Joshua 5:13 describes Joshua, the new leader of Israel, seeing an armed man standing near Jericho and asking him directly whether he is for Israel or for its enemies. The question shows Joshua wanting to know where this stranger stands before he decides how to act. The verse is spoken by Joshua, and the man answers him in the verses that follow.
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”
Joshua 5:13 (WEB)
What Joshua 5:13 Means
The verse begins with Joshua lifting his eyes and looking, which tells you he was alert and watching the land around him. When he sees a man standing in front of him with a sword drawn, the scene is tense. A drawn sword signals readiness for battle, so Joshua’s first concern is whether this figure is friend or foe.
Joshua then asks a blunt question: are you for us, or for our enemies? He is not asking whether the man is pleasant or whether he agrees with Israel’s plans. He wants to know which side he is on in a conflict that is already underway. The verse does not tell us the answer yet. It records the question and leaves the reader waiting for the reply.
What the verse does not promise is that God will simply side with Israel’s army in every battle. Joshua’s question assumes a divided loyalty that the reply will overturn. The reader is being shown a leader who must learn that the real question is not which side God takes but whether Israel is willing to stand with God.
The Context of Joshua 5:13
The book of Joshua is traditionally attributed to Joshua himself, though scholars generally think it was compiled later from older sources. It tells the story of Israel entering and taking the land of Canaan after the wilderness years. Its first audience would have been an Israelite community that had just come out of decades of wandering and needed to understand how they had come to possess the land.
The surrounding verses show Israel camped at Gilgal, keeping the Passover near Jericho, and the manna stopping as they begin eating the produce of Canaan. Right after the encounter, the man identifies himself as commander of the LORD’s army and tells Joshua to remove his sandals because the ground is holy. Read in that setting, the question in verse 13 is the opening move of a scene that teaches Israel that the land and the coming battle belong to God, not to Joshua’s plans alone.
Key Phrases in Joshua 5:13
Joshua 5:14
He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of the LORD’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and asked him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
(WEB)
This verse contains the commander’s reply to Joshua’s question, and it shows that the answer is not a simple choice between two sides. Reading it directly after verse 13 reveals how the question is turned back on the one who asked it.
Joshua 5:15
The prince of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your shoes; for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
(WEB)
In this verse the commander tells Joshua to remove his sandals because the ground is holy. It follows immediately from the encounter in verse 13 and shows the response that a person should make when standing in God’s presence.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 5:13
Lord, when I look up and see the struggles in front of me, I often ask whether you are on my side. Help me to ask the deeper question, which is whether I am willing to stand with you. Give me steady eyes to notice what you are doing, and a humble heart to set aside my own plans when you show me something greater. Teach me to trust that the battles I face belong to you before they belong to me. Amen.
