Leadership lessons from Joshua

Joshua 5:13-15

The Fall of Jericho

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

I remember one time getting into a debate with a relative and some friends of mine and “not” taking my family members side in the argument. My actions may be perceived as being disloyal, but being a Kingdom man I have been taught always to fall on the side of truth. Nevertheless, my family members assumed I would blindly support their position. However, by the time the debate ended they found out that this was not the case, and they were thoroughly disappointed. I would like to think my position was the side of truth. And, I would like to think I am the type of leader that regardless of what predicament I am in that I would not compromise truth. I believe in principles. Now I can see the embarrassment this family member felt as they discovered that I would not stand with them because their reasoning was flawed. Albeit, to me truth trumps family and feelings. Perpetuating truth should always be the goal of a debate. Yet, my actions came with consequences. But, a boundary was set, and my core values were made completely evident to all involved. Sometimes even as Kingdom leaders we find ourselves embarrassed because we assume that regardless of our actions, God is always on our side since we have decided to live a life of faith and obedience to Him. Looking at the Scripture we quickly see Joshua receiving a wake up call and a reminder that the Lord is only on the side of truth, which is His own side…. In vs 13 Unknowingly Joshua is facing the commander of the Lords army. Joshua has just asked the man “Are you for us or for our enemies?” and the commander has a sobering response! “Neither” Wow! Are you telling me God is not on the side of Joshua and the Jews, God’s chosen people. I am sure a torrent of emotions flooded Joshua’s mind, but we see him recover and respond the best way a kingdom leader could at the sovereignty of God. He bowed his will, humbled him self, and obeyed the commanders request to “Take off his sandals.” So often we assume because we follow the Lord that everything we do happens to be “for the purposes of God,” but we must keep in mind that only He is completely holy and as long as we remain humble he will continue to use us in His plan. Nevertheless, we must remember we are on God’s side…He is not on ours!!