Worship for Today: It is all about the Lord.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Joshua 5:13-15,

 

"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."

 

Having crossed the Jordan and drawing near to the city of the first battle for the Israelites at Jericho, Joshua encounters the "commander of the Lord's army" with drawn sword. Joshua asks is he for or against Israel's army?

 

This appears to me as a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God. After Israel preparing herself to take the land, the Lord appears to Joshua. When asked the question, the Lord responds that he has come on God's behalf. When it dawns on Joshua who's presence it is he has fallen into, he drops to the ground, appropriately. The Commander confirms Joshua's perception by commanding him to take off his sandals, as, "the place where you are standing is holy".

 

I find the Lord's response to Joshua interesting. What is about to take place as Israel takes possession of the promised land is not about Israel. The commander of the Lord's army has come to carry out the Lord's purposes. It is about the Lord and what the Lord is doing.

 

The whole exchange reminds me that I am here for God's agenda, not my own. Something I always seem to forget is that I am here for the Lord, not the other way around. Even if I were to somehow find myself squarely in the midst of what the Lord is doing, being utilized by him to accomplish great things as Joshua was, it would still never be about me.

 

Life and all of its attendant activities, including the truly great ones, is always about the Lord and his agenda.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com