OT § 52

Joshua, the successor of Moses, calls the leader of the heavenly angels and archangels and of the supernal powers and as if he were the power and wisdom of the Father, entrusted with the second rank of sovereignty and rule over all, "prince of the host of the Lord," although he saw him only in the form and shape of a man. At any rate, it is written: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over against him, holding a drawn sword, and he went to him and said: 'Are you one of ours, or of our adversaries?' And he said to him, 'I am prince of the host of the Lord and I have now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the ground and said to him, 'What does my Lord command to his servant?' And the prince of the Lord said to Joshua, 'Loose your shoe from off your feet, for the place on which you stand is a holy place.' " Here, too, you will perceive from the identity of words that this is no other than he who also spoke to Moses.

Divine providence surrounds all persons at all times, but it is not visible except to those who have purified their souls of sin and think about God at all times. To these it is luminously revealed at that time; because when they have undergone great temptations for the sake of truth, then they receive the faculty to perceive sensibly as if with eyes of flesh also when necessary, even palpably, according to the kind and cause of the temptation, as if for greater encouragement.So it was with Jacob and Joshua son of Nun, Hananiah and his companions, Peter and others to whom the form of a man appeared to encourage them and to console their faith.

Joshua, the son of Nun, and Daniel bowed in veneration before an angel of God, but they did not adore him. For adoration is one thing, and that which is offered in order to honor something of great excellence is another.

Joshua the son of Nun did not see the angel as he is by nature, but an image, for an angel by nature is not visible to bodily eyes, yet he fell down and worshiped, and Daniel did likewise. Yet an angel is a creature, a servant and minister of God, but not God. And they fell down in worship before the angels, not as God, but as God's ministering spirits. Shall I not make images of friends? Shall I not honor them, not as gods but as the images of God's friends? Neither Joshua nor Daniel worshiped the angels they saw as gods. Neither do I worship an image as god, but through the images of Christ and of the holy Theotokos and of the saints, I bring worship and honor to God, because of the reverence with which I honor his friends. God did not unite himself with angelic nature but with human nature. God did not become an angel; he became a man by nature and in truth.

And therefore one must beware and act carefully, so that you may knowingly discern the kind of visions, just as Joshua the son of Nun also, when he saw a vision, knowing that there was temptation in this, at once inquires of him who appeared and says: "Are you ours or of our adversaries?" So then the advancing soul also, when it has come to this point, that it now begins to have discernment of visions, will thereby be proved to be spiritual, if it knows how to discern all things. Finally, therefore, among the spiritual gifts as well, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is said to be the discernment of spirits.

"And it came to pass," it says, "when Jesus was at Jericho, that looking up with his eyes he saw a man standing over against him, and a drawn sword was in his hand. And Jesus, drawing near, said to him: are you ours, or of our adversaries? And he said: I am the prince of the host of the Lord's power; now I have come." "Looking up," then, "with his eyes he sees the prince of the Lord's host," as one who had not "looked up" before, but only then, when he was about to see the "prince of the Lord's host." Yet when Jesus had seen him, he did not see him as a common man, but understood that he was a certain power. Nevertheless he is not yet certain whether the one who appears is one from the divine powers or from the contrary ones, and therefore he asks and inquires, saying: "are you ours, or of our adversaries?"

A brother asked a hermit, 'Is it good to be always repenting?' He answered, 'We have seen Joshua the son of Nun; it was when he was lying prostrate on his face that God appeared to him' (cf. Josh. 5:14).

The same words, you will remember, were said by the same Lord to Moses at the beginning of the vision of the Bush, for Scripture says: "And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, He called him from the midst of the Bush, saying, Moses, Moses, come not near here; loose thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

So, then, the command that was given shews that the God Who answered on both occasions was one and the same. Though here He prophesies through the Chief and Captain of His power, and to Moses by the vision of the angel. And of the heavenly armies, celestial powers and invisible spirits, holy angels and archangels ministering to God the King of kings and the Lord of lords (as Daniel says: "Thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him"), what other could be highest of all but the Word of God, His Firstborn Wisdom, His Divine Offspring? Rightly, then, He is here called Chief Captain of the Power of the Lord, as also elsewhere "Angel of Great Counsel," "Throned with the Father," "Eternal and Great High Priest." And it has been proved that the same Being is both Lord and God, and Christ anointed by the Father with the oil of gladness. Thus, appearing to Abraham by the oak in human form, He reveals Himself in a calm and peaceful guise, foreshowing by it His future Coming to save mankind; He appeared to Jacob, as to an athlete and a champion destined to wrestle with enemies, in the form of a man, and to Moses and the people in the form of cloud and fire, and led them, shewing Himself terrible and shadowy.

And as Joshua, the successor of Moses, was about to fight against the former possessors of Palestine his enemies, foreign and most ungodly races, He rightly appears to him with a sword drawn and pointed against the enemy, shewing by the vision that He Himself is about to attack the ungodly with an unseen sword and with divine power, the fellow-soldier and the fellow-combatant of His people. Wherefore He gives Himself the name of Chief and Captain of the Lord to suit the occasion.

And he says: "I am the prince of the host of the Lord's power; now I have come." And when he had heard this, Jesus worshiped and said: "Lord, what do you command your servant?" What is it that Jesus teaches us through this? That, without doubt, which the Apostle says: "do not believe every spirit, but test whether it is of God." Jesus, then, recognized not only that "he is of God," but that he is God; for he would not have worshiped had he not recognized God. For who else is the "prince of the host of the Lord's powers" but our Lord Jesus Christ? For all the host of heaven, whether angels or archangels, or powers "or dominions or principalities or authorities," all these, which were made through him, do military service under him as prince, who is the prince of princes and who bestows principalities upon princes. For it is he who says in the Gospel: "be one having authority over ten cities," and to another: "be one having authority over five cities." It is he who, "having received the kingdom, returned."

Now, grasp the mystical meaning of Holy Writ. As long as we are walking through the wilderness, it is necessary that we wear sandals to cover and protect our feet, but when we shall have entered the Land of Promise, we shall hear with Jesus [Joshua], the son of Nave [Nun]: "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place upon which you are standing is holy." When, therefore, we enter into the kingdom of heaven, we shall have no need of sandals or for protection against this world, but—to give you a new thought—we shall follow the Lamb that has been slain for us.

But meanwhile let us see what the present reading suggests. Jesus is at Jericho; the enemies still hold the city and are not yet conquered. Yet already it is said to Jesus: "loose the shoe from your feet; for the place in which you stand is holy ground." And how is Jericho "holy ground," which is held by the enemies? But perhaps this is what is indicated: that wherever the "prince of the host of the Lord's power" comes, he sanctifies the place, because Jericho itself was not a holy place; but because the "prince of the Lord's host" came there, the place is called "holy." I even dare something further, and say that even where Moses stood, of itself it was not a holy place, but because the Lord stood with Moses, the presence of the Lord had sanctified the place, and therefore it is said to him: "loose the strap of your shoe: for the place in which you stand is holy ground." Whence we too, if by our life and merits we draw near to the Lord and are made worthy for God to stand by us, it is said also to us that we should loose from the feet of our soul whatever bond of mortality is bound to them. For these are the "feet" which Jesus "washes"; which, "unless he washes them, we shall have no part with him." So then, if we loose from our soul and senses every bond of mortal care, immediately God too will gladly be present and stand by us.