There are a couple of things we need to know about the divine warrior figure that manifested itself in front of Joshua.
First, it’s apparent he didn’t come to fight alongside Joshua and his army of Israelites here on planet earth.
But if that’s the case, then why exactly did he appear before Joshua?
To answer that question, we should notice that there were two parts of his message to Joshua.
One part of his message was spoken and the other part was a visual image.
The spoken part was when he told Joshua to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.
And the visual part was the sword he was wielding before his eyes.
But what does all this mean?
Well, it represents the following message:
While Joshua and the Israelites are doing battle in the earthly realm, a similar war is occurring in the spiritual or heavenly realm.
Recall these words of Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”-Ephesians 6:12
This is a perfect example of the “As-In-Heaven-So-On-Earth” principle I’ve expounded on many a times before.
The truth is the events that happen this side of heaven (here on earth) are only one facet of reality.
In the unseen realm there are a whole other series of events going on that influences our lives here.
Think of guardian angels for instance.
Or think about the mysterious princes who rule over the gentile nations that war against each other in the book of Daniel?
The takeaway is simple.
While we may be fighting many physical battles here on earth, understand that at the end of the day, the real battle is spiritual.
And while we may be using physical swords and other man-made weapons of war, nothing compares to the power of prayer and the spiritual weapons the Lord has given us to win the battle and emerge victorious.
That’s the crust of the matter. Prayer is the ultimate weapon.
Thank you