Joshua – Lesson 28

· John 6:56-58, Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

How can we possibly eat His flesh and drink His blood? As we have just said, He was using figurative language. Just as we take food physically into our bodies, we are to partake of Jesus’ life by faith. He gave us the solution to this whole matter when He said:

· John 6:63, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

We are all familiar with the order of events at the end of Jesus’ life, but as believers we need to comprehend Him as risen and glorified. We must also grasp the power of His resurrection as Paul said when he said that he wanted to know the power of His resurrection.

A very important passage in this connection is:

· Ephesians 1:15-23, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

In the book of Hebrews the writer, probably Paul, spoke of the believers as living on the milk instead of strong meat of the Word. Then in the sixth chapter he exhorted them to leave the doctrines of Jesus---not to forget them---but to go on from there and to proceed to maturing their faith.

They were not to keep on laying the foundation but to build on the foundation.

· 1 Corinthians 3:10-13, By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.

Our responsibility as believers is to build on the foundation that has already been laid. We need to go from crucifixion to resurrection to ascension. We need to cease being wanderers in the desert, forgetting what has already been and move on to greater maturity. And we are told how to do this.

· Proverbs 3:5-7, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

More wisdom in this matter is found in:

· 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The Captain of God’s Hosts

The Israelites could not turn back. They had to go forward. Behind them were Egypt, the Red Sea, the desert and now the Jordan. To retreat was impossible, but standing in their way was Jericho, one of the great fortress cities of Canaan. As we have seen in our discussion of Rahab, the walls of the city were 90 feet high and 30 feet thick.

So Joshua, as soldier and strategist, left the camp at Gilgal in order to view the situation and consider what he must do. He was alone and meditating on God’s purpose, seeking god’s will and the next step.

· Joshua 5:13-15, Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

Suddenly Joshua was confronted by a man with a drawn sword. Joshua lost no time in finding out whose side he was on. Joshua simply asked him, “Are you for us or are you against us?” After all, the warfare that was facing the Israelites had its human aspects. Israel’s leader had to find the answer to his question. How could Joshua be sure? After all, we are told:

· 1 John 4:1, Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

So far as Joshua was concerned there were only two sides. It is the same with us. There is no neutral ground.

Joshua soon discovered that he was face to face with the Captain of the Lord’s hosts, the commander of the Lord’s armies. He was the Warrior and Leader coming not to help but to take charge.

And guess who the Captain turns out to be. None other than the Lord Jesus Himself. He came with a great unseen army. It was the army that surrounds the throne and is ready to obey the commands of God at any moment.

Satan was going to oppose the Israelites in their effort to take the Promised Land and the Israelites were no match for them in their weakness. So it was necessary that Joshua have more than mere human power with which to win. Remember what we have read in Ephesians about the fact hat we wrestle with rulers of the darkness, etc. Jacob saw the invisible armies of God, as did Elisha. Jesus reminded His disciples that if He needed any help while on the cross or to be delivered from the cross, He could call on 12 legions of angels.

This great army will be present at the Battle of Armageddon. Isaiah has seen the great Captain on His throne. Job saw Him. As did Jeremiah, Daniel and John on Patmos. When John saw Him he fell at Jesus’ feet as though he were dead. Likewise, many years earlier, Joshua does the same. And each man was told the same words: “Fear not.”

It is not common for us to come face to face with the Captain of the Lord’s hosts. Rather we come upon Him by the Spirit and the Spirit will lead us to recognize Jesus as the Captain of the Lord’s hosts.

It is one thing to know Jesus as the earthy Son of God, but it is quite a different matter to know Him and the power of His resurrection!!!

As our spiritual Captain He leads us in spiritual warfare, giving us the power to bring down strongholds in our lives.