In the book of Joshua Chapter 5, we have a very interesting scene where a man appears to Joshua the son of Nun. This man announces that he is the commander of the army of the Lord, and Joshua falls down to worship. Instead of rebuking or refusing worship, the man actually responds by saying, “take off your shoes, for the place where you stand is holy”
I have a written teaching on how the angel of the Lord is not Jesus, but seeing that in this specific instance, this man is worshiped and does not refuse, it has led many to believe that this is a Christophany; an appearance of Christ before his birth. I believe this conclusion does not hold up to the harmony of the scriptures. I believe this man who appeared to Joshua is not a Christophany, is not Jesus Christ the Son of God, but he is an angel, an archangel, and most likely the archangel Michael. Let’s talk scriptures.
The ENCOUNTER
Joshua 5:13-15 (NKJV)
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood 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?”
14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
15 Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
CONTEXT
This encounter takes place soon after the death of Moses. Joshua has just been anointed to lead the people of Israel as the first Judge of the nation. The river Jordan is dried up, and the Israelites cross over to the plains of Gilgal which overlook Jericho. The nation eats their first passover in the land of Canaan, and manna ceases to come. Now Joshua has to lead the nation to conquer Canaan. The first city that they must defeat is Jericho which overlooks them. The very city that had giants. The very city that the 10 princes of Israel had gone to, and said, it can’t be overcome. Now it was time for Joshua to take possesion of Canaan. As he is meditating on what the next step is, that is when this man appears to him.
Joshua was the commander of God’s physical army, but this man was the commander of God’s spiritual army. Who is this man and why does he not stop Joshua from worshiping him?
THE IDENTITY OF THE ANGEL
1.) He is an Angel of Yahweh
We do not have to guess who this man is that appears to Joshua as commander of the Lord’s spiritual army. God himself had spoken about him to Moses.
Yahweh God had spoken to Moses and announced that he would send his angel to Canaan ahead of the Israelites, and that this angel would fight God’s war against the Canaanites. Let’s hear God speaking.
Exodus 23:20 (NIV)
20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
So, God was sending spiritual reinforcement ahead to Canaan, and this angel would spiritually guard the people of Israel, to bring them into Canaan. But God also says something else. Israel was supposed to listen to the instructions of this angel and obey them, because this angel did not have the ability to forgive their sins.
Exodus 23:21 (NIV)
21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
God was sending this angel ahead to Canaan, and the people were to listen to what he says. This means that angel was going to be given an opportunity to appear and speak to the people, in order to give them instructions. And this is what we see happening in Joshua 5, and in the rest of the book of Judges. The angel appears to Joshua so that he can give him divine strategy on how to overcome Jericho.
My name is in Him
The reason why they were to pay attention was because God’s name was in this angel. What this means is that he had the authority to act on God’s behalf.
Just as when you heal a blind man in Jesus name, it means you are healing on behalf of Jesus, and that healing is credited to Jesus and not to you. In the same way, this angel was standing in God’s name, meaning he was standing on God’s behalf. He would fight against Israel’s enemies on behalf of God, and all the victory would be credited to God. And if they rebelled against this angel, they would be rebelling against God himself.
He will not forgive your sins
The Lord is also careful to let the children of Israel know that this angel would not be able to forgive their sins. This angel stands as a fighter to fight against the enemies of God, but he can not forgive people’s sins.
A good example is seen when Balaak hires Balaam to curse the children of Israel. Balaam was a prophet who inquired of God, and God initially told him not to go. But upon another inquiry, God told Balaam to go ahead but on the condition that he speaks the words of Yahweh only.
On the way, the angel of the Lord stood to block him and to try and kill him.
Numbers 22:20-22 (NIV)
20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
2.) He is Most Likely Michael The Archangel
I believe this angel who appeared to Joshua, who is the head of the armies of God is most likely the archangel Michael. Let me explain.
Let’s hear him introduce himself. I will quote from the World English Bible, because it retains the original name of God.
Joshua 5:14-15 (WEB)
14 He said, No; but [as] prince of the host of Yahweh am I now come. Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to him, What says my lord to his servant?
15 The prince of Yahweh’s host said to Joshua, Put off your shoe from off your foot; for the place whereon you stand is holy. Joshua did so.
The word translated as PRINCE is the Hebrew word [SAR.] The King James Version translates it as commander. It refers to a prince, a ruler, a leader, a commander. It is from this word that we get the term Principality.
To uncover the identity of this prince we have to skip some several centuries ahead into the time of Daniel. Israel has returned into captivity, and is now under the rule of a nation called Persia. Daniel discovers that it is now time for Israel to return to Canaan. So he begins to pray that Israel be returned to the promised land. Daniel now stands in the same position that Joshua had stood before. God now sends his angel to fight against the princes of Persia so that Israel can enter the promised land.
But this time we are told the name of the Angelic prince who leads God’s armies.
Daniel 10:12-13 (NIV)
12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia
Michael is described as one of the CHIEF PRINCES. This suggests that there are many CHIEF PRINCES. So why was Michael specifically sent to fight against Israel’s oppressor, the prince of Persia.
This same heavenly messenger explains further on who Michael is. Michael is specifically the Prince that stands and watches and protects the nation of Israel.
Daniel 12: 1 (NIV)
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book —will be delivered.
