Trapped

Nov. 16

Read: Joshua 5:13-15

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Trapped

“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.” (v.13)

YHWH - God Most High - puts on a body many times throughout the Old Testament and appears to his people. Abraham, Jacob, and Moses are key examples of the Lord coming in a corporeal form (having a tangible body) and speaking, leading, or communing with his people. For Joshua, this is the first time that this has happened. You will notice the language in verse 15 is the same as the words spoken to Moses: “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” (cf. Ex. 3:5) This is indeed YHWH God showing up to speak to Joshua.

I imagine that Joshua and the people of Israel feel pretty trapped in this moment. They have a rushing - “overflowing its banks” - river behind them and a fortified / walled city filled with enemy giants in front of them! (cf. Num 13:32,33, Josh 3:15) There was no turning back and there was a massive obstacle in front of them… a battle like none they had every experienced. Remember that these people were children born in the wilderness. These people’s parents and grandparents were slaves and not warriors. These people had never fought giants. They had never seen a fortified city with a massive wall. They had no “tanks” or battering-rams or “tools” to do battle against their enemies. I bet they felt trapped.

This is when the Lord himself shows up and meets Joshua. This is the sort of timing when the Lord shows up and meets MANY of us… when we feel trapped… when we feel hemmed in… when we have chaos behind us blocking our retreat and a fight in front of us with fortified enemies! This is when the Lord manifests himself and draws his sword. We don’t have all the details for the setting… but it is safe to say Joshua was alone…just like Moses was alone when he first encountered YHWH like this. What caused Joshua to look off in the distance? He may have withdrawn to pray or to stare off onto the horizon to contemplate what was next. Maybe he wanted to go have a good cry!? Whatever it was - God met Joshua in this crucial moment with his sword in hand. What was Joshua’s response?:

“And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” (v.14)

In our most hard-pressed moments… those times we feel trapped and potentially are alone … all we can do is fall down, worship, and ask the Lord to speak to us. With Joshua we ask, “what does my lord say to his servant?” When we find ourselves “between a rock and a hard place”, take heart - the Lord is near and is going to show up with sword in hand. When you find yourself feeling trapped… with no retreat… caught between the chaos and an obstacle - lift up your eyes to the horizon and look for the Lord. Fall down, worship the Lord, and ask what he has to tell you. Love you guys - there is more to come from this passage. - JDP