A Man with a Sword Drawn - Joshua 5:13

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year”, and in chapter five and verse thirteen of the book of Joshua, we learn how Joshua or the author shared how Joshua saw, “a man over against him with his sword drawn” where we read,

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?

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The verse reads, “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and it came to pass” which means “ant it happened and occurred”, “when Joshua” or “at the time and moment Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “was by Jericho” which means “was next to Jericho whose name means ‘its moon’ and was a city five miles (8 km) west of the Jordan and seven miles (11.5 km) north of the Dead Sea and the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan”, “that he lifted up his eyes” or “that he, Joshua, exalted and raised his, Joshua’s, physical eyes used for sight and vision” “and looked” which means “and inspected, perceived and considered” the following. Joshua or the writer said it happened at the time “Joshua” was near to the city of “Jericho”, and he raised his physical eyes and observed the following. 

 

The verse goes on to say, “and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand:” Joshua continued with the words, “and, behold” or “and lo, look and consider”, “there stood a man” which means “there was standing and set in place a male” “over against him” or “opposite of where Joshua was standing” “with his sword drawn” which means “having his, the man’s, sharp cutting instrument taken out” “in his hand” or “within his, the man’s, physical hand”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” observed a “man” standing opposite of where he was located who had a sharp cutting instrument within his physical hand that was taken out as if prepared for battle. 

Finally the verse says, “and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” Joshua or the writer concluded this verse with the words, “and Joshua” or “and Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “went unto him” which means “proceeded, moved and walked toward him, the man with the sword”, “and said unto him” or “and uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked him, the man with the sword”, “are you for us” which means “do you exist on our, the people of Israel’s, behalf”, “or for our adversaries” which means “or on behalf of our, the people of Israel’s, hating foes and enemies”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” approached the man with the sword and asked him whether he was on the side of the people of Israel or their enemies.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn about another encounter experienced by “Joshua” within the promise land. This vision of the man with a sword caused “Joshua” to wonder whose side he was on. We shall see more about this in our next verses, but this was known as a “theophany” where Jesus Christ appeared in the Old Testament on behalf of the people of Israel. God loves the people of Israel, and He loves us. He is for Israel, and He is for us. He sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with the power of His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to know He is for us and not against us. (See Romans 8:31) 

Next time we learn how the man with the sword drawn says, “No; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".