Mims Chapel Church 

Week 6, July 6

LESSON 6

Seeking Divine Direction

Lesson Text:

Joshua 5:13-6:5

Memory Verse
'And the captain of the Logo's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." Joshua 5:15)

Key Terms
Prerogative • A right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class.
Surveil • To keep (a person or place) under surveillance; closely monitor or observe.

Theophany • A visible manifestation to humankind of God.


Suggested Emphasis

In Scripture, divine or angelic visitations were made to instruct and encourage hu­man servants of God. With Israel facing their first challenge in the Promised Land—the nearly impregnable city of Jericho—Joshua needed to be both emboldened and enlightened to a battle plan. Thank­fully, God promises to equip us for any mission He assigns us. Like his predecessor Mose, Joshua could depend on the Lord provide Israel with the tools for success.

"Just as Moses had his hands strength­ened by the Lord in the burning bush before he ventured to confront the might of Egypt personified in Pharaoh, so Josh­ua here was given this wonderful interview with the Lord at the time when he was about to attempt the overthrow of the walled cities defended by giants" (McShane, 1994, p. 62). We are compelled to compare those two incidents because the same command to go barefoot is is­sued both times (Exod. 3:5; Jos. 5:15). These were theophanies, and meeting God in such special ways always strength­ened the human participants. Even the symbolism of the two visions were de­signed to encourage. In the image of the burning bush, Moses could perceive that the Israelites would not be consumed by the flames of persecution in Egypt. Seeing the sword in the Captain's hand, Joshua could understand that the might of heav­en was being deployed.

Emphasis 1

The Prerogatives of Heaven

Joshua's interaction with "the Captain of the Host of the Lord" occurred while the Israelite general was likely surveilling—and strategizing how to attack—the city of Jericho. Suddenly, Joshua observed an armed personage standing nearby. He boldly approached this individual to in­vestigate, asking him, "Are you friend or foe?" (Jos. 5:13, NLT). The Captain reject­ed Joshua's framing. As he explained it, he was not beholden to either side in the human conflict. He was an agent of divine prerogatives, sent there to execute judg­ment on the inhabitants of the land. The Israelites were given the privilege to be on his side, aligned with God's purposes, and an instrument of His wrath. God had decided to evict the Canaanites from the land they had defiled (see Lev. 18:27,28), and He was using Israel to do so.

The appearance of the Captain would have been received by Joshua as an an­swer to a prayer for guidance. "When he discovered who it was that stood there before him, he 'fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?' Joshua was a captain, but he recognized in this Person his Superior Officer. And like every good soldier, he was ready to obey" (Armerding, 1949, p. 67).

Emphasis 2

Israel's Need for a Battle Plan

Now, there was still the matter of a plan of attack. Jericho was already in a state of siege. Rahab the harlot told the two spies that the people of Jericho had lived in dread of the Israelites effectively for forty years, since they crossed the Red Sea (Jos. 2:9-11). By now they knew the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River. The citizens of Jericho were desperately relying on their thick walls to withstand a military bombardment. They were shut up: noth­ing was coming in or out of the city gates (Jos. 6:1). Of course, Joshua knew his people had no weaponry to breach the walls: no catapults, movable towers, or battering rams. As a matter of conven­tional warfare, defeating Jericho was a "mission impossible" for the Israelites.

The Captain of the Lord's Army came bear­ing an solution to this dilemma. He com­municated a battle plan dispatched from the Command Post. "You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams' horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town" (Jos. 6:3-5, NLT).

Emphasis 3

Relying Wholly on God

These instructions may have been difficult for a man of war to accept. The strategy was not to act in their own strength but to patiently wait for the hand of God to move first. But to Joshua's credit, he put more trust in the counsel of His God than in his military instincts. He understood Who was the Guarantor of any success the Israelites would enjoy.

Joshua's experience here is instructive to the Saints today. In our own quest to con­quer Canaan—i.e., to live an abundant and triumphant life—we too will face ob­stacles that we think are impossible to hurdle. "Surveilling" these situations—ru­minating about and worrying over them—will not be as useful as seeking out "the Captain of the Host of the Lord." We need an encounter that compels us to take our shoes off! We need guidance from the Lord to discover a winning strategy! James told us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberal­ly, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (Jas. 1:5). So we should em­ploy the tools of prayer, reading Scripture, and listening to the Holy Spirit and to godly counsellors, having all confidence that if we ask, God will answer.

Missions Application Questions

What was Joshua's reaction to encoun­tering "the Captain of the Host of the Lord?"
In what ways are the people of God equipped to be victorious in battle to­day?
Why is important to seek God for an­swers to questions about living right

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray to understand God's pre­rogatives in the natural and spiritual challenges we face.
Let us pray to develop an ear to hear and receive God's directions.
Let us pray to trust divine counsel more than our own instincts and tendencies.

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