The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 159

the C'auaanit-es. The angel of the Lord appee.red to Moses in a flame of fire; Goll ~rnke to him from t.he midst of the bush that burned but was not consumed. The supernatural radiance wast-he vehicle of the Divine Presence. God clothed Him- sell with light as with a gannent. The vision and the voice were alike wonderful. The apparition in Joshua's case was of a different kind. It was the common sem- bla.nce of a man prepared for battle. There seems to have been nothing super- natural in his aspect, and nothing in Joshua's question indicates that he was sta,rtled or ala.rmed by what he saw, or that the Being who appeared before him was other to his new than a Yeritable flesh-and-blood warrior who was come to ta,ke his place on one side or the other of the conflict that was at hand. And yet as he gazed more mtently upon the warrior form he must have discovered something in it that told him it was no mere "man "-some majesty of mien or look, some grandeur of the Spirit shining through the countenance. The form was that of a man, the eyes were " as a flame of fire." And it was in the consciousness thnt he stood in the immediate, though veiled, presence of Jehovah Himself, the Prince and Leader of His own hosts, that Joshua" fell to his face on the earth and did worship." In each of these cases the form of the manifestation was adapted to the circumstances of the time and the speciality of the Divine })Urpose. Moses was taught that the light of the Lord's presence should be with him and his people-a guide, a glory, a defence-and that through whatever fiery ordeal they might pa,ss they should not be consumed. Joshua, whose heart might well quail and tremble nt the pros- pect before him, was made to know that the Captain of a mightier host than his -was with him, the sword of whose streogth was drawn nnd ready for the fight. ""ith such forces on his side victory mll'St everywhere attend his steps. This "Cnp-, tain of the Lord's host" we believe to be none other than the Eternal Son of God, wl,ose function it has ever been to be the channel of communication from the in- fi::iite Father-Spirit---the "word" of His thought, the nrm of His power-and whose appearances in the olden time in hnman e.nd angelic forms were prophetic of His alter manifestation in the flesh. This view makes the scene before us strikingly suggesti,e of the relation in which He stands towards His redeemed Church in its grand conflict with the evil powers of the world. Observe- !. CHRIST'S PRESENCE WITH Hl:s PEOPLE. ·These miraculous manifestations give a tone of great solemnity to the history of the olden times, and invest the leading men of those times with an aspect of something like superhuman grandeur. Bnt we greatly err if we fail to link those times with our own and those men with our- selves-if we look on these ancient records as relating to a condition of things alto- gether exceptional and foreign to our c;wn experience. The remote and occasional miracle bears witness to the abiding, ever-present truth. God gave those signs and wonders that we might know Him to be always near in the fulness of His love and power. "The good will of him that dwelt in the bush:" is the p~rpetual inheritan~e of the Church. The " Captain of the Lord's host" is ever gomg fort.~ be.fore His armies, and it is by the sharpness of His sword nnd the ~trength of His right a~·m they win all their victories. Distinguish between the miraculous form of the m- cident and the truth enshrined in it. 'fhe one belonged to that particular a,ge, nnd was 6Uited to its exigencies; the other belongs to every age, aml meets the permanent necessities of all individual and social religious life. In the heightened spirituality and richer grace of our Christian times we have the substance which those mystic visions did but shadow forth. In place of startling signs and symbols we havll Divine words of promise-appeals not to sense but to faith-nwakening the intelli- gence, kindling the heart; words of assurance to the individual believer, "·If a,ny illau loYe llle," &c. (John xiv. 23); to the wc;rshipping Church, "Where two or three arr, gathered together," &c. (Matt. xviii. 20) ; to all faithful heralds of go_spel truth, "Lu, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Mntt. xxviii. 20) •. No need of miraculous manifestations if our faith can grnsp the full meaning of gro.c10us words like these. II. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST OVER THE HEAVENLY POWERS. "Captain of the. host of the Lord "---i.e., the angelic host. The profou_ndly interesting, a,nd ~ot altogeLber profitless, question of 1ille relation of tile angelic worlcl to 011r humamty  OH. V. 13-16.] THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 95