Joshua 5:13-15 - Take Time To Be Holy

Today we are going to finish our study on Joshua 5. Joshua is facing his first major battle after crossing the Jordan River and he is standing outside the giant city walls of Jericho and is no doubt thinking how in the world will they conquer this city that stands between them and the Promise Land. It was there, in the darkness of the night and while he was alone, that he had an encounter with the God of the universe.   In Matthew 6:6, Jesus taught us to pray by entering into the closet and shutting the door, and pray, spending time with our Father who is in secret, and our Father who sees in secret will reward us openly! Do you have a secret place where you get alone with your Lord? You shut the door of your mind to all the distractions of the world around you? You turn off the cell phone, the computer, the iPad, and open up your Bible and concentrate on His Word and commune with Him in prayer?   God had promised to be with Joshua (Josh. 1:5, 9), and the people had prayed that the Lord would be with him (vv. 16-17). The enemy knew that God was with Israel (2:8), and Joshua had encouraged his people with this promise (3:9ff). Joshua was now experiencing the reality of that promise!   When Joshua discovered the visitor was the Lord, he fell at His feet in worship and waited for His orders. In Christian ministry great public victories are won in private as leaders submit to the Lord and receive their directions from Him. It's doubtful that anybody in the camp of Israel knew about their leader's meeting with the Lord, but that meeting made the difference between success and failure on the battlefield. The Chinese Bible teacher Watchman Nee wrote, "Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord."   Joshua was reminded that he was second in command. Every father and mother, pastor, and Christian leader is second in command to the Lord Jesus Christ; and when we forget this fact, we start to move toward defeat and failure. The Lord's first order to Joshua revealed to him that he was standing on holy ground. This reminds us of God's words to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5). Joshua was standing in "heathen territory"; yet because God was with him, he was standing on holy ground. If we are obeying the will of God, no matter where He leads us, we are on holy ground; and we had better behave accordingly. There's no such thing as "secular" and "sacred," "common" and "consecrated," when you are in the Lord's service. "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).   The sequence here is significant: first humble worship, then holy walk, then heavenly warfare. This parallels the "spiritual postures" found in the Epistle to the Ephesians. Joshua first bowed the knee (Eph. 3:14); then he submitted to a holy walk (4:1,17; 5:2, 8,15); and then he went out to battle the enemy in the power of the Lord (6:10-18). Like Joshua, we have already been given our inheritance (described in Eph. 1-2) and we must overcome the enemy in order to claim it for ourselves and enjoy it.   This also reminds me of Philippians 4, where Paul is writing from prison, and he is encouraging and instructing the believers at Philippi to quit worrying and being fearful of all the terrible circumstances around them but to rejoice in the Lord by spending time in prayer, in supplications, and thanksgiving. When they gave their burdens to the Lord, they would experience the “peace of God” that would guard their minds. Then he told them to start thinking the right things (Philippians 4:8), and then when they did the right things in their daily walk, they would find that the very “God of peace” was with them! (Phil. 4:9).   We don’t have to stay in the miserable wilderness of self! Get alone with our heavenly Father each morning and yield yourself and your burdens to Him and you will experience His peace and presence throughout the day! Take time to be holy!   God bless!