The book of Joshua records one of the most remarkable military campaigns in history.
• Moses said in Deut 7 that there are 7 nations in Canaan facing Israel and all of them greater and mightier than them.
• They were called fortified cities because of the massive walls surrounding them.
God led them through 3 phases to the campaign. The first being the attack on Jericho and Ai, situated in the centre of Canaan. [SEE MAP]
• Donald K. Campbell writes: The pattern of divine strategy for the conquest of Canaan was based on geographic factors. From their camp at Gilgal near the Jordan River the Israelites could see steep hills to the west. Jericho controlled the way of ascent into these mountains, and Ai, another fortress, stood at the head of the ascent. If the Israelites were to capture the hill country they must certainly take Jericho and Ai. This would put them on top of the hill country and in control of the central ridge, having driven a wedge between the northern and southern sections of Canaan. Israel could then engage the armies of the South in battle followed by the more remote enemy in the North. But first, Jericho must fall—and it would if Joshua and the people followed the Lord’s plan of action.
[John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, Editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983,1985, p.340.]
Excavations up to 1997 revealed how the walls were constructed, with an outer wall buffer and a slope embankment. [SEE DIAGRAM]
• It was virtually insurmountable. In ancient warfare, such cities were taken only after a long siege (when they cut off the supply line into the city) and forced the people to surrender out of starvation.
• 6:1 “Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.”
But God said to Joshua: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.” (6:2)
• “I have delivered” (present perfect tense) –in the Hebrew text it’s in prophetic perfect tense (consider an idiom; no equivalent in English).
• It tells a future event as if it has already happened. Only God can speak in such a way.
God says SEE, I HAVE DELIVERED… How can Joshua be SEEING it?
• God is challenging him to see it with eyes of faith. Take it as done, because I said it!
• We saw Joshua exercising that faith when he called the people to shout – 6:16 “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!”
Their victory was assured by God’s Word. You can have His Word for it. If He said it, considered it done.
• That’s what we believe in – not in ourselves, not in our resources, not in our circumstances, but in the very WORD of God.
• When you are facing insurmountable odds, that’s what we must do. Get back to the Word of God and listen to what God has to say.
REMEMBER WHO IS IN COMMAND
• God is sovereign and He rules. God does not guess; He does not “try his luck”.
Look at the prominence given to the ARK OF THE COVENANT in the march around the city. It shows that this is not Israel’s battle but the Lord’s.
• The priests blowing the trumpets (ram horns; shofars) signify the presence of God. That’s what they do in the Jewish feasts to proclaim God’s presence.
• You have the trumpets blasting away and the people remaining silent. The presence of God is CENTRAL and the people of God completely PASSIVE.
• Israel contributes nothing to the overthrow of Jericho.
When you feel small and outnumbered and overwhelmed, heed the Psalmist’s advice: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps 46:10)
• Get back into God’s presence and remind yourself WHO is in command.
The battle plan was highly unusual, to say the least.
• The usual ways of using battering rams (against the gates) or scaling ladders (up the walls) were not used.
• God’s plan of victory was a quiet march under the sound of the rams’ horns.
• One march around the city for six days and on the seventh, seven rounds. And then the trumpets blast and the people shouts.
This was an utterly foolish thing to do from the human point of view.
• I’m sure the soldiers on Jericho’s walls were amused and delighted to hear some live music every day.
• YET - although incomprehensible - Joshua followed God’s instructions to the letter. And the people did the same. They obeyed for all the seven days.
It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to know that the success did not come from their circling the city. There wasn’t any mysterious force about it.
• It has nothing to do with the number of days they did it. It has nothing to do with the volume of their shout.
• God is smarter than that. He could have given the instruction to bring down the city on the first day, if He wanted to. He was looking for something else.
THE KEY TO VICTORY IS OBEDIENCE
The key to Israel’s victory lies in their obedience to God’s Word. It is key to receiving what God has already predetermined for them (in 6:1).
• The plan wasn’t given so that Israel will know that God is powerful. God has already proven that on numerous occasions in the past.
• The plan was given so that Israel would learn that God’s Word can be trusted and that victory would come if they do it His way.
The realisation of what was predetermined for them comes through their OBEDIENCE.
• This wasn’t easy for the people. A careful reading of the text suggests that Joshua did not tell the people the entire plan from day 1 to day 7.
• Joshua’s command in 6:10 was, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’”
It was more likely that Joshua gave instructions day by day. Each day they would go out, march around the city quietly and return to camp, without anything happening.
• The walls would still be standing and Jericho had not surrendered. After day 1, day 2, day 3… all the way until day 6.
• Yet, they did not murmur or complain or question Joshua’s instructions. They obeyed.
What brought down the walls? The power of God, no doubt about that. But that power was released in response to Israel’s complete obedience to His way.
• That’s the key to a blessed life. We don’t understand God’s way, but we can still seek to submit to His way.
• God is honoured by our obedience. And He honours our obedience by blessing us with what He has promised.
OBEDIENCE COMES FROM FAITH
God did not explain the WHY behind His unusual way. Joshua needs to trust God.
• Heb 11:30 “By FAITH the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”
• The Bible did not say, “By the POWER OF GOD the walls of Jericho fell…” By the power of God is a given, but “by faith” is not. Can you trust Him?
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer (pastor/theologian d.1945): “For faith is only real when there is obedience, never without it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience.”
True faith obeys. It would take days to see His answer, the Israelites would tell you.
• God works, sometimes slowly. Maybe too slow for our comfort. We are so used to immediate gratifications, we want immediate answers.
• God tests our faith. Immediate deliverance is possible with God, but that is not the goal. Your faith is. He wants to test our faith to build our faith.
We are like the African antelopes that are put in an enclosure in the zoo. Antelopes are capable of jumping as high as 3m and as far as 10m but they can be kept enclosed by a wall as low as one metre.
Why don’t they jump out? They are capable of doing that. They won’t jump because they cannot see where their feet will land.
We find it hard to take the leap of faith because we prefer the comfort of living by sight. But it pays to simply take God at His Word.
I can testify to this. God is faithful and true. I looked back at my life over the last 28 years from the day I responded to God’s call. That was in 1987. I knew He has spoken and so I say YES.
Yes to serve Him, that’s the easy part. I did not know what’s next. Should I start work in church, get into a seminary, or join a parachurch, and who’s going to finance me? I have no precedent to fall back on, and I have little clue how things will turn out.
My only fall back was this – God has spoken. And that has proven to be enough. He will lead and show the way. A step at a time. A day at a time. You don’t have to figure out everything. You have to take His Word for it.
Cling on to God’s Word, if that’s all you have. It is enough!
• Joshua had only God’s Word to go by, nothing else. There wasn’t any other tell-tale signs that the walls will collapse. No cracks on the walls.
• He has nothing to go by except God’s revealed Word. When we have nothing left but God, we will discover that God is enough.
The real battle is not the visible battle we see. It is the invisible battle that we fight within us. Can we trust God?
Archaeologists found that a small part of the wall on the Northern side did not fall.
• Rahab and her entire family were saved, because God remembers.
• God executed His plan with precision. It was as precise as God wanted it to be.
• God will not fail you. He remembers. He always remember.
Is God in control? YES. Is God present? YES. Can I trust Him? YES.
• Remember WHO is in command. the victory is in our obedience, and it takes faith to see it.
Dear friends, put your trust in Jesus Christ. He is our only Saviour. He came to seek and save you. Only in Jesus can we find the forgiveness of our sin and be restored in our relationship with God. We are saved by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus.
