Commander of the Army of the Lord

[lozzie]

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

Okay, this kind of confused me a bit, cause I don't really understand who the Commander of the Army of the Lord is.

Its doesnt say he was THE angel of the Lord, yet what is the reference with the ground being holy. So was he THE angel of the Lord?

Or does God have an army of Angels?

 

[Serapha]

Okay, this kind of confused me a bit, cause I don't really understand who the Commander of the Army of the Lord is.

Its doesnt say he was THE angel of the Lord, yet what is the reference with the ground being holy. So was he THE angel of the Lord?

Or does God have an army of Angels?

Hi there!




The Commander of the Army of the Lord is a pre-incarnation of Jesus Christ. That is evident by the fact that Joshua worshiped the personage.

The ground is holy because God is touching it, therefore, Joshua was standing on holy ground.


~serapha~

 

[ClementofRome]

See all of the parallels between the person of Moses and the person of Joshua....the holy ground reference is just one of them...

I would agree that this appears to be a theophany and not just an angelophany.

 

[elyonmishpat]

I believe that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus. That phrase is used extensively throughout the OT. Within the context each time, I think it is obviously that it is indeed Jesus - the manifestation of God, not in flesh until His birth in human form, but in the spiritual form of His Divinity, as seen by human eyes.

 

[2Timothy2]

I agree that this refers to the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. The ground was holy because God was standing on it, just as at the burning bush for Moses. And, whoever this was, allowed Joshua to worship him. We see in Revelation where John is admonished not to worship an angel. Angels will not accept our worship. This must be God, and as He is in physical form, the Second Person of the trinity. That is my understanding.

 

[lozzie]

hey thanks for answering my question guys!

your answer was what I thought, but i needed the clarification

was the phrasing of it that confused me.

 

[MadeInOz]

Hmmm, I had always thought it was one of the archangels... hmmmm...

mm... I dunno.

 

[Rebirth In Flames]

This was an angel of superior rank, the commander of the Lord's army. Some say he was an appearance of God in human form; although there is no diffinitive answer if it was in fact the "pre-incarnate" Jesus Christ like some of you seem to be so sure with. No where in here does it mention that the angel was "pre-incarnate" Christ, so throw that false teaching out the window and stick to what the scripture define it as- a high-ranking commander of the Lord's army.

Also: As a sign of respect, Joshua took off his sandals. Although Joshua was Israel's leader, he was still subordinate to God, the absolute leader.

 

[2Timothy2]

This was an angel of superior rank, the commander of the Lord's army. Some say he was an appearance of God in human form; although there is no diffinitive answer if it was in fact the "pre-incarnate" Jesus Christ like some of you seem to be so sure with. No where in here does it mention that the angel was "pre-incarnate" Christ, so throw that false teaching out the window and stick to what the scripture define it as- a high-ranking commander of the Lord's army.

Also: As a sign of respect, Joshua took off his sandals. Although Joshua was Israel's leader, he was still subordinate to God, the absolute leader.

Worship is for God alone, and Joshua worshipped this individual. Be careful what you call false teaching. Also, no angel required any man to remove his foorgear for the sake of holy ground. But the worship of Joshua clearly indicates that this is God. Period.

 

[tqpix]

Not to mention that the passage says that "[Joshua] looked up and saw a man standing in front of him..." It says MAN, not angel.

 

[Rebirth In Flames]

Worship is for God alone, and Joshua worshipped this individual. Be careful what you call false teaching. Also, no angel required any man to remove his foorgear for the sake of holy ground. But the worship of Joshua clearly indicates that this is God. Period.

Be careful not to be so closed minded and stubborn that you fail to hear others’ teaching for you. Don’t get worship and reverence confused with each other; I sense that you are combining the two in this scripture. He bowed before the angel as an act of reverence, and was ordered to take off his sandals for the same reason – respect/reverence because he realized how much lower he was than the “captain of the Lord’s host.” If we were approached by an angel of this nature, we too would bow as we realized how much lower we are than them since we are born into original sin where as they are not. It’s the same reason that men take off their hats before entering a church; because the church is Holy, they take off their hats as a sign of awe and reverence.. but it doesn’t mean that the man who takes off his hat in the church, is worshipping the church.

 

[2Timothy2]

Be careful not to be so closed minded and stubborn that you fail to hear others’ teaching for you. Don’t get worship and reverence confused with each other; I sense that you are combining the two in this scripture. He bowed before the angel as an act of reverence, and was ordered to take off his sandals for the same reason – respect/reverence because he realized how much lower he was than the “captain of the Lord’s host.” If we were approached by an angel of this nature, we too would bow as we realized how much lower we are than them since we are born into original sin where as they are not. It’s the same reason that men take off their hats before entering a church; because the church is Holy, they take off their hats as a sign of awe and reverence.. but it doesn’t mean that the man who takes off his hat in the church, is worshipping the church.

Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

If by stubborn and close minded you mean taking the Word of God as literal, then I shall remain so. In Revelation, John bowed before an angel and was admonished not to do so because worship is for God alone.

Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

I suggest two things. Read the passages in Joshua and in Revelation. And try not to talk down to others. Labeling someone as a false teacher is a serious accusation. One that I do not take lightly.

 

[Rebirth In Flames]

Joshua 5:14 (NIV)
"Neither," he replied, "but as commandeder of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

I don't know what version you're reading from, but the wording is drastically different from the New Internation Version!! That is why there is a mix-up in this matter.

 

[2Timothy2]

Joshua 5:14 (NIV)
"Neither," he replied, "but as commandeder of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

I don't know what version you're reading from, but the wording is drastically different from the New Internation Version!! That is why there is a mix-up in this matter.

That must be the case, as I am using the KJV, not necessarily my first choice, but that's what I have. I have checked 8 commentaries. One, Keil & Delitzsch, agrees with your comments. 2 do not mention anything regarding 'worship' in this verse, I don't know why. The other 5 say the same thing I was saying. This is clearly an area of some dispute. I suggest we agree to disagree and cease from this before we degenerate into strife, which is not becoming of men of God. We could take it up later in another thread if you so desire, although I don't think it would be all that productive. And if I offended you in any way, I sincerely apologize and ask your forgiveness.

Grace and Peace
2T2

 

[Rebirth In Flames]

We’re brothers in Christ; it’s behind us. I think the bottom line is that we need to start learning Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic so we can understand the original words rather than saying that our translations are the definitive answer, lol. Oh man, need more coffee.

 

[2Timothy2]

We’re brothers in Christ; it’s behind us. I think the bottom line is that we need to start learning Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic so we can understand the original words rather than saying that our translations are the definitive answer, lol. Oh man, need more coffee.

Agreed, about the languages and the coffee.

I have just started with Hebrew. I love it, but it is hard doing it on my own. Slow process. I wish I could get the NIV for my eSword.

 

[tqpix]

It's hebrew word, Strong's number, and what it means (not in that order) is listed below:

H7812

שׁחה

shâchâh

shaw-khaw'

A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.