This same Michael the great prince who has been assigned by God to protect and watch over the nation of Israel, is the one who fought to protect the body of Moses, when Moses passed away in the wilderness.
Jude 1:9 (NIV)
9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
I believe this Michael the prince who was assigned to protect Israel, who fought for Israel against the prince of Persia, who shall fight for Israel in the great tribulation of Daniel 12:1, is the same prince who appeared to Joshua to help him fight against the Canaanite enemies of Israel. I believe this is the same angel that God had spoken to Moses about, saying he had assigned over Israel, to guard them and to keep them on their way, and to fight against their enemies.
WHY DID JOSHUA WORSHIP BEFORE HIM?
Joshua 5:14 (NKJV)
14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
Take note that the scripture does not say explicitly that Joshua worshipped HIM. It says he fell down and worshipped. Nevertheless, let’s say he did.
Why would Joshua do this?
The answer is simply because that was the custom of the day. When you met someone who was a prince, a ruler or a king you would bow down to the ground as a sign of respect, and then afterwards you would talk.
The Hebrew word translated as ‘worship’ is [SHACHAH]. SHACHAH means to prostrate your self, to crouch, to bow, to lie face down, or to humbly beseech someone as a sign of loyalty or reference.
The NIV translates in this way.
Joshua 5:14 (NIV)
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?”
The amplified puts it this way
Amplified Bible
He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the LORD.” Then Joshua fell with his face toward the earth and bowed down, and said to him, “What does my lord have to say to his servant?”
All the versions are correct. We are going to go through the bible to see where this same word is used and you will see that the saints of the old testament also did this bowing before kings, before rulers and before angels, as a sign of loyalty and reverence, not necessarily as a declaration that this person is God.
Abraham and the sons of Heth
When Abraham was buying a grave for Sarah from the sons of Heth, he first bowed in reverence [SHACHAH] and then spoke his message to them.
Genesis 23:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me,
The word translated as bowed, is the same word translated as Worship by the KJV and reverence by NIV in Joshua 5. It’s the same Hebrew word. Surely Abraham did not consider these sons of Heth as his gods. But it was their custom of showing respect to an honoured person.
Lot and The Two Angels
When two angels came to Lot’s house, Lot also bowed down before them in reverence, as was the custom of the time. The angels did not rebuke or stop him
Genesis 19:1-2 (NKJV)
1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.
2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”
The word translated as ‘bowed himself’ is the same word translated as worship in Joshua 5. Note that Just like Joshua, lot bowed down to the two Angels and he calls them his Lords.
These acts did not have the same impact and weight that they now carry. For in the new testament, after the son of God has been fully revealed, the term Lord becomes reserved only for Jesus Christ and the act of bowing is reserved only for God.
But back then, before Christ had been fully revealed, God overlooked and allowed these customs to go on.
Acts 17:30 (ESV)
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
Balaam and the Angel of the Lord
When Balaam also met the angel of the Lord, he did the cultural thing. He bowed down to the ground first before he spoke to him.
Numbers 22:31 (ESV)
31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face.
David before Jonathan
When David met Jonathan he bowed down to the ground [SHACHAH] three times before him.
*1 Samuel 20:41 (ESV)*
_41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times._
Mephibosheth to David
When Jonathan’s son meets king David, he bows himself to the ground and gives him reverence.
2 Samuel 9:6 (WEB)
6 Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face, and did obeisance. David said, Mephibosheth. He answered, Behold, your servant!
The word translated as obeisance, is [SHACHAH] the same word translated as worship in the KJV. Surely both David and Mephibosheth knew that David was not God, and neither did they do this as an act of worship to God, but as a cultural custom of honouring a leader, and showing loyalty and honour to them.
CONCLUSION
God had promised Moses that he was going to send an Angel ahead of Israel to Canaan. This angel would give them instructions and help them to fight and drive out the Canaanites. This angel would guard and protect Israel. When Joshua enters into the land of Canaan, before he begins to fight, this angel appears to him. He introduces himself as the prince and commander of God’s army.
Joshua bows down before him before he speaks, because in his time that was the way that people greeted someone who was a leader, who was a prince or someone of honour. This is how Abraham showed his respect to the sons of Heth, this is how Lot greeted the two angels, this is how David greeted Jonathan and how Jonathan’s son greeted king David.
here is the verse from the Literal Versions
Joshua 5:16 Literal Standard Version
And He says, “No, for I [am] Prince of YHWH’s host; now I have come”; and Joshua falls on his face to the earth, and pays respect, and says to Him, “What is my Lord speaking to His servant?”
In the book of Daniel, we are told that the prince who leads God’s army, to protect the children of Israel is named Michael. It is this same Michael that defended Moses’ body against Satan.
In the new testament after Christ is revealed as Lord and saviour. The apostle Paule tells us that God now expects us to repent of some things that he used to overlook during the times of ignorance. And when John had seen the full revelation of Christ, and tried to bow down before an angel, as Lot, Abraham and Joshua did, this time the angel stops him and tells him not to fo that.
Even though people like Lot, Joshua, Abraham and even Daniel addressed angels as Lords, after Christ is revealed, there is only one that we now call our Lord, and that is Jesus. And it is at his name only, that we bow.
STAY BLESSED