13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
The Israelites have crossed over the Jordan River and now stand in the Promised Land. As our text states Joshua sees this man with a sword. He is standing there in a rather scary posture. He is not leaning on his sword, or polishing his sword. He has his sword drawn as if ready for battle. We might say he was “battle ready.” Notice Joshua’s question. He wants to know whose side this stranger is on. Is this one of our enemies or an additional asset for battle? He might be thinking, “If all the inhabitants of the land are like this guy, we are in big trouble.” When we are entering a new situation we often want to know the lay of the land. We want to know who the friendly people are, and the ones we want to avoid. Who are the gossips, and who are those you can call upon when you get in a pinch. We read in the following verse that this man is on neither Joshua’s nor his enemy’s side. He represented the Lord. The Lord is not on either side. Joshua had gotten on His side. We need to remember that in our conflicts. We need to align ourselves with the Lord, even if it means we lose the argument. Because, when we are on His side, we win in the long run.
The Arnold Journey 