All In; Are You All In?

Well today we are looking at Joshua chapter six. I won’t be speaking on the whole chapter, but let’s have a look at these verses:

2-11:

2And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor. 3March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 5And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”

6So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”

7And he told the people, “Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”

8After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9While the horns continued to sound, the armed troops marched ahead of the priests who blew the horns, and the rear guard followed the ark.

10But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!” 11So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there.

And 15-20

15Then on the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. That was the only day they circled the city seven times. 16After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent. 18But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it. 19For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.”

20So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed.

May God give understanding to the reading of his word. Mention the upcoming visit by Liz Curtis Higgs. Rahab, is interestingly one of the women mentioned in Jesus ancestral lineage.

Some things about the book of Joshua:

• It celebrates God as the General of the Israelite people; these were his people and were all following his command

• It relates the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that the land of Cannan would belong to his descendants, something that could not happen in his lifetime as the sin of the Amorites was not yet complete. Genesis 15:16. The Amorites were sacrificing their offspring to Molech and worshipping idols and were partaking in many physically dodgy practices. Their sin was now complete.

• The battle of Jericho according to scholars occurred around 1450 BC and this account was written down around 550 BC. The book of Joshua is partly history and law.

Israel was faithful to God in entering the Jordan River in flood after camping beside it for how many days. Remember Rochelle spoke last week on not staying camped to long but doing as God has instructed. They lived the miracle, the flood waters backed up as they stepped into them, and they crossed on dry land.

So, God tells Joshua, God is instructing...”I have delivered Jericho into your hands” and this is how you go about conquering the city.

Now Jericho is thought to be one of the first walled cities in history, about 5-6 acres, so around the size of the commercial part of Tawa. The people a settled nomadic group of Amorites called, the Nutufian and had a population apparently of around 3000 people. (Refer: The Ancient City of Jericho: The World's First Walled Community – World Atlas)

So, under Joshua’s command Israel followed God’s.