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Joshua 5:13–15
“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” (v. 15).
Zacchaeus’ life was changed forever when he met Jesus. He received forgiveness for his sins and eternal life, being redeemed by the Savior to live thereafter in righteousness (Luke 19:1–10). Of course, Zacchaeus is not the only individual to have a life-altering encounter with Christ, for no one can walk away the same after meeting Jesus. For the next few days, we are taking a break from our study of Luke’s gospel to look at the lessons we can learn from the biblical accounts of some of the most significant meetings that people had with Jesus. Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching series Face to Face with Jesus will guide this study.
The first meeting we will look at actually took place before the Son of God became incarnate in the person of Christ. Throughout church history, many theologians have recognized that while the incarnation marked a decisive moment in the history of salvation because it was the point at which the Son of God united Himself to a human nature forever, the incarnation was not the first time that God’s people had encountered the Son of God. In the Old Testament, the Son of God appeared visually to His people at certain key points before the first century AD, often taking the form of an angel or a human being. These preincarnate appearances of God the Son are called Christophanies. We recognize them especially when an Old Testament saint meets and worships another angel or person without being told that he is sinning in that worship. Since only God is worthy of worship, the reception of that worship signifies that the Lord is the One who has taken the form of an angel or a person.
Joshua 5:13–15 records what was very likely a Christophany. It took place just before the nation of Israel conquered the city of Jericho when a man identified as “the commander of the Lord’s army” appeared to Joshua. Seeing the powerful individual, Joshua understandably asked whether the man was for Israel or for Israel’s enemies. Interestingly, the commander did not answer Joshua either way but declared his identity, as if to say that Joshua was not asking the appropriate question. The real issue was not whether the commander was on Joshua’s side but whether Joshua was on the commander’s side. Scripture tells us that God is for His people (Rom. 8:31), but He will not be for those who are not for Him, those who do not join His army by trusting in Him.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Without faith, it is impossible to please God and to draw near to Him (Heb. 11:6). Therefore, without faith, we cannot hope to have God fight for us or to be on His side. If we trust in Christ alone for salvation, however, we are on God’s side and will share in the ultimate victory over the enemies of the Lord that our Creator has won in Christ. If we want God on our side, we must first be on His side through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
for further study
- Genesis 32:22–32
- Revelation 19:11–21
the bible in a year
- Proverbs 28–29
- 2 Corinthians 7:2–16
- Prov. 30–Eccl. 4
- 2 Corinthians 8–9