Beyond Grit: The God Who Brings Walls Down

Beyond Grit: The God Who Brings Walls Down

Joshua 6:1-20

"Sheer grit can only take you as far as your strength allows. But many walls only crumble through faith in the One who is able."

Even though Abram was given the astonishing promise, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2), this did not exempt his descendants from the hardships of a broken and decaying world (Romans 8:20-21). Life, inescapably, is like a yo-yo—swinging between mountaintop blessings and deep valleys of trial. When Joseph found favor with Pharaoh and was appointed second in command over Egypt (Genesis 41:39–41), and when his family was given the rich land of Goshen (Genesis 47:5–6), the Israelites experienced a glimpse of divine favor fulfilled. Yet that season of prosperity was fleeting. “A new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt” (Exodus 1:8), and out of fear of Israel’s growth, he enslaved them and subjected them to ruthless oppression. Worse still, he decreed that every newborn Israelite boy be put to death (Exodus 1:22). No amount of human grit could deliver them. For as God had already foretold to Abram, his descendants would endure a season of affliction—enslaved, overworked, and oppressed—for about 400 years (Genesis 15:13). Imagine enduring a lifetime of suffering, with only ancient stories of past blessing to sustain your faith, and a promised deliverance that might not come until long after your own lifetime.

And yet, even when the pendulum of life swings so far into affliction that no amount of sheer grit can pull it back, we are reminded that with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Consider the Hebrew baby floating down the Nile—the very river meant to ensure his execution—who was instead drawn out of the water and into the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own (Exodus 2:5–9). Though Moses grew up with access to Egypt’s finest privileges, his heart never abandoned his Hebrew roots. In defense of his people, he killed an Egyptian and fled to the wilderness of Midian (Exodus 2:11–15), where he spent 40 years in obscurity and raised two sons. But this was not the end of his story. The pendulum of God’s providence was still moving. At the burning bush, Moses received his divine commission—to return to Egypt and boldly declare to Pharaoh, “Let My people go” (Exodus 3:1–21). After ten devastating plagues, culminating in the death of Egypt’s firstborn, Pharaoh finally released his grip. And when his army was swallowed by the Red Sea, Israel learned a life-altering truth: some walls don’t crumble without divine intervention.

But sadly, even with God’s providential care in their rearview mirror, it didn’t take long for Israel to fall into despair when confronted with a new “wall.” Though the Lord had promised to give them a land flowing with milk and honey—just as He had sworn to Abraham (Exodus 3:8)—ten of the twelve spies returned from surveying the land with a grim report. While the land was indeed abundant—so fruitful that it took two men to carry a single cluster of grapes on a pole (Numbers 13:23)—their fear overshadowed their faith. They focused instead on the fortified cities and powerful inhabitants, concluding, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:28). Only Caleb and Joshua stood firm, tearing their clothes in anguish and declaring that victory belonged to the Lord if the people would only trust Him (Numbers 14:6–9). But the faithlessness of the ten echoed in their haunting words: “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33). As a result, God decreed that for each of the forty days they explored the land, the Israelites would wander the wilderness one year—forty years of delay and discipline—until every adult twenty years and older, except Joshua and Caleb, died in the desert (Numbers 14:29–34).

Facing Jericho

Now a new generation stands at the foot of their own wall—not Egypt, not the wilderness, but Jericho—and this time, faith is ready to move. After the death of Moses, the Lord instructed Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan River (Joshua 1:1–2). But before doing so, Joshua sent two spies to scout the land—particularly the city of Jericho (Joshua 2:1). The spies found shelter in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. When the king of Jericho sent orders for her to hand them over, she hid them on her roof under stalks of flax and misled the search party (Joshua 2:2–6). When Rahab spoke to the spies, her words stood in striking contrast to the fearful report of the previous generation:

“I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you” (Joshua 2:9).