Are You on God’s Side? (Joshua 5:13–14) Podcast by Pastor David Platt for Radical
“When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?’ And he said, ‘No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, ‘What does my Lord say to his servant?’”
(Joshua 5:13–14)
Oh, get the picture here. Joshua was about to lead the people of God into the first major battle in the Promised Land, the city of Jericho. So he’s off by himself at this point, he lifts up his eyes and looks and there’s a guy there with a sword drawn in his hand. So Joshua asks the obvious question, “Are you for my side or for their side? For us or for our adversaries?” And I love the response. The response is not, “I’m for you,” or, “I’m for your adversaries.” The response is, “I’m for the Lord. I’m the commander of the army of the Lord.” To which Joshua falls on his face and says, “Okay, what message do you have for me?”
