I think that something that we need to realize is that, this sounds a bit strange, but God is not for us. It is we who should be for God.
In this passage, Joshua seems to be by himself and sees a guy in the distance with his sword drawn. He must be feeling pretty powerful, because he marches right up to the guy who has his sword out. I mean, it is understandable that he would be so bold. God has promised to exalt him, He has sen the power of God surging through him, he knows that God is with him and this guy seems like nothing to fear. He gets to the guy and asks if he’s on Joshua’s side or their enemies side. The commander of the army of God (said by Biblical scholars to be God the Son before being manifested as Jesus. Any time in the Bible that it says the angel of the Lord or something like this, it is said to be God the Son.) basically says, “I’m neither for you, nor against you, it is you who are for me.”
I think this was a reality check for Joshua. Apparently Joshua needed to be humbled because the result is that he falls on his face. He realizes again that, while God is with him, it is not because God thinks Joshua is so special that God wants to be on his team, it is God who is special and Joshua who is on God’s team.
We need to realize that God does not exist to help us reach our dreams or to help us survive. It is we who exist to know God and take part in His awesome plan that He has going on in the world. We need to fall on our faces more and realize that we’re on God’s team. We need to figure out how to be better team players because we’re not the boss, God is.
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