Joshua 5:14

14 And he said to him, I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord.

Joshua 5:14 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 5:14

And he said, nay
Not for or on the side of their adversaries was he come, as Joshua suspected at the first sight of him; the Septuagint version is, "he said unto him", taking (al) for (wl) , as it sometimes is:

but [as] Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come;
of the host of the Lord both in heaven and in earth, angels and men, and particularly of the people of Israel, called the armies and host of the Lord, ( Exodus 7:4 ) ( 12:41 ) ; so that though Joshua was general, Christ was Generalissimo; and so Joshua understood him, and therefore showed a readiness to do whatsoever he should command him; the spiritual Israel of God, the church, is in a militant state, and has many enemies to combat with, sin, Satan, the world, and false teachers; Christ is their Leader and Commander, the Captain of their salvation, and has all necessary qualifications or wisdom, courage, and might, for such an office; see ( Isaiah 55:4 ) ( Isaiah 11:2 Isaiah 11:3 ) ( Hebrews 2:10 ) ( Revelation 19:11 Revelation 19:14 ) ;

and Joshua fell on his face to the earth;
in reverence of this divine and illustrious Person, whom he perceived to be what he was:

and did worship;
gave him religious worship and adoration, which had he been a created angel he would not have given to him, nor would such an one have received it, ( Revelation 19:10 ) ( Revelation 22:8 Revelation 22:9 ) ;

and said unto him, what saith my Lord unto his servant?
that is, what commands had he to lay upon him, and he was ready to execute them? he was heartily willing to be subject to him as the chief general of the Israelitish forces, and to consider himself, and behave, as an officer under him, and to obey all orders that should be given.

Joshua 5:14 In-Context

12 In this day the manna failed, after they had eaten of the corn of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna: and they took the fruits of the land of the Phoenicians in that year.

13 And it came to pass when Joshua was in Jericho, that he looked up with his eyes and saw a man standing before him, and a drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua drew near and said to him, Art thou for us or on the side of our enemies?

14 And he said to him, I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord.

15 And Joshua fell on his face upon the earth, and said to him, Lord, what commandest thou thy servant?

16 And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Loose thy shoe off thy feet, for the place whereon thou now standest is holy.