The Encouragement of God's Presence
lass=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'>1) 6-15-08…AM…SBC 2) “The Encouragement of God’s Presence”
Joshua 5:13-15
Introduction:
Ø Have you ever been in a situation where you were facing difficult circumstances either brought on by external sources or by inward sin?
- During that time, have you ever had anyone come alongside you and encourage you?
- Have you ever had anyone say a kind word or do a kind deed that God then uses to remind you of His love or His faithfulness or of His promises to you?
- Can you remember moving from feeling hopeless and helpless to feeling rejuvenated and revitalized?
- Can you remember how thankful and grateful you were to that person for their encouragement?
Ø Apart from a human level…Have you ever been encouraged by God through the Bible?
(Ex – When we were spending time in the hospital with Tyler I was encouraged over and over by Psalms)
o Maybe you can even associate certain verses of Scripture to certain times of struggles in your life
(Example-James 1 and searching for God’s leading)
Ø What makes the encouragement from the Bible outlast the encouragement from others?
o Why does the good deeds of others on our behalf fade (Oh yeah, they did that!) while the pages of Scripture endure from age to age?
The answer to this last question is rooted in the covenant presence of God in the life of His people?
This morning we want to see from the book of Joshua that…
Proposition: The presence of God in our lives is an encouragement that must affect our worship and obedience.
Transition: First of all we encounter…
1) The Commander of the Army of the Lord v13-14a
(This passage begins with “vav consecutive” that link together a sequence of events)
A- We are told in v13 that Joshua is “by” (locative us of b) Jericho
1- possibly looking at this impenetrable force in the distance
2- knowing that there was no going back now
3- Circumstances would have seemed insurmountable
B- As Joshua stood there a man with a drawn sword stood before him v13
1- Joshua apparently did not initially recognize the man as a divine messenger.[1]
2- Joshua asked if He was friend or foe, ally or enemy
C- The Commander of the Lord’s army is now meeting with the Commander of Israel’s army
1- The person who had appeared neither belonged to the Israelites nor to their enemies, but was the prince of the army of Jehovah[2]
2- The majority of scholars believe this was a preincarnate appearance of God the Son
a- Had this visitor been only an angel I believe he would have rebuked Joshua much the same way that the angel in Revelation 19:10 and 22:8-9
b- This visitor accepted Joshua’s worship and I believe demonstrating His Deity
c- Christ told Joshua to take off his shoes because he (Joshua) was standing on holy ground
1. this is further proof of a preincarnation in that no other angels had this affect upon the ground they were standing
What was the need for such an encounter?
- It reiterated the presence of God in the of this leader
o It fulfilled the promise of Joshua 1:5 – “…I will not leave you or forsake you.”
o It encouraged Joshua that even though the circumstances looked bleak the presence of God was there to lead him and them through
o Now that his difficulties increased his encouragements were increased in proportion.[3]
- It reminds us that God is an Omnipresent God cf: Psalm 139:7-10
Definition: By this we mean that God, in the totality of his essence, without diffusion or expansion, multiplication or division, penetrates and fills the universe in all its parts.[4]
- God’s omnipresence assures us that he is present with us to hear, and present in every heart and in the ends of the earth to answer, prayer.[5]
- What an encouragement to Joshua’s faith!
Transition: After encountering the Commander of the Army of the Lord we see the reaction of…
2) The Commander of the Army of Israel v14b-15
What was the response of the God’s servant to this encounter?
Joshua responded with worship and obedience
A- Worship
1- Joshua reverenced Christ as his Superior by falling down before Him
- the word הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה, which is connected with the falling down, does not always mean divine worship[6]
- It very frequently means nothing more than the deep Oriental reverence paid by a dependant to his superior or king (e.g., 2 Sam. 9:6; 14:33),[7]
- Joshua did not address the person who appeared to him by the name of God, אֲדֹנָי, but simply as אֲדֹנִי, “My lord.”[8]
- Joshua must have recognized him as something more than a created angel of superior rank, that is to say, as the angel of Jehovah who is essentially equal with God, the visible revealer of the invisible God, as soon as he gave him the command to take off his shoes, etc.,—a command which would remind him of the appearance of God to Moses in the burning bush, and which implied that the person who now appeared was the very person who had revealed himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [9]
Ø Worship is the activity of glorifying God in His presence with our voices and hearts[10]
Ø Worship is having complete confidence in the character of God regardless of the circumstances
B- Obedience
1- When Joshua realized the presence of God and heard God’s message his only logical response was to obey
Application
1- get away from the circumstances and get to focusing on God
- Applicable both to individual leader and the corporate nation (Joshua was the God’s mediator)
2- Hebrews 4:14-16
- What is God doing? – He is encouraging the faith of His people
- God is the stain glass window portrait through each every individual window pain
- God is the main character of the narrative stories
Ø The lessons Joshua needed here were to be able to recognize when he was in God’s presence and when to trust in him.[11]
Ø Joshua was reminded here of the important lesson that God—the holy God, to whom Joshua owed all allegiance—was with him and would fight for him.[12]
Remember: God is there for you during your most difficult and insurmountable mission too!
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[1]David M. Howard, Jr, vol. 5, Joshua, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1998), 156.
[2]Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 2:46.
[3]Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1991), Jos 5:13.
[4]Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology, "The Present Work Is a Revision and Enlargement of My 'Systematic Theology,' First Published in 1886."--Pref. (Bellingham, Wa.: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 279.
[5]Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology, "The Present Work Is a Revision and Enlargement of My 'Systematic Theology,' First Published in 1886."--Pref. (Bellingham, Wa.: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 282.
[6]Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 2:46.
[7]Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 2:46.
[8]Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 2:46.
[9]Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 2:46.
[10] Grudem, 1003.
[11]David M. Howard, Jr, vol. 5, Joshua, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1998), 158.
[12]David M. Howard, Jr, vol. 5, Joshua, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1998), 159.