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CHAPTER 7 : The " Prince of the Host of Jehovah" appears to Joshua -
The miraculous fall of Jericho before the Ark of Jehovah.
(JOSHUA 5:13; 6:27)
AT first sight it may seem strange, that, when such fear had fallen upon the people of
the land, any attempt should have been made to defend Jericho. But a fuller
consideration will help us not only to understand this, but also by-and-by to see special
reasons, why this one fortress should have been miraculously given to Israel. Not to
mention motives of honor, which would at least have some influence with the men of
Jericho, it was one of the main principles of heathenism, that each of their "gods many"
was limited in his activity to one special object. But what the Canaanites had heard of
Jehovah showed Him to be the God of nature, who clave the Red Sea and arrested the
waters of Jordon, and that He was so far also the God of battles, as to give Israel the
victory over the Amorite kings. But was His strength also the same as against their gods
in reducing strong fortresses? Of that at any rate they had no experience. Trivial as such
a question may sound in our ears, we have evidence that it was seriously entertained by
heathendom. To mention only one instance, we know that a similar suggestion was
made at a much later period, not by obscure men, but by the servants and trusted
advisers of Ben-hadad, and that it was acted upon by that monarch in the belief that
"Jehovah is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys" (1 Kings 20:28). At any
rate, it was worth the trial, and Jericho, as already stated, was the strongest fortress in
Canaan, and the key to the whole country.
This latter consideration could not but have weighed on the mind of Joshua, as from the
camp of Gilgal he "viewed the city." As yet no special direction had been given him
how to attack Jericho, and, assuredly, the people whom he commanded were untrained
for such work. While such thoughts were busy within him, of a sudden, "as he lifted up
his eyes and looked, there stood over against him," not the beleaguered city, but "a man
with his sword drawn in his hand." Challenged by Joshua: "Art thou for us, or for our
adversaries?" the strange warrior replied: "No! But I am the Captain (or Prince) of the
host of Jehovah, now I am come."^76 Here His speech was interrupted - for Joshua fell
on his face before Him, and reverently inquired His commands. The reply: "Loose thy
shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy,"^77 must have
convinced Joshua that this Prince of the host of Jehovah was none other than the Angel
of the Covenant, Who had spoken to Moses out of the burning bush (Exodus 3:4), and
Who was co-equal with Jehovah. Indeed, shortly afterwards, we find Him expressly
spoken of as Jehovah (Joshua 6:2).
So then the mission of Joshua was substantially the continuation and completion of that
of Moses. As at the commencement of the latter, the Angel of the Covenant had
appeared and spoken out of the burning bush, so He now also appeared to Joshua, while
(^)