Joshua 5:13-15
Who Is In Charge Here?
The Bible tells us at the beginning of this book that Moses, the servant of the
Lord, was dead. Moses had lead Israel for more than forty years; but now Joshua
was their leader. God had called Joshua and had given Joshua the command to lead
the Jews across the River Jordan and to "take" the land.
Now, it was time to do just that. The first city that God brought the Jews to,
was one of the most fortified cities in the land.
Its inhabitants were strong, well-trained, and well-equipped.
Its walls were thick and tall.
It had an protected internal water supply.
Its fortified area was large enough to grow and store enough food to out last
a siege.
\\#13\\ tells us that Joshua was "by Jericho." That would indicate that Joshua
was near Jericho, perhaps where he could see the city. He was probably studying
the city to consider what plans he should make to "take" the city.
Suddenly, Joshua notices a man near him. He does not recognize the man. After all,
at last count, the Jewish men numbered over 600,000 \\#Num 26:51\\. Joshua could
not know everyone. So Joshua does not immediately discern whether this man is a
Jew or a Canaanite, that is, a friend or an enemy.
Joshua issued a challenge, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" Joshua was
asking, "Whose side are you on?"
The Man answered, "NAY"; that is, "Neither. I have come to captain the army."
Hey! Who is in charge here? Joshua was the newly appointed leader, but now God
had sent another. In fact, as you read the text, you will see that God did not
actually send another, the Lord Himself came down to lead the army. You ask,
"What makes you think this man is God?" Because Joshua bowed and worshipped Him.
This is Jesus, God’s Son, come down to earth before His incarnation to lead the
armies of Israel.
But the question remains, "WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE?" Joshua had no problem at all
relinquishing command to the Lord. Just from what little he had seen of the city,
Joshua knew that he was in way over his head. Joshua would have given a fast
answer to the question, "WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE?" He would have said, "HE IS!"
But what about you. Suppose I asked you today concerning your life, "WHO IS IN
CHARGE HERE?" What would your answer be? Would it be that you are? Or would it
be that the Lord is?
Consider some thoughts with me today.
I. Being in charge of your own life causes concern and fear.
A. Joshua had a great walk with God, but even he was concerned at the
task that lay before him.
1. That is why he was "by Jericho."
a. He was thinking, reasoning, and praying over the great task
that was before him.
b. To put it simply, Joshua was concerned.
2. I think it is safe to say that if Joshua had to do "take" Jericho
alone, his concern would have turned to FEAR.
3. This city was a state-of-the-art, first class in defense, and
structure.
4. Israel had never fought in a situation that even remotely compared
to this one.
5. They were ignorant of the techniques, strategies, experience, and
weapons needed to win in this kind of a battle.
6. Only a foolish man would not be concerned when having to lead a
battle in these circumstances.
B. Should a person be concerned about having to "make it" in life alone?
1. YES!
2. As big as Joshua’s problems were, in the end, all Joshua had to
conquer was a fort with some soldiers in it.
3. You and I have a lot worse against us in life.
C. What should we be concerned with?
1. The world is against you.
a. This world is not user-friendly.
b. Job loses, sickness, death, earth quakes, tornadoes, wrecks,
old age—this planet is not an easy place to live.
2. Even worse, some of your fellow soldiers are against you.
a. Every person you meet is a distant-kin. We are all from the
loins of Adam and Eve (not Adam and Steve and not Cheetah and
Eve).
b. We should all be on the same side, but everyone is NOT.
c. We are all fighting the same fight—trying to get through life
in one piece, but other people will hurt you.
d. Friends will abandon you when you need them most.
e. Even those you think are doing you a favor will often encourage
you to do things that will destroy you!
3. If you think I am being cold-hearted so far, listen to this.
a. You are against your own self.
b. In fact, you are quite probably your own worst enemy.
c. When you know you ought to do right, you will do wrong!
d. You will actually sit down, think about it, and make decisions
that you know will hurt you.
4. And to top it all off, the devil himself is against you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Lu 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat:
D. Concern and fear are trade marks of those who are trying to get
through his life on their own!
1. Concern and fear age us before our time - It will make your hair
gray and fall out!
2. Concern and fear keep us awake at night.
3. Concern and fear robs us of our health.
4. Concern and fear sends us to the psychologists.
5. Concern and fear forces us to take pills to help us relax and to
stay calm.
E. If you are racked with concern and fear then ask yourself the
question, "Whose in charge here?" Perhaps it is time you surrender
control of your life to Another!
II. Being in charge of your own life guarantees failure.
A. As Joshua was "by Jericho," considering his options, I am sure that he
quickly came to the conclusion that it was impossible to "take" the
city of Jericho.
1. Archaeologists have uncovered a great many details of this ancient
city.
2. The city had two walls going around it. Here is what one writer
says of the walls.
The mound, or ‘tell’ of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen rampart, or
embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was some
four to five meters (12-15 feet) high. On top of that was a mudbrick wall two
meters (six feet) thick and about six to eight meters (20-26 feet) high. At the
crest of the embankment was a similar mudbrick wall whose base was roughly 14
meters (46 feet) above the ground level outside the retaining wall. This is what
loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for
seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate
the impregnable bastion of Jericho.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v21/i2/jericho.asp
3. They are now estimating the outer wall to have been 40 to 45
feet high and that is climbing up a steep embankment.
