Context No. 3079 of 4322 · Joshua

Joshua 5:9-15: in context

9The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal to this day. 10The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. 11They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, in the same day. 12The manna ceased on the next day, after they had eaten of the produce of the land. The children of Israel didn’t have manna any more, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. 13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?” 14He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of the LORD’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and asked him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15The prince of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals, for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.

At Gilgal the LORD says he has rolled away the reproach of Egypt, and Israel keeps the Passover and eats the produce of the land. The very next day the manna stops, for now they eat the fruit of Canaan. Then, near Jericho, Joshua sees a man with a drawn sword and asks, are you for us or for our enemies? The answer is startling: neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.

Two things stand out. As they enter the land, the manna ceases and they eat its produce; God's provision changes form but never fails, from miraculous bread to the fruit of the land he gave. And Joshua's encounter reframes the whole conquest. He asks the divine commander, are you on our side? And the answer, neither, overturns the question. It is not whether God is on Joshua's side, but whether Joshua is on God's. The real commander is the LORD; Joshua is not leading God's army but serving under it, on holy ground.

Do I ask whether God is on my side, when the real question is whether I am on his, submitted to the true Commander?

Sources

Joshua 5:14: "No; but I have come now as commander of the LORD's army."
Joshua 5:15: "Take off your sandals, for the place on which you stand is holy."
Exodus 3:5: "Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground."