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?
Joshua was the leader of the Israelites after Moses died, charged with finally bringing the people into Canaan — the land God had promised — after forty years of desert wandering. Jericho was the first major obstacle: a powerful, heavily fortified city. Just before the famous battle, Joshua has an unexpected, mysterious encounter outside the city walls. He sees a figure standing with a drawn sword and asks the most natural question a military commander would ask: is this person friend or foe? The figure's answer in the very next verse is startling — 'Neither. As commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.' This was a divine encounter, likely an angel or a visible appearance of God Himself, and Joshua immediately falls facedown in reverence. His question gets answered — but not the way he expected.
Lord, I confess I spend more time asking You to be on my side than asking what side You're already on. Forgive me for treating You as backup rather than commander. Today I want to fall facedown like Joshua and simply ask: what do You have for Your servant? I'm listening. Amen.
'Are you for us or for our enemies?' It's the most human question in the world. We want God on our team. We pray for our side to win the argument, our project to succeed, our candidate to take the election, our family to come out ahead. Joshua is on the edge of the biggest military campaign of his life, he spots a figure with a drawn sword, and he needs to know: reinforcement or threat? The answer he gets is one of the quietly most devastating things in all of Scripture. Neither. I'm not on your side. I'm in command. There's an invitation buried in that moment that's easy to miss because the correction is so disorienting. Joshua didn't argue or retreat — he fell facedown and asked, 'What message does my Lord have for his servant?' He received it. He adjusted who was actually in charge. That pivot — from seeing God as your divine support team to genuinely submitting to His leadership — is something most of us have to make more than once, and it's rarely comfortable. The question isn't whether God is for you. It's whether you are for Him.
Who do most scholars believe the mysterious 'man with the drawn sword' was, and why does his answer — 'neither' — matter so much to the meaning of the encounter?
When have you approached God most like Joshua does here — wanting to know whose side He's on rather than asking what He was actually commanding you to do?
The figure's response reframes the entire situation: it's not Joshua's military campaign with divine backup — it's God's campaign with Joshua participating. How does that distinction change the way you think about your own plans and prayers?
How do you typically talk about God in relation to your conflicts, causes, or goals — as someone who backs you up, or as someone you ultimately answer to? What does the language you use reveal?
Is there a situation in your life right now where you need to stop asking 'God, are You for me?' and start asking 'God, what are You commanding?' What might actually change if you made that shift?
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis 3:24
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Acts 1:10
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 1:18
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:24
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Genesis 32:30
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Philippians 2:6
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Matthew 12:30
Now when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his drawn sword in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?"
AMP
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
ESV
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing 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?'
NASB
The Fall of Jericho 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?”
NIV
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?”
NKJV
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
NLT
And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, "Whose side are you on—ours or our enemies'?"
MSG