_THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST._
JOSHUA v. 13-15, vi. 1.
The process of circumcision is over, and the men are well; the feast
of unleavened bread has come to an end; all honour has been paid to
these sacred ordinances according to the appointment of God; the manna
has ceased, and the people are now depending on the corn of the land,
of which, in all probability, they have but a limited supply.
Everything points to the necessity of further action, but it is hard
to say what the next step is to be. Naturally it would be the capture
of Jericho. But this appears a Quixotic enterprise. The city is
surrounded by a wall, and its gates are "straitly shut up," barred,
and closely guarded to prevent the entrance of a single Israelite.
Joshua himself is at a loss. No Divine communication has yet come to
him, like that which came as to the crossing of the Jordan. See him
walking all alone "by Jericho," as near the city as it is safe for him
to go. With mind absorbed in thought and eyes fixed on the ground, he
is pondering the situation, but unable to get light upon it, when
something comes athwart his sphere of vision. He lifts his eyes, and
right against him perceives a soldier, brandishing his sword.
A less courageous man would have been startled, perhaps frightened.
His first thought is, that it is an enemy. None of his own soldiers
would have ventured there without his orders, or would have dared to
take up such an attitude towards his commander-in-chief. With a
soldier's presence of mind, instead of moving off, he assumes an
aggressive attitude, challenges this warrior, and demands whether he
is friend or foe. If friend, he must explain his presence; if foe,
prepare for battle. Joshua is himself a thorough soldier, and will
allow no one to occupy an ambiguous position. "And Joshua went unto
him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"
If the appearance of the soldier was a surprise, his answer to the
question must have been a greater. "Nay; but as Captain of the host of
the Lord am I now come." The "nay" deprecates his being either friend
or foe in the common sense, but especially his being foe. His position
and his office are far more exalted. As Captain of the host of the
Lord, he is at the head, not of human armies, but of all the
principalities and powers of heavenly places,--
"The mighty regencies
Of seraphim, and potentates and thrones."
And now the real situation flashes on Joshua. This soldier is no other
than the Angel of the Covenant, the same who came to Abraham under the
oak at Mamre, and that wrestled with Jacob on the banks of this very
Jordan at Peniel. Joshua could not but remember, when God threatened
to withdraw from Israel after the sin of the golden calf, and send
some created angel to guide them through the wilderness, how earnestly
Moses remonstrated, and how his whole soul was thrown into the
pleading--"If Thy presence go not with us, carry me not up hence." He
could not but remember the intense joy of Moses when this pleading
proved successful--"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give
thee rest." There could be little doubt in his mind who this "Captain
of the host of Jehovah" was, and no hesitation on his part in yielding
to Him the Divine honour due to the Most High. And then he must have
felt warmly how very kind and seasonable this appearance was, just at
the very moment when he was in so great perplexity, and when his path
was utterly dark. It was a new proof that man's extremity is God's
opportunity. It was just like what used to happen afterwards, when
"the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," and was so promptly at
hand for His disciples in all times of their tribulation. It was an
anticipation of the scene when the ship was tossed so violently on the
waves, and Jesus appeared with His "Peace, be still." Or, on that
dreary morning, soon after the crucifixion, after they had spent the
whole night on the lake and caught nothing, when Jesus came and
brought the miraculous draught of fishes to their nets. It is the
truth with which all His suffering and stricken children have been
made so familiar in all ages of the Church's history:--that, however
He may seem to hide Himself and stand afar off in times of trouble, He
is in reality ever near, and can never forget that last assurance to
His faithful people--"Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the
world."
