1. Joshua 5:13 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What was Joshua doing near Jericho?

Joshua 5:13 (ESV)

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

Joshua probably went to have a look at the city and see what was happening, some kind of a reconnaissance mission.1 He was exploring the area around Jericho when he came across the man with a drawn sword.