“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went into him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; But as captain of the host of. of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What sayeth my Lord to his servant?” Joshua 5:13-14.

This passage of Scripture presents a remarkable truth about God and also about our moral and ethical relationship toward Him. Consider, Joshua was God's handpicked leader of Israel. Further he had a a record of faith and confidence in God that reached back forty years when he and Caleb were the only two of the spies Moses sent into Canaan who urged Israel to enter and possess the land, as God had instructed.

At first pass it seems remarkable. The captain of the host of the LORD said he was not on Israel's side. How could that be? It is clear he wanted Israel to possess Canaan. He had delivered them from the Egyptian bondage, supplied to all their needs while they were wandering forty years in the wilderness, and now had safely brought them back to Canaan to possess the land. Further, the battle for Jericho was to be the first step towards possessing Canaan. So, Why wasn't God on Israel's side?

The answer is simple: God does not take sides when men oppose one another. Rather, in all our social encounters, whether marked by agreement or opposition, God's moral mandate is we must take his side. This is so because God is altogether righteous and holy, and man is not. Therefore, God doesn't take sides because when left to our own desires and means man's thoughts. And behaviors when opposing adversaries. includes some measure of sinning, and God NEVER sides with sin.

Reading to the end of the encounter, we discover Joshua received specific instructions from the Captain of the Host of the LORD as to how God wanted Israel to defeat and capture Jericho. In other words, He told Joshua what Israel must do. To be on God's side!

That's how it works. God doesn't take our side. Rather, He requires we take his side, which is the only right(eous) side.

We must choose whose side we're on.

“Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity, and in truth: and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, and whose land you now dwell; but As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua. 24: 14-15.

This passage indicates Joshua understood what the captain of the host of God intended when he answered Nay, to the question, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?”

Joshua made this statement near the end of his life. He gathered the people and beginning with Abraham, to whom God originally gave Canaan, he rehearsed God's extraordinary providence and mercy in bringing Israel back to possess Canaan.

It appears from the narrative that God's purpose for Joshua's last address was to instruct the children of Israel to forsake idol worship and serve God alone in sincerity and truth.

However, if they chose not to worship God they had two alternatives. They could: 1. choose to worship the idols their fathers served before the flood; Or, 2. choose to worship the gods of the Amorites. But they could not do so and also worship the Lord. (Jehovah, THE EXISTING ONE) in sincerity and in truth.

The two alternative choices likely include all the idols known to Israel at that time. This gives rise to a striking inference: If Israel did not choose to worship God alone, it really didn't matter what they chose to worship, because all else is idle worship.

Jesus elevated his teaching in Matthew 6:24 By indicating choosing to serve any other than God is to hate God: “No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

In stating, “No man can serve two masters,” and personifying the idolatry of coveting riches, (mammon) as a master, the Saviour affirms one cannot serve idols and God. Notice, Jesus asserts a choice is made whether one consciously chooses, or else chooses by default based on one's actions. Further, Notice the choice is binary: We can either love God and hate idols; Or else we can love idols and hate God. But we cannot love God and idols. Thus, loving God through devoted loyalty and obedient duty constitute the applied moral principle and ethical practice for all our actions, for everything we choose to think, say and do. And failing to do so, all else is God hating idolatry.

Why Can’t We Be on Both Sides?

"No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon". Matthew. 6:24.

In part 2 of this essay, we considered how one's affection cannot be equally applied when attempting to serve God and idols. The person who tries to serve both fails because “he will hate the one and love the other.”

The second reason given by the Savior why one cannot serve both God and idols is “he will hold to the one and despise the other.” This distinction has to do with how attitude about values influences behavior. The meanings of “hold” and “despise” suggest the nature of the distinction. The word “hold” in the text is translated from the Greek word ἀντέχομαι (antechomai). It means: to pay heed to, to adhere. In contrast, the Greek word from which “despise” is translated is καταφρονέω (kataphroneo). This word means: to disesteem, to think little or nothing of.

The nature of mans will demands we choose what values govern our behavior. Furthermore, whether by conscious choice or unthinking routine, the behaviors we pursue indicate whom we are paying heed to and contrariness whom we disesteem. Thus, we serve God by paying heed to godly values whereby we engage in godly behavior. At the same time, godly behavior induced by adherence to godly values rejects serving idols by affirming a low opinion toward values and behaviors associated with idolatry.

Thus, logical inference from Jesus' statement is serving God involves loving and holding to Him by affectionately adhering to values and behaviors that comply with God's sovereign moral authority. Furthermore, doing so produces a rigid dichotomy in which adhering to God's moral authority universally opposes and rejects humanistic idolatry. (All idolatry is humanistic in that all idols are products of man and their function is to impose the will of a person or group on others.)

Choosing to be on God's Side

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: Then cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14: 6

“Truth: conformity. Two fact or reality; Exact accordance with that which is, or has been shall be.” -- Noah Webster Dictionary, 1828 edition.

To be on God's side, one's thoughts and actions must align with truth. This is so because Jesus is the truth!

But what does that mean? It means what Jesus said!

He is the truth, which implies singular. Singularity. By this we mean there is but one objective truth and it is belongs to God. Thus, God is the one source starting point from which truthful understanding and. Actions originate and proceed.

Even more, Jesus is the truth personified, which means all the moral qualities of truth exist in him. Thus he is the perfect ethical example of how truth works, How the truth is morally acted upon. In other words, the truth is the starting and reference point for discovering what is true, what is one's obligation to truth, and how one must act in order to fulfill that obligation.

This is so whether one is considering moral and ethical questions regarding natural creation, seeking to address issues relating to personal relationships, where, when and how to exercise public privileges and duties and when pondering deeper philosophical questions about the nature and purpose of life. In all these Jesus' teachings and examples are where one's understanding and applications of truth begin.

So, those who choose to be on God's side must embrace a God-centric world view in which they consider issues, make decisions and act based on the conviction that all moral values and every ethical practice is rooted in the Creator God, who being eternal, all-powerful and sovereign, is The Truth.