Whenever we think of angels, we often think of soft and cuddly cherubs that flit around from cloud to cloud.
However, in the Bible, whenever an angel appears, their first words are often to tell people not to be afraid, for they are raw power and intimidation. Here, Joshua meets the commander of the army of the Lord, and he falls down and worships him. He also makes the mistake of assuming that such a figure would pick a side in a battle, but Joshua is thinking too small. Joshua, like me, cannot wrap my head around such a figure -- for he enters in from outside of our time and space. He is other.
Thanks be to God that God chooses to use such power for our favor. We who are disobedient could be cut down by such figures. Think about it -- if this is a commander in the army, how much power does Jesus have? How intimidating is that? But Jesus lays down such power. Jesus chooses to stay on the cross, despite the temptation and ability to descend from the cross and strike down those who believed they had power over God.
Jesus opts to use power to liberate and deliver. What a gift! May we rightly worship the God who chooses to love us so.
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