Which Side Are You On?

Just picture it. The weight and responsibility Joshua must have felt the first few days and weeks after he led his people into the promised land. For forty years they had wandered. For forty years they had complained and lacked faith. For forty years they had eaten manna every meal, every day.

Until the day they didn’t anymore.

And Joshua was the leader that God had chosen to fulfill His promise through. It was Joshua that had been chosen to replace Moses, the great prophet. God himself had said to Joshua, “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.”

And the people had placed their trust in Joshua as well. “We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us. We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. And may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses,” they told him.

If I were Joshua I would be feeling confident and proud of my people and my position. How many times have I wished God would just speak to me and tell me whether I was walking in His plan or not? Joshua had heard God’s voice and he knew what he was supposed to do and how God was going to use it.

But then, Joshua went for a walk by himself. As he was nearing the place of a battle soon to come, he saw a man standing in front of him, sword drawn and ready to defend or strike. Joshua asked the man, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

I’m sure Joshua was ready to fight an enemy if he must but was hoping for a friend, one of his soldiers who was also just walking to calm his mind. The answer the man gave must have been unnerving for Joshua:

Neither.

I am not your friend and I am not your foe. I am the LORD’s side, the commander of His armies!

The Bible doesn’t tell us what Joshua thought, but I know what I would think: I’m on God’s side, too! He just made me a commander of a great army, too! What do you mean you’re not my friend? We fight for the same purpose!

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I’m not entirely sure why this story is in the Bible. It seems to not have much of a narrative purpose. That is the extent of their conversation. Joshua asked the man whose side he was on. The man said, “Not yours, but God’s.” Joshua fell on his face and asked the man what he wanted, and he told Joshua to take off his sandals for he was on holy ground. End scene.

You know how you can watch a movie several times and see new things in it each time. That’s especially true with enigmatic writers like Christopher Nolan or Darren Aronofsky. Every time we watch one of their movies, we pick up new clues, themes, or ideas. The Bible is like that, too, but infinitely more complex and important.

I’ve read that story of Joshua several times, and I usually am struck by its oddities or excited that the man might be a pre-incarnate Christ. This time? This time it was warning for me.

A warning to not claim my desires and plans are those of God. Even if I heard God’s voice audibly, I still could not