When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” Joshua 5:13-14
Joshua had been near Jericho before. He had been one of the people sent to spy out the land and bring back a report about it. All that was now history – 40 years of wandering in the wilderness had now passed. The time had come. Joshua was bringing the people into the Promised Land, and in doing so he found himself faced with the mighty walls of Jericho.
Before the first battering ram or catapult could be constructed, Joshua recieves a Divine reminder that he is not ultimately the person in charge. Neither his strength nor his cunning will cause Jericho’s walls to fall. Joshua, although he is the person commissioned to lead the people, is not ultimately the “Commander of the Army of the LORD.” God is in charge. God is bringing His people into the Promised Land. God is the one who is about to cause the walls of Jericho to come, “tumbling down.”
When God sends His people on a mission, God always leads the way. Whether your task is preaching, teaching Sunday school, leading a small group Bible study or inviting someone to come with you to church, know that God will lead the way and bring the task to completion. Just as God brought to completion the work necessary for our salvation through His Son Jesus, so God will finish the work He began. Praise the LORD.