Joel M Bradshaw

13When 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?” 14And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15And 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 5

What a moment in Bible history this was! Joshua treated him respectfully at first, wondering if this was an enemy or a friend. Then the person identified himself to Joshua as the commander of Yahweh’s armies. He had now come. And Joshua immediately worshipped him. The man spoke again and gave him a line that we all remember. The burning bush moment in Exodus 3…

5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

What are our options here?

1. The commander is a human man like Joshua. And yet, in chapter 3, Yahweh exalted Joshua above all Israel. There was technically no human that Joshua would therefore bow down towards. Joshua had been placed above others by God.
2. The commander is an angel, but not God. This would be the most logical choice. And yet, the commander allowed Joshua to worship him and then proclaimed that location as holy and to be treated differently.
3. The commander is God, but not an angel. There is the direct link to Yahweh and Moses here. It’s as if Joshua was getting his burning bush moment with God. The commander received Joshua’s worship and didn’t stop him. An angel famously stopped John in Revelation 22 from worshipping him and instead told him to worship God alone.

The commander told Joshua, “Now, I have come.” And those words put Joshua on his face. This is the exact verb used in a great Messianic psalm of David. Psalm 40…

7Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. 8I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

The author of Hebrews specifically linked this to Jesus. Hebrews 10…

5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’” 

I am convinced that the commander was not merely an angel, for he received worship and responded like God. But he also separated himself in personhood from Yahweh. He was the commander of Yahweh’s armies. So how can he be God if God is one? Are there two persons that can claim to be God? We see this tension also with the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man. The great Messianic moment of Daniel 7…

13“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

The Son of Man was different than the Ancient of Days, but received an everlasting kingdom and unique worship and the Ancient of Days didn’t stop it.

Ok, so the Messiah would be allowed worship and also would be man and not just God. But he clearly would be different in personhood than God, but still receiving worship like God. And God would be fine with this. Enter the words of Jesus!

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. (John 8:42)

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36)

The commander was worshipped like God, but was not himself Yahweh. At the minimum, God is two persons who are equally God. One who is Yahweh and the other who is linked to a Son. What a wonderful link to the Messiah, to the Son in our chapter today. No wonder Joshua worshipped!–JMB