Bible Study - Joshua 5
S - 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 and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 15 And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:14–15 ESV
O - The reply of the Lord to Joshua was brief but urgent. Remove your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. The presence of the holy God sanctified this spot in a strange and defiled land (cf. a similar command to Moses, Ex. 3:5).
This was a deeply significant experience for Joshua. He had anticipated a battle between two opposing armies, Israelite and Canaanite. He had thought this was to be his war and that he was to be the general-in-charge. But then he confronted the divine Commander and learned that the battle was the Lord's. The top general of the Lord's army had not come to be an idle Spectator of the conflict, or even an ally. He was in complete charge and would shortly reveal His plans for capturing the citadel of Jericho.
How comforting all this was for Joshua. He did not need to bear the heavy burden and responsibility of leadership alone. By removing his sandals he gladly acknowledged that this battle and the entire conquest of Canaan was God's conflict and that he was merely God's servant.
Donald K. Campbell, "Joshua," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 339–340.
A - God had already installed Joshua as the leader. So why does the Commander of the Lord's army show up now? Not to help. Not to back him up. He comes to lead.
That's the shift Joshua had to make. He thought this was his war to plan and his men to command. It wasn't. It never was. It was God's fight all along — Joshua just got to walk in it.
We do the same thing every day. We invite God into our lives, into our meetings, into our marriages. But do we let Him lead them? There's a difference between asking God to support your plan and surrendering the plan to Him.
Victory doesn't come from tightening our grip. It comes from taking off our sandals — from admitting we're standing on ground that was never ours to control.
R - Father, You are strong and mighty. Today we take off our sandals. We surrender the lead to You — over our decisions, our conversations, our battles, the big ones and the small ones nobody else will ever see. We don't want You standing on the sidelines as a Spectator. We don't even want You as just an ally. We want You in command. Make us conquerors alongside You as we love You and love others well today. Amen.