It is not likely that Joshua found any cause to discuss the question
that modern criticism has so earnestly handled, whether this being
that now appeared in human form really was Jehovah. And as little does
it seem necessary for us to discuss it. There seems no good reason to
reject the view that these theophanies, though not incarnations, were
yet foreshadows of the incarnation,--hints of the mystery afterwards
to be realized when Jesus was born of Mary. If these appearances
looked like incarnations, it was incarnation after the pagan, not the
Christian type; momentary alliances of the Divine being with the human
form or appearance, assumed merely for the occasion, and capable of
being thrown aside as rapidly as they were assumed. This might do very
well to foreshadow the incarnation, but it fell a long way short of
the incarnation itself. The Christian incarnation was after a type
never dreamt of by the pagan mind. That the Son of God should be born
of a woman, His body formed in the womb by the slow but wonderful
process which "fashioned all His members in continuance, when as yet
there was none of them" (Psalm cxxxix. 16), and that He should thus
stand in relations to His fellow-men that could not be obliterated,
was very wonderful; but most wonderful of all that the manhood once
assumed could never be thrown off, but that the Son of God must
continue to be the Son of man, in two distinct natures and one person
for ever. The fact that all this has taken place is well fitted to
give us unshaken confidence in the love and sympathy of our Elder
Brother. For He is as really our Brother as He ever was in the days of
His flesh, and as full of the care and thoughtful interest that the
kindest of elder brothers takes in the sorrows and struggles of his
younger brethren.
It has often been remarked as an instructive circumstance, that now,
as on other occasions, the Angel of the Lord appeared in the character
most adapted to the circumstances of His people. He appeared as a
soldier with a drawn sword in His hand. A long course of fighting lay
before the Israelites ere they could get possession of their land,
and the sword in the hand of the Angel was an assurance that He would
fight with them and for them. It was also a clear intimation that in
the judgment of God, it was necessary to use the sword. But it was not
the sword of the ambitious warrior who falls upon men simply because
they are in his way, or because he covets their territories for his
country. It was the judicial sword, demanding the death of men who had
been tried for their sins, long warned, and at last judicially
condemned. The iniquity of the Amorites was now full. We know what
kind the people were who dwelt near Jericho four or five hundred years
before, while the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood in the plain,
cities that even then were reeking with the foulest corruption. It is
true the judgment of God came down on these cities, but bare judgments
have never reformed the world. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
removed the foulest stain-spot for the time, but it did not change the
hearts nor the habits of the nations. It has seemed good to the Spirit
of God to give us one glimpse of the foulness that had been reached at
that early period, but not to multiply the filthy details at a future
time,--after the long interval between Abraham and Joshua. But we know
that if Sodom was bad, Jericho was no better. The country as a whole,
which had now filled up its cup of iniquity, was no better. No wonder
that the Angel bore a drawn sword in His hand. The longsuffering of
the righteous God was exhausted, and Joshua and his people were the
instruments by whom the judicial punishment was to be inflicted. The
Captain of the Lord's host had drawn His sword from its scabbard to
show that the judgment of that wicked people was to slumber no more.
It was not in this spirit nor in this attitude that the Angel of the
Covenant had met with Jacob, centuries before, a little higher up the
river, at the confluence of the Jabbok. Yet there was not a little
that was similar in the two meetings. Like Joshua now, Jacob was then
about to enter the land of promise. Like him, he was confronted by an
enemy in possession, who, in Jacob's case, was bent on avenging the
wrong of his youth. How that enemy was to be overcome Jacob knew not,
just as Joshua knew not how Jericho was to be taken. But there was
this difference between the two, that in Jacob's case the Angel dealt
with him as an opponent; in Joshua's He avowed Himself a friend. The
difference was no doubt due to the different dispositions of the two
men. Jacob does not seem to have felt that it was only in God's name,
and in God's strength, and under God's protection that he could enter
Canaan; he appears to have been trusting too much to his own
devices,--especially to the munificent present which he had forwarded
to his brother. He must be taught the lesson "Not by might, nor by
power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." At first Jacob dealt with
his opponent simply as an obstructionist; then he discovered His
Divine rank, and immediately he became the aggressor, and, spite of
his dislocated thigh, held on to his opponent, declaring that he would
not let Him go except He blessed him. It is otherwise with Joshua. He
has no personal matter to settle with God before he is ready to
advance into the land. He is in perplexity, and the Angel comes to
relieve him. It is neither for reproof nor correction but simply for
blessing that He is there.
