THE MAN WITH THE DRAWN SWORD

Part 35

Joshua 5:13-15

Morning Meditation 12/7/16

Verses 13-15 say, “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 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? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”

Things are going to be different now. Israel has now entered the land. The manna has stopped. Josh. 5:12 says, “And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” When you are in the land flowing with milk and honey, you don’t need the miracle of the manna. The LORD feeds you another way.

There is a principle involved here. I remember as a young preacher how the Lord provided for my every need. There is no way you could compare my salary with my needs and make it balance. But the money was always there. I remember one time I was down by my bed praying for the Lord to supply my daily needs. A knock came at my front door. There was one of my church members standing there with a box of groceries, and as I opened the door he said, “The Lord laid it on my heart to bring you this.” I thanked him and told him that I had just been praying about that matter. He left rejoicing that He responded to the leadership of the Lord. I was rejoicing that my prayer was answered on the spot. There are a lot of stories like that that could be told. But there came a time in my ministry that the church gave me enough to take care of all my needs. When this happened, I did not have those miracles to talk about. I knew what was happening and was just as thankful for the way God was doing it. Don’t ever get the idea that God has ceased to supply your daily needs just because you have a regular paycheck coming in. God supplied Israel’s food for forty years because they were nomads in the desert. They probably didn’t stay long enough in one spot to grow a crop. This went on for forty years. But when they entered the land, the purpose for the miracle ceased. God continued to supply but He just did it another way.

Let me tell you something that will make you laugh. We all want to see God work in our lives daily and miraculously. As a young preacher, I read biographies a lot. One of my favorites is George Muller of Bristol. I have read his biography and cried and laughed and walked around praising the Lord. If you had come upon one of these sessions and caught me in this condition, you would have thought I had lost my mind. I was so impressed with Muller’s walk of faith, I told my church at the time, I was going off salary and LIVE BY FAITH. I told them they could just do for me personally what God laid on their hearts. I spent the next two weeks with no peace and some hunger. It was a miserable time. I was fasting (not because I wanted to!) and praying earnestly for some miraculous supply. It did not come. I had no faith to exercise in this area because it was not the will of God for my life at that time. So, I came crawling back to my men and told them in humility, hunger, and some unpaid bills in my hand, that I had made a mistake, would they please put me back on salary? They were more than willing. They loved me. But they never paid me for those two weeks that I tried to act like George Muller! And in those days, I couldn’t afford to do without two weeks salary. And the Lord did not supply those two week’s salary another way. I just had to work my way back to the surface on my own! The Lord has His way of teaching us that we cannot force His supply. I think He was telling me, “You are in the land. My miraculous supply has ended. I am the One who has made this land produce milk and honey crops. I am still supplying but this is the way I am doing it for you now.” Well, the Lord never had that problem with me again. I spent the rest of my pastoral ministry thanking God for His supply through His people.. I do the same today. I thank Him for a social security check once a month! I used to say that social security was going broke. I’m glad I was not a prophet and it didn’t!!!

Anyhow, Israel is in the land and the manna stopped. Here is where types break down. I believe the manna was a type of Christ in the wilderness. When the manna stopped, did that mean that He was no longer needed? Does His ministry of feeding us ever stop? I guess I’ll just have to let you figure that one out! I feast off Jesus every day. But the food is not in the same form all the time. There is variety but it is just another form of the MANNA. John 6:48-51 says, “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

We are told Joshua was by Jericho. This city will present Israel with the first fight that they will encounter in the land. This will immediately tell you that Canaan is not a type of heaven. One does not have “Jericho’s” and “Ai’s” in heaven. There will be no Amalekites, Moabites or any of that crowd in heaven. Canaan is a type of the life of victory that we have in Christ after salvation. Jesus is our Canaan. He is our inheritance. We can enjoy Him but we do have a constant enemy who tries to cause unrest in the land of rest. Verse 13 says, “ . .. . behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” Joshua wanted to know whose side he was on. I have been asked that question a few times myself! The answer humbled Joshua. Verse 14 says, “ . . . Nay, but as the captain of the host of the LORD am I now come . . .” He said, “I am on neither side. I am on the LORD’s side. I have not come to take sides. I have come to take over!” This in substance means that Jericho was no longer Joshua’s problem. It is the Lord’s problem. “Joshua, you are now under my command, that is, if you are a part of the LORD’s host. Which includes incidentally, the unseen angels who are agents of God’s wrath when God chooses. At this announcement verse 14 says, “. . . And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?”

There are several things that I want to point out. The “man” had a “drawn sword.” He did not come to a church social. He was there to fight. If the people in the city of Jericho knew this, they would really be afraid. It is not easy to fight an unseen enemy. It is impossible. The miraculous conquest of the city of Jericho was the result of the unseen host of the LORD led by this “captain.” Joshua sees the drawn sword. This means the “captain” is there to fight. This is a guarantee of victory. The LORD gave Joshua something to believe. He will be very courageous just like the LORD told him.

Then next thing that Joshua learned was that the battle was the LORD’S. He would be fighting a battle already won. There is no chance of defeat at Jericho. This cinched it. The LORD has not only promised the victory but now He has sent the power. There are also Jericho’s in our lives. But there is certain victory, if we take the victory already given. We have a man with a drawn sword fighting our battles. He has already won. Read Ephesians 6:10-17 and you will discover that every piece of armour is Jesus.

Joshua also learned that when the LORD is present you are on holy ground. It can be on the backside of the desert of Midian where Moses met with the LORD at the burning bush, or here opposite Jericho. There is no secular and sacred with the people of God. If you divide your life into the secular and sacred, you have turned your Christianity into a religion instead of a LIFE. Christianity is a life and where ever you are is holy ground. The Lord our Shepherd is always with us instructing, guiding, protecting, and fighting the battle for us.

Joshua also immediately took the position of a servant. It was not hard for him as the leader of the entire nation to do this. Often when a new leader takes over from the old, the ego gets involved and the new leader has to make major changes to show the people who is in charge. What if the old leader had followed the Lord in establishing the direction of the Church? What if the Church was not following the man, but following the Lord, and only the man as he followed the Lord? When you start changing that, you are not changing the old man’s plans but the Lord’s. (Sometimes major changes are needed and the Lord leads His Joshua to make those changes). But when one takes the leadership out of the Lord’s hands, it sometimes results in a church split and causes much damage to the cause of Christ. Please read my lips: The Lord is the one who establishes a leader and CAUSES THE PEOPLE TO FOLLOW HIM. I feel extemely sorry for preachers who are constantly taking measures to stay in leadership. If God put us there, isn’t He big enough to keep us there? There is no indication that Joshua asked for his job. God chose him. I have an idea he would have gladly given it to someone else if the LORD would have allowed it. The only way to enjoy the land in the midst of battles is to see that the battle is the LORD’s, and He doesn’t lose, and He depends very little on us. He has us walk silently around the enemy, blow horns and shout. Do you think we can handle that?

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White