I’ve decided to post a bunch of my papers related to theology and the Bible after submitting them for anyone who might find them helpful (I’m thinking mostly Sr. Highers). The format is a bit odd since it was enforced.

Text: Joshua 5:13–14

Title: “Now I Have Come”

Interpretive summary: Joshua has been confirmed by Yahweh as the leader of the Canaanite conquest; he’s led Israel across the Jordan (ch. 3) and they are now encamped at Gilgal, soon to invade Jericho (5:10). Joshua now requests orders from an unexpected visitor who identifies himself as the commander of armies of Yahweh.

Notes on this episode:

• Joshua’s proximity to Jericho (5:13) was probably because he was determining how best to take it. “It is very likely that Joshua had gone out privately to reconnoitre the city of Jericho when he had this vision” (Adam Clarke, Commentary on Joshua)
• That the sword-bearing man whom Joshua saw is called a man does not preclude him from being a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. “The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, ‘look’) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger ‘a man,’ the author reflects Joshua’s perspective.” (net Translation Notes, 5:13)
• Calvin writes: “the denial applies equally to both parts of the question, namely, that he was neither an Israelite nor a Canaanite.” (Calvin, Commentary on Joshua) This man’s allegiance was to God; although God would fight for Israel if they kept His covenant (cf. Deut. 28).
• “In his representing himself as different from God, a personal distinction is denoted, but unity of essence is not destroyed […]It cannot be inferred with certainty from the worship which he offered, whether Joshua paid divine honor to Christ distinctly recognized as such; but by asking, What command does my Lord give to his servant? he attributes to him a power and authority which belong to God alone.” (Calvin, Commentary on Joshua) While Calvin does not seem to believe this to necessarily be a theophany, he does believe that God’s presence was in some way manifest; the man to whom Joshua was speaking was, in some way, one with God.
• John Wesley believed that this was indeed “the Son of God,” reasoning that He must be “by his acceptance of adoration here, which a created angel durst not admit of, Rev. 22:8-9” (Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on Joshua 5:14)
• “Exodus 23:20–33 relates God’s promise of his angel to secure Israel’s success in conquest.” (esv Study Bible Notes, Joshua 5:14) God’s promise was now being fulfilled in His angel, who either represented or embodied His very presence, standing before Joshua to issue commands. “God is said to come to us when we are actually made sensible of his assistance.” (Calvin, Commentary on Joshua) God had always been with Joshua; this appearance made that clear.

Big Idea: God graciously manifests His presence.

Application: God makes promises regarding His presence throughout the Bible. If there had been any doubt in Joshua’s mind as to whether or not God would indeed fight for Israel, this event would help clear that away. When God promises to do something, He always does it. As a Christian, I can look back through the Bible to see instances like this where God, after making a promise, later kept it (e.g. Gen. 21:1–2). This truth is best and most beautifully manifest in the incarnation. The promises contained in the name Immanuel and the child prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 respectively were kept and improved when “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (Jn. 1:14). Because of God’s history of staying faithful to His promises, I can be sure that – regardless of how insurmountable a Jericho I may be called to war against – Christ’s promise to always be with His church will hold true (Mt. 28:20), as will His promise to return for us (Rev. 22:20). God is good and He keeps His promises; history proves this.