1 00:00:02,660 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: Life Audio Hello, and thank you for listening to your 2 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,700 Speaker 1: daily Bible verse, the podcast that examines the Bible each 3 00:00:16,770 --> 00:00:19,270 Speaker 1: day to help us learn more about God and His 4 00:00:19,290 --> 00:00:22,849 Speaker 1: will for us. I'm your host, Shaka Hines, and today 5 00:00:23,210 --> 00:00:27,810 Speaker 1: we're continuing our Joshua series titled, Trusting God One Step 6 00:00:27,870 --> 00:00:30,770 Speaker 1: at a Time. After this short word from our sponsor, 7 00:00:30,830 --> 00:00:35,650 Speaker 1: we'll dive into today's Bible verses in Joshua 5, verses 8 00:00:35,650 --> 00:00:36,370 Speaker 1: 13 and 14. 9 00:00:36,370 --> 00:00:49,740 Speaker 2: Today's Bible verses are Joshua 5, verses 13 and 14. 10 00:00:53,670 --> 00:00:57,050 Speaker 1: Now, when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and 11 00:00:57,150 --> 00:00:59,340 Speaker 1: saw a man standing in front of him with a 12 00:00:59,380 --> 00:01:02,980 Speaker 1: drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him 13 00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: and asked, Are you for us or for our enemies? Neither, 14 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: he replied, but as commander of the army of the Lord, 15 00:01:11,620 --> 00:01:15,740 Speaker 1: I have now come. Then Joshua fell face down to 16 00:01:15,780 --> 00:01:19,890 Speaker 1: the ground in reverence and asked him, What message does 17 00:01:19,940 --> 00:01:23,770 Speaker 1: my Lord have for his servant? You know, I'm not 18 00:01:23,830 --> 00:01:26,350 Speaker 1: a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person. 19 00:01:26,650 --> 00:01:30,630 Speaker 1: When God calls me to do just about anything from 20 00:01:30,709 --> 00:01:33,830 Speaker 1: something as simple as meeting up with the person for 21 00:01:33,870 --> 00:01:36,910 Speaker 1: the first time to teaching a lesson in front of 22 00:01:36,970 --> 00:01:41,449 Speaker 1: a group, my first inclination is to sit down and 23 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,940 Speaker 1: plan every part of it I can control. The commander 24 00:01:44,980 --> 00:01:49,060 Speaker 1: of the Lord's army, his encounter with Joshua has reminded 25 00:01:49,140 --> 00:01:52,940 Speaker 1: me that God's plans should always be led by God. 26 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,980 Speaker 1: So seeking God's counsel should be my first act. If 27 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: God is truly my leader, then surrender to him must 28 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,020 Speaker 1: always come before strategy. So let me give an abbreviated 29 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: history of the Israelites and who they are to God. 30 00:02:08,340 --> 00:02:12,100 Speaker 1: In Genesis, God makes a covenant with a man named Abraham. 31 00:02:12,770 --> 00:02:16,310 Speaker 1: Abraham will have numerous descendants and father a great nation, 32 00:02:16,470 --> 00:02:20,190 Speaker 1: and these descendants will possess the promised land. According to 33 00:02:20,210 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: Genesis 15, 18, this Land entails the land stretching from 34 00:02:25,060 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. 35 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: God warns Abraham that his descendants will be strangers in 36 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,350 Speaker 1: a country not their own, and they'll be enslaved and 37 00:02:36,370 --> 00:02:40,810 Speaker 1: mistreated for 400 years by another nation. But then God 38 00:02:40,850 --> 00:02:44,570 Speaker 1: himself will punish the nation enslaving them and carry Abraham's 39 00:02:44,610 --> 00:02:48,860 Speaker 1: descendants to the promised land. only after the sins of 40 00:02:48,900 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: the Amorites, and this is important, has reached its full measure. 