By: Dale Weckbacher
Joshua 5:13-14
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?” 14 And
he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped[c] and said to him, “What
does my lord say to his servant?”
(ESV)
Wallet, phone, keys, used to be my
checklist as I walked out of the house each morning to go to work. One of the changes due to Covid19 is the
checklist now includes a mask as wearing a mask when in public is now mandatory
in Arizona. While wearing a mask is
uncomfortable, especially when it is 110 degrees outside which is typical this
time of year in Arizona, I comply to protect others I come into contact with
during the day and as an example to others.
The mask has come to symbolize both a willingness to protect oneself,
and others from a potentially deadly virus, but it can also symbolize fear. While fear is not from the Lord (2
Timothy 1:7), those that do not know Christ can become dominated by fear as
they see no hope in eradicating Covid19 or the racial tensions and violence in
our communities. A world in crisis needs
Jesus but the Church must do a better job of communicating the Gospel message
by practicing the three C’s of preparation for revival, covenant, consecration,
and commission
1) Covenant
(Joshua
5:1-9) – The word covenant is not commonly used in our modern culture, but
a search of the word covenant results in 316 results in the English Standard
Version (ESV) of the Bible. The word
contract would be the equivalent of the word in modern language because
covenant represents a legal term of an agreement between two parties. The first use of the word covenant in the
Bible is Genesis
6:18 where God tells Noah He will establish a covenant with him. The symbol of God’s covenant with Noah is the
rainbow, reminding Noah and us that God will never again destroy the earth with
a flood (Genesis
9:11). Another covenant mentioned in
the Bible is the covenant God made with Abraham where he promised Abraham an
heir and the Promised Land (Genesis
15). The symbol to confirm Abraham’s
and his heir’s dedication to keep the covenant was the act of circumcision (Genesis
17:1-14). Joshua and Israel have
entered the land promised to Abraham but before proceeding further and engaging
the current occupants of the land must the people must establish their
dedication to the Abrahamic covenant (Joshua
5:1-9). The Church operates under
the covenant of Grace symbolized by the shed blood of Christ (Matthew
26:28) and remembered with the Lord’s Supper (1
Corinthians 11:23-26). The symbol of
one’s dedication to this covenant of grace is baptism where one makes a public
profession of faith in Jesus as his or her savior (Colossians
2:6-15). The first step in
preparation for revival is a renewed dedication to the covenant of God’s grace
through Christ.
2) Consecration
(Joshua
5:10-12) – The act of consecration in the Bible is setting something apart
in service to God. The word consecrate
occurs 80 times in the ESV with the first use in Exodus
13:2 where Moses tells the Israelites to consecrate their firstborn who
were spared while the Egyptian firstborn died.
The next mention of the word occurs in Exodus
19:10 where the Lord tells Moses to have the people consecrate themselves before
the Lord comes down on Mount Sinai to give Moses the Law (Exodus
19:16-20). The priests, items in the
Temple, and even the garments of the priests were consecrated or set apart to
serve the Lord (Leviticus
8). In Joshua
5:10-12, the Israelites celebrate their first Passover in the Promised Land. This celebration of the Passover indicates
their desire to consecrate themselves to worship God in the Promised Land. In response to this consecration, the land
produces food for the Israelites, ending the need for Manna. The Church must follow the example of the
Israelites now entering the Promised Land and after repentance and dedication
to the covenant of God’s grace through Christ, consecrate themselves to serve
God by spreading the Gospel and making disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).
3) Commission
(Joshua
5:13-15) – With the covenant renewed through circumcision and the Israelites
consecrating themselves to the Lord by honoring their first Passover in the
Promised Land, the scene shifts to Joshua standing before Jericho. While the Bible does not record Joshua’s
thoughts as he stands by Jericho, God does send the commander of the army of
the Lord to him with a drawn sword. Any
doubts Joshua may have leave as Joshua falls on his face before the man in
worship. The commander of the Lord’s
army then tells Joshua to take off his sandals for he is on holy ground like
what the Lord told Moses at the burning bush (Exodus
3:5). Both the burning bush
experience of Moses and Joshua’s encounter with the commander of the Lord’s
army are an encounter with God before embarking on the beginning of carrying
out the will of God in their lives. The
early church also experienced an encounter with God in the upper room before
embarking on its ministry (Acts
1:4, 8; Acts 2:1-13). In all three
of these instances, God commissions Moses, Joshua, and the Church and provides
what they will need to complete the mission God has called them to. For Moses, this was a staff through which God
would demonstrate His power (Exodus
4:1-17). For Joshua it was allowing
him to see the commander of the Lord’s army giving him confidence knowing the
army of the Lord would be with him as he battled the enemies in the Promised
Land, beginning with Jericho (Joshua
5:13-15). For the Church, it was receiving
the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:1-13). God has a ministry or
mission for every believer and does not leave us powerless in carrying out that
mission but provides what we need.
The unprecedented nature of what
is occurring in the world today requires extraordinary measures like wearing a
mask in public. When wearing a mask in
public, it is important for God’s people not to do so out of fear but to do so to
protect themselves and others as they carry out the mission of spreading the
Gospel (Mark
16:15) and making disciples (Matthew
28:19-20). When carrying out God’s mission,
it is important to renew the covenant of grace by repenting of any sin in our
lives, the consecration of ourselves to God as living sacrifices (Romans
12:1), and to go under the empowerment and guidance of the Holy
Spirit. We must always remind ourselves
that a world in crisis needs Jesus and needs each of us to share the truth of
the Gospel that will set people free (John
8:32).
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