Daily Manna, Year Two · Day 210 · July 29
The Second Question
“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?”
The plains of Jericho, the fourteenth day of the first month. They had kept the passover, the manna had stopped the morning after, and the city in front of them was straitly shut up: none went out, and none came in. Joshua was out near the walls with a campaign to plan.
Then there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua walks up to him, which tells you something about Joshua, and asks the only question a general has. Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? It is a fair question with two answers available, and he declines both. 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? That is the second question of the day, and a different kind of question. The first asked which side heaven had joined. The second asked for orders.
So pray the second one. Lord, we have prayed the first question most of our lives. We have brought you the plan and asked you to be for us in it. We have asked whose side you were on in the family, the argument, the church meeting, and we knew the answer we wanted before we finished asking. Cross it out. What saith my lord unto his servant? We will hear the answer before we tell you what we were hoping for. Amen.
The reply was about his feet. Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. Moses had heard almost that sentence at a bush, before he was given anything to do. This one comes as captain. The first order is about who he is, and the plan comes after.
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year one reading for day 210 is We Shall Be Like Him (1 John 3:2).