The appearance of the Angel denoted a special method of communication
with Joshua. We have already remarked that we do not know in what
manner God's communications to His servant were made before. This
incident shows that the ordinary method was not that of personal
intercourse,--probably it was that of impressions made supernaturally
on Joshua's mind. Why, then, is the method changed now? Why does this
Warrior-angel present Himself in person? Probably because the way in
which Jericho was to be taken was so extraordinary that, to encourage
the faith of Joshua and the people, a special mode of announcement had
to be used. One might have thought this unnecessary after the display
of Divine power at the crossing of the Jordan. But steadiness of faith
was no characteristic of the Israelites, and such as it was it was as
liable to fail after crossing the Jordan as it had been after crossing
the sea. Special means were taken to invigorate it and fit it for the
coming strain. It was one of those rare occasions when a personal
visit from the Angel of the Covenant was desirable. Something visible
and tangible was needed, something which might be spoken of and
readily understood by the people, and which could not possibly be
gainsayed.
The moment that Joshua understood with whom he was conversing, he fell
on his face, and offered to his visitor not only obeisance but
worship, which the visitor did not decline. And then came a question
indicating profound regard for his Lord's will, and readiness to do
whatsoever he might be told--"What saith my Lord unto His servant?" It
cannot but remind us of the question put by Saul to the Lord while yet
lying on the ground on the way to Damascus--"Lord, what wilt Thou have
me to do?" Joshua compares favourably with Moses at the burning bush,
not only now, but throughout the whole interview. No word of
remonstrance does he utter, no token of unwillingness or unbelief
does he show. And it cannot be said that the instructions which the
Angel gave him respecting the taking of Jericho were of a kind to be
easily accepted. The course to be followed seemed to human wisdom the
very essence of silliness. To all appearance there was not a vestige
of adaptation of means to the end. Yet so admirable is the temper of
Joshua, that he receives all with absolute and perfect submission. The
question "What saith my Lord unto His servant?" is very far from mere
matter of courtesy. It is a first principle with Joshua that when the
mind of God is once indicated there is nothing for him but to obey.
What is he that he should dare to criticise the plans of omnipotence?
that he should propose to correct and improve the methods of Divine
wisdom? Anything of the kind was alike preposterous and irreverent.
"Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of Him. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and
it stood fast." "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, and whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place,
and with him also who is of a humble and contrite spirit, and who
trembleth at My word."
The first answer to the question "What saith my Lord unto His
servant?" is somewhat remarkable. "Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Rationalists have
explained this as meaning that this was an ancient shrine of the
Canaanites, and therefore a place holy in the eyes of Israel; but such
an idea needs no refutation. Others conceive it to mean that Joshua,
having crossed the Jordan, had now set foot on the land promised to
the fathers, and that the soil for that reason was called holy. But if
that was the reason for his putting off his shoes, it is difficult to
see how he could ever have been justified in again putting them on.
And when God called to Moses out of the bush and bade him do the very
same thing, it surely was not because the peninsula of Sinai was holy;
it was because Moses stood in the immediate presence of the holy God.
And it is simply to remind Joshua of the Divine presence that this
command is given; and being given it is no sooner uttered than obeyed.
And then follow God's instructions for the taking of Jericho. Never
was such a method propounded to reasonable man, or one more open to
the objections and exceptions of worldly wisdom. No arrangement of his
forces could have been more open to objection than that which God
required of him. He was to march round Jericho once a day for six
successive days, and seven times on the seventh day, the priests
carrying the ark and blowing with trumpets, the men of war going
before, and others following the ark, making a long narrow line round
the place. We know that the city was provided with gates, like other
fortified cities. What was there to prevent the men of Jericho from
sallying out at each of the gates, breaking up the line of Israel into
sections, separating them from each other, and inflicting dreadful
slaughter on each? Such a march round the city seems to be the very
way to invite a murderous attack. But it is the Divine command. And
this process of surrounding the city is to be carried on in absolute
silence on the part of the people, with no noise save the sounding of
trumpets until a signal is given; then a great shout is to be raised,
and the walls of Jericho are to fall down flat on the ground. Who
would have thought it strange if Joshua had been somewhat staggered by
so singular directions, and if, like Moses at the bush, he had
suggested all manner of objections, and shown the greatest
unwillingness to undertake the operation? The noble quality of his
faith is shown in his raising no objection at all. After God has thus
answered his question, "What saith my Lord unto His servant?" he is
just as docile and submissive as he was before. True faith is blind to
everything except the Divine command. When God has given him his
orders, he simply communicates them to the priests and to the people.
