Possessing the Land - Part 6
Worshipping The Lord - Read: Joshua 5:13-15 to 6:1-5
1. Introduction
The children of Israel crossed the Jordan in full view of the enemy stronghold of Jericho, which lies in the great open plain (3:16). From this city, especially from the vantage point of its walls, the whole Jordan valley from Adam to the Dead Sea was visible. After the Children of Israel had crossed the river Jordan in that great miracle, and were camped at Gilgal, they did six things before taking possession of the Promised Land:
1. Their faith put fear in the hearts of the Enemy (2:2-11; 5:1)
2. They stopped but they didn’t stay (4:20-24)
3. They renewed their commitment to the covenant with God (5:2-9)
4. They remembered their roots (5:10)
5. They destroyed the manna mentality (5:12)
6. They worshipped the Lord
They did all these six things, before they fought one battle, before they attacked one city stronghold. All these things were done in full view of the enemy (3:16). These are principles that we need to follow prophetically.
The sixth thing the Israelites did, after crossing the Jordan, was to worship the Lord.
2. They Worshipped The Lord
Let’s consider two key Scriptures:
* Josh 5:13-15 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
* 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."
Joshua strolled towards the enemy stronghold of Jericho. Perhaps he’d gone to think and pray how he was to take this mighty, ancient city. When he was near, he saw an armed soldier with a drawn sword, facing him.
Now if you met an armed soldier, and you were in enemy territory and near his stronghold, you would be excused for being a little afraid.
a. Fear must be defeated
It’s a little like the Disciples in the boat during the storm, in Matt 14:22-33. Eleven out of the twelve said, "It’s a ghost," ... "and cried out in fear" (Matt 14:26). Only Peter put aside fear, because he recognised the Lord Jesus.
Here, Joshua also put aside fear and went up to the war-like stranger, in the same way that Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water.
Joshua asked him, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" (v 13), which meant, "Are you my ally, or my enemy?" The answer was firm, "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." (v 14).
That is, He has come not only as Commander of the Angelic Host, but also as Commander-in-Chief of Joshua and Israel (Heb 2:10 - Jesus is known as the ’Captain of our Salvation’). His drawn sword spoke of battle being, or about to be waged. For us too, this speaks of a battle. However, this time our weapon is the Sword of the Spirit - the Word of God.
b. God revealed
As this stranger spoke to Joshua, something happened. His glory shone through and Joshua fell on his face in worship (v 14). Joshua knew he was not in the presence of a mere man, nor even an angel, but he was in the presence of God as the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus.
Jesus said to him, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." (v 15). The previous time this happened was in Exodus 3:4-6, when God had revealed Himself to His servant and friend, Moses, at the burning bush. Here, in this place, Joshua obeyed and he worshipped.
(i) An aside
It’s interesting that both the Lord and Joshua share the same name ’Yehoshua’ = ’the Lord is Salvation’. Actually, the literal meaning of their name is ’Jehovah-saves’:
* Here you have one man whose life and character testified to the reality of his name.
* The other is the One by whose name we are saved.
c. Revelation through worship
Joshua stood before the ’Logos’, Jesus. As he worshipped, he received revelation; he received the ’rhema’ of God into his heart, mind and soul (refer to sessions on ’Breaking the Manna Mentality’ concerning ’logos’ and ’rhema’). In the same way, we too need to come regularly and spend time before Jesus, if we want His revelation in our lives.
Through this ’rhema’, the Lord told Joshua:
* Jericho, its king and its mighty men are already delivered to you (6:2)
* Have seven priests blow their trumpets in front of the Ark of the Lord, as the army of Israel march around the city once each day for 6 days, (6:3)
* On the seventh day do it seven times (6:4)
* Then, the priests shall blow a long blast on their trumpets and the people shall shout (i.e. make a joyful noise of triumph) (6:5)
* The stronghold of Jericho will be pulled down (6:5)
This ’rhema’ seemed crazy; it seemed so ridiculous. It didn’t follow the way that people waged war. There was no logic behind these commands. There was a great temptation for Joshua to look at the physical and fight the battle the way it ’should’ (by human thinking) be fought.
When the Lord speaks to us, or challenges us, He often asks us to ignore the:
* logical
* obvious
* easy way
He calls us to follow a direction that seems impossible, but this is the test of obedience ... the test of true faith.
d. Why walk around Jericho?
So why walk around Jericho? What was going to happen as the priests took up the Ark and the trumpets, and marched in the middle of the army of Israel? Essentially two things:
(i) They received a promise
* The people had to work out a promise from God:
Deut 11:24 "Every place where you set your foot will be yours ..."
* It was no use just ’believing’, they had to get up and act on this promise:
James 2:17 "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
* There is no use just sitting and hoping God’s going to work in your life. Take hold of His promises! Do you have faith to walk around your stronghold, and believe that God will pull it down? He will, because He always keeps His promises.
2 Cor 1:20 "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."
(ii) They engaged in a spiritual battle
There was to be a battle where the eyes of man could not see, in the heavenly places. Jesus was to be engaged in a mighty spiritual battle all the coming week, preparing for the final defeat of this stronghold of satan.
This battle was to be secured in the heavenly realm, not by the hand of man.
Eph 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
2 Cor 10:4 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
Joshua’s response to Jesus’ words? He made demands on the ’Logos of God’, by committing instant response to His instructions (6:6). And the result?
Josh 6:20 "When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city."
Joshua received total victory by complete, unquestioning faith in the revelation of God, which he received as he worshipped the Lord.
e. The meaning for this Nation?
(i) The symbolism
* Jericho symbolises Hell’s gates, but Matthew 16:18 says "... the gates of Hades shall not prevail." - Jericho looked impenetrable, but faith in Jesus destroyed it;
* The king of Jericho symbolises the devil - and this king was struck down (Joshua 10:28);
* Jericho’s fighting men symbolise the demonic forces, which were utterly defeated at Calvary’s cross.
Jesus says, "Do it the way I choose, not the way you think it should be done." Jericho was only going to fall no other way than:
* By faith
* By obedience
* Through worship
(ii) Our response
Are we willing to:
* Act by faith, and
* Believe in the precious promises of Jesus?
And will we, in that faith:
* Walk around our strongholds, and
* Believe that God is pulling them down, by the power of His Holy Spirit? Areas such as:
- Healing
- Finances
- Work
- The unsaved
- Family
- Our relationship with Jesus
Let’s worship and praise the God of our salvation, and see Him pull down the strongholds in our lives!
