For 55 years Dr. W. A. Criswell was the Senior Pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Over his preaching career Dr. Criswell
preached thousands of sermons from that pulpit. He is included in any
discussion of the greatest American preachers of the 20th century.
On November 11, 1959, Criswell preached a sermon entitled, “The Warrior Christ.”
His text was the same one we are digging into this Sunday – Joshua 5:13-15.
It’s the often overlooked precursor to the story of Joshua and the battle of
Jericho. And it’s this oversight that has proliferated such misperception and
misapprehension of what really happens in Joshua 6. It’s a misperception that
Criswell seems to do little to ameliorate. Listen to what he says:
Now here is a little personal touch
about Joshua. As I have said before in these several sermons already delivered,
the more I study this man, the more my unbounded admiration for him. No wonder
Jesus was named for this man, who carried His people into the Promised Land –
Joshua, Savior. Everything that is written about him is fine, everything. They
murmured against Moses, and they found fault with the leadership of the man of
God (Exodus 16:2-3). You will never find one instance where the people murmured
against Joshua; this noble, wonderful servant of God. Another little trait,
another little presentation of him; he did not know who the stranger was with a
drawn sword in His hand. But fearlessly, courageously, bravely he walks up to
Him. Is he a phantom? Is He real? Is He a Hebrew? Is He a Canaanite? Is He a
friend? Is He a foe? Apparently, no fear in Joshua, the soldier of God at all;
he walks up to Him fearlessly, bravely and asks, ‘Are you for us or for our
adversaries?’
Criswell is not alone in admiring Joshua. He’s on everyone’s
top 10 list for role models in Scripture. Indeed, even Sunday school children
for over a hundred years have sung his tribute in the ditty: “Joshua fought the
battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho…” Remember the line: “You may talk about
your men of Gideon. You may talk about your men of Saul. But there’s none like
good old Joshua at the battle of Jericho that morning.”
For four weeks now we’ve looked at the climax of the lives
of an impressive list of Old Testament “heroes”: Job, Elijah, and Jacob. And in
each case their exposure of God transformed them. The divine exposure totally reoriented
them. All of them were at a serious point of despair when God showed up and
altered their perspective. And so it is with Joshua. And so it is with us and
our commonly held view of the battle of Jericho.
We’ve entitled Sunday’s message, “The General.” And as we
will see, when God comes to Joshua, He comes in a way that perfectly fits
Joshua’s need for exposure. Joshua is the General of the Army of Israel. God
comes as the commander of the Army of the Lord and teaches him some valuable lessons
about God and him. My hope and prayer is that as we dig deeply into these three
verses, we will see some of those same fascinating lessons.
In preparation for Sunday, you may wish to consider the
following:
1.
What history does Joshua have with Jericho
before this exposure?
2.
Why is Joshua 5:1-12 so important to
understanding this exposure?
3.
Why is the conquest of Jericho so important to
Israel?
4.
What do Numbers 13 and 14 add to our
understanding of what Joshua must be thinking as he looks toward Jericho in
Joshua 5:13?
5.
Who is this man with the drawn sword? Why is his
sword drawn?
6.
What does it mean when the text says, “Joshua
went to him”?
7.
What does His answer to Joshua’s question mean?
(See verse 14)
8.
What does His command in verse 15 mean?
9.
Why does He not use His sword on Joshua?
10. How
does Joshua demonstrate a change of heart and mind in verse 14 and following?
11. What
lessons can we draw from this exposure?
See you Sunday!
