Holy Ground

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Transcript

Jericho Looms And Joshua Pauses

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Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in the Word. I'm Ronnie Cooksie. It was almost go time. Joshua was passing one of those moments that only a leader can understand. He's about to face Jericho in a consequential battle. A battle that has been brewing for over 40 years. Israel had been set free from Egypt. They didn't have faith in God. They feared the Canaanites. God had them wander around for forty years, and now under Joshua's leadership, it's time to go. And so Joshua steps away for a time, a moment alone.

A Man With A Drawn Sword

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And then he looks and he sees a man, and we read about it in chapter five of Joshua, verses thirteen through fifteen. Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him, with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? He said, No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, What has my Lord to say to his servant? The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy, and Joshua did so.

The Shocking Answer To Joshua

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Wow. He sees this man and he doesn't make out who he is, and he asks a fair question Are you on our side or are you on the enemy's side? But the answer is surprising as the Lord says, I'm not on either side, I am God. The question really, and we don't fault Joshua in this situation, the question should have been, Am I on your side? Take this in. Joshua is standing before what appears to be a theophany or a Christophany,

Holy Ground And Unchanging God

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a preincarnate visit somehow of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. And he's standing there in his presence. Malachi three six. We looked at this a few weeks ago. God says, For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Psalm 47 2, for the Lord most high is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. So what kept God from destroying sinful Joshua? Well, ultimately the cross, even though the cross hasn't happened yet. But by faith, Joshua and Israel have just kept God's instruction for circumcision. They have just observed the Passover, these symbolic actions of obedience to God, but really faith in God, and it was the work of Christ on the cross later that paid for their sin, and this holy God allows this tension with Joshua. And Joshua rightly realizes who it is, and he falls on his face and declares that he is Lord. And what is the response? Remove your sandals from your feet. For the place where you are standing is holy. Now was the

Close To God Yet Not Casual

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place holy because of its history? No, the place was holy because the presence of God. How do you treat God? It's an interesting tension because on the one hand, God wants us to be very close to Him. He's an intimate God who wants to know us in our deepest experience and from the depths of our heart. But at the same time, He is still a holy, righteous, all-consuming God. I would suggest that we don't get to the place of being chummy with God where we take Him for granted, but we appreciate and we're so grateful that we can know God in this way. Well, God is going to, here in just a few verses, give Joshua the battle plan for this huge first conquest battle into

Whose Mission And Which Sandals

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the promised land. Well, what about you? What about me? Whose mission are you on? Is it your mission and you want God to just be on your side? Here I go, God, bless me. Or are you seeking to be on God's mission? Are you enjoying the daily walk with God where you can share every detail of your heart with Him, but always appreciating who He is? What about the sandals in your life? The sandals represented Joshua's connection to this sinful earth. Are there any sandals that you need to take off? Are there any things in your life that God is revealing to you that are keeping you from really submitting to Him and following Him like He is God? Take off those shoes because it's at this point that you're now ready to be used by God. What a beautiful

Prayerful Reflection And Farewell

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text. Let it sink in, spend some time with God in prayer, and I'll see you back here next time.