Meeting the commander

What do you do when you meet someone with more authority than you have? In today’s world you are most likely to rebel against their authority and demand your right to make your own choices. Not so for Joshua. He met someone who outranked him by some considerable degree. Today he would realise that with all the authority he’d been given, he was still a man under authority.

Jesus met people who knew about authority.

He met demons that knew about authority. They recognised him for who he was and were subject to his authority over them. They still are. But he also met a soldier who knew about authority.

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, `Go,' and he goes; and that one, `Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, `Do this,' and he does it." (Matt.8:8-9)

He met people who recognised that he had the authority to deal with their problems, to heal them when they were sick and set them free from anything that held them captive.
Joshua met someone with more authority than he had, and now he faced a choice: rebellion or submission.

When you meet the Commander of the army of the Lord

#1. Plans Change

When you say, “Yes,” to God, you give him permission to interrupt your plans.

Do you have a dream? Do you have an ambition? Do you have a plan? A list of things you want to do before you’re 30, or 40, or 50 or just before you die! Are you living off “what if’s” and “if only’s”? Do you spend your time wondering how life might have been or how it might be if only things were to go your way? But what about if things go God’s way?

There’s a question Dave Ping and Anne Clippard call the miracle question.

If a miracle happened tonight and you returned to the church tomorrow with everything and everyone operating just the way God intended, what would be happening?

Instead of the church, think for a moment about your own life. What if you woke up tomorrow morning and you began living just the way God intended, what would that look like?

When you say “yes,” to God, plans change. Life changes. Everything changes. The problem is that not long after it changes, we change it back again.

#2. Perspectives change

Joshua asks a simple question. He’s a military commander. A man with a drawn sword means one of two things. He’s come to fight with you or he’s come to fight against you. So Joshua asks: Friend or foe?

The answer is neither. This is not about God joining forces with human beings to fight their battles, this is about God fighting his own battles. The question is not: Is God on our side? The question is: Are we on God’s side?

Years earlier Moses had posed the self-same question to a previous generation. He’d asked them: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” It’s the same question now that Joshua’s generation of Israelites must answer. It’s a question you and I must answer too.

Are we on God’s side or are we looking for God to be on our side?

When we take route 2, we assume that God will do what we want when we want it. But that’s not how the Christian life works. God is no heavenly slot machine. Put in a prayer, pull the lever and wait for the jackpot to pour out over our feet. Life is not a casino.

The commander of the army of the Lord does not come to fight Joshua’s battle for him.

Our perspective changes when we realise that he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world (1John 4:4)

#3. Situations change

Joshua suddenly found himself on holy ground. This wasn’t anywhere particularly special, until God showed up. When God comes visiting, suddenly we find ourselves in the presence of holiness, and it’s awesome.

For Isaiah it was in the temple and his plans, his perspective, his situation and his attitude changed. For Paul it was the Damascus road. He changed. Peter was by the lake over breakfast, David watched a child die, Elijah hid in a cave, Joseph sat in prison.

Wherever we find ourselves, when God turns up things change.

#4. Attitudes change

Joshua worshipped.

Now at the risk of repeating myself… worship is always an appropriate response.

You wouldn’t naturally thin k about worship at a time like this. Facing Jericho you’re more likely to be thinking about how you’re going to get inside and take the city. But meeting the commander of the army of the Lord changes all that. Now you worship.

Have you noticed how often in the Old Testament the role of the human army in battle was to sing and worship? I haven’t researched this, but the one example that comes to mind is that of Jehoshaphat in 2Chron.20.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

"Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever."

As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

The commander we meet is Jesus, and when we meet him we face a choice: rebellion or submission. Which is it going to be? Plans will change, situations will change, perspectives will change and attitudes will change, because Jesus changes everything.