41 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,230 Speaker 1: God is faithful to his promises. In Egypt, Abraham's descendants, 42 00:02:58,270 --> 00:03:02,050 Speaker 1: the Israelites, become numerous and are mistreated and enslaved, and 43 00:03:02,350 --> 00:03:04,850 Speaker 1: through a series of miracles, he brings them out of 44 00:03:04,970 --> 00:03:09,180 Speaker 1: Egypt under Moses' leadership. Because of their disobedience to God, 45 00:03:09,260 --> 00:03:12,179 Speaker 1: the people of God are made to wander the wilderness 46 00:03:12,220 --> 00:03:16,370 Speaker 1: for 40 years and before finally arriving at the shores 47 00:03:16,470 --> 00:03:20,130 Speaker 1: of the Promised Land. Moses and the older generation of 48 00:03:20,270 --> 00:03:24,429 Speaker 1: Israelites who came from Egypt die, and now Joshua leads 49 00:03:24,590 --> 00:03:30,300 Speaker 1: Abraham's descendants, the inheritors of the covenant. God miraculously parts 50 00:03:30,340 --> 00:03:34,060 Speaker 1: the Jordan River, and the Israelites walk through on dry 51 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: ground from shore to shore. Now, with God's help and 52 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,150 Speaker 1: under Joshua's leadership, the Israelites are to begin to possess 53 00:03:42,350 --> 00:03:47,990 Speaker 1: the land promised to Abraham. The first major fortified city 54 00:03:48,030 --> 00:03:50,900 Speaker 1: they come upon is Jericho, which is about five to 55 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,380 Speaker 1: eight miles west of the Jordan River. Now, our text 56 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: says Joshua is near Jericho when he looks up and 57 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,970 Speaker 1: sees a man standing in front of him. Clues in 58 00:04:01,990 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: these passages in the next suggest this is more than 59 00:04:05,020 --> 00:04:09,460 Speaker 1: a mere man, and perhaps even more than an angelic presence. 60 00:04:10,260 --> 00:04:14,020 Speaker 1: We're not sure. First, the man identifies himself as a 61 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: commander of the Lord's army. Second, he allows reverence from 62 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,190 Speaker 1: Joshua in a way angels and other instances in the 63 00:04:22,230 --> 00:04:26,089 Speaker 1: Bible don't. And finally, in verse 15, he makes Joshua 64 00:04:26,150 --> 00:04:29,820 Speaker 1: remove his sandals, declaring that the ground is holy, which 65 00:04:29,900 --> 00:04:34,140 Speaker 1: is reminiscent of Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush. 66 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: The scripture also says that the man has a drawn 67 00:04:37,660 --> 00:04:41,910 Speaker 1: sword in his hand. Now, from Joshua's next question, are 68 00:04:41,950 --> 00:04:45,430 Speaker 1: you for our enemies or us? It doesn't appear that 69 00:04:45,490 --> 00:04:49,630 Speaker 1: the man is pointing the sword at Joshua or at Jericho. 70 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: The sword is simply described as drawn. A drawn sword 71 00:04:54,490 --> 00:04:57,089 Speaker 1: in the hand of a heavenly being elsewhere in the 72 00:04:57,130 --> 00:05:02,650 Speaker 1: Bible is associated with God's judgment. Given God's covenant and 73 00:05:02,750 --> 00:05:07,089 Speaker 1: special relationship with the Israelites, the commander's answer may surprise 74 00:05:07,150 --> 00:05:10,630 Speaker 1: some of us. Because in response to Joshua's question, are 75 00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:14,570 Speaker 1: you for us or for our enemies or us? He says, neither. 76 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 1: And then he adds, but as the commander of the 77 00:05:17,420 --> 00:05:22,070 Speaker 1: Lord's army, I have now come. The important question here 78 00:05:22,210 --> 00:05:25,909 Speaker 1: is not whose side God is on, but rather is 79 00:05:26,029 --> 00:05:31,430 Speaker 1: Joshua on God's side? God is God over all creation, 80 00:05:31,550 --> 00:05:35,130 Speaker 1: and that even includes the people inhabiting the promised land. 81 00:05:35,770 --> 00:05:38,100 Speaker 1: And God is a God of justice, and the sin 82 00:05:38,190 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: of the Amorites mentioned earlier must now be dealt with. 83 00:05:42,380 --> 00:05:45,700 Speaker 1: And God has chosen Israel as his instrument to help 84 00:05:45,779 