He leaves the further development of the plan in God's hands, assured
that He will not leave His purpose unfulfilled.
Nor do the priests or the people appear to have made any objection on
their part. The plan no doubt exposed them to two things which men do
not like, ridicule and danger. Possibly the ridicule was as hard to
bear as the danger. God would protect them from the danger, but who
would shield them from the ridicule? Even if at the end of the seven
days, the promised result should take place, would it not be hard to
make themselves for a whole week the sport of the men of Jericho, who
would ask all that time whether they had lost their senses, whether
they imagined that they would terrify them into surrender by the sound
of their rams' horns? How often, especially in the case of young
persons, do we find this dread of ridicule the greatest obstacle to
Christian loyalty? And even where they have the strongest conviction
that ere long the laugh, if laughter may be spoken of in the case,
will be turned against their tormentors, and that it will be clearly
seen who the men are whom the King delighteth to honour, what misery
is caused for the time by ridicule, and how often do the young prove
traitors to Christ rather than endure it? All the more remarkable is
the steadiness of the priests and people on this occasion. We cannot
think that this was due simply and solely to their loyalty to the
leader to whom they had recently sworn allegiance. We cannot but
believe that personal faith animated many of them, the same faith as
that of Joshua himself. Their wilderness training and trials had not
been in vain; the manifest interposition of God in the defeat of Sihon
and Og had sunk into their hearts; the miraculous passage of the river
had brought God very near to them; and it was doubtless in a large
measure their conviction that He who had begun the work of conquest
for them would carry it on to the end, that procured for Joshua's
announcement the unanimous acquiescence and hearty support alike of
priests and people.
And hence, too, the reason why, in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews,
the falling down of the walls of Jericho is specially accounted for as
the result of faith: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after
they were compassed about seven days" (ver. 30). The act of faith lay
in the conviction that God, who had prescribed the method of attack,
foolish though it seemed, would infallibly bring it to a successful
issue. It was not merely Joshua's faith, but the priests' faith, and
the people's faith, that shone in the transaction. Faith repelled the
idea that the enemy would sally forth and break their ranks; it
triumphed over the scorn and ridicule which would certainly be poured
on them; it knew that God had given the directions, and it was
convinced that He would bring all to a triumphant issue. Never had the
spiritual thermometer risen so high in Israel, and seldom did it rise
so high at any future period of their history. That singular week,
spent in marching round Jericho again and again and again, was one of
the most remarkable ever known; the people were near heaven, and the
grace and peace of heaven seem to have rested on their hearts.
We sometimes speak of "ages of faith." There have been times when the
disposition to believe in the unseen, in the presence and power of
God, and in the certain success at last of all that is done in
obedience to His will, has dominated whole communities, and led to a
wonderful measure of holy obedience. Such a period was this age of
Joshua. We cannot say, thinking of ourselves, that the present is an
age of faith. Rather, on the part of the masses, it is an age when the
secular, the visible, the present lords it over men's minds. Yet we
are not left without splendid examples of faith. The missionary
enterprise that contemplates the conquest of the whole world for
Christ, because God has given to His Messiah the heathen for His
inheritance and the uttermost part of the earth for His possession,
and that looks forward to the day when this promise shall be fulfilled
to the letter, is a fruit of faith. And the ready surrender of so many
young lives for the world's evangelization, as missionaries, and
teachers, and medical men and women, is a crowning proof that faith is
not dead among us. Would only it were a faith that pervaded the whole
community,--princes, priests, and people alike; and that there were a
harmony among us in the attack on the strongholds of sin and Satan as
great as there was in the host of Israel when the people, one in heart
and one in hope, marched out, day after day, round the walls of
Jericho!