“And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?” (Joshua 5:14).
TEXT — Joshua 5:9-15
Message
A Christian author once said, “To recognize God’s presence, no matter how dire your circumstances, is an antidote to fear”.
Joshua was such a man who recognized God’s presence while facing the seemingly insurmountable wall of Jericho. After crossing Jordan, he had done spiritual house cleaning by circumcising all the males who had been uncircumcised before now. God showed His approval by promising to remove the reproach of the people. God also manifested visible support for him by showing him the Captain of the host who is no less a personality than Jesus Christ.
Unsure of the meaning of the vision, Joshua asked if the person before him was an enemy or friend. “And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?” (Joshua 5:14). To Joshua, the Lord came to help him as long as he kept doing the will of God. It was a conditional support that would lapse immediately sin interferes. Although He came to Joshua unannounced, he was smart enough to recognize divinity in the Captain.
Jesus Christ is the Captain of the Hosts of the Lord. As He helped Joshua to overcome the city of Jericho, so gracious is He today in fighting our battles and winning our wars. His appearance reassures us that we are not alone in the battle of life. His miraculous intervention also delivered the three Hebrew youths from the fire of King Nebuchadnezzar. He who helped the saints of old will surely help His children today.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
3 comments
Please could you add the entire reading verses of the text after the memory verse? I guess that I could be good for audio listeners to read along.
Please could you add the entire reading verses of the text after the memory verse? I guess that I could be good for audio listeners to read along.
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I am blessed