It's Down Then Up

Scripture: Joshua 5:13-14; 6:20, 27
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” 14 “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence...6:20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it...27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.

Observations:
Right before Joshua led the Israelites to conquer the city of Jericho he was visited by what appeared to be an angelic warrior wielding a flaming sword many believe to have been The Lord Himself. As soon as Joshua realizes who it is that is talking to him he fell to the grown and humbled himself before God who would lead them victoriously in battle the next day. Not surprisingly the Israelites confidently and obediently followed the Lord's instructions and conquered Jericho as God fought on their behalf. After the battle the Scripture adds the statement that as a result of this victory God gave Joshua a good reputation in all the land as a response to his humility and obedience.

Application:
We tend to think that in order to be successful the best person we can count on is ourselves. Consequently, our pride also tends to get in the way of what God could do on our behalf if we would simply humble ourselves upfront and admit that we're really not as great as we'd like to think. Instead of trying to establish a reputation for ourselves through self-dependence, God would rather us do it the other way around by choosing to be God-dependent and allowing Him to develop for us a reputation as someone He can trust to give Him the credit when He shows up and does for us what we never could have done for ourselves. God is ready and willing to fight for those who are ready and willing to humble themselves, admit their full dependence on Him, and walk in obedience to His commands. It's always good to remember that "he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).

Prayer:
Father, we recognize that You are our help and our strength. We admit that we are weak and dependent creatures in need of You to work on our behalf today. Give us the kind of reputation that reflects Your glory and is found trustworthy in everything we do.


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