Exhalted Christ 5 - CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION
By F.B. Meyer
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, 'Art thou for us or for our adversaries?, And he said, ' Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto Him, 'What saith my Lord unto His servant?'-- Joshua 5:13-14.
JOSHUA Was by Jericho; behind him lay the river of Jordan, the stream whose waters were now hidden Romans view; beneath him were the host of his people resting Romans their toil and travel; before him, and, I think, probably in the moonlight, lay Jericho, five miles in advance, almost hidden in its groves of palm trees, and right in the path by which the hosts of Israel must make their way into Canaan. There was no swerving to right or left. They must capture it, or fall back in defeat. It was a season of much heart-searching for the great leader of Israel. He knew how the chosen people had repeatedly turned against God in the desert. He looked at the city before him, knowing its great walls, how straitly it was shut up, how mightily armed, how full of soldiers, and do you not think his heart for a moment misgave him? As he stood there reconnoitring, walking to and fro, somewhat disconsolate, "there stood a man over against him, with his sword drawn in his hand."
Now I do not know what your Jericho may be. It may be somebody at home whose temperament chafes you; it may be some class of rough, unruly boys and girls; it may be a district or parish hard to work; it may be some frowning bastion of the devil's building; it may be your own flesh, some secret temptation. I cannot enumerate all, but before everyone surely frowns some Jericho. Yet there is never a Jericho without One with the drawn sword outside it, though too often we fail to lift up our eyes to see Him.
Now Joshua's heart was bold, he was confident in God, and, therefore, after discovering this mysterious being, he challenged him. Who art thou? Spectre or reality? Foe or friend? For us or against us? Israelite or heathen? And in reply came the answer, which revealed that, in addition to the host of Israel beneath, and the host of the enemy in front, there was a third host, whose serried ranks covered the country around, unseen by mortal eye, but real and present, "Nay, but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come." This I will lead into the fight, and by it overcome Canaan, in order to give it to you. "As captain of the LORD'S host am I come." There is no doubt who this wondrous Being was; He was neither man nor angel, for, had He been either, He would have refused the homage Joshua offered. Paul forbade the Lystrians to worship a man like themselves. The angel of the Apocalypse forbade the apostle to worship him. But He who now stood before Joshua thought it not robbery to be equal with God, for He was God. The Angel of Jehovah, the Commander and Captain of the host of God.
Now let us take this word, and follow it out, especially in the New Testament. Isaiah tells us of the coming of a Prince--the Prince of Peace. Daniel tells us that the Messiah was to be a Prince. Coming to Hebrews 2:10 we learn something more about His story.
There we are told that "it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." When we ask what was the mysterious lesson our Captain learned in the days of His flesh, we turn to Hebrews 5:8, where we are told, "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience through the things which He suffered." So that before He became our Commander and Captain, He learned how to obey. The keynote of His life here was that He came to keep the Father's commandments. His autobiography is prefaced in the spirit of prophecy with the words, "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God," and as its "finis" we have the words, "It became Him . . . to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering," or the words, "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Because He was under authority, He is able to say to His servants, "Do this," and they do it.