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: mete out his justice. And God, has chosen Joshua to 85 00:05:50,900 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: lead his people, but God is the one who commands 86 00:05:54,900 --> 00:05:58,810 Speaker 1: Joshua how to lead. Now, I don't know whether Joshua 87 00:05:58,850 --> 00:06:01,790 Speaker 1: was planning strategy as he looked over Jericho, but it 88 00:06:01,910 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: makes sense for a good military leader like Joshua to 89 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,540 Speaker 1: prepare for battle by surveying the city and noting its 90 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,659 Speaker 1: strengths and weaknesses as part of developing a winning strategy. 91 00:06:14,650 --> 00:06:18,549 Speaker 1: But if God is the ultimate commander, then a leader 92 00:06:18,670 --> 00:06:24,210 Speaker 1: appointed by God wants to seek God's counsel first and foremost. 93 00:06:24,750 --> 00:06:28,810 Speaker 1: And Joshua shows whose side he's on by bowing down 94 00:06:29,450 --> 00:06:33,510 Speaker 1: and also by stating, what message does my Lord have 95 00:06:33,670 --> 00:06:39,289 Speaker 1: for his servant? You know, he postures himself to await 96 00:06:39,529 --> 00:06:44,150 Speaker 1: God's strategy. So if If the Bible is a goldmine, 97 00:06:44,250 --> 00:06:49,490 Speaker 1: there are seriously some nuggets worth mining here. First, whose 98 00:06:49,529 --> 00:06:53,669 Speaker 1: side are we on? God invites us to partner with 99 00:06:53,730 --> 00:06:58,060 Speaker 1: him for his purposes, which sometimes includes bringing about his 100 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,100 Speaker 1: discipline or justice, as it did in the case of 101 00:07:01,140 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: the Israelites. Second, the people of God must surrender to 102 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,830 Speaker 1: the command of God. If we're for God, we must 103 00:07:09,910 --> 00:07:13,620 Speaker 1: surrender to him by positioning ourselves to hear from him. 104 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: That means making time and space and then awaiting his 105 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: next steps. Can you ask yourself, in what ways can 106 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: I regularly position myself to hear from God? Like Joshua, 107 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: let's acknowledge that God's in charge. I know I need 108 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,810 Speaker 1: to do that. Let's surrender to God's leadership. And let's 109 00:07:36,910 --> 00:07:43,780 Speaker 1: wait for God's next steps. Let's pray. God, thank you 110 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: so much that you are the commander in charge of 111 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:53,370 Speaker 1: our lives. God, we willingly submit to you because we 112 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,490 Speaker 1: know not only do you know what's best for us, 113 00:07:57,090 --> 00:08:01,990 Speaker 1: but God, you got good plans for your creation and 114 00:08:02,050 --> 00:08:05,670 Speaker 1: we get to partner with you in that. Abba, I 115 00:08:05,710 --> 00:08:10,170 Speaker 1: just pray for everyone listening to this right now. Would 116 00:08:10,210 --> 00:08:13,550 Speaker 1: you bring to mind ways that we might surrender to you? 117 00:08:14,530 --> 00:08:17,290 Speaker 1: Things that we can open our hands and say, God, 118 00:08:17,350 --> 00:08:22,630 Speaker 1: this is yours. And ways, Father, tune our ears so 119 00:08:22,670 --> 00:08:26,060 Speaker 1: that we can hear your voice and your clear direction 120 00:08:26,510 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: in the ways you want us to go. We love you, Lord. 121 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,460 Speaker 1: Thank you for Joshua's example as a faithful man of God. 122 00:08:35,309 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: who surrendered everything to you and then awaited your instruction. 123 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,579 Speaker 1: It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.