Taking a look at these concluding Pesukim of the 5th chapter of Sefer Yeshoshua warrants a few basic questions:
What is the connection between Bris Mila, Korban Pesach, the Maan ceasing and the eating of the produce with the end Pesukim about conquering Yericho and the rest of Eretz Yisrael?
Why was Yehoshua really confused at whether the angel was friend or enemy? It doesn't seem clear at all from the Pesukim what the message of the angel really was.
Let's take a look at a fascinating Gemara in Megilla which attempts to shed light on these cryptic Pesukim...

What is the deeper meaning behind this discussion? Was the angel merely giving Yehoshua mussar for not learning enough, even in a time of war, and the he said fine, I'll give you a night seder, or is there something more foundational going on in this debate?

And the last question (for now), what is the language the Torah is using to describe Hashem getting angry? וַיִּתְעַבֵּ֨ר is a language of being pregnant, not angry, what is the Torah trying to teach us with this unique language?
To answer these questions, and more, let's take a look at the deep words of the Arizal in Shaar Hapesukim...

The Arizal breaks down all of spiritual development to three levels:
Ibur - Compared to a fetus in utero, having no power to sift between the good and bad of this world, completely reliant on the mother for all functions.
Yenika - A nursing baby, beginning to develop it's own power to absorb and digest food but still largely reliant on the mother to sift out the impurities.
Gadlus - a child that is weaned and developed their own sense of digestion to be able to sift through this world, discard the bad and absorb the good.
Each one of these spiritual states can be described by the Jewish people at various periods of history:
The Jewish people enslaved in Egypt were in a state of Ibur.
Their sojourn in the desert, surrounded by miracles was the state of Yenika.
Their entering into Eretz Yisrael was the beginning of Gadlus, full maturity.
Hence, the role of Moshe Rabbeinu was to take them from a state of Ibur to Yenika. The Arizal describes that with the sins of the Jewish people, Moshe was punished bearing them back to the state of Ibur.
While Yehoshua was charged in taking them from a state of Yenika to full Gadlus. This is the depth why Moshe couldn't enter Eretz Yisrael, this wasn't his role.
Only Yehoshua could wean the Jewish people from the Maan, the spiritual mother's milk of Hashem to be able to plant, grow food and eat wheat.
And this exactly what our Pesukim are describing. They had full broken their connection from Mitzrayim, the birth mother of the Jewish people. The Maan had ceased, and they were ready for the Omer offering, bringing the eating of grain to full maturity.
The place of Gilgal was finally revealing the Jewish people's true essence, Mochin D'Gadlus, a full mature spiritual mind and soul that was capable of connecting to Hashem in Eretz Yisrael.
Now let's see another comment of the Arizal on the topic of learning Halacha B'iyun that can hopefully shed light on Yehoshua's interaction with the mysterious angel...

The Arizal describes the power of learning Halacha B'iyun to be able to sift through the shells of this world and arrive at the fruit, the essence within...
It wasn't just that the angel was giving mussar for Yehoshua for not learning enough. He was there to reveal that the Jewish people had not fully arrived at the place of Mochin D'Gadlus to really conquer the land, to turn Eretz Canaan into Eretz Yisrael.
Yehoshua's delving into Halacha that night was the tikkun that Klal Yisrael needed to inherit the land forever, arriving at the full maturity needed to acquire this precious gift.
And perhaps this is the depth of why Yehoshua didn't know whether the angel was friend of foe. Because in reality, he could have been both. He could have been the angel that was their to deliver the valuable message to Klal Yisrael they needed to here, or the opposite, if they missed the lesson, the very angel that would have prosecuted against them, claiming they didn't have a right to the Land.
And this is why the angel didn't say the lesson outright. He needed Yehoshua to figure it out on his own using the Koach of Torah Sh'Baal Peh. The Gemara records it, but the Pesukim only hint to the matter and needed the sages of Klal Yisrael to reveal the lesson themselves.
Eretz Yisrael is described as the Palace of Hashem, a unique gift He has given us in that generation and in ours... but it comes with the spiritual maturity that this gift must be well taken care, connecting the power of Torah, Tefilla and Chesed to truly make it an everlasting inheritance!
Until next time, wishing all of Klal Yisrael Bracha and Simcha.
Doron Lazarus
Ramat Bet Shemesh