Ep. 61. Joshua 5-6 | The Commander and Jericho
EPISODE 61
THE COMMANDER AND JERICHO: JOSHUA 5-6
Imagine, if you will, a group of people numbering just over 600,000 men. When you add in the women and the children, you have a group of people well over one million. This was an imposing nation. Each city in Canaan was ruled by its own king, as we will see later when Joshua puts to death thirty-one kings in thirty-one cities. The Israelite army was sizeable enough to swallow up any city. No wonder the people of Canaan had their "hearts melt" with fear. Rahab was not the only one who knew that God had given Canaan into the hands of the Hebrews.
While Joshua was near Jericho, he met the "commander of the army of the LORD." This is likely another instance of the pre-incarnate Jesus. Note that this commander receives worship. He would not have done so if he were just an angel, as evidenced in Revelation 19 and 22. God had already told Moses several times that he would send his angel (messenger) before the people into the Promised Land.
We probably get a bit confused when we start comparing "angels" to "commanders," "messengers," and "The angel of the Lord." It will help us, even if only a little bit, to understand the actual Hebrew and Greek words in play. Skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want a language lesson. In Greek, we have the word "angelos," which translated means "messenger." The Hebrew word "Malak" also means messenger. In the New Testament, translators have refused to translate the Greek word and have instead transliterated it. To translate a word is to render its meaning, but to transliterate a word is to assign English letters to the Greek alphabet so we can pronounce the word. That means, anytime you see the word "angel" in the Bible it is the untranslated "angelos." It should read "messenger." What's particularly interesting is that in the Old Testament Hebrew, the word "Malak" (messenger) is assigned the New Testament word "angel" rather than be translated correctly as "messenger." In the Old Testament, when Moses sends out "messengers," it is the exact same word that, in other places, we leave untranslated as "angels." John the Baptist is called an "Angelos" or a "messenger" in the New Testament. John the Baptist sent his "messengers" (Angelos) to Jesus to inquire as to whether or not he was the promised one. Jesus sent his "messengers" ahead of him into Samaria. Paul says he was oppressed by a "messenger" (Angelos) of Satan. We have an entire theological system built around this idea of Angels when it would be correct to develop our ideas around the concept of "messengers." The messengers who appear, do mighty things, and then disappear are clearly supernatural in their form. The Angel of the Lord, or The Messenger of the LORD, is likely the pre-incarnate Jesus, and now we don't have to be confused by the language of "angel," for we all willingly accept that Jesus is THE "messenger" from God. Moses sent messengers; prophets were messengers, and priests were messengers. It would do us well to translate Malak and Angelos and allow the context to tell us which kind of messenger we are dealing with. If this section caused you consternation or made the waters a bit muddy, I apologize, but I do think it is important for us to wade through the depths of these ideas, and I thank you for coming along for the ride. Now, back to the text at hand.
Joshua stands before the promised messenger and then bows to him in worship. This is, after all, the commander of the Lord's army. Think of Revelation 19 and the return of Christ. Joshua took off his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground. This reminds us of Moses's meeting with God at the burning bush in Exodus 3.
Joshua and his army defeat Jericho by the power and purpose of God, and they rescue Rahab and her family. She will forever be part of the lineage of Jesus as she marries Salmon and mothers Boaz. But we've already talked about how all of this points to the return of our Savior, so I'll bring this to a close.
ADDITIONAL READING: Matthew 1:5; Ruth 4:21; James 2; 1 Kings 16:34; Revelation 19:10; Revelation 22:8-9; Exodus 23:20,23; 32:34; 33:2
