MY SIDE, YOUR SIDE, OR THEIR SIDE…

Joshua 5:13-15 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

¹³ When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a Man stood near 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? ¹⁴ And He said, No [neither], but as Prince of the Lord’s host have I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant? ¹⁵ And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, ^[a]Loose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so

This Scripture is so very powerful. Here we have Joshua, the newly appointed leader of the Israelites who just saw the miraculous hand of God as they went through the river Jordan on dry land to access their promised lands. He was about to lead the children in a series of wars to guarantee the delivering of their lands out of the hands of their current owners who were enemies of God. Joshua was therefore not wrong to ask the Man with a drawn sword which side He was on. I found it interesting that the Man said “neither” according to the Amplified Classic edition. Calvin and Matthew Poole’s commentaries say Nay meant the Man was neither an Israelite nor a Canaanite. The man that Joshua was speaking to was God Himself, this was a theophany (a temporary manifestation of God in the earth).  Geneva Bible study says, “In that Joshua worships Him, he acknowledges Him to be God: and in that he calls Himself the Lord’s captain He declares himself to be Christ.” I am in agreement with this. The Bible is very consistent. It is customary for angels to refuse the worship of men, but this Man received it which is consistent with what God does when He shows up. Also, the fact that Joshua was told to loose his shoes from off his feet, for the place where he was standing was holy, would have confirmed to Joshua the Man’s identity as the same God who spoke to Moses his predecessor.

What I was getting from the Lord with Him stating He was neither Israelite or Canaanite, was His impartial nature with regards to mankind. As the God who sees all and knows all, He is mostly on the side of right, or the side that facilitates His will. We have seen the scriptures indicate that heathen kings were his servants. In Isaiah 45:1-4, King Cyrus was said to have been anointed and called by name of God even though he did not know God. This king had a major role to play in Jewish history as he saw to the end of Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of the temple among other feats. He was used to fulfil God’s will in that season. Today there are many denominational wars and church wars. We have reduced the Kingdom of God to a mere location. The Kingdom of God remains the same, it is not meat nor drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.! (Romans 14:17). We must pay attention to what the will of God is on a matter and not make things so personal. Christians have a tendency to act as though God is our servant and He should do our bidding. We have reduced God to be a taker of sides in emotionally driven squabbles and petty nuances that are so ungodly. There are ministers of the Gospel that should be focused on preparing the people to be rapture-ready and instead, they are building empires, fighting against ministries that are growing because they do not want others to grow, malicious and wicked in their stifling of those that are young and misguided. God help us all! He is not like that at all, He is on the side of His will. David was a man after God’s own heart but his judgment was sure for the murder of Uriah. Favor is deceitful. God will not remain silent. He will justify those who are in pursuit of Him. I help persons outside the flock God gave me. Years ago, I had an influx of people who would visit the church I was pastoring. I would see them through to deliverance and healing and then they would return to their church. I started to get up in my feelings about this and the Lord told me that I only think ‘church’, but He thinks Kingdom. I had to expand my thinking and remember that His Kingdom goes beyond my denomination. Christ alone died for the saving of the souls of men, and it is He alone who has all legal rights to use us as He sees fit. John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”  We have to remember that not because we have an issue with someone or there is a difference in the understanding of scripture means that the individual is not walking in obedience according to the will of God for their life. God is no respecter of persons. The Apostle Peter had this experience in Acts 10 when he was being brought into the revelation that God had made a way for the Gentiles also to enter the Kingdom. It’s time for us to get to know each other according to the Spirit of God and not by assumptions, speculations, hearsay or hasty judgments.  The Lord of Hosts is a facilitator of His Will.

Let’s focus on understanding what the will of the Lord is and not reduce God to fighting battles that we started and that we are fueling!