The Importance of Knowing God

In Joshua 5:13-15 we read, "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? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so."

This description of the commander of the army of the Lord as a man (5:13) together with the command given by Him to Joshua (5:15), and its resemblance to the experience of Moses in Ex 3:1-15, suggests that this person Joshua saw is a pre-incarnate vision of Christ. Furthermore in 6:2 there is a reference to "the Lord" which seems to continue the narrative encounter in 5:13-15. The importance of this is that the human leader of Israel is subordinate to the divine commander. For Joshua, it was more important that He know the Commander than it was for him to know a strategy!

This principle is true today for the Christian. It is more important to know the person of God than it is to know the plans of God. It is more important to know the Guide than it is to have guidance. As Christians we need to see the importance of being more interested in knowing God than we are in knowing what to do next. So many times in our prayers we ask God to show us what we should do rather than asking God to show us more of Him. We want God to solve our problems, get us out the mess we are in, fix this or fix that. God desires that we know Him and walk with Him in a personal relationship. That is the most important thing. God can do all the rest and He will always do what is best for our good and His glory. The key to all of the other things in our life is in seeking the Lord. Jesus said it best, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt 6:33). I pray that the Lord will bless you in special ways this week as you seek Him first in all things. Remember that God loves you and so does First Baptist Church.