4. And supposing you were able to get over or through the first wall,
then what? Then you are sitting in between two walls with
soldiers on it and you would be picked off like fish in a barrel!
5. If Joshua had been in charge of this battle, he would have lost—
guaranteed!
B. HOWEVER, Joshua had a better chance of taking the city of Jericho on
his own than you do of handling your own life successfully!
1. Friend, you can’t win the battle of life trying to lead it
yourself.
2. Look at the areas in which you have already failed.
a. Many have failed at their dreams.
(1) How many of your youthful dreams have you fulfilled?
(2) You wanted a beautiful wife or a handsome husband.
(3) You wanted a good job, a big house, a happy home.
(4) You wanted love, respect, and good friendships.
(5) Maybe you dreamed of retirement by age 40,
cruises to exotic islands,
a position of importance and power.
b. And many have failed at the works of their life.
(1) I do not want to dredge up bad memories and experiences,
but many know what it is to fail.
(a) Marriages fail.
(b) Child rearing fails.
(c) Careers fail.
(2) Don’t think me cruel, but I have to point out here that
leading your own life is impossible.
(3) It is not just you that has failed at so many things. We
all have because no human being is equipped with what is
necessary to successfully lead in life!
c. Compare what you thought you would have to what you do have.
(1) If you have been directing your own affairs, things
probably have not turned out so well.
(2) Divorce,
rebellious children,
having more bills than money,
having more failures than successes,
having more shame than pleasures,
having more regrets than boasts—
these are the things that I hear most people talking
about.
(3) Something must be causing the depression and
discouragement that so many are having!
(4) If your life is so good and perfect, why are you so
miserable and unhappy?
d. By the way, if you are directing your own life and have
not turned it into one of the biggest messes this side
of eternity, it is likely because God sent someone into
your life that is His angel of grace!
2. Here is a thought to consider. If you can’t navigate life
successfully, how do you think you will ever lead yourself into
heaven successfully?
a. You won’t.
b. As difficult as directing a human life on earth is, it is
nothing compared with directing a path from earth to heaven.
c. Heaven is very exclusive and access is only granted to a few.
Mt 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity.
d. All are invited to go.
(1) Every race, creed, color, and nationality are welcomed.
(2) Even those from other religions are welcome.
(3) However, heaven is not a place you can direct yourself to!
(4) You will never find or enter it on your own.
e. If you try to lead yourself, you are guaranteed to fail.
III. Being in charge of your own life is rebellion.
A. Let’s not forget who Joshua was standing before.
1. This is God.
2. Joshua was no fool.
a. He would not have bowed to worship a man nor an angel.
b. And no heavenly angel would allowed Joshua to worship him.
c. This was God come down from heaven! (Now, if you want to
debate whether it was Christ come down or not, that is one
thing. But make no mistakes, this was God.)
B. And what was it that God said to Joshua?
1. "…as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come."
2. Captains don’t follow. They LEAD.
3. Here is God standing before Joshua telling him that He has come to
lead the armies of God, to take charge of the battle….
4. Only a rebel is going to tell God no!
C. Do we really understand that saying NO to God’s invitation is
rebellion?
1. We live in an age where we like to sugarcoat our language.
a. It is not Sodomy. It is the GAY lifestyle.
b. It is not murder. It is PRO-CHOICE.
c. It is not adultery. It is an affair.
2. It is time to take away our sweet sounding words and phrases and
say it plain out.
a. When we tell God NO to leading us, we are rebelling just as
surely as Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden.
b. Every time we tell God NO, we are affirming that not one thing
has changed about mankind since the fall.
c. We are still stubborn, headstrong creatures intent on rebelling
against God and running our own lives!
D. We need to understand that God does not make requests. He gives
commands.
1. When God tells His child to surrender to Him, He really means it.
2. There is no nice way to tell God "NO."
I read a story of a man in the navy who received an invitation to a wedding. He
requested and was granted leave, but had to return by 7 PM, the same time the
wedding was to be conducted. He went to his commander and explained, "Sire, you
don’t understand. I’m in the wedding." To which his commander replied, "Sire,
you don’t understand. You’re in the Navy."
A woman wrote one of the newspapers to ask what was proper. She had received
an invitation to the White House but had a previous engagement. The columnist
answered, "An invitation from the White House is a command to attend. It takes
precedence over all other commitments.
E. To rebel against God always brings the same results.
1. Adam and Eve rebelled. They were judged.
2. The world in Noah’s day rebelled. They were judged.
3. Israel in Jesus’ day rebelled. They were judged.
4. The rich man rebelled. "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments…."
5. All who rebel face the same end - judgment.
F. Taking charge of your own life is not an option.
1. We do not consider saying NO to God to be rejection, but it is.
2. Every time you refuse Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are
rejecting what Jesus did for you!
3. Every time, as a child of God, you insist on being in charge of
your own life, you are rebelling against God.
The question is, "Who is in charge here?" Who is in charge of your life? If it
is not the Lord, you are headed on the path of destruction.
Ye call Me Master and obey me not,
Ye call Me Light and see me not,
Ye call Me The Way and follow me not
Ye call Me Life and desire me not,
Ye call Me wise and acknowledge me not,
Ye call Me fair and love me not,
Ye call Me rich and ask me not,
Ye call Me eternal and seek me not,
Ye call Me gracious and trust me not,
Ye call Me Noble and serve me not,
Ye call Me mighty and honor me not,
Ye call Me just and fear me not,
When I condemn you, blame me not.
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