizing that even as Israel’s appointed leader, he still stands under a higher authority than his own, one who has come not to take sides in Israel’s battle, but to command it entirely as his own.
The commander’s answer to Joshua’s question, neither for you nor against you, but in command, is a striking correction. Joshua wasn’t leading a battle God was simply helping with. God was leading a battle Joshua was privileged to serve in. Recognizing that difference reshapes how Joshua approaches everything that follows.
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