Commander of God’s Army

“And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my Lord say to his servant” (Joshua 5:14)?

In Joshua 5, Israel prepared to go to battle against Jericho. God instructed Joshua to circumcise the new generation, before they entered into the promised land. “And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day” (Joshua 5:9). When Joshua was by Jericho, he saw a man with a sword drawn and he questioned the man. “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” The angel told Joshua that he was the commander of the army of the Lord. While Joshua commanded the physical army, the angel commanded the invisible army of angels.

The instructions given to Joshua was to march around Jericho in silence, for seven days. On the seventh day, the Priests blew the ram’s horn, the trumpet and then shouted unto God. Once the people did as God instructed, the walls of Jericho fell flat so that they went in and took the city. The city and all that was in it was devoted to the Lord for destruction. It was not the shout from the people which caused the walls to fall, but the commander of the Lord’s army of angels, manifested the power of God, to give his people victory.

We also saw the army of the Lord surrounding Elisha, when the King of Syria sent a great army with chariots to arrest him. We are not told that the angels went into action, but that Elisha prayed and the soldiers were struck with blindness. He led them into Samaria and then prayed for the Lord to open their eyes. Elisha did not allow the King to strike them down, but fed them and then let them go. This served as a warning as the Syrians never came back to bother Isreal again (2 Kings 6). Later in 2 Kings 18 and 19, the King of Assyria came up against Isreal when Hezekiah was king. He sought the Lord and was reassured by the prophet Isaiah about the Lord’s help.

“And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies” (2 Kings 19:35). That must have been a sight for Isreal to see so many dead bodies. Imagine that these 185,000 men were killed by one angel of the Lord. The Lord is a mighty man of war and a mighty God of battle. He comes to the defence of his children and we do not have to fight when we put our trust in God. It’s tempting to try to fight our battles in our own strength and to try to defend ourselves against attacks. We can save our strength, while we worship God in prayer and watch him fight for us.

“Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle” (Psalm 24:8)!

A.P.-Y.

Published by Anneta Pinto-Young

I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession.

Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm.

I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing.

I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.
View all posts by Anneta Pinto-Young

Published
January 3, 2023January 3, 2023

Post navigation


Editor's Picks

Editor's Picks