“…as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” 

“Yeah, right.”  I think that’s how I would have reacted if it happened to me.  I mean, what would you do?  Probably not what Joshua did — fall down on his face and worship.  Here he is, getting ready for the first of Israel’s military battles in Canaan, preparing the troops as commander of the army, and this complete stranger shows up and claims that title as his own!

And in a heartbeat he falls to the ground, face first and worships, knowing full well who it is:  the Lord himself!  How did he know?

A little history can help.  Remember that Joshua had seen the trials of Israel in Egypt.  He had seen the 10 plagues, walked through the Red Sea, and trembled with the rest of them at Sinai when God’s presence shook the mountain.  He had seen God show up at many times in many ways.   And it was always just right, just what they needed.  He was the power that held the waters back as they left Egypt.  He was the pillar of cloud during the day that provided guidance and perhaps shade from the blistering desert sun.  And the pillar of fire at night that provided light for them and intimidation to any would-be marauders.  Now he shows up again, claiming to be a warrior, and a leader no less!  On top of that, he’s got his sword drawn.  He’s ready for a fight; he’s good to go.  I’m sure Joshua must have been deliberating about his new role as commander.  While the Israelites had had some skirmishes and conflicts with other nations while they traveled through the desert, they were nothing like what they were about to face.  Wiping out whole populations of illegal squatters claiming land that simply wasn’t theirs was not what he or the 12 tribes were used to.  This was a huge change in modus operandi.  But God — specifically Jesus — shows up again, this time as a warrior and the real leader.  Imagine the comfort this gave Joshua, realizing that all the weight was not really on his shoulders, but on God’s.  Relief … and awe.  That’s what happens when God shows up.

But there was more to this particular manifestation.  Jesus appears not as a force or cloud, or fire, as he had to the 12 Tribes, but in person, as a man.  The last time that had happened was back in the days of the Patriarchs, specifically to Jacob, about 500 years before.  That’s equal to the time between Christopher Columbus and us!  In Genesis 32 Jacob was preparing to meet his estranged brother Esau.  If you remember, Jacob had been in Esau’s crosshairs for cheating him out of both his birthright and blessing.  After many years a reunion was coming, and Jacob is sweating bullets.  Esau has 400 fighting men with him, so Jacob sets up a long procession of servants bearing gifts, all his mobile possessions, family members and finally himself, not unlike Santa Claus at the end of the Thanksgiving Parade. If fighting breaks out, he has the best chance to turn and flee while his servants battle it out with Esau’s.  While we can’t admire him for his bravery, we can for his strategy.  We also can’t admire him for his trust in God and his promises, which was just about nil at this point.  Immediately before meeting Esau, Jacob wrestled with a man who “touched the socket of Jacob’s hip” (v. 25).  This was no made-for-TV, WWF wrestling move.  Jacob was injured and probably limped as he walked.  His ability to ride was likewise affected, so his plan was at best as lame as he was.  Interestingly, Hosea wrote about this encounter saying that Jacob wrestled with “the Lord God Almighty” (12:5), or the Lord of hosts, or multitudes — more than Esau’s army, more than the Canaanites, and more than all of your enemies and mine combined.  Jacob should have gotten the point, but didn’t.  However, it wasn’t lost on Joshua.  He met the Lord’s commander and instantly fell face down.  No wonder!

When God shows up in your life, who are you more like — Jacob or Joshua?