The Lord Jesus Christ and
the Conquest of Jericho
“By faith the walls of
Jeicho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.” (Heb. 11:30)
After wandering forty years in the wilderness the Children
of
Commander
of the
Army of the
LORD
(Joshua 5:13-15)
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by
14 So He said, "No, but as Commander of
the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the
earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His
servant?"
15 Then the Commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your
foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.
Who
is this “Commander of the army
of the LORD” ?
Joshua challenged Him; was He a friend or a foe? Was He going to fight for the Israelites or against
them? The Man asserted, "No, but as
Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” As soon as He
said that “Joshua fell on his
face to the earth and worshiped.” Joshua
knew the Ten Commandments very well. He
knew the only Person he could worship is God.
In
the Old Testament time God would appear to chosen men in visible form. It is called Theophany or Christophany in theology. The LORD (YAHWEH) appeared
to Abraham and talked with him (Gen. 18:13-33).
The Lord Jesus Christ said; “Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet
fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus
said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (Jn. 8:56-58). The
Lord Jesus Christ is the “Word” (Greek Logos) (Jn. 1:1-2, 14) He existed before His incarnation in
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Joshua worshiped the Commander. If he was just a man or an angel he would
have refused worship (ref. Acts
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Jesus Christ is the “Man” with the drawn sword
(Rev. 1:16).
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He proclaims Himself to be the “Commander of the Army
of the LORD.” (Rev. 19:13-16).
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The Commander instructed Joshua to take off his sandals,
just like God had instructed Moses exactly the same thing at the burning bush
(Ex. 3:5).
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The “Commander” is called “LORD – YAHWEH” in Joshua 6:2.
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Covenant of the |
The Lord
Jesus Christ |
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Joshua sent two spies to secretly view |
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The Lord Jesus Christ came into a house and ate with
sinners (Mt. |
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The king of |
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Rahab was a harlot from the
accursed Canaanite race (Gen. 9:25-26).
God’s salvation is open to all races (Acts |
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Rahab went up to the roof
and talked with the two Israelite spies.
She openly confessed her faith in the One True God (Josh. 2:8-11). |
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Even harlots when they repent of their sins and believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ can enter the |
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She asked the two men to swear that she and her household
be spared of their lives. The men agreed (Josh. |
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God saved Rahab according to His
will. She was married to Salmon of the Tribe of
Judah (Mt. 1:5) . They had a son
called Boaz who married Ruth. Rahab was an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. |
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Rahab brought out a scarlet
cord to let them escape through the window.
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Rahab was saved because she
believed in the One True God and also did good works (Heb. |
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The two Israelites and Rahab
made a covenant that she would have to “bind this line of
scarlet cord in the window”, then her household would be spared (Josh. |
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Rahab’s household was saved
through the covenant of the Scarlet Cord which is the symbol of the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians are
redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7). |
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“And Joshua spared Rahab
the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had.” (Josh. 6:25) |
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“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts |
The
Conquest
and Fall
of
“For though we walk in
the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and
every high thing that exalt itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish
all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Cor. 10:3-6)
“For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)
Shortly after meeting the Commander of the army
of the LORD”
and receiving instructions from Him Joshua led
Seven Conditions for
Victory
1. Joshua received the “Commander of the LORD” as God and trusted Him
to lead in the battle. He also worshiped
Him (Josh.
We must believe the Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God who guides
us in our battle of life. We must pray
to Him always.
2. Joshua removed his sandals and sanctified
himself before God (Josh.
We must also sanctify ourselves. Pursue peace and have holiness (Heb.
3. The LORD promised Joshua victory and he
believed in God’s promises (Josh. 6:2).
By faith we must stand on God’s promises (Heb.
11:6).
4. The Children of
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Army of the LORD
(Josh. 5;14-15; 6:3) |
Apostolic Church |
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1. |
Armed Guard |
Apostles, |
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2. |
Seven priests bearing
seven trumpets of ram’s horns |
Prophets, Evangelists, |
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3. |
Twelve priests
representing each tribe of Israel carry the
Ark of the Covenant |
Pastors, Teachers |
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4. |
Rear Guard |
Elders, Deacons |
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5. |
Remaining congregation of Israel |
Church members |
|
Rear Guard |
Twelve priests carrying |
Seven priests blowing trumpets |
Armed Guard |
The church organization
should follow the pattern of the
5. “You shall march around the city, all you men
of war; you shall go all around the city once.
This you shall do six days.” (Josh. 6:3).
“. . . But the seventh
day you shall march around the city seven times.” (Josh. 5:4). “And seven priests
shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark.” (Josh. 6;4)
Seven is God’s number of completion – like the
seven days of the week. “Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . .” (Ex. 20:8-11).
“Then it shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn,
and when your hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout
with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” (Josh. 6:5)
Christians must wait upon the Lord, and proclaim the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ to all the world in unity.
6.
“And Joshua spared Rahab
the harlot, her father’s household, and all they had.. So she dwells in
We must remember
to save the families of those who repent of their sins and believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
7. “And you, by all means keep yourselves
from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the
accursed things, and make the camp of
The accursed
things are the idols that the heathens worship.
Modern day idols have a wider meaning.
According to divine instructions, the Israelites then
destroyed the inhabitants of the city that included both man and beast. God’s
purpose in all this was to keep the people’s faith and religion
uncontaminated. He did not want the
booty to remind
God also wants us to be pure. He wants us to clean up our behavior when we
begin a new life with Him. We must not
let the desire for personal gain distract us from our spiritual purpose. We must also reject any objects that are
reminders of a life of rebellion against God.
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
For comments please write first to: [email protected]
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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