The Vision That Displaces Fear
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.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped. — Joshua 5:13–14
Have you ever been nervous because a high-stakes event was approaching? It could be a big game, a final exam, a first date, or a job interview. But what if your life—and the lives of thousands of others—were at stake?
In Joshua 5:13, we find Joshua near the city of Jericho. He is about to lead the Israelites into battle against its inhabitants. I wonder if he was nervous. Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years because of their rebellion against God, and now they were finally about to enter the Promised Land and take possession of it. Joshua was the leader of this new generation, preparing to attack the first city: Jericho.
Perhaps he was wondering whether they would succeed or be defeated. The city was heavily fortified behind massive walls. It was no easy target. The lives of thousands of men—and their families—rested on his shoulders. It must have been a nerve-racking moment.
I imagine him walking, deep in thought, his head bowed with countless concerns filling his mind. Then he lifts up his eyes and looks. A man is standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand.
Joshua asks, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
The man replies, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD.”
What? What kind of answer is that? The commander of the army of the LORD? Whose army?
Then it hits Joshua.
He is standing before the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful army in the universe.
Immediately, Joshua falls on his face to the ground and worships. He is told to remove his sandals, for the place where he is standing is holy.
Can you picture that?
This mysterious figure is some kind of theophany, a visible manifestation of God Himself. His drawn sword communicates power, authority, and judgment. Joshua instantly realizes that he is standing before no ordinary being. There is no longer any thought of standing as an equal or even maintaining eye contact. He humbles himself, falling on his face before the Commander.
Then comes the command to remove his sandals.
Only moments earlier, Joshua had been standing on ordinary ground. But now the omnipotent God has manifested His presence there, and the ground itself has become holy. It has been set apart by the presence of God. No defiled sandals belong in such a place.
At that moment, whatever anxiety, doubt, or angst Joshua may have felt about the coming battle against Jericho is completely vaporized. It is all replaced by an overwhelming sense of reverence, fear, submission, and worship before the invincible Commander of the army of YHWH, the LORD!
His questions give way to peaceful confidence. He is not alone. Victory is certain—not because Israel has a mighty army, but because the army of the LORD and its Commander are with them. Joshua is now ready for the battle, and soon Jericho will fall.
If you are overwhelmed by fear, uncertainty, or doubt, run to the Commander of the army of the LORD. A fresh vision of his majesty has a remarkable way of shrinking our greatest distress.