There is a question you should never ask God. Joshua asked it anyway.
He had every reason to ask it. Jericho was in front of him — walls he had no equipment to breach, a city he had been commanded to take. He was walking the ground the way any commander does, measuring what stood between him and the morning. And then there was a Man with a sword already drawn. So Joshua asked the soldier’s question: whose side are you on?
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?” — Joshua 5:13
It is a fair question for a soldier. It is the wrong question for a servant. And the answer he got was not what he expected.
The Answer Was No
Joshua offered two options. The Commander took neither.
“No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” — Joshua 5:14
One word. Not indecision — contradiction. He refused Joshua’s categories entirely. Joshua commands Israel’s army. He has just met his superior.
Now hear this carefully, because without it this whole thing goes sideways. This is not divine neutrality. Jericho really does fall. The Commander is not undecided about the outcome. God had already said plainly to Joshua:
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
The “no” was not “no, I am not with you.” It was “no, I refuse the categories you just handed Me.” God was at work on Jericho long before Joshua arrived with an opinion about it. Being right and being in command are two entirely different things.
That is how people who hold true doctrine end up fighting like unbelievers. Your danger is not being wrong. It is being right, and assuming that settles who gives the orders.
The Question That Changes Everything
Here is the turn, and it is everything.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so. — Joshua 5:14b–15
Put the two questions side by side. “Are You for us?” Then: “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Same man. Same encounter. Two questions — and the distance between them is the whole Christian life.
And notice who this Commander actually is. Joshua worships, and the worship is received. Angels refuse it — Scripture is explicit about that. Then comes the same word Moses heard at the burning bush:
“Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” — Exodus 3:5
This is not an angel with a message. This is the Lord of hosts, standing in the dirt outside Jericho. And the very first order He gives is not a battle plan. It is take off your sandals. Before Joshua receives the strategy, Joshua must settle who is in command.
Worship first. Orders second. In that order, and never reversed.
The Orders He Never Would Have Written Himself
The chapter break between Joshua 5 and 6 hides something important. Joshua 5 ends with a man face down, sandals off. Joshua 6 opens with the LORD speaking — and the battle plan follows.
“See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” — Joshua 6:2
Then read what the orders actually were. March around the city for seven days. Blow horns. Shout. No siege ramp. No battering ram. No strategy any commander on earth would put his name to. The man who asked whose side God was on spent the next week doing something that looked like foolishness to everyone watching from the wall.
That is usually what obedience looks like from the outside.
And notice the mercy in it. Jericho was already given — past tense, before a single lap was walked. The marching did not earn the city. It received what had already been won.
Stop Asking for Endorsement
Think of the fight you are in right now. The argument. The person you have been rehearsing your answer to. The battle you are certain you are on the right side of.
Do not drop it. Joshua did not drop his sword. He took Jericho the very next week.
But before you say another word about it — stop asking God to bless the plan you already made. Ask Joshua’s second question instead.
“What does my Lord say to His servant?” — Joshua 5:14
Face down. Sandals off. And then get up and do what He actually said — not what you had already planned to do anyway.
God does not enlist. He commands. And the good news is that the city He is asking you to trust Him with has already been given.
Adapted from the message “Looking for Jesus in the Old Testament · Types of Christ”, preached September 13, 2026 by – Pastor Matt at Charity Baptist Church.