Egypt lies behind them. Canaan lies before them. God’s people stand in the space between—the space between prayers and answers, promises and rest, longing and fulfillment.
Here, in the space between, God’s people wait. Wait for answers. Wait for rest. Wait for fulfillment. They can see the Promised Land, but there’s just one problem. Their enemies occupy it.
With fragile hope, Joshua prepares for battle.
Joshua 5:13
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?”
Joshua asks the question we’re all dying to ask … whose side are you on, Lord?
And if we’re honest, we already have an answer. Isn’t it what our prayers reflect? Surely God is on our side. It’s what we’re hoping for, isn’t it? As we sing about silent nights, don’t we hope God is going to calm the chaos in our lives? As we proclaim peace on earth, don’t we really hope that God is going to make our circumstances better? If He’s on our side, then shouldn’t our lives be brighter, merrier, and easier?
We expect God to be on our side, working to make our plans, our dreams, and our hopes a reality.
Are you for us, or for our adversaries, God?
Vs 14
And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.”
No. No long-winded explanation. No sugar-coated apology. No white-washed excuse.
Probably not the answer Joshua is hoping for. But … he’s face to face with the commander of the army of the Lord — the pre-incarnate Christ — who has now come.
He’s not here to take sides. He’s here to call people to His side. Here on the plains of Jericho, at the gates of the Promised Land, Joshua faces a choice.
The question isn’t whose side God is on. The question is … whose side is Joshua on?
What does Joshua choose?
Vs. 14-15
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Joshua begins and ends his prayer with a question, but can you spot the difference? The first question is a demand — what will you do for me, God? The second question is a surrender — what do you have to say, Lord?
Joshua goes from expecting God to do something for him to asking to hear from Him.
Is God a genie who grants your wishes, or is He the King you bow before?
Are you on our side, God?
No … but now I have come.
It’s the answer we’re longing for, if we lift our eyes to look. The commander of the army of the Lord, God in the flesh, here to dwell with us. Like Joshua, maybe the silent night we need this Christmas involves a lot less asking and a lot more listening. And maybe, like Joshua, this Christmas will be the one where we fall on our faces in worship because we’re standing on holy ground.
He’s not here to fulfill our Christmas wishes. He’s not here with a bag full of toys. He’s not here to make our lives merry and bright. He’s here to bring dead hearts back to life. He’s here to bring sinners out of darkness and into light.
In the space between prayers and answers, promises and rest, and longing and fulfillment, we have a choice to make.
He didn’t come to take sides, but He invites us to join His side.
The question is … whose side are you on?
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