Daily Lesson for Sunday 19th of October 2025

The Israelites have just crossed the Jordan and stepped onto the enemy’s ground. The fortress of Jericho lies in front of them, its gates firmly shut (Joshua 6:1). At this point, the people are unaware of any battle strategy. What is even more concerning is that Israel has only slings, spears, and arrows to take on a city fortified to withstand a long siege.

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Joshua’s questions regarding the identity of the strange visitor receive a rather obscure answer: “No.” The visitor’s answer reveals that He is unwilling to step into the categories defined by Joshua. In other words, the ultimate question is not whether He is on Joshua’s side; rather, is Joshua on His side?

While the expression “commander of the army of the Lord” is unique in the Hebrew Bible, the combination of the terms “commander” and “hosts” always refers to a military leader. The word “host” in Scripture can refer to military troops, to the angels, or to celestial bodies.

The pre-incarnate Christ appears to Joshua not merely as an ally nor even as the true Commander of Israel’s army but as the Commander of the unseen yet real army of angels involved in a far greater conflict than that of Joshua with the Canaanites. Joshua’s answer clearly indicates his understanding of the Commander’s identity. He is equal to God, and Joshua falls prostrate in front of Him as a sign of profound respect and worship (Joshua 5:14, Genesis 17:3, 2 Samuel 9:6, 2 Chronicles 20:18). Joshua is ready to receive the battle strategy for a military campaign that is an intrinsic part of a far greater conflict in which the God of hosts Himself is involved.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25d-04-commander-of-the-army-of-the-lord/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=25d-04-commander-of-the-army-of-the-lord

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 18th of October 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Joshua 5:13-15; Isaiah 37:16; Revelation 12:7-9; Deuteronomy 32:17; Exodus 14:13-14; Joshua 6:15-20.

Memory Text: “There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:14, ESV).

Reading the pages of Joshua, we are confronted with the aggressive military campaigns carried out at the command of God, in the name of God, and with the help of God. The idea that God was behind the conquest of Canaan pervades the book of Joshua, and it is expressed in the assertions of the narrator (Joshua 10:10-11), in God’s own words (Joshua 6:2, Joshua 8:1), in Joshua’s addresses (Joshua 4:23-24; Joshua 8:7), by Rahab (Joshua 2:10), by the spies (Joshua 2:24), and by the people (Joshua 24:18). God claims to be the initiator of these violent conflicts.

This reality raises unavoidable questions. How can we understand that God’s chosen people carried out such practices in Old Testament times? How is it possible to reconcile the image of a “warlike” God with His character of love (for example, Exodus 34:6, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8, Psalms 108:4) without diluting the credibility, authority, and historicity of the Old Testament?

This week and next, we are going to explore the difficult question of divinely commanded wars in the book of Joshua and elsewhere.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 25.

Sunday–>

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